Cabinet Approves ₹2,009.61 Crore Productivity Linked Bonus for Railway Employees

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sanctioned the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) worth 78 days’ salary for 11,40,770 eligible railway employees on 14 October 2026. The total cost is ₹2,009.61 crore, where the maximum payable of ₹17,951 for each eligible employee. This annual incentive scheme recognises the contribution of the railway employees to the working and performance of the railways. The sanction has come after the Indian Railways has achieved a freight loading of 1,670 million tonnes and 7.41 billion passenger traffic in 2025-2026.

Important Information about Railway PLB 2026

This bonus scheme is paid annually to the eligible non-gazetted railway employees before Durga Puja and Dussehra. This bonus scheme is meant to motivate the employees to work towards improved performance of the railways.

Aspect	Details
Scheme	Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB)
Date of sanction	14 October 2026
Bonus	78 days’ salary
Total cost of the Bonus	₹2,009.61 crore
Total Beneficiaries	11,40,770
Maximum bonus per employee	₹17,951
Category of the Employee	Eligible non-gazetted railway employees
Payment Delivery Date	Durga Puja / Dussehra
Cited Performance Year	2025-26
Authority of sanction	Union Cabinet

The maximum bonus of ₹17,951 is payable to an eligible employee under the sanctioned 78 days’ bonus scheme.

Whose Employees Are Entitled to PLB at Indian Railways?

The approved bonus is applicable to the all eligible non-gazetted employees who are involved in various roles related to operations, technical expertise, maintenance, and administration at Indian Railways.

Some of the categories listed in the Cabinet notification are as follows,

Track Maintainer
Locomotive Pilot
Train Manager (Guard)
Station Master
Supervisor
Technician and Technician Helper
Pointsmen
Ministerial Staff
Eligible Group C employees

The approved PLB is applicable to approximately 11.40 lakh railway employees. It is awarded for their contribution in the performance of Indian Railways.

Indian Railways Performance in 2025-26

The Cabinet notification has mentioned some performance indicators of Indian Railways for the financial year 2025-26.

Performance Indicator	Reported figure
Freight Loading	1,670 million tonnes
Passenger Traffic	Nearly 7.41 billion
Railway employees covered by PLB	11,40,770
Total expenditure on PLB	₹2,009.61 crore

Freight loading indicates the quantity of goods loaded on the railway for transportation. Passenger traffic means the number of passengers transported in the period under consideration.

Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB)

The Productivity Linked Bonus is the bonus that is linked to the performance of the organisation or eligible groups of employees according to the applicable bonus scheme. In Indian Railways, the PLB payable each year acknowledges the performance of eligible non-gazetted employees in Indian Railways.

It must be noted that PLB is different from the Dearness Allowance (DA). The DA is an allowance paid as a result of inflation as well as the applicable pay scheme, but not PLB.

Under the approval of 2026, the bonus shall be calculated at 78 days of wages, with a maximum of ₹17,951 per eligible employee.