The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct a preliminary exam – named common eligibility test (CET) — for recruitment of Group B and C (non -technical) staff in the Central government.
Online test will be conducted to screen/shortlist candidates at the first level for vacancies, which are at present filled through different exams conducted by Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railways Recruitment Board (RRB) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
The present recruitment agencies — IBPS, RRB and SSC — will remain in place, it was informed.The test will be conducted at three levels: graduate, higher secondary and matriculate .
“Based on the screening done at the CET score level, final selection for recruitment shall be made through separate specialised Tiers of examination, which shall be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies,” read a statement issued after the meeting.
Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said it is one of the most landmark reforms in independent India.”It will bring ease of recruitment, selection, job placement and ease of living particularly for certain sections of society which are at a disadvantage on one account or the other,” he said. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the decision will benefit job seeking youth of the country.
CET will be conducted twice each year, Minister of State for Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Jitendra Singh said, “This reform will bring ease in recruitment, ease of selection, ease of job placement and thereby ease of living” Singh also said the CET will be conducted in 12 languages.
The NRA will be headed by an officer equivalent to the rank of Union Secretary and will also have representatives from SSC, RRB and IBPS. The Cabinet approved Rs 1,517.57 crore for NRA for three years.
DoPT Secretary C Chandramouli said every year on average 2.5 crore to 3 crore aspirants appear for about 1.25 lakh Group B and Group C vacancies in central government, and more than 50 recruitment tests are conducted each year.
Once the proposed exam is in place, based on CET score a candidate can apply for a vacancy with the respective agency. The validity of the test score will be for three years and there will be no bar on the number of attempts subject to the upper age limit. However, the relaxation in the upper age limit shall be given to candidates of SC/ST/OBC and other categories as per the extant policy of the Government.
To make it easier for candidates, examination centres would be set up in every district of the country. A special focus will be on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 ‘Aspirational Districts’. The government says that the move will benefit the poor candidates, as in the present system they have to appear in multiple examinations conducted by multiple agencies. The Union Cabinet has approved an amount of Rs 1517.57 crore for the NRA, for a period of 3 years.
The government says that a single eligibility test would “significantly reduce” the recruitment cycle. Even some of the departments have indicated their intention to do away with any second-level test and go ahead with recruitment on the basis of CET scores, Physical Tests and Medical examination.
