Indian railways have decided to scrap Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination (SCRA). SCRA is one of the oldest as well as reputed examinations conducted every year for selecting a handful of candidates for the undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering offered at Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), Jamalpur (Bihar).
Earlier in the month of July The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) asked the Railway Ministry that it is not inclined to hold the Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination (SCRA) and told it to justify holding the exam.
During July the letter that was sent by UPSC Secretary Ashim Khurana to Railway Board Member (Staff) Pradeep Kumar, read: The Commission may not be inclined to continue with the examination unless full and proper justification is forthcoming from the Railway Ministry for such continuance .”
After examining the various aspects of the issue, the Railways decided in favour of discontinuation of the SCRA and communicated the same to UPSC.
In the reply to the letter Railway Board Member Pradeep Kumar has written to UPSC, “The matter has been carefully reviewed by Ministry of Railway in its entirety and it has been decided with the approval of Minister of Railways that recruitment of candidates for induction into Indian Railway Services in Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) officers will now be met through the engineering services examination (ESE).”
UPSC also told the Railways that as the commission also conducts annual engineering services examination for selection to Indian Railway Services in Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) then there is no hard and fast rule to conduct a separate exam just a handful of candidates.
UPSC not only conducts IRSME or SCRA but also conducts tests for selection of engineers for Indian Railway Services in Electrical Engineering, Indian Railways Services in Engineers, Indian Railways Services in Signal Engineering and Indian Railways Services in Stores.
