The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has made changes to speed up the recruitment process. One key step is cutting down the time for exam notices from about 45 days to 21 days, the Rajya Sabha was told on Thursday. According to the PTI, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh, stated in a written reply that due to these reforms, the recruitment cycle for SSC exams has been reduced from 15–18 months to just 6–10 months.
Exam notices shortened to 21 day
Jitendra Singh explained that the SSC has now fully moved from traditional pen-and-paper exams to computer-based tests, making the process faster and more transparent. The number of exam stages has also been reduced, and the time given in exam notices has been shortened from about 45 days to 21 days.
He further added that several other reforms have been introduced. These include removing descriptive-type papers in almost all exams (except the Hindi translators exam), transferring the responsibility of document verification of selected candidates to the respective ministries and departments, ending interviews, and introducing e-dossiers in place of physical files. These steps have been taken to speed up pre-appointment verification and make the recruitment process smoother and more efficient.
Further, Jitendra Singh said that to promote regional languages in competitive exams, the SSC has been conducting three nationwide examinations since 2022 – the Multi-Tasking Staff (Non-Technical) and Havaldar (CBIC and CBN) exam, the Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level exam, and the Constable (GD) exam – in 13 regional languages, along with Hindi and English.
He further mentioned that in other competitive exams, such as the UPSC Civil Services (Mains), candidates are allowed to write their answers in any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, apart from Hindi or English, except for papers on language and literature.
The minister further added that other recruitment bodies, including the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) and the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), also hold their examinations in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.
“As regards other competitive examinations, the civil services (mains) examination conducted by the UPSC allows candidates to write answers in any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, besides Hindi or English (except in the case of language and literature papers)," said Jitendra Singh.
