ARP - Advance Reservation Period

 

ARP - Advance Reservation Period 

Sources: 

1. click for Commercial Circular 11 of 2015 

2. Click for Commercial Circular 10 of 2024

Features of New ARP

• ARP stands for Advance Reservation Period (of Trains in Indian Railways)

• New ARP policy -   w.e.f 01.11.2024 

• Time limit for ARP - 60 days (reduced from 120 days which was effective from 01.04.2015) 

• ARP is excluding date of journey 

• Bookings made up to 31.10.2024 under the current ARP of 120 days will remain valid. 

• Cancellations of bookings beyond the ARP of 60 days will still be permitted.

• No change for certain day-time express trains like Taj express, Gomti express, etc., - shorter ARP (30 days etc). Shorter ARP for such trains is mainly to accommodate daily commuters and tourists who usually plan shorter trips, unlike long-distance trains which require longer advance booking windows.

• Authority:  The Railway Board periodically reviews and issues specific circulars or notifications detailing ARP changes for such trains.

• FTQ (Foreign Tourist Quota) in certain premium trains like Rajdhani Express - 365 day limit of ARP - continued as usual.

• This long ARP is provided to encourage international tourism and accommodate the planning needs of foreign tourists, who often organise trips months in advance.

• Only foreign nationals and NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) with valid passports can avail of the FTQ.

Rationale of ARP 60 Days: 

• To promote genuine passengers and help the Railway Board to improve the visibility of genuine demand for rail travel in India. 

• It was noticed that about 21% of reservations done for 61 to 120 day periods were getting cancelled.

• Also noticed that about 5% of passengers were neither cancelling their tickets nor were they undertaking the journey. 

• The New ARP of 60 days will help Indian Railways in better planning of special trains during peak seasons. 

• With this shorter ARP of 60 days, Passengers will now once again have better clarity in their travel plans, reducing the current 21% cancellation rate.   

• Reduces the chances of ticket hoarding, making more tickets available for genuine passengers.  

• 1995 to 1998 Period -  The ARP is as low as 30 days only 

Key Points: 

1. ARP stands for Advance Reservation Period 

2. New ARP - 60 days 

3. New ARP effective from 01.11.2024

4. New ARP - Authority is Commercial Circular 10 of 2024

5. FTQ stands for Foreign Tourist Quota

6. ARP for FTQ is 365 days

7. ARP for certain day time trains like Gomti express, Taj express - 30 days or as decided by the Indian Railways from time to time.  

Deleted Questions Procedure in CBT conducted by NAIR for LDCE and 70% Selection Examinations

 

Deleted Questions Procedure in CBT 

Source: Railway Board Letter No.  E(GP)2022/2/4 dated 26.10.2022  (RBE No.134/2022) Click for download  and dated 28.11.2022 Click for download

SN	Example	Applicable / Not Applicable	Final Score calculation
1	Answered 150 questions or less than 150 questions, but the deleted question is not one of the attempted question	Not Applicable	Out of 150
2	Answered 150 questions and 5 questions of these have been deleted	Applicable	Out of 145 (recalculated out of 150)
3	Attempted 130 questions (out of required 150 questions) and 2 questions of 130 questions have been deleted	Applicable	Out of 148 (recalculated out of 150)

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES

SN 1 - Answered 150 questions or less than 150 questions, but the deleted question is not one of the attempted questions :  

Candidate A answered 140 Questions. Out of  140 questions, 120 are Correct  and 20 are incorrect.  His score is as follows.

	No. of Questions	Marks
Correct answers	120 x 1	120
Incorrect answers	20 x ⅓	Minus 6.67
Net Marks		113.33

Net score:  113.33 out of 150

SN 2 - Answered 150 questions and 5 questions of these have been deleted   :  

Candidate B answered 150 Questions. Out of  150 questions, 141 are Correct,4 are incorrect and 5 are deleted  His score is as follows.

	No. of Questions	Marks
Correct answers	141 x 1	141
Incorrect answers	4 x ⅓	Minus 1.33
Net Marks		139.67

Provisional Score:  139.67 out of 145 

Now recalculate the same for out of 150

145      —----------  139.67 

150     —------------   ?

= 150 / 145 x 139.67  = 113.45

So Net Score = 144.49 out of 150 

SN 3 - Attempted 130 questions (out of required 150 questions) and 2 questions of 130 questions have been deleted   :  

Candidate C answered 130 Questions. Out of  130 questions, 100 are Correct,28 are incorrect and 2 are deleted  His score is as follows.

