Indian Railways, Army Join Hands To Boost Post-Retirement Jobs For Agniveers, Ex-Servicemen

The Indian Railways and the Indian Army have joined hands to enhance post-retirement job opportunities for ex-servicemen and ex-Agniveers. They have officially announced the launch of a framework for this initiative. The idea behind this collaboration is to create a support system for retired armed forces personnel and ex-Agniveers by offering them career opportunities with the Indian Railways. The framework is not only about administrative agreement, but also about spreading awareness about job prospects in the Railways for such retiring personnel.

Under the policy, there is a 10 per cent reservation in Level-2 and above posts and a 20 per cent reservation for Level-1 posts, for ex-servicemen. For ex-Agniveers, a 5 per cent reservation is stipulated in Level-2 and above posts, and a 10 per cent reservation for Level-1 posts. In 2024 and 2025, a total of 14,788 posts were reserved for ex-servicemen due to this rule.

At present, the Railways is recruiting ex-servicemen as ‘Pointsmen’ on a contractual basis, according to a report by ANI. Although the permanent employment in Railways is done through Railways Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and Railways Recruitment Centres (RRCs), the Pointsmen recruitment is just an interim measure until regular recruitments are completed. So far, over 5,000 Level-1 posts are being processed in district and zonal divisions, with nine Divisions already signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Indian Army to facilitate hiring of these Pointsmen.

Notably, the framework is not just to provide employment post- retirement, but also emphasises skill-sharing and strategic coordination between the Indian Railways and the Indian Army. The partnership utilises the operational and managerial experience of soldiers who often retire at a comparatively young age.

Agniveers are recruited up to the age of 21, and their term of service is four years. So, their term with the army ends at the age of 25, if they are not taken on permanent roll. For soldiers in the army, the retirement age depends on the rank and service type, where retirement for ranks below officers comes in the mid-30s and 40s, and for officers in the mid- to late 50s.