New Delhi [India] November 8 (ANI): Secretariat of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday approved appointments and transfers of IRMS Officers.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposals of the Ministry of Railways," an official release of the Ministry of Personnel and Training.

For the first time, the Centre has gone for the merit-based empanelment of top railway officers, dumping the earlier norm of seniority-based empanelment.

The Cabinet Committee on Appointment (ACC) has empaneled eight general managers (GMs), who are of additional secretary level

The Cabinet Committee on Appointment (ACC) has empaneled eight general managers (GMs), who are of additional secretary level

The ACC has deferred the application of four other officers for empanelment. There were a total 132 applications for such empanelment.

Earlier, there was a rule that at least one officer from the eight railway cadres must be a GM, but this has been done away with since the creation of the IRMS, a move aimed at “removing departmentalism”.

The first set of empanelment has created heartburn among railway officers who have so far been elite among the eight railway services as most of the officers empanelled are from engineering services.