If things go as per norms, Suneet Sharma – the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board – is set to retire on 31st December 2021. The Union government could also extend the tenure of the incumbent for another year, effective January 1, 2022.
The previous Chairman & CEO of the Railway Board Vinod Kumar Yadav had received a one-year extension.
If the incumbent does not receive an extension from the Union government, several viable contenders are waiting in the wings. A key selection criterion is 1 year or more than a year of service remaining before retirement.
Here is a look at the available choices for the Appointments Committee in case a new Chairman & CEO of the Railway Board is set to be brought in.
| Name | Cadre | Present Posting | Retirement month |
| Sanjay Mohanty | IRTS | Railway Board Member (Operations &BD) | Dec-22 |
| A Gangal | IRSME | GM/Northern Railway | Mar-23 |
| Anshul Gupta | IRSSE | GM/Northeast Frontier Railway | Mar-23 |
| Arun Arora | IRSME | GM/Eastern Railway | Apr-23 |
| Satish Kashyup | IRSEE | GM/CLW | May-23 |
| AK Agarwal | IRSME | GM/ICF | May-23 |
| Anil Lahoti | IRSE | GM/Central Railway | Aug-23 |
| Anupam Sharma | IRSME | GM/East Central Railway | Sep-23 |
| Vijay Sharma | IRSE | GM/North Western Railway | Sep-23 |
| Ashesh Agarwal | IRSME | GM/RCF | Sep-23 |
| Archana Joshi | IRTS | GM/South Eastern Railway | Oct-23 |
| SK Gupta | IRSE | GM/West Central Railway | Oct-23 |
| Pramod Kumar | IRSEE | GM/North Central Railway | Dec-23 |
| Archana Goyal | IRAS | GM/BLW | Dec-23 |
| Sanjeev Kishore | IRSME | GM/South Western Railway | Feb-24 |
| Alok Kumar | IRSME | GM/South East Central Railway | Mar-24 |
Short Tenures: Boon or Bane?
For such an important post, only one out of 13 Chairmen over the past two decades held the post for terms exceeding 24 months. Only 10 have survived beyond 24 months since the first Chairman, F C Badhwar, took the helm on 1st April 1951. He still holds the record for the longest tenure ever at 42 months. Only two, including Badhwar, have held the post for 36 months or more.
It is not clear if the organization has examined the impact of a high churn rate at top positions in the organization. Nor is it clear if the Railway Ministry has felt the need to ensure more stability at the top.
Here is a look at all the previous holders of the post of the Chairman, Railway Board. The additional title of the CEO was added in 2020 as part of a rejig of the Railway Board.
| Name of CRB | Cadre | From | To | Duration (months) |
| FC Badhwar | IRSE | 01.04.1951 | 30.09.1954 | 42 |
| G Pande | IRSE | 01.10.1954 | 31.12.1956 | 26 |
| PC Mukherjee | IRSE | 01.01.1957 | 25.06.1959 | 30 |
| KB Mathur | IRTS | 30.06.1959 | 18.04.1960 | 10 |
| Karnail Singh | IRSE | 18.04.1960 | 16.08.1962 | 35 |
| DC Baijal | IRSE | 16.08.1962 | 07.08.1965 | 26 |
| Kripal Singh | IRSE | 07.08.1965 | 21.01.1967 | 17 |
| GD Khandelwal | IRTS | 21.01.1967 | 06.01.1970 | 36 |
| BC Ganguli | IRSE | 07.01.1970 | 12.10.1971 | 21 |
| BSD Baliga | IRSE | 13.10.1971 | 12.10.1973 | 24 |
| MN Bery | IRSE | 12.10.1973 | 30.04.1976 | 31 |
| GP Warrier | IRSE | 01.05.1975 | 31.08.1977 | 16 |
| KS Rajan | IRSME | 01.09.1977 | 03.06.1979 | 21 |
| M Menezes | IRSE | 04.06.1979 | 16.11.1980 | 16 |
| MS Gujral | IRTS | 17.11.1980 | 06.02.1983 | 27 |
| KTV Raghvan | IRSME | 05.04.1983 | 31.01.1985 | 23 |
| JP Gupta | IRSME | 01.02.1985 | 30.06.1985 | 5 |
| Prakash Narain | IRTS | 01.07.1985 | 31.06.1987 | 24 |
| RK Jain | IRSE | 01.07.1987 | 31.07.1989 | 25 |
| MN Prasad | IRSE | 01.08.1989 | 31.07.1990 | 12 |
| RD Kitson | IRSME | 01.08.1990 | 31.03.1992 | 20 |
| YP Anand | IRSE | 01.04.1992 | 31.12.1992 | 9 |
| AN Shukla | IRSME | 01.01.1993 | 31.03.1994 | 15 |
| MK Rao | IRSME | 31.03.1994 | 30.06.1994 | 3 |
| Ashok Bhatnagar | IRTS | 01.07.1994 | 31.05.1995 | 11 |
| GK Khare | IRSME | 01.06.1995 | 30.06.1996 | 13 |
| CL Kaw | IRTS | 01.07.1996 | 30.04.1997 | 10 |
| M Ravindra | IRSE | 30.04.1997 | 31.12.1997 | 9 |
| VK Agrawal | IRSE | 31.12.1997 | 31.08.2000 | 32 |
| Ashok Kumar | IRSME | 01.09.2000 | 31.08.2001 | 12 |
| RN Malhotra | IRSE | 31.08.2001 | 31.03.2002 | 7 |
| IIMS Rana | IRSE | 01.04.2002 | 30.06.2003 | 15 |
| RK Singh | IRSE | 30.06.2003 | 31.07.2005 | 24 |
| JP Batra | IRTS | 01.08.2005 | 31.07.2007 | 24 |
| KC Jena | IRTS | 31.08.2007 | 31.01.2009 | 17 |
| S S Khurana | IRSEE | 02.02.2009 | 31.05.2010 | 16 |
| Vivek Sahai | IRTS | 01.06.2010 | 30.06.2011 | 13 |
| Vinay Mittal | IRTS | 01.07.2011 | 30.06.2013 | 24 |
| Arunendra Kumar | IRSME | 30.06.2013 | 31.12.2014 | 18 |
| A.K.Mittal | IRSS | 31.12.2014 | 23.08.2017 | 31 |
| Ashwani Lohani | IRSME | 23.08.2017 | 31.12.2018 | 16 |
| Vinod Kumar Yadav | IRSEE | 31.12.2018 | 31.12.2020 | 24 |
| Suneet Sharma | IRSME | 31.12.2020 | Present |
Whatever the result, we will find out in another 10 days’ time.
It is strange that CRB posting is discussed in public in this way. If at least two months before such important postings are decided the functioning will be smooth. Healthy norms make difference in the efficient functioning of the system.
Incumbents for the post of Railway Board Members including Chairman should be decided well in advance as done in IAS cadre. Earlier in the past, names were finalised for the post of Secretary in the various Ministries of the Government of India well in advance and announced before 2-3 months showing fair deals. But, at present, in case of appointment for the post of Members/Chairman Railway Board suspense is seen till last moment. It gives chance to create doubt on the system as seen in the case of Sh. Mahesh Kumar dealing with Mama Ji for the post of Member Electrical. It is sufficient to create doubt in public domain.
Now, in the very honest Government i.e. Bhartiya Janta Party, such situations should not be repeated again and such posting should be decided well in 2-3 months advance and announced. Other wise it will create doubt in the minds of people.
Dubey59
All though the Top brass know about retirement of top Officials..They keep silent like spectators..They pull on in anticiption of of their own People.. Congress is much better than bjp in this regard.. all trash..