The decade saw the biggest recruiters of country undergo drastic changes to expedite selection process.
The decade saw the biggest recruiters of the country, including the UPSC, SSC and Indian Railways, undergo drastic changes to expedite the selection process to fill the gap in the workforce that the government depends upon. Many changes like complete online application system and computer based tests were included, gradually, through the years to speed up the hiring process and make it error free. Currently there are 10,241,816 active job seekers in the country, against 388519 active jobs and 51755 active employers, as per the data available on National Career Service (NCS) portal. In order to carry out a fair and transparent recruitment where such huge number of candidates participate, changes have been implemented to make the hiring process robust and rigorous.
The Firsts The Decade Saw In Government Jobs
Complete Online Application System
To expedite the application process, every government organization, barring few, has adopted online application submission process, wherein candidates have to fill and submit the application process on the official website. In the process candidates can also deposit the application fee online through an online gateway which is offered registered with a bank. This reduces the postal logistics and also minimizes delays.
Prior to this, candidates had to get the application form from the respective offices or by post or in Employment News or in newspapers. The total duration of getting the form, filling it, depositing it at post offices till it reaches the recruiting office took more than 10 days. There were cases of postal delays as well.
With the online application system, candidates can easily fill the forms online, upload the documents and submit it. The recruiting offices communicate with the candidates through email IDs and phone numbers which is cost effective and time saving as well.
After adopting this method the recruiting bodies are left with more time for handling the grievances. Moreover for many exams new options like 'editing the application form' and 'withdrawal of applications' have also been started.
Introduction Of Computer Based Exam
Though it had already begun for few exams before 2010, computer based exams were adopted for every exam in this decade. To this date, the prevalence of pen-paper exam is the same as it was for computer based exams in the last decade. These exams are also referred to as CBT which means computer based test.
With computer based exam system, the government is in a way reducing the usage of papers.
During the exams, except for the frisking part, human involvement has also reduced a lot thus making the exams error free and fair.
Admit cards for the exam is also distributed to candidates, online instead of sending it by post. Many candidates, in the past, have lost their chance to take an exam because of delay in receiving the admit cards. With the online system, cases as such have almost reduced to zero. Moreover after receiving the admit cards ahead of the exams candidates are also able to make arrangements to reach the exam centre.
Making Answer Keys Available To Candidates
Only few years back, recruiting organisations started the trend where candidates were allowed to see the answer key before the results. The best part of this initiative, which was started to ensure transparency in the exam, was to allow candidates to raise objections to the official answer key by paying a certain amount of fees.
This has given candidates a chance to be involved in the scrutiny process. Candidates are allowed to raise objections and defend it by sending authentic study material to the recruiting body.
The recruiting body sets an expert committee to check the objections raised by candidates and decide the outcome.
Many organisations also release the final answer key, after verifying the objections raised by candidates, for reference.
The final result is announced only after the final answer key has been decided.
Top Recruiters Of The Decade
Institute Of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)
IBPS is undoubtedly the biggest milestone of this decade in recruitment sector. The banking personnel selection body caters to the recruitment, promotion, admission test, certification project among other responsibilities on behalf of the nationalized banks. IBPS, which is currently conducting the selection of the ninth edition of PO and clerk recruitment, sees more than 1 crore registrations every year. IBPS was given the onus to conduct recruitment for regional rural banks or the grameen banks in 2013.
Except RBI, SBI and NABARD, IBPS conducts recruitment exams for all other banks.
Indian Railways (RRBs, RRCs)
The national transporter, Indian Railways, announced lakhs of jobs this decade for graduates, 10+2 pass and matric pass candidates. The job activity of the railways is handled by the railway recruitment boards or the RRBs. Formed in 1942 as the railway service commissions, the RRBs, currently 21 in number, added two new boards at Bilaspur and Siliguri in 2008 and 2009 respectively. RRBs are mandated with the task of making recruitment to all Group ‘C' (Technical and Non-technical) posts
The railway recruitment cells (RRC) were also given the responsibility of conducting exams for group D recruitment.
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
The UPSC or the Union Public Service Commission conducts exams for appointment to the central services. This decade the Commission witnessed huge upheaval among civil service aspirants related to the age limit of the exam and the introduction, and later withdrawal, of the CSAT. The Commission had included the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), which made knowledge in English language compulsory, in 2011 and discontinued it in 2014. Candidates had demanded for compensatory attempts.
In June, 2019, NITI Aayog's “Strategy for New India” proposed to reduce the upper age limit to 27 years. This had created a discontent among the aspirants as the proposed age limit was 5 years less than the current upper age limit of 32 years.
Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts recruitment for all Group “B” posts and all non-technical Group “C” posts in the various Ministries/ Departments and their attached and subordinate offices. The Commission conducts exams at graduate level known as the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) and higher secondary level known as Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL) exam. More than 50 lakh candidates sit for the two major exams conducted by SSC. Among other exams the Commission conducts are for translator, constable, etc.
Though the Commission faced a major setback in 2017 due to paper leaks, other exams are said to have been smoothly conducted. The Commission outsources agencies to conduct the recruitment exams. The exam paper leak, which was said to be from the agency's end, had stirred nationwide protest.
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