Good News For Railway Employees: 78-Days Diwali Bonus Announced; How Much Per Employee Will Get On Basic Pay?

The Diwali good news has come early for at least 11.4 lakh railway employees as the PM Narendra Modi-led government approves a 78-day Diwali bonus for them. For the bonus, the government has declared an outlay of Rs 2009.61 crore. The bonus is to recognise the excellent performance of the Indian railway staff.

Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) for 78 Days for Railway Employees

The Union Cabinet on October 14th approved the PLB of 78-days for Rs 2,009.61 crore, which will benefit up to 11,40,770 railway employees.

According to the Cabinet, the payment of PLB to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Durga Puja/Dusshera holidays. This year also, PLB amounts equivalent to 78 days' wages is being paid to about 11.40 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees.

It said, "The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees for working towards improvement in the performance of the Railways."

How Much Diwali Bonus Railway Employees Will Get?

The maximum bonus amount is Rs 17,951 for 78-days per eligible railway employee. The bonus will be given to employees in various departments of the Railways such as ---- Track maintainers, Loco Pilots, Train Managers (Guards), Station Masters, Supervisors, Technicians, Technician Helpers, Pointsman, Ministerial staff and other Group 'C staff.

Data of the Cabinet revealed that the performance of Railways in the year 2025-26 was very good. Railways loaded a record cargo of 1670 Million Tonnes and carried nearly 7.41 Billion Passengers. Hence, the bonus is being rewarded.

The decision comes after fake news was being circulated on social media that claimed the government has likely approved payment of a 78-day bonus of Rs 41,149. The Railway department has called the claims fake and the signature in the circulated document "forged".

Railway Employees Association Demand Hike In Wage Ceiling:

The current calculation of PLB is based on the wage ceiling of Rs 7,000 of 78-days. However, the Indian Railways Technical Supervisors' Association (IRTSA) had been demanding for a hike in wage ceiling to Rs 18,000 plus dearness allowance for Level-2 railway employees and above. Also, they sought out for increase in wage ceiling to Rs 21,000 for unskilled workers.

If the wage ceiling was hiked to Rs 18,000, the IRTSA argued that the annual bonus would rise to at least Rs 46,184 per railway employee.