KAKINADA: Days after the National Rural Development and Recreation Mission (NRDRM) posted advertisements for over 13,000 vacancies in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has clarified that the job notification is fake. The notification was posted on https://nrdrm.com/career.html, the NRDRM website, and presented as a department under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
The Union Ministry issued its clarification following a complaint lodged by social activist MVR Phanindra from Kakinada with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
The recruitment drive, which advertised 13,762 posts across 10 categories, included vacancies for positions such as district project officer, account officer, technical assistant, data manager, and computer operator, among others. Interested candidates were asked to fill the application form available on www.nrdrm.com or www.nrdrmvacancy.com between February 5 and February 25. Candidates were to be selected based on a written test. Additionally, applicants from the OC (Other Castes) and BC (Backward Classes) categories were required to pay an exam fee of `399, while those from the SC (Scheduled Castes), ST (Scheduled Tribes), and Below Poverty Line (BPL) categories were asked to pay Rs 299. The link for paying the fee redirected candidates to a UPI QR code, raising concerns about the authenticity of the notification.
In his complaint, Phanindra pointed out that the website and job notification appeared suspicious, as government website domain names typically end in .gov.in or .nic.in.
Jobless youth told to be more cautious
However, both of the aforementioned websites were registered with the .com extension. In a phone call with Phanindra on Thursday, Union Ministry of Rural Development Secretary RD Diwakar confirmed that his department had no connection with NRDRM or the advertisement. He assured that appropriate action would be taken.
The issue has been reported to the National Cyber Crime Portal to have the website taken down. However, as of the filing of this report, both the website and the job notification remained active.
Taking note of the issue, Rajya Sabha MP Sana Satish advised unemployed youth to be cautious of fake job notifications. He urged them to verify the authenticity of such posts before applying or paying any examination fees.