Union Cabinet Approves Productivity Linked Bonus for Railway Employees and Expansion of Medical Education Capacity.

On September 24, 2025, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, approved key proposals aimed at incentivizing railway employees and expanding medical education capacity across India. The decisions focus on disbursing Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) for railway staff and enhancing both Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) medical seats to strengthen healthcare delivery nationwide.

      - The Union Cabinet approved the disbursal of PLB equivalent to wages of 78 days, amounting to Rs.1,865.68 crores, for 10.91 lakh non-gazetted railway employees. The PLB is designed to incentivize employees to improve efficiency and overall output in Indian Railways.

      - The maximum PLB payable to each employee is Rs.17,951. It will be provided to categories including Track Maintainers, Loco Pilots, Train Managers (Guards), Station Masters, Supervisors, Technicians, Technician Helpers, Pointsmen, Ministerial Staff, and other Group ‘C’ staff. The bonus is paid annually before Durga Pooja and Diwali holidays.

      - The announcement comes following a record operational performance by Indian Railways, which loaded 1,614.90 Million Tonnes (MT) of cargo and carried 7.3 billion passengers in the Financial Year 2024-25 (FY 25).

Main Point :-   (i) The Cabinet approved Phase-III of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Strengthening and Upgradation of existing State and Central Government Medical Colleges, Standalone PG Institutes, and Government Hospitals. This will create an additional 5,000 PG medical seats across the country.

      (ii) The Cabinet also approved the extension of the CSS to upgrade existing Government Medical Colleges, adding 5,023 UG seats. The enhanced cost ceiling per seat has been set at Rs.1.50 crores, aiming to boost the number of doctors and introduce new medical specialties.

(iii) The estimated budget for these schemes is Rs.15,034.50 crores for 2025-26 to 2028-29, with a central share of Rs.10,303.20 crores and state share of Rs.4,731.30 crores. India currently has 808 medical colleges with 1,23,700 MBBS seats (127% growth) and 43,041 PG seats (143% growth), reflecting significant progress in medical education.