Cabinet clears a 78-day productivity-linked bonus for 11.40 lakh railway employees costing ₹2,009.61 crore
14 October 2026
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved payment of a Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days' wages to railway employees. It covers 11,40,770 non-gazetted railway employees and will cost ₹2,009.61 crore. The maximum amount payable to an eligible employee for the 78 days is ₹17,951. The bonus is paid every year before the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays. Categories covered include track maintenance staff, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff and other Group 'C' staff. In 2025-26 Indian Railways loaded a record 1,670 million tonnes of freight and carried about 7.41 billion passengers.
In plain words
PLB Productivity Linked Bonus — A bonus paid to railway staff linked to the system's measured productivity, expressed as a number of days' wages.
Non-gazetted Non-gazetted employees — Government staff whose appointments are not notified in the official Gazette, mainly Group 'C' and similar grades.