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National Recruitment Agency

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August 21, 2020

Why in news?

The Union Cabinet has decided to create National Recruitment Agency (NRA).

What is the NRA?

  • The NRA would be an independent, professional, specialist organisation.
  • It would conduct a screening examination for non-gazetted jobs.
  • This will eliminate the need for candidates to take separate examinations of the RRB, SSC and IBPS.
  • [RRB - Railway Recruitment Board, SSC - Staff Selection Commission, IBPS - Institute of Banking Personnel Selection.]
  • There would also be an emphasis on creating advanced online testing infrastructure in 117 aspirational districts.
  • Overall, the posts coming under the ambit of the proposed NRA would cover about 1.25 lakh jobs a year, which attract about 2.5 crore aspirants.

What are the benefits of NRA?

  • The single examination may be offered at the district level in the regional language.
  • The gains from a single examination, as opposed to a multiplicity of tests in far fewer locations are self-evident.
  • Candidates would no longer have to travel to urban centres at considerable expense and hardship to take an employment test.
  • Opportunities to improve performance, subject to age limits, and 3-year validity for scores are positive features.

What should the government concentrate on?

  • The long-term relevance of such reforms will depend on the governments’ commitment to raise the level of public employment and expand services to the public.
  • Both of this is low in India. The governments should work on this.

What are the concerns?

  • As a share of the organised workforce, the Central government employment appears to be declining.
  • New posts are sanctioned periodically, but a large number of vacancies remain unfilled.
  • With growing emphasis on transferring core railway services to the private sector, there may be fewer government jobs on offer in the future.
  • Moreover, jobs under the Centre, predominantly in the railways and defence sectors, constitute around 14% of public employment.
  • The rest of the jobs fall within the purview of States.

How should the reform be?

  • The reform must have a wider reach to achieve scale.
  • It must be marked by well-defined procedures, wide publicity and open competition, besides virtual elimination of discretion.
  • The NRA can potentially cut delays, boost transparency and enable wider access.
  • The entire process of candidate selection must be a model, raising the bar on speed, efficiency and integrity.

 

Source: The Hindu

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