New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the creation of National Recruitment Agency (NRA) for conducting a common eligibility test for central government jobs, initiating a landmark reform in the recruitment process.
Briefing the media on the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said it was a historic decision that will allow job-seekers take one common test and save costs and time spent on writing multiple exams.
This has been a major demand of the youths for many years which has been fulfilled, he said.
Union minister Jitendra Singh termed it a revolutionary and landmark reform in the history of the country.
It will lead to ease of selection, ease of job placement and ease of living, especially for those sections of society that are considered disadvantaged, he said.
This will also help the poor and women who have to travel long distances for taking exams for various jobs, he said.
The NRA will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to shortlist candidates for the Group B and Group C (non-technical) posts.
The NRA will have representatives from the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Finance Department of Financial Services, the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
It is envisioned that the NRA would be a specialist body bringing the state-of-the-art technology and best practices in the field of Central government recruitment, an official statement said.
For now, the scores of the common test will be used by three major recruitment agencies, but other agencies would be included over a period of time.
PTI