Maharashtra reserves 70 pc jobs in district cooperative banks for locals

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In a move aimed at encouraging local employment, the Maharashtra government has directed that 70 per cent of jobs in District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) be reserved for candidates domiciled in the respective districts.

The government has also decided that all future recruitments in DCCBs across the state be conducted only through the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), TCS-iON (Tata Consultancy Services), or Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd (MKCL) to ensure transparency and fairness in the process.

A government resolution (GR) issued on October 31 said "70 per cent of the posts should be reserved for domicile candidates of the respective districts", while the remaining 30 per cent will be open to candidates from outside the district.

If suitable out-of-district candidates are not available, those posts may also be filled by local candidates.

As per the GR, the directive applies even to the banks that have issued recruitment advertisements before this order.

The GR said online recruitment will ensure transparency and boost public confidence.

The decision follows complaints received against certain agencies previously empanelled by the Commissioner and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Pune, for conducting online recruitment for cooperative banks.

Consequently, the state government scrapped the existing panel of seven authorised recruitment agencies.

According to the GR, DCCBs must now conduct their recruitment exclusively through one of the three approved institutions using the online process.

Once a recruitment agency is selected, the work cannot be subcontracted to any other organisation.