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IT major TCS has bagged the tender to conduct computer-based tests (CBT) for the railway exams for which over one crore candidates have registered. However, BusinessLine could not ascertain if TCS is the only agency that has bagged this tender and it is not clear yet whether its mandate expands to conduct parts of the exam or the whole of it.
Starting December 15, Railways will hold exams for posts of stenos and teachers, for which over lakh candidates have registered and the Non-Technical Popular Category (NTPC), for which 1.26 crore candidates have registered.
As the exams are being held during Covid times, the Railways has made masks mandatory for candidates, apart from curtailing the number of students who will be accommodated in a centre.
A source in the know told BusinessLine that TCS will conduct the CBT exam.
An e-mail sent on Monday to TCS iON, a strategic business unit of TCS that conducts these exams, remained unanswered. Railways started conducting CBTs since 2018. In 2018, the computer-based tests (CBT) which was conducted by TCS iON.
The first set of tests for 1,663 posts of stenos and teachers, which has attracted 1.03 lakh candidates, will be held between December 15-18.
The next CBT for 35,208 posts of station masters, guards, office and commercial, will be held between December 28 and March-end 2021. Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) are following SOPs as prescribed by the government ensuring social distancing, compulsory use of masks, sanitisers and curtailing shifts for conducting exams to only two shifts per day.
Travel to nearest centre
RRBs have taken steps to ensure candidates are accommodated in their own State so that they can reach their exam centres without much travel. However, as some States have a large number of candidates, some of them have to undertake inter-State travel.
As a safety measure, candidates will be checked for temperature at entry using thermo guns. Those with a high temperature will not be allowed inside the exam venue and their exams will be rescheduled.
For the first set of tests, maximum applicants are from Uttar Pradesh (24,148), Rajasthan (13,845), Bihar (10,529), West Bengal (7,717), Maharashtra (7,615) and Delhi (7,605). For this CBT that has about 1 lakh candidates, there are 354 centres.
For the CBT exam for station masters, guards, office and commercial clerks, maximum candidates are from Uttar Pradesh (25.6 lakh), Bihar (15.63 lakh), Rajasthan (13.43) and Madhya Pradesh (7.98 lakh).
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