	No. of Questions	Marks
Correct answers	100 x 1	100
Incorrect answers	28 x ⅓	Minus 9.33
Net Marks		90.67

Provisional Score:  90.67 out of 148 

Now recalculate the same for out of 150

148      —----------  90.67 

150     —------------   ?

= 150 / 148 x 90.67  = 113.45

So Net Score = 91.90 out of 150 

Disclaimer:  

• Some questions in the CBT for LDCE conducted on 20 November 2022 are deleted by the Railway Board . 

• The above write up just throws light on the Railway Board’s Policy of deleted questions.  The blogger tried to explain in simple manner the Railway Board’s policy regarding the same.

• The blogger is not responsible for the mistakes or discrepancies in the above calculations or method of calculation if any.

• The candidates need to go through the Railway Board letters cited above (hyperlinks provided for download) and calculate their score accordingly. 

Note: Any mistakes in the above calculations may please be brought to the notice of the blogger for correction. Thank you

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IPR - Immovable Property Return

 

 

IPR - Immovable Property Return

 

Authority: RBE19/2026 dated 02.03.2026

Statutory Provision: Railway Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966 – Rule 18: Mandatory submission of Immovable Property Returns (IPR) by specified Railway employees.

• Supervisory Staff of Group ‘C’ working in Grade Pay ₹4600 and above are required to submit annual return of immovable property.
• Return must include property inherited, owned, acquired, or held on lease or mortgage – whether in own name or in the name of family member or any other person.

 

           Group C Supervisors - Grade Pay Rs. 4600 and above 

	Submission of IPR
First	Within 3 months from the initial appointment in Grade Pay Rs.4600
Thereafter	January (Every year)

 

Commercial Staff 

(Reservation clerks, Parcel clerks, Booking clerks, TTEs, TCs)

	Submission of IPR
First	On Initial Appointment
Thereafter	At the time of Promotion
Superannuation	Two months before Superannuation / at the time of submission of Pension Papers

• Prescribed format of IPR is to be used by relevant non-gazetted employees.

Details Required in IPR Format

• Name, Designation, Present Pay, HRMS ID (Human Resource Management System Identification), Date of Birth.
• Location of property (District/Sub-Division/Village), Nature of property (Land/Building), Present Value.
• If property is not in own name, relationship with the person in whose name it is held must be declared.
• Mode of acquisition to be specified – purchase, gift, inheritance, lease, or mortgage.
•  Annual income from property must be mentioned.

 Key Points for MCQ: 

1. IPR stands for Immovable Property Return

2. IPR - Rule 18 of Railway Services Conduct Rules, 1966

3. Grade Pay 4600 & above - required to submit IPR

4. RBE No. 19/2026 dated 02.03.2026  - IPR 

5. IPR submission: Group C Supervisors - Grade Pay 4600 & above - Every year - January month ( First time - within 3 months from the initial appointment in GP 4600 & above) 

6. IPR submission: Commercial Dept staff ( Clerks in Reservation, Parcels, Booking and TTEs, TCs ) 

• On Initial appointment 

• At the time of promotion 

•  2 Months before superannuation / submission of pension papers

End

GST HSN SAC

 

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📘 CODES FOR GST ( Goods & Services Tax)

Type	Code Name	Full Form	Digits	Purpose
Goods	HSN Code	Harmonised System of Nomenclature	6–8 digits	To classify goods under GST
Services	SAC Code	Service Accounting Code	6 digits	To classify services under GST.

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• Both codes help in standardized taxation and invoicing under GST.
  
  

• HSN – derived from the World Customs Organization (WCO) system.

HSN code is 6 digits. However, some countries, such as India, add extra digits for more detailed classification, making the code 8 digits long.  Here is a breakdown of the HSN code structure:

• 6-digit HSN: The worldwide standard developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO).

• First 2 digits: Chapter number.

• Next 2 digits: Heading within the chapter.

• Last 2 digits: Subheading within the heading.

• SAC – developed by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) for services.

8-digit HSN: An expanded code used in some countries, including India, for more precise classification and taxation.

• First 6 digits: The international HSN code.

• Last 2 digits: Additional details, also known as the tariff item. 

• Mention of HSN or SAC on invoices is mandatory depending on turnover thresholds.
  

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