For those who don't know, Indian Railways had a long-standing tradition of awarding gold-plated silver medals as farewell gifts to retiring officers and employees. However, due to certain reasons, the Railways has decided to do away with this age-old practice.

Here are all the details you need to know about the tradition of presenting gold-plated silver medals to retiring railway officials and why it has been discontinued.

What was the practice that has now been discontinued?

Often seen as a symbol of respect and service within the Railways, the medal-giving tradition was one of the additional benefits employees received under Indian Railways.

"The practice of presenting gold-plated silver medals to retiring railway officials may be discontinued. The silver medals, which are already procured or available in stock with the Railways, may be accounted for and suitably used for other activities, addressing their utilisation concerns," a ministry circular addressed to the heads of all zonal railways and production units said.

Why has the Railways stopped giving silver medals to employees?

Although the circular did not specify the reasons behind the government's move, officials have raised several concerns. These include poor medal quality supplied by outsourced vendors and cost-cutting measures, as gold and silver have become increasingly expensive.

According to a PTOI report, the Railways said, "There have been a couple of cases in the past few years in which the silver in the medals supplied by vendors was of very poor quality or even fake. This might be one of the concerns behind discontinuing the practice," a senior official said.