Shillong, April 20: Brig Simerjeet Singh, Deputy Director General of HQ Recruiting Zone (North East States) said on Thursday that as part of recruitment of youths to the army, online common entrance examination is being conducted at 375 examination centres at 176 locations all over India from April 17 to 26.
This will ensure transparency in the recruitment process, the army official told reporters on here on Thursday.
In the North East Zone, the exam is being conducted at 26 centres across 14 cities in all the seven states. These are Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar and Tezpur in Assam, Imphal, Ukhrul and Churachandpur in Manipur, Shillong in Meghalaya, Aizawl in Mizoram, Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland and Agartala in Tripura. This being the first online examination process for JCOs / OR, keeping in mind the difficulty in transportation, several initiatives such as assistance in transportation and broadcasting of exam schedule have been initiated”, Singh said.
In recent past, the recruitment process of the Indian Army has undergone major changes with the introduction of Agnipath scheme last year. The scheme has been received well by the youth as is evident from the response during registration as well as rally sites where youths turned up in large numbers. Two batches of the Agniveers are currently under training at various regimental centres all across the nation. Feedback from all the centres has been very positive.
“Indian Army is one of the largest employers of the nation. Traditionally our intake has been from the rural areas. With the enhanced IT potential, we are now successfully reaching out to many remote areas and tapping potential there. With a view to improve the recruiting system making it more robust, transparent and simplified, the year 2023-24 saw the introduction of Online Common Entrance Exam (CEE). This move seeks to take advantage of increase in Information Technological penetration in the country and improved technological threshold of our youth”, he said.
This change marks a major shift in the recruitment procedures of the Indian Army. “Henceforth, the recruitment will be carried out in three stages. In the first stage, all candidates will undergo the online CEE. Thereafter in the second stage, the shortlisted candidates will be called for recruitment rallies at locations decided by respective army recruitment offices for physical fitness test and physical measurement test. Finally, in the third stage, the selected candidates will undergo a medical test. Subsequently, the final merit list of the successful candidates will be declared. In the new system, majority of the processes have been automated with minimal human interference thereby ensuring a higher standard of transparency and fairness in the already existing robust system. This shall also cut down on the heavy administrative requirements of physical entrance examinations”, the army official said.
“The army is also constantly in touch with the candidates who appeared for the exams. The feedbacks received from them have been positive and encouraging. Any difficulties being faced are being promptly addressed. We look forward to an excellent year of recruitment”, the official said.
