Discuss the institutional mechanisms India has adopted for direct government recruitment in the last decade, with reference to the Rozgar Mela initiative.

Direct recruitment to government posts — selection of outsiders through open competition — has been reorganised over the last decade around a single-window testing agency, mission-mode vacancy drives such as the Rozgar Mela, and post-appointment capacity building, shifting the focus from mere examination-conduct to time-bound onboarding.

Rationalising the examination architecture

• The National Recruitment Agency (NRA), approved by the Cabinet in 2020, conducts a Common Eligibility Test (CET) as a first-level screen for the SSC, Railway Recruitment Boards and IBPS, replacing repeated preliminary exams [2].
• CET is computer-based, held twice yearly in 12 Indian languages, cutting multiple fees and long-distance travel — a direct gain for rural aspirants and women [2].
• The UPSC (Articles 315–323) remains the constitutional recruiter for All India and Central Services, with SSC/RRBs handling Group B and C posts.

Rozgar Mela as a mission-mode delivery mechanism

• Launched in 2022 to fill 10 lakh posts in a time-bound manner, it converts scattered departmental appointments into periodic, multi-location tranches [1].
• The 18th tranche (January 2026) distributed over 61,000 appointment letters across 45 locations, with cumulative issuance crossing 11 lakh letters [1].
• It imposes political accountability on departments to clear vacancy backlogs, and links new recruits to induction training modules.

Post-recruitment integration

• Mission Karmayogi (NPCSCB, 2020) supplies role-based online training through the iGOT platform, covering about 46 lakh central employees with an outlay of ₹510.86 crore [3].

Critical view

• CET rollout has been slow, and Rozgar Mela distributes letters for recruitment already completed rather than creating posts.
• Government jobs absorb a small fraction of entrants; the bulk of formal employment must come from demand-side measures like the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme (₹99,446 crore) [4].

Together these mechanisms mark a shift from fragmented, delay-prone hiring towards standardised, transparent and time-bound recruitment. Accelerating full CET implementation and publishing vacancy calendars would make the system predictable, advancing both administrative efficiency and the equality of opportunity promised by Article 16.