New Delhi: Amid controversies and protests over paper leaks, delays in public examinations, and recruitments, the Centre is considering a common examination for Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C government posts, which require similar educational qualifications, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources in the government, currently, a number of bodies such as the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), among others, conduct a slew of examinations throughout the year. The government is now considering streamlining these examinations through a coordinated and concerted recruitment process for posts with similar qualifications across these recruitment agencies. Most of these posts have similar eligibility criteria — clearing Class 10 or Class 12, or being a graduate.
The recommendation had been made by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in June this year and awaits discussion by the cabinet secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“Right now, a number of bodies conduct exams for posts which essentially have the same educational criteria. This results in a large number of candidates applying for a number of exams in a single year, and being constantly caught in a cycle of exams throughout the year,” an official familiar with the matter said.
“If there is one exam, then candidates can be assigned posts across departments on the basis of their rank in that one exam itself,” the official added.
From the government’s point of view, the same candidates appearing for the various examinations result in lakhs of contenders for each post, increasing the processing and recruitment time. On average, around four crore candidates across all levels apply for the screening exams conducted by the SSC, while 60 lakh apply for the IBPS exam and nearly 1.4 crore for the RRB test.
However, it is not yet clear if the merger will be considered at the preliminary exam level or the mains as well. “This is only at the discussion stage right now. The modalities will be decided if and when it is accepted…Right now, the discussion is simply about coordinating recruitment across agencies,” the official quoted above added.
ThePrint reported in 2019 that the government had been exploring the possibility of a one-stop examination since 2017, and it was being discussed whether the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) could be the body to conduct it.
Merger of civil services, review of UPSC exam
In addition, the DoPT is also considering merging a few civil services for greater efficiency within the system.
“There are several small services like the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS), Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS), Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), Indian Defence Estate Service (IDES), etc.,” the official said. “There is discussion over whether some of these services can be merged for better efficiency.”
From its end, the DoPT has also recommended the need for a review of the Civil Service Exam (CSE), as well as cadre and service allocation rules. Sources said that ideas such as removing the optional exam from the CSE conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) are on the table. Removing the optional exam from the CSE was also recommended by the Baswan Committee in 2017 based on feedback from candidates, who overwhelmingly supported its removal due to its “subjectivity”.
“Competency-based” promotions may also be on the cards, sources said. Right now, promotions take place typically based on the number of years spent in service. The DoPT has now suggested that lateral deputations across departments as well as promotions be done based on the experience of officers and employees, as well as the training they undergo on the government’s Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) programme — an online training module for central- and state-level government employees.
The DoPT’s other recommendations include a review of the conduct rules for government employees, especially in a way that they cover social media realities, redesigning the foundation course, creating ‘Gyan Kosh’ — a repository of government case studies and competency exchange between the private and government sector.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)