GOOD JOB: Government appointments cross 1.50 lakh in Assam

Government appointments cross 1.50 lakh in Assam

CM distributes appointment letters to 4,369 candidates

Equal focus on entrepreneurship to boost youth employment: CM

CM urges new appointees to honour parents and give back to society

DD TIMES Dispur, January 9: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma today distributed appointment letters to 4,369 candidates selected for Grade IV posts through the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) at a programme held at the Jyoti–Bishnu International Cultural Centre at Khanapara.

With this, the total number of government appointments made during the tenure of the present state government has reached 1,50,033, thereby surpassing the commitment made during the 2021 Assembly elections.

It may be mentioned that after initiating the recruitment process through ADRE, the state government for the first time had distributed appointment letters to 24,787 selected candidates on May 10, 2023.

Of these, 11,048 candidates selected by the State-Level Recruitment Commission were appointed to Grade III posts, while 13,739 candidates were appointed to Grade IV posts.

In the second phase, the process to fill Grade IV posts during 2023–24 was undertaken, culminating in the distribution of appointment letters to 4,369 candidates today.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma said the recruitment process initiated through ADRE was extremely complex and that maintaining transparency and public trust throughout was a major challenge.

He said that earlier each department conducted its own recruitment examinations, often resulting in two or three examinations being held on the same day, causing serious inconvenience to candidates.

With nearly 200–300 examinations being conducted annually, effective monitoring was difficult, leading to allegations of corruption at various levels.

Consequently, recruitment processes were frequently stalled due to court interventions, resulting in acute shortages of officers and staff in government departments.

Referring to the government’s commitment to provide one lakh government jobs on the basis of transparency, the Chief Minister said no previous government in Assam had appointed more than 15,000–16,000 youth during a five-year term.

To address this, the present government constituted separate recruitment boards for doctors and engineers and introduced a unified examination system for appointments across departments.

New legislation was enacted and two commissions were constituted for recruitment to Grade III and Grade IV posts. Despite multiple challenges, the recruitment process conducted in the first year was completed successfully, he said, adding that even internet connectivity had to be suspended during examinations to ensure fairness and transparency.

Dr. Sarma said the credibility of the recruitment process was reflected in the receipt of 13,79,132 applications for Grade III and Grade IV posts under ADRE.

While many states conduct examinations over multiple days with different question papers, Assam conducted the examination in a single day at multiple centres, including private educational institutions.

He informed that examination centres were set up in 28 districts and 9,12,717 candidates appeared in the examination held on October 27, 2024. The results were declared on March 7 last year.

He further stated that oral examinations were conducted from June 17 to July 7, following which board members submitted the marks awarded to candidates on a daily basis to eliminate any scope for irregularities.

After the final results were declared on October 15, appointment letters were distributed to 4,369 candidates today. The Chief Minister said the entire process was completed in a fully transparent and error-free manner, with no court cases filed.

He added that recruitment based purely on merit and transparency has renewed faith among the youth, encouraging them to focus on studies.

Calling upon the newly appointed candidates to serve with dedication, Dr. Sarma urged them to ensure that poor and needy citizens visiting government offices receive timely solutions to their problems.

He also announced that the ‘Swagata Satirtha’ portal will be reopened on February 1 to facilitate mutual transfers among government employees seeking postings at preferred locations. He said around 10,000 government employees benefitted from this facility last year.

The Chief Minister said the newly appointed candidates themselves are living examples of transparent and merit-based recruitment in Assam and urged them to carry this message of change to future generations.

He added that alongside government recruitment, the state government is placing equal emphasis on promoting entrepreneurship so that the youth of Assam can find employment within the state and contribute to its development.

He also urged the new appointees to withdraw their family members’ names from the Orunodoi scheme if they are currently beneficiaries, to enable another deserving family to benefit.

Emphasising respect for parents, Dr. Sarma said it was due to their parents’ blessings that the appointees achieved success.

He encouraged them to present a gift to their parents from their first month’s salary and to regularly save a small amount and donate it to a place of worship once a year so that society too benefits from their success.

The programme was attended by Cabinet Ministers Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Keshab Mahanta, U G Brahma, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Jogen Mohan, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Nandita Gorlosa, Prashanta Phukan, Krishnendu Paul and Rupesh Gowala, MP Bhubaneswar Kalita, Additional Chief Secretary B Kalyan Chakravarthy, Commissioner and Secretary of the General Administration Department M S Manivannan, along with several other dignitaries and senior officials.