Sitharaman proposes setting up National Recruitment Agency, says ease of living supported by corruption-free governance

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed setting up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) as an independent, professional, specialist organisation for the conduct of a computer-based online Common Eligibility Test for recruitment to non-gazetted posts.

She said Ease of Living is supported by a corruption-free, policy-driven good governance and a clean and sound financial sector.

She said the Government intends to introduce major reforms in recruitment to non-Gazetted posts in governments 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 an enormous burden on time, effort and cost of young people. To mitigate their hardship faced, it is proposed to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) as an independent, professional, specialist organisation for the conduct of a computer-based online Common Eligibility Test for recruitment to non-gazetted posts," she said.

The minister said a test-centre in every district, particularly in the aspirational districts would be set up

She proposed to evolve a robust mechanism for appointment including direct recruitment to various tribunals and specialized bodies constituted for speedy disposal of commercial and other disputes.

Talking about laying down a roadmap towards modernized data collection, integrated information portal and timely dissemination of information, the Finance Minister said that there is a growing need for the Indian Statistical System to meet challenges of real-time monitoring of our increasingly complex economy. She stressed that Data must have strong credibility and highlighted that the proposed new National Policy on Official Statistics would use the latest technology including Artificial Intelligence.

She said an important aspect of both the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business is the fairness and efficiency of tax administration.

The minister reassured the taxpayers that the government was committed to taking measures to protect the citizens form harassment of any kind.

She said northeast region being very high on government's development agenda, smooth access to financial assistance from multilateral and bilateral funding agencies to help introduce innovative and global best practices is being ensured.

The Central government has effectively used an online portal to improve the flow of funds to the region, she said.

The minister said that the government is fully committed to supporting all-round development of the newly formed UTs of J & K and Ladakh. Accordingly, an amount of Rs 30,757 crore has been provided for 2020-21. An amount of Rs 5,958 crore has been provided for the UT of Ladakh.

Underscoring India's G-20 presidency in 2022, the Finance Minister noted that India would be able to drive the global economic and development agenda considerably through this opportunity.

"For this historic occasion, the government proposes to allocate a sum of Rs 100 crore to begin the preparations", she said.