<p>A growing number of highly educated individuals, including BTech graduates, are opting for jobs such as gangmen, gatemen and helpers in the Indian Railways, primarily due to the promise of job security, a senior railway official has said.</p><p>Since 2022,<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/indian-railways"> Indian Railways </a>has recruited 1,13,977 candidates for Level-1 (L-1) category positions. These roles include gangmen (responsible for track maintenance), gatemen, pointsmen, and helpers across various departments such as electrical, mechanical, engineering, signaling, and telecommunications. The gangman is the entry-level post in the L-1 category, which is the lowest in the railway job hierarchy. At the top is the Chairman Railway Board (CRB), positioned in Level-17.</p><p>Despite the manual nature of these L-1 jobs—such as physically maintaining railway tracks using tools—they are attracting graduates, postgraduates, and even doctorate holders, the official noted.</p><p>Though the minimum qualification is a Class 10 pass or ITI for the L-1 category job, the railways says that of the 1,13,977 candidates recruited since 2022, a total of 52,709 are graduates from all streams—science, arts, commerce, and BTech.</p>.<p>While two candidates who have completed doctorates have also been recruited as gang men, 26,831 are 10th pass. A total of 17,680 candidates recruited are 12th pass, and 4,296 have postgraduate degrees.</p><p>There are 2,834 diploma holders, 202 postgraduate diploma holders, and 1,407 undergraduate diploma holders who also landed in this category of jobs. Interestingly, only 6,201 ITI graduates were recruited.</p><p>Recruitment saw a massive response, with over 1.11 crore applicants, of whom 43 lakh appeared for the L-1 examination, conducted in phases across 551 centres nationwide.</p><p>Some candidates recruited under compassionate grounds were either illiterate or had studied up to Classes 5–9. Among the 13 lakh workforce in the railways, recruitment for manual jobs like gangmen is always high due to their vital role in smooth operations, an official stated.</p>
<p>A growing number of highly educated individuals, including BTech graduates, are opting for jobs such as gangmen, gatemen and helpers in the Indian Railways, primarily due to the promise of job security, a senior railway official has said.</p><p>Since 2022,<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/indian-railways"> Indian Railways </a>has recruited 1,13,977 candidates for Level-1 (L-1) category positions. These roles include gangmen (responsible for track maintenance), gatemen, pointsmen, and helpers across various departments such as electrical, mechanical, engineering, signaling, and telecommunications. The gangman is the entry-level post in the L-1 category, which is the lowest in the railway job hierarchy. At the top is the Chairman Railway Board (CRB), positioned in Level-17.</p><p>Despite the manual nature of these L-1 jobs—such as physically maintaining railway tracks using tools—they are attracting graduates, postgraduates, and even doctorate holders, the official noted.</p><p>Though the minimum qualification is a Class 10 pass or ITI for the L-1 category job, the railways says that of the 1,13,977 candidates recruited since 2022, a total of 52,709 are graduates from all streams—science, arts, commerce, and BTech.</p>.<p>While two candidates who have completed doctorates have also been recruited as gang men, 26,831 are 10th pass. A total of 17,680 candidates recruited are 12th pass, and 4,296 have postgraduate degrees.</p><p>There are 2,834 diploma holders, 202 postgraduate diploma holders, and 1,407 undergraduate diploma holders who also landed in this category of jobs. Interestingly, only 6,201 ITI graduates were recruited.</p><p>Recruitment saw a massive response, with over 1.11 crore applicants, of whom 43 lakh appeared for the L-1 examination, conducted in phases across 551 centres nationwide.</p><p>Some candidates recruited under compassionate grounds were either illiterate or had studied up to Classes 5–9. Among the 13 lakh workforce in the railways, recruitment for manual jobs like gangmen is always high due to their vital role in smooth operations, an official stated.</p>
