National Recruitment Agency (NRA), Common Eligibility Test (CET)

The National Recruitment Agency (NRA) has become the responsible authority for conducting all the prelim exams for the vacancies released by the central government. The union cabinet chaired by the PM has given the nod to the one prelim examination for all the recruitment examinations for the central government job. In February 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the set up of an agency that will conduct CET (Common Entrance Test).

NRT will be an independent body that will examine the Railway and other central government departments. The earlier exam conducting body responsible for arranging the recruitment exam for different departments like the Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board, and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection will work under NRA now.

So technically, now the applicants will have to take one common entrance exam. The announcement of NRA will reform the recruitment procedure in the country for central government vacancies. If you are curious to know more about NRA and CET and the changes they will bring to the government recruitment procedure, then scroll down the page to know more.

What Is the National Recruitment Agency (NRA)?

Connect with us on WhatsApp

NRA is the abbreviation of the National Recruitment Agency. As the name shows, this agency will take care of recruitment on a national level. NRA will conduct one common entrance test for job seekers. This test will be an entrance test for all the vacancies released by the central government. The recruitment Agency will shortlist the candidates for Group B and Group C recruitment.

The establishment of this agency is under the Societies Registration Act 1860. The central government has high expectations of this agency. The main aim of setting up a new recruitment agency is to make offering government jobs easy and transparent.

The NRA will work as a single body, as many other recruitment agencies will be merged into this. PM Modi tweeted about this announcement from NRA. Further, in the article, you will learn about the NRA in points.

National Recruitment Agency: Important Points

Here, we have given some points about the NRA so that you can know about this newly constructed agency quickly.

1. With the establishment of the National Recruitment Agency (NRA), the process of recruitment in central government agencies will change. Now all the agencies will release a single common test.
2. The aspirants that will clear this common test will take the first-level recruitment exam of Railways, Staff Selection Board and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. In other words, the Common Entrance Test will be like a gateway for the various vacancies available with the central government.
3. The difficulty level of CET will be different as per the education level of the aspirants.  NRA will conduct CET at three levels: Graduation Level, Higher Secondary and High School or Secondary level.
4. With CET, the NRA eliminates the multiple prelim tests conducted by different agencies for central government vacancies.
5. The further process after the exam will remain the same. NRA will be responsible for releasing the cut-off marks and results, but the further exams will be different as per the requirements of the vacancies.
6. To help the young people from villages and small districts, the NRA will set up an exam centre in every district. This step of the National Recruitment Agency will hold those applicants who could not take the exam as sometimes it’s too far from their district.  
7. NRA will also introduce the mock test feature for aspirants so that they can perform better in the exam.

What is the NRA Common Eligibility Test?

Many times in the article, we have mentioned the CET or Common Eligibility Test. Let’s know about it from the details given here;

1. National Recruitment Agency will conduct CET to evaluate the application of the very first level. The CET will replace various prelim examinations in three sectors. Initially, the CET will be conducted for three recruitment agencies only. Later on, the number of agencies will be increased.
2. To appear on the recruitment exam of any agency governed by the central government, the applicant must first clear the CET. Jobseekers can choose the level of CET as per their qualification.
3. CET  will be conducted in exam centres all over India. NRA will set up exam centres in every district in the country. Applicants can choose the exam centre of their choice while applying for the vacancies.
4. CET will be Computer Based Online Test. The syllabus of the test will depend on its level.
5. The exam pattern for all three exam levels will remain the same.
6. The marks scored in CET will have a validity period. Applicants can use the CET score for three years. After that, the score will become invalid to apply for central government posts.
7. During these three years, the applicants can attempt further recruitment exams. No restriction has been imposed on attempting the recruitment examination until the candidates complete all the eligibility requirements for the vacancies.
8. Other rules related to recruitment will remain the same. Candidates from reserved categories will get the benefits of reservation. Applicants from reserved categories will be eligible to get the relaxation in the upper age limit.
9. CET is an exam for the central government vacancies so it will be in multi-languages. It will be easy for the people of every state as they can read it easily and everyone gets an equal opportunity to get a government job.

Benefits of the National Recruitment Agency

NRA will not only reform the recruitment process for the jobs under the central government, but it will also make it easy for the applicants to get access to the information related to these jobs. Here are the main benefits of the NRA to government job seekers;

• National Recruitment Agency will set the exam centres in all the districts. This will make more people aware of the vacancies with the central government. The availability of the exam centre in the district will also encourage people to apply and prepare for government jobs. It will also encourage female applicants to apply and participate in the entrance exam for central government vacancies.
• National Recruitment Agency will also arrange mock tests to prepare the applicants for the exam. This will create competition among job seekers, and the government will get more qualified and intelligent humans to work with.
•  Now, the applicants must appear in a single exam rather than a different prelims examination. It will save them money and time.