National Recruitment Agency
Also called: NRA · Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The National Recruitment Agency (NRA) is a body approved in August 2020 to hold a Common Eligibility Test (CET). The CET would be a single screening test that candidates take once for many central government jobs, instead of separate tests for each recruiting body. The aim is to save candidates time, money and travel. As of the note, the agency is not yet running (verify current).
Example
A candidate applying for several lower-level central government posts would take one CET. They would then use that score with different recruiting bodies, such as the Staff Selection Commission, instead of sitting several separate first-stage exams.
Don't confuse with
- Staff Selection Commission: the SSC actually recruits staff for Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C posts. The NRA was meant to run only the common first-stage screening test.
- Union Public Service Commission: the UPSC recruits for the higher civil services. It is not part of the NRA's common test.
Related concepts
- Central Civil Services
- State Civil Services
- Recruitment and conditions of service of public servants
- Department of Personnel and Training
- Kothari Committee (1976)
- Baswan Committee (2016)
- Staff Selection Commission