New Delhi: The Union Cabinet approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) of 78 days to 10,91,146 railway employees on Wednesday. This pay-out worth Rs 1865.68 crore, was in recognition of the excellent performance by railway staff, the government announced.
Payment of PLB to eligible railway employees is made every year during the festive season. This year, the PLB amount is equivalent to 78 days’ wages. Only non-gazetted railway employees are eligible for PLB. The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees to work towards further improvement in the performance of the Indian Railways.
The maximum payable amount of PLB equivalent to 78 days’ wages for each eligible railway employee is ₹17,951. The above amount will be paid to various categories of railway staff like track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsman, ministerial and other Group ‘C’ staff.
The performance of Indian Railways in the year 2024-25 was very good. The railways loaded a record cargo of 1614.90 million tonnes and carried nearly 7.3 billion passengers. The Cabinet also approved doubling of Bakhtiyarpur – Rajgir – Tilaiya single railway line section (104 km) in Bihar at a total cost of Rs 2,192 crore. The project will cover four districts in Bihar.
The project provides rail connectivity to prominent destinations such as Rajgir (Shanti Stupa), Nalanda and Pawapuri, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country. The multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to nearly 1,434 villages and about 13.46 lakh population and the two aspirational districts of Gaya and Nawada.
The Cabinet also approved the construction of the 4-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of NH-139W in Bihar on Hybrid Annuity Mode with a total project length of 78.942 km worth Rs 3,822.31 crore. A Rs 69,725 crores package to revitalise India’s shipbuilding and maritime sector with a comprehensive 4-pillar approach focused on shipbuilding, maritime financing and boosting domestic capacity has also been green flagged.
