The police recruitment process has undergone a number of changes over the years, most notably in Mumbai.TO EASE the logistical nightmare during constable recruitment, the Maharashtra Police has altered its process and will conduct an online written exam before physical tests when it fills up 5,000 vacancies this summer.
This move is aimed at reducing the inconvenience faced by candidates, lakhs of whom vie for these posts each year. Thousands flock to each centre, camping outdoors for days till the recruitment is over.
This alteration will also likely help the police department that has to make arrangements for shelter in every city and district of the state. Up until last year, candidates underwent a variety of physical tests with the qualifiers advancing to the written test. Both components, however, carry equal weightage in deciding the final score.
Former Director General of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar took the decision to tweak the process last year and the Home Department cleared the proposal in January. “This is just a small change, but we are hopeful it will be easier to organise the exams now,” said a senior police officer.
According to a Home Department order issued in January, all state government recruitment exams will now be conducted online by an entity named ‘Mahapariksha’ created under the department of IT. The new format will have candidates appearing for online written tests in batches at centres across the state. “We will make multiple sets of question papers as it won’t be possible to hold simultaneous exams due to the volume of candidates,” said the officer.
The 100-mark written exam will test candidates in arithmetic, general knowledge and current affairs, Marathi grammar and also include an intellectual test. Open category candidates with a minimum of 35 per cent marks and Backward Class candidates with a minimum of 33 per cent will advance to the physical tests. At this stage, the merit list will comprise candidates in the ratio of 1:5 vacancies listed.
The physical component has also been curtailed to three events: distance running (1,600 m for men and 800 m for women), a 100-metre sprint and shot put. The department has done away with long jump. “By holding the written exams first, we are hopeful that the candidates appearing for the physical tests will be comparatively fewer. This will make the exams less of a logistical challenge,” added the official.
Senior police officers said the changes were necessitated by the changing profile of the candidates – an increasing majority of whom were graduates.
In a recent release, explaining the reason behind the change, the police said, “There is an immense change in the nature of work of police in the Maharashtra police department and new entrants with high intellect, mental acumen and calibre need to be inducted into the force.”
Sanjay Saxena, Additional Director General of Police (Training and Special Squads), who will monitor the recruitment, however, said the new format will not favour candidates stronger in the written component. “The new process will reduce the hardships on candidates without compromising on the capabilities we look for in them. It will help police units to conduct the process in a better manner. The written as well as the physical components will carry equal weightage,” he added.
The police recruitment process has undergone a number of changes over the years, most notably in Mumbai. Due to the size of its force, it also has the largest number of annual vacancies, but conversely has a skewed ratio of candidates per vacancy.
