Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Posts: DoPT

F.No.39020/09/2015-Estt.B
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)
Estt. B Section

Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Posts

The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the Independence Day has stressed the need to discontinue holding interviews for recruitment for such junior level posts where personality assessment is not an absolutely necessary requirement.

He has called upon the Government Organizations’ to end this practice at the earliest as it will help in curbing corruption, more objective selection in transparent manner substantially easing the problems of poor people.
He has emphasized that the recruitment should be made on merit basis through transparent, online processes leading to less Government and more Governance.

The Department of Personnel and Training on the basis of recommendations made by the Committee of Secretaries has already taken a decision to discontinue interviews at the junior level posts at Group ‘B’ (Non-Gazetted), Group ‘C’ ,Group ‘D’ (which are now reclassified as Group ‘C’) and all equivalent posts.
All the advertisement for future vacancies will be without the Interview as part of the recruitment process.

From 1 st January 2016 there will be no recruitment with interview at the junior level posts, in Government of India Ministries/ Departments/attached Office/Subordinate Office/Autonomous Bodies/Public Sector Undertakings.

The interviews will be done away even in cases where the selections were made purely on basis of performance in the interview. The inistries/Departments/Organizations’ will consider revising the scheme for selection or such cases.

As the Skill Test or Physical Test is different from Interview they may continue. However these tests will only be of qualifying nature. Assessment will not be done on the basis of marks for such tests.

The decision to discontinue interview for the junior level posts across the country will be major step towards achieving the objectives of citizen centric transparent governance.

The matter has also been taken up with the State Governments/UTs to undertake similar exercise, from time to time. In this regard letters from Secretary (Personnel) to the State Chief Secretaries have been issued on 4th September 2015 and letters from MoS(PP) to the State Chief Ministers have been issued on 29 th September 2015 and 1 st January, 2016.

To facilitate the implementation of the directions of the Hon’ble Prime Minister further by the various Organizations/Ministries/Departments/Governments a one day workshop was also organized by the DOPT on 16th November 2015.

Some of the State Government have shared the status in this regard with the DOPT.

The Summary of the State Responses on the Discontinuation of Interview is as follows:

Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli	No interviews in Group B (non gazetted), C and D posts. They have issued a recruitment pattern.
Gujarat	Government of Gujarat has informed that the State Government had implemented the policy of cancellation of interview in the direct recruitment, on the lower level posts.
Haryana	No interviews at Group ‘D’ level
Himachal Pradesh	There is a proposal to discontinue interview for Group C and Group B Posts
Jharkhand	No interview in ‘D’, ‘C’, and ‘B’ (non-gazetted)
Karnataka	Government of Karnataka has informed that the State Government has discontinued the procedure of conducting interview for selection to Technical and Non-Technical Posts in Group-C category, in the Government
Kerala	At present no interview are there for group ‘C’ and ‘D’ posts and even for some of the gazetted posts.
Maharashtra	Interviews for the recruitment of the clerks have been discontinued. For Class 2 non-Gazetted, Class 3 and 4 posts, interviews have been done away. The State Government has taken a decision and issued directions to the effect that the direction of discontinuation of Interview will also be applicable to all State Government undertakings and local bodies. About 61% of the recruitment is done without interview.
Manipur	It was informed that the State Government had undertaken the recruitment of Graduate Teachers under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Sikhsha Abhiyaan (RMSA) without conducting interview. This measure was successfully undertaken and was completely transparent and corruption free. It was informed that the second pilot measure in this regard is being undertaken by the Health Department.
Puducherry	Notification for discontinuation of interviews for Group C, D, and nongazetted Group B has been issued.
Punjab	Some of the Departments have already implemented the decision and that there has been no problem with completely doing away with interviews for the posts of SDO in Irrigation Department, Senior Assistant in Secretariat and for a few lower level posts in Agro Industry Department.
Rajasthan	The representative from Rajasthan informed that interviews have been discontinued in some posts and retained in some of them. For Class 3/Ministerial staff and Group D/Class 4 level recruitment, there have been no interview. Similarly for Constable, there have been only written test and physical test. The interviews have been dispensed away for all the posts under the Rajasthan Education Service Rules, 1970.
Sikkim	For Group D/Class 4 level posts there are no interviews. At Group C/III level, for 90% of posts there are no interviews.
Telangana	Teachers — no interviews
Tamil Nadu	The recruitment is done by the following four recruitment boards and the status vis-a-vis conducting the interview is as follows:- 5) Uniform Services Board- No interview 6) Medical Services Board- No interview 7) Teachers Recruitment Board- No interview 8) Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) — has assorted posts in which there is some degree of posts with interviews. In the State 85% of the total posts do not have interview as a part of recruitment process.
Uttarakhand	The state Government has abolished interviews in the group ‘C’ and ‘B’ (non gazetted). There has been no interview in Class 3/4 levels of posts.
Uttar Pradesh	No more interview for teachers.

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