Cabinet nod to set up of National Recruitment Agency, to benefit job seeking youth

New Delhi, August 20: In a historic decision paving the way for a transformational reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs, the Cabinet has approved the setting up of the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct Common Eligibility Test for selection to non-gazetted posts in the central government and public sector banks on Wednesday.

 

 

Making the announcement Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said decision saying this will benefit job seeking youth of the country and fulfills the long-standing demand of the youth of the country during a press briefing over several cabinet decisions.

 

 

With this decision, nearly 2.5 job seekers in India who apply for multiple examinations to various government and public sector agencies will now have to appear for a single online entrance test, CET, the scores of which will be valid for up to three years.

 

 

 

The National Recruitment Agency will conduct a Common Eligibility Test to screen and shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts NRA will have representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB & IBPS. It is envisioned that the NRA would be a specialist body bringing state-of-the-art technology and best practices to the field of Central Government recruitment. The NRA will be similar to the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts common entrance exams for admissions to an undergraduate course in medical and engineering colleges across India.

 

 

The Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1517.57 crore for the National Recruitment Agency (NRA). The expenditure will be undertaken over a period of three years. Apart from setting up the NRA, costs will be incurred for setting up examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts.

 

 

NRA shall conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is presently carried out by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).

 

Based on the screening done at the CET score level, final selection for recruitment shall be made through separate specialised Tiers (II, III, etc) of examination which shall be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies. The curriculum for this test would be common as would be the standard. This would greatly ease the burden of candidates who are at present required to prepare for each of the examinations separately as per the different curriculum.

 

 

Examination Centres for the CET in every district of the country would greatly enhance access to the candidates located in far-flung areas. Special focus on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts would go a long way in affording access to candidates at a place nearer to where they reside. The benefits in terms of cost, effort, safety, and much more would be immense.

 

The proposal will not only ease access to rural candidates, but it will also motivate the rural candidates residing in the far-flung areas to take the examination and thereby, enhance their representation in Central Government jobs.

 

 

That will bring the major Relief to poor Candidates as the candidates have to appear in multiple examinations conducted by multiple agencies. Apart from the examination fees, candidates have to incur additional expenses for travel, boarding, lodging, and other such. A single examination would reduce the financial burden on candidates to a large extent.

 

 

This will also assist the female candidates especially from rural areas who earlier face constraints in appearing in multiple examinations as they have to arrange for transportation and places to stay in places that are far away. The location of test centers in every District would greatly benefit candidates from rural areas in general and women candidates in particular.

 

 

Moreover, under the NRA, the candidates by appearing in one examination will get an opportunity to compete for many posts. NRA will conduct the first-level /Tier I Examination which is the stepping stone for many other selections.

 

 

CET Score to be valid for three years, and there shall be no bar on attempts to the upper age limit.

 

 

Besides, all the mediums of writing will be available. This would greatly facilitate people from different parts of the country to take the exam and have an equal opportunity of being selected.

 

 

A single eligibility test would significantly reduce the recruitment cycle. Some Departments have indicated their intention to do away with any second-level test and go ahead with the recruitment on the basis of CET scores, Physical Tests, and Medical examination. This would greatly reduce the cycle and benefit a large section of youth.