AHMEDABAD: The staggering scale of educated unemployment in Gujarat has come into sharp focus. Over 5.42 lakh aspirants have applied for just 2,389 Revenue Talati Class-3 posts, revealing an intense desperation for government jobs.
Simultaneously, more than 2.48 lakh candidates are preparing for the written exam to fill 12,000 Lokrakshak Dal constable posts, highlighting the fierce competition.
In a notable shift, the state has raised the bar for Talati posts, making a graduation degree mandatory for the first time, replacing the earlier standard-12 qualification.
Yet, rather than thinning the crowd, this move has attracted even more applicants, exposing how a rising educated youth population is clashing with shrinking employment opportunities.
Facing a severe shortage of Revenue Talatis, the Gujarat government has launched a fresh recruitment drive, but the overwhelming response points to a deeper employment crisis. In a repeat of 2016, when over 6 lakh candidates applied for just 2,800 posts, the current round has already seen 5.42 lakh applications for only 2,389 vacancies.
The online form submission, which began on 26 May, reached a fever pitch by midnight on 10 June, with more than 4.50 lakh forms submitted in a single day. Of these, 3.80 lakh have been confirmed, and over 3 lakh candidates have paid their examination fees, confirming a staggering 200 candidates competing for every single post.
Despite the post being a Class-3 role with a modest pay grade of 1900, the exam syllabus has been aligned with that of higher-grade posts such as Deputy Chitnis and Assistant Engineer, both of which fall under the 4200 grade pay bracket. Further raising the stakes, candidates will only receive a refund of their exam fee if they score at least 40 per cent marks.
Adding to the pressure are two key changes in the recruitment process. First, the eligibility criteria have been raised, what was once a standard-12 qualification now requires a full graduate degree. Second, the upper age limit, which earlier stood at 33 years, has been extended to 35, widening the competition pool even more.
With the bar raised and the crowd swelling, Gujarat’s Talati recruitment is no longer just a hiring drive, it's a snapshot of an intensifying crisis of educated unemployment.
In yet another sign of Gujarat’s swelling unemployment crisis, 2.48 lakh candidates are set to appear for the Lokrakshak Dal constable recruitment exam on Sunday, 15 June. The Gujarat State Police Recruitment Board has organised this massive written test to fill just 12,000 constable posts, revealing the staggering mismatch between job demand and availability.
Responding to questions of The New Indian Express, Aam Adami Party Leader And Student Activist Yuvraj Sinh Jadeja Told, “This is the second phase of the Lok Rakshak Dal recruitment. In the first round, around 10 lakh candidates had applied for 12,000 posts in the physical test, out of which 2.48 lakh have cleared and are now set to appear for the written exam.”
With the eligibility bar raised and applicant numbers surging, Gujarat’s Talati recruitment and Lokrakshak Dal Constable exam have morphed from routine hiring exercises into high-stakes battlegrounds for survival