Jobs 2017: Fresh Recruitment, Alerts, Scams, Exams, Other Stories
Government job advertisements, filing application forms, downloading admit card, appearing for the exam; the year 2017 was hectic for job aspirants; especially for those who were on the brink of eligibility deadline. Though recruitment fell down by 10% than 2015-2016, but job stories were constantly in news and saw an active participation, as well. As per the data given by Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh in the Rajya Sabha, a total of 100933 recommendations for appointment were made by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) in the year. This is lesser than last year's figure: 'A total of 1,11,807 candidates, or 10,874 more, were recommended by these recruitment agencies during 2015-16, according to the minister's reply.
The year gave new options to job seekers, amidst exam controversy and result delay. Fresh opportunities but delayed outcomes would sum up the achievements and downfalls in job sector, this year. Not to ignore, fake job alerts and scams had their own share of news, as well.
The year saw a greater participation of females in job competition and a better performance from them as well. KR Nandini topped the prestigious Civil Services Exam 2016, results of which were declared in June 2017. Quotas for women were also favoured in Parliamentary and State assemblies.
The year began with leading government recruiting bodies: UPSC, IBPS, releasing their exam calendar for the year. In one of the major news, on 24 January 2017, Supreme Court said, 'Reservation and relaxation for Physical Handicapped category candidates in civil services examination is a matter of government policy and courts cannot embark on it,' setting aside judgement of the Madras High Court and the view taken by Delhi High Court that "increasing the number of attempts for Physically Handicapped candidates belonging to General Category from 4 to 7 with effect from the 2007 Examination and not proportionally increasing the number of attempts for Physically Handicapped candidates belonging to OBC Category from 7 to 10, is discriminatory and arbitrary".
The year saw several concerns being raised for UPSC civil services exam which included the demand for conducting the exam in mother tongue by Ritabrata Banerjee, a Rajya Sabha member from (CPI-M). Union Minister Jitendra Singh on 12 August dismissed the idea of including Ayurveda as an optional in Civil Services and supported his stand by saying, ''Nearly half of those who crack the civil services examination are engineering graduates and a large number of them do so by opting for subjects like public administration and sociology.' Highlighting more, he said not even 10 per cent of the doctors opt for medical science as their option. Doctors and engineers choose optional subjects different than what they have studied, for the civil services exam. In March, CSAT 2011-2015 victims demanded for a compensatory exam and on the other hand the data shared by Jitendra Singh highlighting the shortage of 1470 IAS officers in the country highest being in UP and Bihar.
Questions on Goods and Services Tax (GST), benami transactions and schemes run by the central government were asked in the civil services preliminary examination held on 18 June 2017.
Also, 25 lakh candidates appeared for the West Bengal Group D Personnel exam; probably one of the highest candidate participation ever. The biggest online exam conducted ever was by Indian Railways for Non Technical Popular Category (NTPC) posts in which more than 50 lakh candidates participated.
'Ghar ghar rojgar', Unemployment Allowance Scheme, Delhi Job Fairs, Mahaswayam can be adjudged as the benchmarks in employment domain of the country this year. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched unemployment allowance scheme and distributed cheques for Rs 1,000 each to 10 unemployed youth. He officially launched the scheme at the state-level function to mark the 70th Himachal Day. Likewise Ghar ghar rozgar gave 27000 unemployed youth jobs in Punjab. 8200 candidates got on the spot jobs at Delhi job fair where 82 companies had participated. The AAP Government is planning to organize the job fair again on February 14, next year. On 31 May Maharashtra government launched Mahaswayam, a web portal for job seekers and employers.
Agitations and protests from dissatisfied candidates also made it to the headlines throughout the year. The decision to go for a single NET was not received well by candidates and was cited as an 'anti-job' decision. Likewise one of the biggest exam of the year IB ACIO was marred with controversy and innumerable posts trended on social media platforms blaming the recruiting body for the inconvenience caused.
Aaadhaar cards also hit the headlines, when exam conducting bodies made it mandatory for the applicants to provide the details. Top recruiting agencies like SBI, made it compulsory to give aadhaar cards or enrollment number during registration.
Despite several warnings, fake job alerts and scams surfaced. Recruiting bodies urged candidates to refrain from believing such alerts. Delayed results, exam notification, admit cards and job advertisements often gave space to scams and allured candidates. On 30 March, the key accused in Kerala nurse recruitment scam, Uthup Varghese, was arrested.
The coming year is ought to bring in newer opportunities and policies.