An expert advisory committee has been set up by the National Recruitment Agency to recommend a common syllabus and scheme for the Common Eligibility Test (CET) to shortlist candidates for select categories of government jobs, Rajya Sabha was informed on March 24. 

In the 2020-21 Budget, an announcement was made that the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) would be set up as an independent, professional and specialist organisation for the conduct of a computer-based online CET for recruitment to non-gazetted posts, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said.

It has been envisaged that the CET would screen or shortlist candidates for certain categories of posts in the Central Government for which recruitment is carried out through the Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, he said.

Based on the screening done at the CET score level, the final selection for recruitment will be made through separate specialised tests or examinations, to be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies, the Minister said.

"An expert advisory committee has since been set up by the NRA to recommend, inter-alia, the common syllabus and scheme for the CET," Singh said. The officers or officials posted in the NRA include chairman, secretary-cum-controller of examinations, director and deputy secretary, he added.