Railway staff to give feedback on seniors

New Delhi, August 20

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Taking a cue from the Centre’s 360-degree evaluation system for senior IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officers, the Railways has now introduced a procedure that also allows peers and juniors to evaluate their reporting officers.

In a letter dated August 18, the Railway Board said it had decided to create a “multi-source” feedback of officers while generating their annual performance appraisal report (APAR).

For creating a database, a link had been enabled online in the SPARROW system and would be effective from “APAR 2022-2023”.

“For each official, every year a link shall be sent to the reporting authority of the official and all subordinates for whom the official is the reporting authority. The feedback submitted will be anonymously recorded in the database of the official. There shall be no way to trace back the feedback to the superior or subordinate who has submitted it,” the letter stated.

“All are requested to give fair remarks/gradings without any prejudice. The whole exercise will be strictly confidential,” it stated.

Sources said that after the feedback was recorded, a committee would decide whether the officer should be promoted or not.

Many officials have questioned the change, the latest in a slew of major deviations from its 114-year-old administrative structure at a time when the national transporter is undergoing a major makeover.

It was in 2015 that the Narendra Modi government introduced a 360-degree appraisal system meant to supplement the existing system of ACRs.