Patna, Aug 12: Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday announced that the government has approved 50 per cent reservation for women in the upcoming round of recruitment for Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel.

In the recruitment drive which is expected to begin shortly, a total of 9,500-10,000 RPF jawans would be recruited, Goyal said. Half of the newly recruited RPF cadres will be comprised of women, he added.

The announcement from the Minister came in Patna, where he was attending an official function. Goyal also said that the Railway Recruitment Board will invite applications for 13,000 other jobs, apart from the near-10,000 vacancies in the RPF.

The recruitment for both, the RPF posts and 13,000 other vacancies, will be based upon a computer test. There will be no interview rounds for final selection.

The practice of abolishing interviews for group C and D posts have been enacted in several Ministries over the past four years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking on the issue earlier, said the interview round often leads to corruption and discrimination.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 12, 2018 06:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).