Do you have an investigation streak? Are you a keen observer who cannot rest until finding out the truth of what is happening? Do you have the patience and skill to observe people, environment, and to question people to extract the truth from them? Then you could be a suitable candidate for investigation jobs.
CBI is one of the most prestigious central law enforcement agency in India with extraordinary powers. The Central Bureau of Investigation was set up several years ago and it has grown ever since. It is one of the most respected law enforcement agencies in India today. Do you know about this agency? Are you planning to peruse a career with CBI? If yes, here is everything you need to know about the agency? how to get employed in CBI? and how to peruse a career in CBI?. Read every information and facts mentioned below carefully.
What is the Central Bureau of Investigation?
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a premier investigation agency unlike any other investigation agency in India. Over the years, CBI has grown to be well-known for its power and efficiency. This investigation agency operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the beginning, the role of this agency was to investigate corruption and bribery within the government. However, in 1965, the role and functionalities were diversified. Today, CBI has the power to investigate international cases, multi-state cases, central and state government corruption, and other issues.
The state or central government could assign new tasks to CBI and CBI could get involved with a state government, if requested by the state government or central government. Above all, it could even get involved even without the permission of the state government, if the High court directs them. However, most commonly, the state or central government does not deny them permission. While most of the law enforcement or investigation agency in India is not exempted from the RTI (Right to Information Act), CBI is exempt from RTI. In India, CBI is the only single point of Liaison for Interpol.
Now you have a slight idea of the powers and privileges of CBI, however, like all the investigation agency, CBI also has specialized wings that investigate different fields.
- Anti-Corruption Division
- Economic offenses Division
- Administration Division
- Policy and Coordination Division
- Special Crimes Division
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory
- Directorate of Prosecution
These are the specialized division of CBI that engages in different investigation work in their fields. However, the Director of the CBI is the one who overlooks all these divisions. The director of the CBI is like the Inspector General of the police. The director is a person with IPS rank and furnishing the post of Director General of Police. The director is selected by a high-profile committee constituted under The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946.
Before going deep into how to peruse a career in CBI, here are some of the facts about CBI you need to know.
- CBI was established in the year 1941 as a special police establishment even before independence.
- CBI budget is almost closer to 700 crores which are remitted by the Central Government of India.
- The CBI, which was known as the special police establishment was set up to investigate bribery and corruption during World War 2.
- It was after the end of World War 2, the Central government felt the need for a centralized investigation agency and reformed the special police establishment to CBI, and enacted the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946.
- The power of CBI is not as diverse as the FBI, while the FBI enjoys several extraordinary powers, the power of CBI is limited.
- Anyone under the employment of a national institution comes under the purview of CBI, in the beginning, bank employees were not under the purview. But, with the nationalizations of banks, they too are under the purview of CBI.
- One of the biggest differences between CBI and FBI is that CBI comes under the control of the Central Government and they are not independent. However, the FBI is independent and does not come under the direct control of the Federal Government.
- CBI and CID are two different agencies, CBI is more diverse and centralized than CID.
- Sometime in the future, the Central Investigation Agency might become independent like the FBI. Then the powers of CBI might not be as limited as we know today.
- The promotions and salary in CBI are based on the performance and output of the employee.
Now, you know almost everything you need to know about CBI, there is a reason why we mentioned the facts and details of this agency above, it might help you gain some insight on the type of work you are going to do. The same could also help you crack the exam.
How to get a job at CBI?
Getting a job in CBI is not as easy as you think. Since it is a central investigation agency, the job demand is always high. There are a few routes that you could take to reach the top. Some of the routes might take you directly to the top roles (group A) and other routes might land you in a lower post. Here are the top and common two routes that could be perused.
- SSC CGL exam (1st route) (Popular route)
- UPSC Civil service examination (2ND route)
Becoming a sub-inspector in the CBI: SSC’s CGL exam –
Are you okay with getting a sub-inspector job in the CBI? If yes, then attending and passing SSC’s CGL examination is the best way to go. If compared to all the other routes or the 2nd route mentioned above, this one is easy.
The Combined Graduate Level (CGL) exam is one of the easiest ways to get a job in the CBI. However, if you attend and pass this exam, you will get a job in CBI as a sub-inspector. We would recommend perusing this route because it is comparatively easy and there are higher chances of promotions and moving up the ladder if you exhibit better performance and output.
All the direct recruitments to Group B and Group B posts are done through the Short Service Commission (SSC) exams. While we have mentioned SSC’s CGL exam route is the easiest, it does not mean that you could simply crack the exam without any preparation or skills. Remember, this is a central government employment test, the level of difficulty and competition is very high but comparatively lesser than the 2nd route.
Three levels of SSC’s CGL test
- Written-test
- Medical test
- Personal interview
Eligibility criteria to attend SSC CGL exam –
- Unlike other central government employment tests, a person living outside India could also apply for this exam. However, he/she should be an Indian citizen.
- He/she should be from an age group of 18 to 32-years. The reserved category gets a relaxation in age based on the government decision in the current year.
- The applicant should hold at least a UG degree. Most commonly, people with a Bachelor’s degree are preferred. The UG degree should be from a central government/UGC recognized college/university/institution.
- Apart from these academic and other criteria, the applicant should also meet some physical requirements.
=> For a male –
Height – a minimum of 165 cm
Chest – 76 cm
=> For female –
Height – 150 cm
Chest – Not considered
- All about Combined Graduate Level examination –
The Combined Graduate Level examination consists of two rounds of exams. Both the rounds would be written exams, however, the nature of the exam would be objective type and the candidate will have to attempt it.
