The Central Cabinet meeting on August 19 decided to set up a new National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to make appointments to non-gazetted posts in all central government institutions, including railways and banks. Rs.1517 crore has been allotted as initial capital for the establishment and operation of this agency. The need for such an agency was first mentioned by the Union government in the budget announcement made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st February.
The government has not discussed any study reports that point out the limitations or shortcomings of the current employment system in Parliament. Therefore, it can be assumed that the necessary procedures or discussions have not taken place prior to this decision, which is going to bring about major changes in central recruitment methods. In particular, it should also be kept in mind that this bypassing is happening at a time when the Parliament is not functioning in view of the Covid epidemic.
The primary purpose of the NRA is to eliminate the entrance examinations conducted by government agencies such as the Staff Selection Commission (Central Government Institutions), the Institute of Banking-Personnel Selection (Banking), and the Railway Board for appointments to Railway Group B and C posts and to conduct a unified qualification test. The decision is to conduct entrance examinations in three different qualifying categories (Class X, Class XII, and graduation). Candidates who pass this examination can appear for the second phase examination of IBPS and Railway Board. The marks obtained in the examination will be valid for three years. The Central Government argues that candidates do not have to write different entrance qualifying examinations as this will facilitate the recruitment process and save the candidates time and money.
While it may seem like a positive governance reform on the surface, there are many hidden dangers in the NRA.
First, Jitendra Singh, the minister in charge of the Union Ministry of Personnel, who oversees the NRA, has said that the qualifying examination conducted by the NRA can be extended not only to central institutions but also to appointments to Group B and C posts in the states and union territories.
If such a decision is made in the near future, it would seriously affect the legislative powers of the states. In order to apply for the reported B and C group posts in each state, the candidates in the respective states may have to pass a national qualifying examination. If that happens, it will most likely affect job seekers from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. It will also pave the way for a new elite concentration in the government sector.
If the public examination conducted by the NRA is applicable to the states, the importance of the state-appointed government recruitment agencies will be lost and the jurisdiction will be reduced. It will not benefit India's federal system at all.
The second problem is that the primary focus of the NRA is not on selection but on elimination. Recruitment examinations are conducted by various government agencies for about one and a half lakh posts every year. The government estimates that about 30 million candidates take the test each year. Recruitment is currently being done from the rank lists prepared according to the vacant posts. In the new situation, when the NRA entrance test becomes the first criterion, there is a huge gap between the qualified candidates and the vacant posts. This will create a situation conducive to the central government's approach to reduce public sector employment. The manner in which vacancies are reported in a timely manner will be phased out. According to government sources, 95 percent of the candidates appearing for the NRA exams will be disqualified. They did not hesitate to reveal it.
Now, when it comes to the core issue, it is as clear as day that the failure of the recruitment agency is not the cause of the extreme unemployment the country is facing today. Unemployment is on the rise as a result of the policy approach of the ruling government in the country. The last six years of Modi's rule have brought the country the worst unemployment rate in independent India.
According to a report released by the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy in the second week of August, India's unemployment rate is currently at 8.67 percent. 9.61 percent in rural areas and 8.67 percent in urban areas. Months before the nationwide lockdown following the Covid epidemic, India's unemployment rate had crossed 7.5 percent.
With the announcement of the lockdown, it jumped to 23 percent. The unorganized sector and the organized sector are equally shattered. The Modi government, which has slashed its budget allocation to undermine the employment guarantee scheme, has snatched away the only relief available in rural India during the epidemic. The collapse of the agricultural sector and the uncertainty following the Covid plague have pushed up the rural unemployment rate by as much as 10 percent.
Salaried workers in the organized sector are also in distress. CMIE reports that 17 million salaried workers lost their jobs in the second quarter of 2020 alone. The number of such workers in the country declined by 1.8 percent in the 2019-20 financial year. Last year saw the highest job loss in 18 years. The worst crisis was in the textile sector.
The sector lost 29 percent of its jobs. The recent decision of the Central Government to abolish the Handloom-Khadi Board is pushing the textile sector into an insurmountable crisis. The leather sector lost 22.5 percent and the automobile sector 21 percent.
The public sector has been the mainstay of the Indian economy during the global financial crisis. Our country survived the global crisis of 2007-08 without major injuries only with the support of the public sector. But the Modi government is completely selling out the public sector. The sale of shares and the ban on recruitment are hitting the backbone of the public sector in India. Superficial parish for millions of Indian youth wandering without a job to live on.
Millions of Indian youth wandering without a job to make living need jobs, not superficial reforms.
