The Indian Railways will pay medical practitioners (hired on contract) salary on a par with State governments.
The decision was taken after the authorities found it difficult to engage the doctors in the existing pay structure that was less compared to what the respective States were paying. The health infrastructure of the railways, one of the largest employers in the country, caters to the needs of about 12 lakh employees and their family across the country.
According to sources, the Ministry of Railways in a note to General Managers of Zonal Railways said that a decision was taken to extend the engagement of medical practitioners over and above the vacancies in Indian Railway Health Service to meet local requirements for handling COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there were difficulties in engaging doctors in the present pay structure and there was a demand for parity with the remuneration being paid by State governments. It was decided to empower General Managers to revise the salary paid to doctors on contractual assignment for a period of six months with effect from April 28, 2021 as a temporary measure.
The railways also decided to extend the engagement of retired paramedical staff, and hire para medical staff on a contract basis over and above the sanctioned strength to manage the pandemic. The engagement will be valid till March 2022.
Order for Remdesivir
In a related development, the railways placed an order with M/s Cipla for supplying 7,500 doses of Remdesivir antiviral drug to 23 zones, production units, factories and others across its network, the sources. In a bid to boost the movement of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) by train, it was decided not to levy haulage charges on dummy or empty containers loaded in LMO container rakes, they said.
