Centre approves National Recruitment Agency to conduct common eligibility test for non-gazetted posts

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the formation of a National Recruitment Agency to conduct a Common Eligibility Test for job seekers. During a briefing, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the decision will benefit job seekers of the country and help selecting candidates for various sectors.As per a report in Hindustan Times, there are more than 20 recruitment agencies under the Central government. According to Secretary C Chandramouli, while the Centre takes exams of only three common agencies as of now, in due course, they will be able to have one Common Eligibility Test for all recruitment agencies in the country.According to a report in NDTV, the National Recruitment Agency will conduct computer-based preliminary common eligibility test for all non-gazetted posts comprising Group B and C (non-technical) posts.Candidates who qualify the prelims will be able to apply to any of the recruitment agencies for higher level examinations.The validity of the test score will be for three years and there will be no bar on the number of attempts subject to upper age limit.Union minister Jitendra Singh saying that the Cabinet's decision to set up the National Recruitment Agency to conduct Common Eligibility Test for preliminary selection to various Government vacancies is a "revolutionary reform.""This will bring ease of recruitment, ease of selection and thereby ease of living for aspirant candidates," the minister added.Singh further added that the move will provide a level playing field for the economically deprived who cannot afford to travel to multiple centres as well "youth in far flung areas with difficulty to reach different centres and women candidates who are unable to travel to different cities because of constraints of travel and stay."The National Recruitment Agency was first proposed by the government in the Union Budget 2020, where it was mentioned that the agency will be an "independent, professional, specialist organisation and will conduct an exam, which would be known as the Common Eligibility Test, for selection to government jobs."