UPSC SCRA (Special Class Railway Apprentice) 2011 exam notification has come come out today in major newspapers as well as in Employment news of today. you can apply for it offline or online from today till 25th April, 2011. Date of written exam for SCRA 2011 is 31st July, 2011.
This blog post aims to brief you on the salient points of this very competitive exam, telling you about the eligibility for SCRA exam, the important exam/form dates & where you can get the SCRA exam application forms.
But before that a small synopsis to know about SCRA exam.
SCRA Exam – what is it?
Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) is a very prestigious examination, conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) on behalf of Indian Railways for a 4 year of apprenticeship. On successfully completing the same, SCRA are absorbed as a Class-1 officer in Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME). Many of them have gone on to become the Chairman of the Railways.
It also happens to be one of the most competitive examinations in India – close to one lakh students apply for it and less than 100 are selected – ratio of selection in SCRA exam is less than 1:1000!
The 4-year training in Mechanical Engineering is conducted by IRIMEE (Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Jamalpur) and it follows a sandwich system of education mixing practical training at workshops with theoretical training at classroom. Education is free and the students are also paid a comfortable monthly stipend - Rs. 4000/- per month during the first two years, Rs. 4200/- per month during the 3rd year and first six months of 4th year and Rs. 4400/- for last six months of 4th year.
Important dates for SCRA-2011:
Date of Notification for SCRA-2011: 26.03.2011 (Saturday).
Last date for submission of SCRA-2011 application form: 25.04.2011.
Date of SCRA Exam, 2011: 31.07.2011 (Sunday).
SCRA Exam Eligibility:
What are the eligibility for appearing in the SCRA exam? Following tells you about it:
Age Eligibility:
You need to be Min. 17 years and Max. 21 years as on the 1st August of the exam year. For example, for SCRA-2011 exam, your age should be 17-21 years as on 01.08.2011. You must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1990 and not later than 1st August, 1994.
Relaxations in age exists as per Govt. rule.
Academic Eligibility:
You need to have passed the Class-XII exam (Intermediate or Sr. Secondary examination under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent) in 1st or 2nd Division with Mathematics and at least one of the subjects Physics and Chemistry as subject of the examination.
Candidates appearing at the 12th Class final or equivalent examination are also eligible to compete subject to certain conditions.
SCRA 2011 Application Forms:
There are two ways to apply for the SCRA exam - Online & Offline.
While you need to send your completed offline form to UPSC New Delhi to be received on or before the last date of application; you do not need to send printout (i.e. the hardcopy) of your Online form anywhere.
SCRA 2011 Online Forms:
SCRA 2011 Offline Forms
Where do you find the Offline application forms for SCRA 2011 exam?
Only at UPSC designated post offices, as you can find in the SCRA exam notification.
SCRA 2011 Admit Card:
You should receive your Admit Card for SCRA 2011 exam within 3 weeks before the exam If you do not receive the same, please contact UPSC in person or over phone.
Important dates for SCRA-2012 exam:
Some of you may be appearing in SCRA-2012 exam and might be going through this blog post to prepare for the same. You may be wanting to know when SCRA 2012 exam would be held.
In the past few years till SCRA- 2010, UPSC used to publish SCRA exam notification in the 3rd or 4th Saturday of February. The last date for Receipt of SCRA applications used to be 3rd or 4th Monday of March while the one day exam was conducted in the 4th Sunday of July.
However, SCRA 2011 dates were deferred and has been organised quite lately. Therefore, to find the exam dates for SCRA 2012 exam go through the exam date notifications for all UPSC exams (including SCRA exam), which is published in the beginning of the year, like
this exam date sheet of UPSC. With above information, I am sure you can find yourself what would be the dates for SCRA-2012/13 exam!
