New software will help PSC trace vacancies without reporting by departments: CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Reporting of vacancies by various government departments to the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) will no longer be necessary after new software is introduced, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

Replying to a calling attention motion moved by Congress legislator Shafi Parambil in the Assembly on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that necessary instructions have been given to create such software.

“The present system of reporting vacancies has to be changed. When a person enters government service, his or her superannuation date will also be known and the employee’s retirement will take place on that date itself, except in some rare cases,” said Pinarayi.

“When these factors are included in the software, PSC can learn about vacancies from the software itself. In other words, no reporting by the government departments would be needed,” he added.

The Chief Minister also said that the PSC was taking all possible steps to ensure transparency in appointments. “There exists a situation where many applicants fail to appear for PSC tests. So, a preliminary exam is conducted for posts where a common qualification is needed. Subsequently, a main exam is held for specific posts. Such an arrangement has been implemented twice without inviting any complaints,” he said.

MLA’s allegations

At the same time, Shafi alleged that the government had reduced the number of entry cadre posts. He also pointed out that large-scale temporary appointments were taking place even in vacancies where PSC rank lists exist.

“Several department heads are not following the directive to report vacancies to PSC through e-vacancy software. Instead, they are resorting to postal mail and e-mail for the purpose. The PSC accepts such reporting to avoid loss of vacancies,” the Congress MLA said.

“Two months ago, PSC had instructed departments to report all anticipated vacancies during 2023, before November 30 this year. But, data is not available on how many departments responded to the PSC’s communication,” Shafi said.

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