The first round of the examination would have 200 questions and a maximum time of 2-hours. Each question would carry one mark and in total the exam would carry 200 marks. The main aim of this round of examination is to test
- General awareness
- General intelligence
- Communicative English
- Quantitative aptitude
- Reasoning skills
The second round will have two papers, the candidate has to attend both these exams. Each paper will have 200 questions, 200 marks, and 2-hours maximum time. These two papers would test the candidates
- English language skills
- Quantitative aptitude
To move forward in the selection process, the candidate has to attend and pass these two rounds. There is no way to bypass these two rounds. Once the written test is cleared, the candidate will move to the next level of the selection test. Medical test.
- All about Medical test –
You might be familiar with what happens in a police or army selection camp. You cannot become a CBI employee unless you pass the medical test. Do not assume that just because you scored good marks in the first level written exam, you could bypass the medical test. At this level, the candidate would have to get involved in different physical and other activities, which, in turn, would help in testing the candidates physical, as well as, mental fitness. This also includes the sole purpose of finding out if the candidate could cope up with the extreme situations that require physical and mental stability.
While both men and women need to go through the medical test, the criteria to pass this test is different for both sexes.
The general eligibility criteria for applying for this course have been already mentioned. Here are more details you need to know.
- For the post of Inspector –
- Central excise inspector
- Preventive officer
- Sub-inspector in CBN
- Examiner
- Inspector in CBN
Male candidates –
The physical requirement is already mentioned in the eligibility criteria section. Apart from physical standards. Here is the physical test requirement.
- Walking – The candidate should cover at least 1600 meters in 15-minutes
- Cycling – The candidate should cycle 8 Kms. in just 30-minutes
Female candidates –
The physical standard requirement is as mentioned in the eligibility criteria section, when it comes to physical test requirement,
- Walking – should walk 1000 meters in 20-minutes
- Cycling – should cycle 3 Kms. in 25-minutes
- For the post of Sub-Inspector –
Height –
Male – 165 cms.
Female – 150 cms.
Chest –
Male – 76 cms.
Female – No such requirement
Vision –
Male and female – 6/6 in one eye and 6/9 in other eyes (distant vision)
Male and female – 0.6 in one eye and 0.8 in other eyes (near vision)
If you pass this medical level, you could reach the final level of the CGL test. Personal interview
- All about the personal interview of SSC’s CGL exam –
The personal interview would be conducted by an expert panel of the CBI. This personal interview aims to measure the overall fitness and eligibility of the candidate to become a CBI employee. Only if you pass all these three levels of the CGL test, you could become a Sub-Inspector in CBI.
Becoming a CBI officer: UPSC Civil Service examination –
This is the 2nd route that you could peruse if you want to get employed directly in the Group A of CBI. You could become a CBI office directly if you attend the UPSC Civil Service Examination. If you peruse this route, you do not have to wait for promotions to reach the top level, the entry through this test itself is to the highest level.
There is a provision for IPS officers from other law enforcement agencies to get transferred to the CBI. However, for such a thing to happen, you need to become an IPS office first. To peruse IPS, you need to first attend and pass the UPSC Civil Service examination. Passing this exam is not enough, the seats for IPS is always limited, you would be allocated only if you score high marks and get a top place in the rank list. After perusing IPS, you could apply for transfer from the Police department or join CBI directly based on vacancy.
This route is not easy, it is the toughest route that a person could peruse to become a CBI officer. Most people know how to peruse IPS. Allotment to IPS is done through the Civil Service examination, this examination has 3 stages. Prelims, the mains, and the personal interview. The prelims are known as Civil Service Aptitude test which has two objective type papers, pass this exam, which is followed by the mains that have 9 different conventional subjective type exam papers, then, pass it to attend the personal interview.
Conclusion –
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) employment is a central government job, it is not easy to crack the exams involved. This is why you need to have the mind-set and should work very hard to land a CBI job.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FAQs
Q. What is the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)?
Ans: The CBI is the premier investigative agency in India. It functions as the nodal agency for investigating corruption cases and other major crimes.
Q. When was the CBI established?
Ans: The CBI was established on April 1, 1963.
Q. What is the mandate of the CBI?
Ans: Ans: The primary mandate of the CBI is to investigate and combat corruption at the highest levels of government, major frauds, and other serious crimes.
Q. How is the CBI structured?
Ans: The CBI is headed by a Director, who is a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The agency is organized into several divisions, each responsible for specific types of cases such as anti-corruption, economic offenses, special crimes, etc.
Q. How is the Director of the CBI appointed?
Ans: The Director of the CBI is appointed by the Central Government based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice.
Q. Does the CBI have jurisdiction all over India?
Ans: Yes, the CBI has jurisdiction all over India. However, it usually gets involved in cases of national importance, inter-state crimes, and those referred to it by the state governments.
Q. Can the CBI investigate cases without the consent of the state government?
Ans: In certain specified offenses, the CBI can take up investigations without the consent of the state government.
Q. What are some of the major cases investigated by the CBI?
Ans: The CBI has investigated a wide range of cases, including high-profile corruption cases, economic offenses, cases related to terrorism, and other major crimes.
Q. How can one approach the CBI with a complaint or information?
Ans: Individuals can approach the CBI with complaints or information through its official website or by contacting the nearest CBI office. The agency also accepts complaints through post or in person.
Q. Is the CBI subject to external oversight?
Ans: The CBI is subject to the oversight of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which reviews and monitors its functioning. Additionally, the CBI Director’s appointment process involves external checks through the Selection Committee.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
