In Competition

Competitive exams are held in many government organisations in India, and even some educational institutions. Very often, these exams are used as a benchmark for selecting the most suitable candidate for the various job openings that exist. When it comes to recruitment, these exams are of great help. This is because just like many other issues in our country, the huge population reflects just this. There are so many job seekers compared to the number of openings that such exams help to filter out the unsuitable candidates.

These exams are of extreme importance for a lot of applicants, since merit is not the only factor upon which the hiring list is prepared. There are many other factors like actions taken by the government as well as the reservation policy. The general idea of application of the reservation policy is the need for providing appropriate and equal opportunities to the weaker sections of society or for those sections of the population which have been living on the periphery for long and are still wanting in terms of making it to the equal footing.

The seats available for the general class, which represents a much larger chunk of the country’s population, is just a mere 51 per cent. In fact, owing to the Supreme Court rules, the percentage of reservation for these classes cannot exceed 50 per cent of the total seats, so they keep it just under. This poses a very difficult situation, where on the one hand, half the candidates are chosen by way of a competitive exam, for the others, the lucky factor is the caste they belong to. Of course, the step also helps uplift the weaker sections of the society, but one would think that after over 65 years of independence, you have the policies for upliftment in place.

Interested candidates should know that different competitive exams are scheduled at different times in the year, and each one has its own eligibility conditions. With the number of jobs at stake via these exams, lakhs of students take them each year in the hope to make a career.

There are many other competitive exams held across India. Some of the most important ones are held by the Union Service Public Commission (UPSC) including those for the administrative and the police services. The railways and the State Service Public Commissions, the University Grants Commission also hold such exams.

The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai is the main agency of the country for Olympiad programmes in mathematics and sciences. The Olympiads are special level exams that students can take voluntarily to check their liking towards and aptitude for certain fields. The main objective is to encourage excellence in the fields among senior school and junior college students.

Volume 1 Issue 9