New Delhi: The Indian Railways has put an end to a 20-year-old tradition of awarding gold-plated silver medals to retiring employees following a scandal involving fake silver medals. The Railway Board has issued an official order to immediately stop giving these medals as farewell gifts to retiring officers and staff.
Renu Sharma, Principal Executive Director of the Railway Board, released the directive on 28 January 2026, clearly stating that the practice of presenting gold-plated silver medals to retiring personnel will be discontinued with immediate effect.
This tradition began in March 2006, when Indian Railways started awarding retiring employees a gold-plated silver coin weighing approximately 20 grams as a token of respect and recognition for their service. Over the past two decades, thousands of employees received these medals, which symbolised honour and dedication. However, the decision to end this practice comes after a major fraud was uncovered in the Bhopal division.
Investigations revealed that many of the medals distributed at retirement were counterfeit, containing only 0.23 percent silver instead of the genuine metal. The medals handed over as silver were found to be almost entirely without real silver content, exposing a significant breach of trust.
Following the exposure of the scam, the Railways filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the supplier involved and initiated the process to blacklist them. Furthermore, the existing stock of medals at Railway offices will no longer be used as retirement gifts but will be repurposed for other administrative or alternative uses.
The Railway Board’s order specifies that this new rule will apply to all officers retiring on or after 31 January 2026. Henceforth, no retiring employee will receive the gold-plated silver medal as a farewell token.
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