Changes in recruitment system ended graft, nepotism: PM Modi

New Delhi: After giving away job letters to about 71,000 new appointees at the National Rozgar Mela, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that changes brought by his government in the recruitment system have ended the possibility of corruption and nepotism. Virtually addressing the new recruits in various government departments and organisations, Mr Modi said that from applying for government jobs to the announcement of results, the entire process has been made online.

In his address, the Prime Minister emphasised that in the last 9 years, the government has prioritised the recruitment process by making it faster, transparent and unbiased. Recalling the difficulties faced in the recruitment process, the Prime Minister pointed out that the staff selection board took roughly 15–18 months to onboard the new recruits, whereas today it takes only six–eight months.

Mr Modi underlined that the tedious process of recruitment, which existed earlier, starting from acquiring the application form to submitting it via post, has now been simplified by making it online, where a provision for self-attestation of documents has also been introduced.

"Interviews for Group C and Group D have also been abolished. The biggest benefit of this is the elimination of nepotism from the entire process," Mr Modi said.

Highlighting the importance of May 16 (the Lok Sabha election results were announced today nine years ago), the Prime Minister said that the journey, which started with the spirit of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas", is working for a "Viksit Bharat".

He said that during these nine years, government policies were made keeping in mind employment possibilities, initiatives in the fields of modern infrastructure, rural push or expansion of the basic needs of life. Every policy of the government of India creates new opportunities for the youth.

The Prime Minister informed the audience that in the last nine years, the government has spent about '34 lakh crores on capital expenditure and on basic facilities. "In this year’s Budget too, '10 lakh crores were allocated for capital expenditure. This amount is resulting in modern infrastructure like new highways, new airports, new rail routes, bridges, etc. This is creating many new jobs in the country," he said.

The Prime Minister said that today, India's speed and scale are unprecedented in the history of Independent India.

Listing the massive infrastructure development in the country, Mr Modi said, "All are creating employment at a large scale. Be it a foreign investment or India’s export might, it is creating numerous opportunities for employment and self-employment in the country."

"In the last nine years, the nature of jobs has seen tremendous changes where new sectors have emerged for the youth of the country," the Prime Minister reiterated, adding that the central government is providing continuous support to these new sectors. He also highlighted the startup revolution that the nation has witnessed.

He said that the number of startups in the country increased from 100 before 2014 to more than 1 lakh today, which has given employment to more than 10 lakh youths.

Highlighting the technological developments that have made the lives of people easier than before, the Prime Minister gave examples of app-based taxi services that have become a lifeline for the cities, efficient online delivery systems that have increased employment, a boost to the drone sector, which has helped in the spraying of pesticides and the delivery of medicines, and an expanding city gas distribution system whose coverage has gone up from 60 to 600 cities.

The Prime Minister further informed that the government has disbursed loans worth more than '23 lakh crores under the Mudra Yojna, which have helped the citizens establish new businesses, buy taxis or expand their existing establishments.

The Prime Minister also informed the audience that approximately 8–9 crore citizens have become first-time entrepreneurs after availing of loans under the Mudra Yojana. "The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign is based on the creation of employment through manufacturing in the country," he said, mentioning that the Central government is providing assistance of about '2 lakh crores for manufacturing under the production linked incentive scheme.

Giving the example of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the Prime Minister told the audience that 4.5 crore new formal jobs have been created after 2018-19 as per EPFO net payroll, indicating a steady growth in formal jobs.

Referring to his recent meetings with CEOs of leading global companies, including Walmart, Apple, Foxconn and Cisco, Mr Modi said that all of them are full of enthusiasm to invest in India.

Talking about the Rozgar Melas, he said these melas at the Centre and in the BJP-ruled states show the government’s commitment towards the youth.