Chairman HP Public Service Commission, Sh K.S. Tomar called on Governor, Acharya Devvrat at Rajbhawan here today. He presented 43rd Annual Report on the working of H. P. Public Service Commission for the period of 1st April, 2013 to 31st March, 2014 to the Governor.He also apprised the Governor about new initiatives being taken by the commission for improving its functioning which would yield the desired results.Sh. K.S. Tomar apprised the Governor of the new innovation introduced by the Commission for the candidates for giving interview either in Hindi or English which helped the aspirants especially from rural areas who faced a lot of problem in communicating in English.
He said more than 80 percent candidates gave their preference to Hindi language and better communication skill created an equal playing field to the candidates belonging to urban as well as rural areas in the State.Chairman brought to the notice of the Governor that Commission has decided to switch over from HAS pattern of written examination to IAS pattern which will be a revolutionary step.Shri Tomar informed of UPSC now having one optional subject which will be applicable to HAS and Allied Services main written examinations w.e.f. 2016 batch. HPPSC has decided to abolish one optional subject of 300 Marks in Himachal Administrative Services (HAS) and Allied Services main examinations and substitute it by two papers of 150 marks each of general knowledge to give equal playing field to all candidates.He informed that the General Studies paper would contain 33 percent of questions relating to Himachal General Knowledge (G.K.).
A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Sh. J.C Sharma, Member HPPSC, which would involve in a dialogue with the educational experts to seek their advice regarding framing of syllabus. The newly constituted syllabus would be available on the site of HPPSC which would even be open for suggestions.Shri Tomar informed the Governor about the success of the Toll Free service which has benefited thousands of the candidates specially belonging to rural areas in the State.Chairman also brought to the notice of the Governor that several reforms like E Payment, installation of jammer at examination centres, Bar Code System to maintain secrecy, Optical Marker Reader (OMR) outer sheet for conventional examinations like HAS, HJS, etc. had been introduced recently.
He said that a modern and Model Library will be created in new block which will be first of its kind in the entire country and it shall help candidates to prepare for various competitive examinations like HAS, IAS etc. State government has sanctioned Rs 2.80 crore to construct the New Block, he added.He said that the Governor also appreciated the initiatives of the Commission especially for providing optional languages for interview and hoped that it would go a long way in strengthening the commission besides facilitating the candidates preparing for various exams of the commission.He said that the Governor also assured of full support for the initiatives by HPPSC.The officials of the Commission were also present on the occasion.