The examination for recruitment to the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will be conducted in 13 regional languages, including Kannada, in addition to English and Hindi from this year, the government announced on Thursday.
“The 13 regional languages are Kannada, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha in a statement.
The candidates will, in addition to English and Hindi, have an option to choose the regional language of the state which they have opted for, from among the 13 regional languages as the medium of examination.
“This change shall be implemented from the Mains examination of CRP RRB-VIII 8 in 2019 onwards,” she announced.
The decision was taken following demands from various quarters. The Karnataka government had also requested holding the examination in the regional language recently.
Before 2014, RRB recruitment examinations were held in all 13 regional languages. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) modified the recruitment rules in 2014 and began conducting the examination in Hindi and English only.
“In the present system, candidates educated in local languages are at a disadvantage due to the medium of examination. The functioning of the RRBs is state-specific and rural-focused. Therefore, the knowledge of the local language of that particular state or region would help a candidate in performing his duties effectively,” Nirmala stated in the Lok Sabha.
She also told the House that various references and representations came from various quarters which suggested conducting the recruitment examination for RRBs in regional languages.