Union Budget 2020: Setting up of a National Recruitment Agency is in the works by the central government for the recruitment process of all non-gazetted posts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday while presenting her second budget in the parliament.

Explaining the rationale behind of constituting NRA, Sitharaman said, “The government intends to introduce major reforms in recruitment to Non-Gazetted posts in government jobs and public sector banks. At present, candidates have to appear for multiple examinations conducted by multiple agencies at different points of time, for similar posts. This places enormous burden on time, effort and cost of young people.” The government will set up the NRA as an independent, professional, special organisation for the conduct of a computer-based online common eligibility test for recruitment to non-gazetted posts, Sitharaman said.

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To facilitate the conduct of common eligibility test the government also will set-up a test centre in every district of the country in order to minimise the inconvenience of youth residing in far-flung areas of the country. The budget has allocated Rs 99,300 crore for the education sector in the country for FY 2020-21 with a special emphasis on skill development. Out of the total allocation, a corpus of Rs 3,000 crore has been provided for the promotion of skill development in the country. Giving infrastructural thrust to skill development, over 150 higher educational institutions across the country will be asked to roll on degree/diploma courses with an apprenticeship programme.

Rolling the red-carpet for students from the Asian and African continents, the government will also conduct an entrance test termed Ind-SAT through which the foreign students will get enrolled in Indian higher educational institutions. Highlighting the significance of generating ample job opportunities for the youth of the country, Sitharaman said, “By 2030, India is set to have the largest working-age population in the world. Not only do they need literacy but they need both job and life skills.”