Unemployment in Chhattisgarh: Post-grads and engineers among 75,000 applicants for 30 peon jobs

That government jobs are highly sought after in India is common knowledge. After all, they offer several benefits along with job security, and so candidates are known to go to great lengths to secure one — from lining up for hours to taking extensive exams. Not even the disparity between the the number of vacancies and applications deters them. [caption id=“attachment_2406712” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] However, the flood of applicants for for the post of a peon in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics in Chhattisgarh showed just how highly disproportionate the jobs to applicants ratio is in many parts of India. An unprecedented 75,000 people applied for the position that only has 30 seats available, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The sheer magnitude of the aspirants was so high, that the examination, which was to be held on 30 August, was cancelled as the department was unable to handle the numbers. Amitabh Panda, commissioner of the department, told  Hindustan Times, “We were left astounded. For the vacancy of 30 posts of peon required across the state, as many as 70,000 applications were received online and over 5,000 through the post." However, what’s striking about this rush of applicants is the qualification — the job was that of a peon, which doesn’t necessarily require a college education, but several graduates, post-graduates and engineers have also applied for the job, reports  Hindustan Times. Indeed, this incident highlights the issue of unemployment and underemployment in India, where post-graduates and engineers are wiling to to work as peons.