TCS to conduct exams as new agency, Recruitment Process to begin in September: LG Manoj Sinha
Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has said that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) would now conduct the J&K Service Selection Board (SSB) examinations, the process expected to commence in September this year.
The announcement comes amidst the ongoing protests against the exam-conducting agency Aptech that had been hired by the J&K government for filling up vacancies in government departments.
Earlier this year, the J&K SSB faced immense criticism when its attempts to fill nearly 1000 vacant positions were thwarted by allegations of impropriety.
The cancellation of the exams came after aspirants raised concerns over the integrity of the process, resulting in widespread outcry and legal challenges.
In December 2022, many other exams, including those for filling Sub Inspector and Junior Assistant posts were also cancelled by the High Court amid similar allegations.
In an interview to a digital news portal, the LG said that the situation escalated after the selected examination agency, Aptech, faced legal challenges following its commencement of the exams.
These legal battles prompted him to carry out a deeper investigation into the selection process and the capabilities of the chosen agency’s technology infrastructure.
During the interview, LG Sinha said, “We initiated discussions with the law enforcement and technical experts who raised concerns about the security of Aptech’s network during the early stages of the examination. It was possible that some individuals could gain unauthorised access to the network, potentially impacting the fairness of the exam process.”
Top management and technical experts from Aptech had been summoned to the LG’s office.
In collaboration with the Special DGCI, SSB Chairman, and cyber security specialists from the government, they discussed possible modifications to Aptech’s software that would address the security concerns.
However, the company has for now been barred from conducting further exams, pending the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings.
For future examinations, the LG said that the Government of India had been appealed to integrate J&K’s SSB exams into the exams conducted by TCS for GoI posts.
“We also approached the Government of India and the appeal has been met with agreement from the Home Minister and the Secretary of Home Affairs, paving the way for TCS to take over the examination process,” he said.
LG Sinha said that the TCS charges around Rs 300 for the exams.
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He assured that the upcoming examinations, which were expected to commence in September, would uphold the highest standards of fairness.
The LG said that any attempts to manipulate or exploit the system would be met with stringent legal actions in accordance with Indian laws.
Explaining how Aptech had been selected as the exam-conducting agency, he said that all the bidders, when Expression of Interest (EoI) had been invited, had some track record of being blacklisted.
LG Sinha said that it was discussed and agreed upon in the pre-bid meeting that those bidders would be considered eligible that had not been blacklisted in the past three years, as against the earlier condition of ‘never been blacklisted’.
He said that the matter of Aptech would be discussed further during the court hearing scheduled for Monday.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has shared that from now on the recruitment process in J&K will be conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) from September.
“Earlier we wanted to impanel TCS for carrying our recruitment process in J&K. However their rates were quite high. There were some discrepancies with the recruiter- Aptech Limited in conducting recruitment exams. Now we have urged the central government to get exams in J&K conducted by TCS at the same rates as being charged by it for conducting exams for recruitment in central government jobs. After the intervention of the union home minister and home secretary, a proposal has been finalized. Now we are hoping that from September all the vacant posts in government department will be filled and recruitment process shall resume”, LG said in an interview to news portal.
LG further said, “I felt awkward on being told that I have been appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir August 2020. Moreover I did not felt good about this assignment, but people advised me to take up this assignment. Also it is our culture in the BJP to take each and every responsibility as assigned by the party”.
He further said that that the scrapping of special status of the erstwhile state and moving it to mainstream has brought about a host of positive changes over the last four years.
As such, August 5, 2019, when these changes were announced in parliament by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is a “historic day”.
“It was a clear message sent to people of Jammu and Kashmir” that raising questions on “unity and integrity of India won’t be tolerated,” he said during a conversation with news channel.
What happened since was a “transformational journey” and brought about a change in discourse, said the former Lok Sabha MP and BJP national council member, who took charge as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2020.
Today, Jammu and Kashmir’s connectivity has improved — inside and out. “Rail and road connectivity are being enhanced.. air connectivity to Jammu has improved… the Union Territory has ranked third in PM Gram Sadak Yojana, with six to 20 km of road being built daily… Power was a big issue but in 3.5 years, electricity production will be doubled,” he said.
Massive strides are also being made in getting piped water to every house. On the health front, J&K is performing above the national average, he said, with “new AIIMS, cancer institutes, medical colleges coming up”.
Under the Centre’s new industrial scheme, projects worth over ₹ 26,000 crore are on the ground today. He said he was confident that over “75,000 crore worth of investment will flow in, creating over 5 lakh jobs,” he said.
The situation has now changed to the extent that “there are no more shutdowns in the valley and no one responds to calls from across the border… stone pelting protests have become a thing of the past,” he said.
There are “late night jam sessions” along the Jhelum in Srinagar, which has become a “symbol of urban transformation” under the Smart City Project, Sinha said.
About why this is working, Sinha said, “People have suffered because of terrorism… generations have been destroyed”.
All this has set off a huge boost in tourism. In 2022, 1.88 crore people visited Jammu and Kashmir – the largest number since Independence. Till July this year, Kashmir has seen 1.27 crore footfalls, he added (via Greater Kashmir)