RPSC staff in Ajmer on pen-down strike amid exam preparations

Ajmer: The Rajasthan Public Service Commission 's operations were disrupted Thursday as staff went on a two-day pen-down strike despite the commission having released the yearly examination schedule. The ongoing strike is likely to impact the selection procedures, whilst RPSC continues its preparations for various examinations and interviews.

Staff members demonstrated with black bands, with their primary demand focused on filling numerous vacant positions within the RPSC, considering the organisation handles applications from hundreds of thousands of candidates annually.

The Sayukt Sangarsh Samitti, representing RPSC officers and employees collectively, is contemplating additional protest actions. "We gave a memorandum to the RPSC 20 days ago, but no action was taken, and therefore we are forced to go on strike," said Dayakar Sharma, president of the samiti.

According to RPSC's examination schedule, 2025 will see 158 examinations conducted over 80 days, with 36,86,319 candidates registered for these tests.

"There are 98 posts vacant in the RPSC, including officers and employees, which increased the workload on the remaining staff," added Sharma.

Sharma elaborated that the vacancies include 31 officer positions and 67 employee positions. "We started with the pen-down strike, and if our problem is not solved, we will go for a large-scale protest," said Sharma.

An employee said assistant professor examinations for govt colleges are scheduled from March 24 to April 9. Additionally, RAS-2023 interviews commence on April 21, alongside other scheduled examinations. The employee noted that the ongoing strike would affect examination preparations.

Prohibition orders near RPSC building in Ajmer

Ajmer: The district administration here Thursday imposed a prohibition order within a 300-metre radius of the boundary of Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) building under Section 163 of Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sahita (BNSS).

District magistrate Lok Bandhu said the prohibition order would remain in force for the next 60 days. Gatherings, sit-ins, demonstrations, or slogans by five or more people are not allowed in the restricted area. Sound amplifying devices also cannot be used. The order does not apply to Rajasthan Armed Police Force, Rajasthan Civil Police Force, Home Guard, and officials and employees of RPSC who are on duty.

Exam matrix

Year No. of candidates

2021: 1,779,415

2022: 1,969,251

2023: 1,590,857

2024: 1,174,558

2025: 3,686,319