J&K govt collects Rs 48 crore in job application fees over two years
The UT government said that Rs 14.48 crore was collected in 2023-24 -- including Rs 7.39 crore by JKPSC and Rs 7.09 crore by JKSSB.
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Monday that it has collected over Rs 48 crore as application fees from candidates during the last two years through the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB). The government said this while responding to a question raised by MLA Pulwama, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para.
The UT government said that Rs 14.48 crore was collected in 2023-24 — including Rs 7.39 crore by JKPSC and Rs 7.09 crore by JKSSB. “In 2024-25, JKPSC collected over Rs 10 crore, while JKSSB generated more than Rs 23 crore as application fees from job aspirants. The total amount collected over the two years stands at Rs 48.88 crore,” the government said.
It further informed the House that around 10,400 posts have been advertised by JKSSB in the last two years, while JKPSC has advertised around 1,750 posts during the same period Waheed Para has previously criticised the administration regarding the 2026-2027 UT Budget, arguing it lacks initiatives for youth, daily wagers, and fails to address unemployment.
Jammu and Kashmir has a high number of qualified unemployed youth, and in the absence of any worthwhile industrial sector, government jobs remain the best available employment option for them. Over five lakh qualified unemployed youth are presently seeking employment in different vocations in the union territory. With limited employability in government jobs, the competition is often fierce among the candidates.
A decade back, educational/professional merit would suffice for getting into government service, but now an entrance test that includes a written exam and an interview has become the norm for selection into government services in the union territory.
Interestingly, once most preferred courses like graduation in medicine and engineering, which would get candidates hassle-free government jobs, are no longer the preferred choice of the youth. According to reports, over 15,000 MBBS and more than thrice this number of engineering graduates are sitting without employment in Jammu and Kashmir.
