Make recruitment process for government jobs faster, more transparent: Gujarat commission

Gandhinagar, Dec 3 (PTI) The Gujarat Administrative Reforms Commission (GARC) has made a set of nine recommendations to make the recruitment process for government jobs faster, more transparent, technology-driven, and focused on youth.

The panel, headed by retired IAS officer Hasmukh Adhia, has made the recommendations in its sixth report submitted to the state government on Wednesday.

GARC chairman Adhia, who is also Principal Advisor to the Gujarat government, handed over the report to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar, an official release said.

The commission has, till now, submitted five reports to the state government on different administrative aspects and this was the sixth one.

The latest report outlines nine recommendations to make the recruitment process for government jobs faster, more transparent, technology-driven, and focused on youth, according to the release.

These recommendations strengthen the government's commitment to provide effective employment opportunities for Gujarat's youth, who play a key role in the country's development, it stated.

Implementing these recommendations will complete the recruitment process within a year, ensure timely and transparent jobs, quickly fill long-pending vacancies, and realise the state government's vision, improving administrative efficiency and public service delivery, the release noted.

The GARC's suggestions include drawing a 10-year recruitment calendar, completion of the job process within a fixed time frame, conducting joint recruitment and the Common Central Test (CET) and greater adoption of computer-based examinations, among others.

The report said the government should estimate a 10-year recruitment calendar for each department based on future needs, identify priority emergency services and critical cadres, and recruit them promptly.

The commission proposed that a fixed timeline for recruitment should be implemented. It called for completing three-stage recruitment within 9 to 12 months and two-stage job process within 6 to 9 months, aiming to shorten these timelines even further in the future.

The panel suggested conducting joint recruitment and CET for Classes 3 and 4 jobs in government departments.

"Conduct joint prelims and subject-wise mains for cadres with similar educational qualifications to speed up recruitment, ensure uniformity, and reduce the administrative and financial costs of separate exams," said the GARC.

The report recommended having two fixed requisition windows every year for recruitment.

The panel called for setting up a central cell to manage recruitment, examination, and training rules, with a system for all departments to submit requisitions online during two fixed windows each year.

"Conduct maximum examinations digitally (on computers) across Gujarat and set up a dedicated Exam Monitoring Unit (EMU) in each recruitment agency to ensure transparent and effective examination management," the report said.

The commission called for creating a unified digital portal to enable seamless information sharing between departments, agencies, and candidates, reducing repetitive document submissions to various recruiting agencies. PTI PD RSY