New Delhi: Over the last five years, 52,910 candidates made it to the interview stage of various Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recruitment examinations — the final and most competitive round before selection. However, despite reaching this advanced stage, nearly 34,000 candidates (33,950) did not secure final selection.
To support these highly qualified individuals, the UPSC has launched a new employment facilitation platform called ‘Pratibha-Setu’, aiming to connect them with potential employers in the private sector, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and other organisations.
This information was shared by Minister of State for Personnel Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
‘Pratibha-Setu’: A New Gateway for Talent Beyond Civil Services
The ‘Pratibha-Setu’ portal, recently launched by the UPSC, is a dedicated platform that provides details of candidates who cleared the written stages and reached the interview phase but were not finally selected.
Employers across sectors can register on the portal to view profiles of these candidates, who represent a highly competitive and skilled talent pool. The aim is to leverage their capabilities in roles outside the civil services, helping both job seekers and hiring organisations.
Building on the Public Disclosure Scheme
Dr. Singh noted that the portal is an extension of the Public Disclosure Scheme introduced in June 2016, which allowed recruitment agencies to publish details of non-selected candidates who had cleared multiple stages of competitive exams.
This data could then be accessed by private and public organisations for hiring purposes. The Pratibha-Setu portal takes this initiative further by creating a structured, accessible, and transparent system for employment facilitation.
Public Disclosure Scheme Laid the Foundation
Dr. Jitendra Singh also highlighted that the Public Disclosure Scheme laid the foundation for this effort. Under the scheme, recruitment agencies were allowed to publicly disclose details of candidates who had cleared various stages of exams but were not selected in the final round.
This transparency allowed third-party organisations to utilize this database for recruitment purposes, a practice that the Pratibha-Setu portal now formalizes and expands.
A Strategic Step Amid Growing Demand for Skilled Professionals
With India’s employment ecosystem evolving rapidly, the government sees this move as a strategic solution to match unutilized talent with existing job demands, especially in management, policy, technical, and administrative domains.
This is particularly relevant as thousands of candidates invest years of effort preparing for the UPSC but may fall short in the final stages by a narrow margin.
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