Modi government approves 78-day bonus for 10.9 lakh railway employees

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a productivity-linked bonus equivalent to 78 days' wages for 10.9 lakh railway employees, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced here on Wednesday.

The total bonus amount stands at Rs 1,886 crore, a government press statement said, adding that the bonus has been approved in recognition of the excellent performance by the 10,91,146 railway staff.

Payment of productivity-linked bonus (PLB) to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays.

"The prime minister has approved the productivity-linked bonus equivalent to 78 days of wages. The decision will benefit 10.9 lakh employees," the minister said.

"This year also, PLB amount equivalent to 78 days' wages is being paid to about 10.91 lakh non-gazetted railway employees. The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees for working towards improvement in the performance of the Railways," the press statement said.

The maximum payable amount of PLB equivalent to 78 days' wages for each eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951. This amount will be paid to various categories of railway staff like track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff and other Group 'C' staff, it further said.

Officials said that the performance of Railways in the year 2024-25 was "very good" as railways loaded a record cargo of 1,614.90 million tonnes and carried nearly 7.3 billion passengers.