Diwali bonus: Railway staff get 78 days’ wages up to ₹17,951; other central employees get up to ₹6,908

Two separate festive-season bonus decisions by the Centre this week have been widely reported together, but they apply to different groups of staff. Non-gazetted railway employees will receive a productivity-linked bonus worth 78 days’ wages, while other eligible central government employees will get a smaller 30-day ad-hoc bonus.

Railways: 78 days’ wages for 11.4 lakh staff

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) for 2025-26 on 14 October, according to News On AIR and UNI. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision.

• Beneficiaries: 11,40,770 non-gazetted railway employees
• Bonus: 78 days’ wages
• Maximum per employee: ₹17,951
• Total cost: ₹2,009.61 crore

UNI said the bonus covers track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers, station masters, supervisors, technicians and their helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff and other Group C personnel. The payment is made every year ahead of Durga Puja and Dussehra. UNI noted that the railways moved a record 1,670 million tonnes of freight and carried about 741 crore passengers in 2025-26. The maximum payout is unchanged from last year, when the Cabinet approved, according to HR Katha, ₹1,865.68 crore for about 10.91 lakh employees.

Other central staff: 30-day ad-hoc bonus up to ₹6,908

Separately, the Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry issued an order on 15 October granting a non-productivity-linked (ad-hoc) bonus equal to 30 days’ emoluments for 2025-26, Angel One reported. NewsBytes carried the same details.

• Eligible: Group C and non-gazetted Group B employees not covered by any productivity-linked scheme, including eligible Central Armed Police Forces and Armed Forces personnel
• Calculation ceiling: ₹7,000 a month
• Maximum payout: ₹6,908
• Casual labourers meeting service conditions: up to ₹1,184

According to Angel One, employees must have been in service on 31 March 2026 and must have completed at least six months of continuous service in the year. Those who retired, were invalided out or died before that date are entitled to a proportionate amount if they had at least six months of regular service. Union Territory staff on central pay scales also qualify if no other bonus covers them. Payments will be met from each ministry’s 2026-27 budget.

Who gets what

In short, railway staff covered by the PLB scheme are not eligible for the ad-hoc bonus, and the 78-day figure does not apply to other central employees. Because the ad-hoc amount is worked out on a notional monthly pay of ₹7,000, no eligible employee receives more than ₹6,908, and those with lower average emoluments get proportionately less.

Sources: News On AIR, UNI, Angel One, NewsBytes, HR Katha