The Jammu and Kashmir government dropped a bombshell in the assembly: ₹48.88 crore garnered from application fees over two years by JKPSC and JKSSB. This came in answer to Pulwama MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para’s probing question, shedding light on the monetized frenzy for public jobs.
Year-wise: 2023-24 contributed ₹14.48 crore—split as JKPSC’s ₹7.39 crore and JKSSB’s ₹7.09 crore. 2024-25 escalated with JKPSC’s ₹10+ crore and JKSSB’s dominant ₹23+ crore haul.
On vacancies, JKSSB rolled out ads for ~10,400 positions, JKPSC for ~1,750, drawing hordes amid scarce alternatives.
Contextualizing, Para had flayed the 2026-27 budget for ignoring youth employment and daily wagers, amid 5 lakh+ educated unemployed chasing livelihoods.
Industrial voids make government gigs the beacon. Processes have toughened—written tests, interviews standard now, versus past’s simpler quals.
Preferences pivoted: MBBS (15,000+ unemployed) and engineering (45,000+) grads languish, upending old certainties.
As fees swell, so does the call for accountability. Redirecting proceeds to skill hubs, industry parks, and inclusive hiring could pivot J&K from job scarcity to surplus, empowering a generation sidelined by circumstance.