A decade long wait for recruitment into the premier services of the State government is clearly showing in the record number of applications and the fierce competition waiting for the Group-I aspirants in Telangana.
As the last date ended on Saturday about 3.80 lakh candidates have sent their applications for the 503 posts to be filled up. This means around 745 candidates will be vying for every post that includes top posts of the state cadre in the revenue, police and other departments. Though the last date ended requests are still pouring in for extension of application date.
What makes this test so special? First, the recruitment is being done after a decade with the last notification issued in 2011 in the combined Andhra Pradesh with 312 posts. In separate Telangana, the notification was expected much earlier but it came after a painful wait of 8 years thus increasing huge competition with the backlog and new graduates piling up.
“It’s not just the numbers but the quality of the competition is expected to be quite high given the rising aspiration for Civil Services in Telangana and Hyderabad emerging as a hub of civil services coaching as well,” explains Vinnakota Srikanth of Analogue IAS coaching academy. In the UPSC prelims last year, 46,953 candidates appeared from Telangana and all these candidates are expected to take a shot at Group-I as well.
Since both the Civil Services and Group-I exams are quite similar in the nature of testing candidates’ quality, those outside Civil Services coaching will have to face some serious competition. Civils aspirants need not make major change in the preparation style compared to the fresh entrants.
“Thousands of candidates have been admitted for Group-I coaching after the notification was issued given the craze associated with it,” says Raja Reddy, who oversees the academic operations at the R.C. Study Circle. A senior faculty at another coaching academy, however, reveals that most of these have not experienced the rigorous preparation needed for such competitive papers. “UPSC aspirants, who are into serious preparations for the last 3 to 4 years, will have an advantage in Group-I,” he feels.
An estimated one lakh candidates have enrolled in various coaching academies for the Group-I and Group-II posts in Telangana. One among them is Sushmita Yasaram, who says top posts in group-I like Deputy Collector, Commercial Tax officer and DSP in the Police department mean a lot to her given the respect they command in society. She has been waiting to fulfil her childhood dream for the last 7 years since her graduation. “Notification has come late but it is better late than never,” she argues.
Such is the glamour that even government employees with good salaries and positions are after it. Harika, who is an Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) in the Irrigation Department has taken leave from work to prepare for Group-I. “The power and the opportunity to serve people directly is what make these jobs sought-after,” she says.
As the government scrapped the interview part making the Group-I recruitment just a two-tier process comprising a preliminary test and the Main, aspirants see a fair chance for all with influence not working in favour of any candidate. The preliminary is likely to be held in August and the Main exam in December.
Among the vacancies notified includes 121 Mandal Parishad Development Officers, 91 Deputy Superintendents of Police, 48 Commercial Tax Officers, 42 Deputy Collectors, and 40 Assistant Audit Officers among others.
