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J&K govt collected nearly ₹50 cr as recruitment fee in 2 years; PDP flags ‘tax on unemployment’
Data reveals JKSSB and JKPSC collected ₹48.88 crore from job aspirants since 2023; MLA Waheed Para slams lack of roadmap for youth.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday informed the assembly that it has collected ₹48.88 crore in application fees from job seekers over the past two years. The revenue was generated through examinations conducted by the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB).
The figures were released in a written response to a query posed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Pulwama MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para.
According to the government’s reply, the collection saw a significant spike in the current financial year. In 2023-24, a total of ₹14.48 crore was collected, with the JKPSC accounting for ₹7.39 crore and the JKSSB for ₹7.09 crore. However, in 2024-25, the figures surged as the JKPSC collected over ₹10 crore and the JKSSB collected over ₹23 crore.
While the boards amassed nearly ₹50 crore from the youth, the volume of recruitment remained relatively low.
The JKSSB advertised about 10,400 posts, while the JKPSC—responsible for gazetted cadres—advertised around 1,750 positions during this two-year window.
The disclosure has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition in a region grappling with unemployment. Para termed the National Conference-led administration a “total failure” regarding youth empowerment. He slammed the budget for the new fiscal year, stating it offered no concrete roadmap for the unemployed and failed to address the economic distress of the youth.
Jammu and Kashmir has consistently recorded unemployment rates higher than the national average, making government recruitment the primary lifeline for thousands. Furthermore, the JKSSB is still emerging from the shadow of the 2022 recruitment scandals, where several exams were cancelled following allegations of paper leaks and probes. For many aspirants, the high cost of application fees, coupled with a history of delayed or cancelled processes, has become a point of contention against the Omar Abdullah government.
J&K’s unemployment rate higher than national average: Dy CM Choudhary
The deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary informed the legislative assembly that unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has remained consistently higher than the national average over the past several years with more than 4.73 lakh individuals aged 18 to 50 years, though willing to work, remaining unemployed in the Union Territory.
In a written reply to a question by legislator Mubarak Gul, Choudhary said the overall unemployment rate stands at 6.7% in the Union territory, which is significantly higher than the national average of 3.5%.
He said the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above in J&K has remained higher than the national average over the last six years. In 2024–25, the unemployment rate in the UT stood at 6.7% against the national average of 3.5%. The rate was 6.1% in 2023–24 compared to India’s 3.2%, while in 2022–23 it was 4.4% against the national figure of 3.2%.
In 2021–22, unemployment in J&K was estimated at 5.2% as against 4.1% nationally, 5.9% in 2020–21 compared to 4.2% for India. In 2019–20, the unemployment rate in J&K stood at 6.7%, significantly higher than the national average of 4.8%.
He also cited a baseline survey conducted during the month of January last year under Mission YUVA across Jammu and Kashmir. “A total of 4.73 lakh individuals in the age group 18-50, out of total 64.8 lakh individuals, reported not working but willing to work,” he said.
The surveyed youth included 70,428 postgraduates, 98,466 graduates, 1,26,059 higher secondary pass-outs, 95,914 secondary-level candidates and 44,908 middle pass candidates. The survey also covered 24,594 illiterate persons and 10,994 individuals who had studied up to the primary level, among others, he said.
