The online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for recruitment to non-gazetted posts will ease the difficulties faced by aspirants for government jobs, particularly those from poor and unprivileged sections, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday.
Releasing a digital book titled ‘Aarambh’ and highlighting the achievements of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), he said even during the coronavirus pandemic this department set new standards of functioning, which were not only widely hailed but also emulated.
For example, the DoPT’s iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training Programme) incorporated an exclusive course on coronavirus awareness and COVID-19 warriors’ training for which within a few weeks over 23 lakh officers registered themselves, the minister said.
One of the most important initiatives this year was the exercise to set up the National Recruitment Agency (NRA), which will conduct computer-based online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for recruitment to non-gazetted posts with examination centres in every district, Singh said.
This, he said, will ease the difficulties faced by aspirants for government jobs, particularly those from poor and unprivileged sections.
The minister said, true to the title of ‘Aarambh’, the year 2019-20 was marked with a number of new beginnings, the most important of which was the first ever experiment of interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 425 trainee officers from 21 civil services at the Statue of Unity portraying Sardar Patel at Kevadia, Gujarat.
These officers were part of the common foundation course of 21 service and were selected through the Civil Services Examination, said the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
The agencies working under the aegis of the DoPT like, for instance, Kendriya Bhandar promptly came out to provide essential supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, sanitiser and other items in the early days of the pandemic when there were some reports of initial shortage of these items in certain parts of the country, he said, highlighting the DoPT’s achievements. Among those who attended the launch of the e-book were DoPT Secretary C Chandramouli and Additional Secretary Rashmi Choudhary, while the other officers connected through video conference.