Cabinet clears ₹2,009 crore Diwali bonus for railway staff, ₹53,428 crore for social assistance

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described the 78-day bonus as a Deepawali gift for employees, with each eligible non-gazetted employee entitled to a maximum payment of ₹17,951.

New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹2,009.61 crore productivity-linked bonus for 1.14 million railway employees and extended the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31, with an outlay of ₹53,428 crore, as the government moves to reward railway workers and widen social security coverage.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described the 78-day bonus as a Deepawali gift for employees, with each eligible non-gazetted employee entitled to a maximum payment of ₹17,951. The bonus will benefit 11,40,770 employees, including track maintainers, locomotive pilots, train managers, station masters, technicians, pointsmen, supervisors and ministerial staff.

The payout recognizes the performance of Indian Railways during 2025-26, when it recorded freight loading of 1,670 million tonnes and carried nearly 7.41 billion passengers. The bonus is paid annually ahead of the festive season to incentivize employees and recognize their contribution to railway operations.

Vaishnaw also highlighted the government’s recruitment drive in the national transporter, saying recruitment for around 165,000 positions was underway. Approximately 550,000 jobs had been generated in Indian Railways since 2014, he said.

Safety net

The cabinet’s decision on social assistance, meanwhile, aims to expand the safety net for vulnerable sections of society, including the elderly, widows, persons with disabilities and families that have lost their primary breadwinner.

The ₹53,428 crore allocation will fund the continuation of the NSAP through 2030-31. The programme, administered by the ministry of rural development, includes pension support for eligible elderly people, widows and persons with disabilities, besides financial assistance to families facing the death of a primary breadwinner.

The expansion includes a relaxation in disability eligibility criteria, with the minimum disability threshold for pension benefits reduced from 80% to 40%, widening the pool of potential beneficiaries. The changes are part of the government's effort to broaden access to social assistance and bring more vulnerable people within the formal welfare framework.

The programme is expected to cover an expanded beneficiary base of around 32 million people. The proposed coverage includes elderly people and widows, persons with disabilities and eligible families under the National Family Benefit Scheme.

The government has also outlined a broader approach to disability-related assistance, including extending support to eligible beneficiaries from birth rather than restricting access to those aged 18 years and above, as under the earlier framework.

Under the programme, eligible elderly people receive pension assistance through the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, while widows and persons with disabilities are covered by separate pension schemes. The National Family Benefit Scheme provides financial assistance to eligible households following the death of their primary breadwinner.

The two cabinet decisions address different dimensions of welfare policy: rewarding productivity among railway employees while extending social protection to vulnerable households. The railway bonus comes amid continued efforts to expand the network’s capacity and improve passenger and freight operations, while the NSAP extension provides a five-year funding horizon for social assistance.

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Subhash is the infrastructure editor at Mint and tracks the momentous developments taking place in the space that is fast changing the Indian landscape. He finds reporting to be a passion that provides the necessary adrenaline rush and keeps you going.