Cabinet Nod to Set Up 'National Recruitment Agency', Know What’s NRA? Common Eligibility Test For Govt Jobs And Other Details

'National Recruitment Agency' will look at implementing solutions enabling quicker generation of scores, better infrastructure, improved facilities, and access for rural candidates including women and disadvantaged candidates.

Union Cabinet approves setting up of 'National Recruitment Agency' to conduct Common Eligibility Test. This decision will benefit job seeking youth of the country, announced Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. (PIC/ANI)

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to set up the 'National Recruitment Agency' to conduct the Common Eligibility Test, a decision that is expected to benefit job- seeking youth of the country. Earlier in June,  Union minister Jitendra Singh had said that the proposal for the establishment of this agency is at an advanced stage.

What is the purpose of the National Recruitment Agency? National Recruitment Agency will be an autonomous society and try solving issues faced by candidates including ease of job recruitment process. The major problems in the recruitment process include the delay in the processing of application, malpractices, and other impediments related to the participation of aspirants, especially women. Also, there are issues regarding the payment mode and multiple ways of processing fees which will also be streamlined going ahead. Some exams coincide leaving less scope for students to appear in their choice of examinations. Besides the difference in the curriculum of the examination, students need to prepare in a different manner. At times the cycle of the recruitment also gets extended because of these impediments. This proposal will aim to develop a centralised curriculum and synchronise the examinations across the country, and also try to ensure a standard degree of difficulty in examinations. What is CET? There will be single entrance examination for all non-gazetted posts — Group B and C posts. Candidates need to qualify this common entrance examination to apply for higher level of examination to any recruitment agencies. It aims to replace multiple examinations conducted by different recruiting agencies for selection to government jobs advertised each year, with a single online common eligibility test (CET) which will be held online. National Recruitment Agency will conduct the CET examination while the test scores to be valid for three years, and there will be no bar on the number of attempts. There will be a common registration portal for all participants. The proposal looks to cut costs, and save time for the government, the recruiting agencies and candidates. CET merit list may be made available to the states by NRA on cost-sharing basis, for undertaking recruitment to state government jobs. Currently, recruitment exams are held under the discretion of the organisations like UPSC and SSC. "This places burden on time, effort and cost of young people," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in the Lok Sabha while proposing the formation of this single unified recruitment agency. The national recruitment agency will be similar to the national testing agency (NTA) which was formed in 2017. NTA conducts entrance exams for various undergraduate courses including medical and engineering courses.