OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2011. It is proposed to set up Sports Academies on Indian Railways in Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The total number of sportspersons recruited on different Zonal Railways on Indian Railways during 2008-09 was 509; during 2009-10 it was 233; during 2010-11 it was 361 in during 2011-12 (till November, 2011) it was 63 .

 Recruitment of sportspersons is a continuous process. All out efforts are made to spot the talent to enable Railways to be represented in the various National and International Championships. Since, there is no separate sports cadre in Indian Railways as such there are no vacancies. Meritorious sportspersons are recruited by utilizing the vacancies of various other departments.

 Railways have Zonal Railway Sports Association which keeps a close watch anticipating and assessing the needs of sportspersons in various different disciplines on their Railway. To ensure that meritorious sportspersons are given priority for recruitment, various policies are formed and special steps taken to accommodate the deserving cases. Inter Railway Championships are also held to spur Zonal Railways to recruit good talent.

 This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.