Not all recipients of appointment letters at Rozgar Mela events addressed by the Prime Minister were fresh job takers, suggests data accessed by The Telegraph.

The fine print stands in sharp contrast with the meticulous manner in which a protocol had been put in place to ensure maximum publicity for the Rozgar Melas that seek to counter criticism that the Centre has miserably failed to create a large number of jobs in spite of Narendra Modi promising to do so.

Appointments to higher positions through promotions have also been included in the employment data, according to information obtained through the RTI Act.

Appointment letters covering government departments and autonomous bodies are distributed at the Rozgar Mela events addressed by Prime Minister Modi. The events are held in 45 cities.

But the Centre has been seeking to create the impression that all such appointments are fresh recruitments. On April 13, 2023, a media release issued by the government-run Press Information Bureau (PIB) said: “The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the National Rozgar Mela via video conferencing today. He distributed about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in various Government departments and organizations.”

The media releases issued on every cycle of the Rozgar Melas referred to the recipients of the letters as newly appointed persons or newly inducted recruits.

This newspaper requested the Union education ministry to provide data on new and promotion appointments made under each cycle of the Rozgar Melas that have been held once a month since October 2022. Some central education institutions have provided segregated data on fresh appointments and promotions.

According to the data provided by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, in April this year, the institute made 15 new appointments and approved 21 promotions. The aspirants were issued letters during the Rozgar Mela events.

The Maulana Azad National Urdu University, in its reply in April, said 38 persons had been issued appointment letters. The 38 include 18 promotion cases.

This newspaper sent an email to the Union higher education secretary, Sanjay Murthy, to understand the rationale for including promotions in the employment data. His response is awaited.

A faculty member of an IIT said new appointments should ideally mean fresh entries into the job pool.

“People getting promotions are already in service. Their position only changes. There is no logic to consider them as fresh employment. Inclusion of promotion data helps the government to create some records but it is misleading,” he said.

Publicity drive

For the Rozgar Melas, the department of personnel and training (DoPT), which functions under the overall charge of the Prime Minister and is assisted by a minister of state, has prepared a detailed protocol to be followed.

On April 13, the Prime Minister addressed the Rozgar Mela through video conference at 10.30am. According to a copy of the protocol, all the invitees, including the candidates, had to report to the venue by 9am, 90 minutes before the scheduled time.

Coordination with the local Doordarshan station, All India Radio and the PIB should be made for post-event publicity, the protocol said. Live broadcast of the Prime Minister’s address on giant screens should be arranged in line with the capacity of the local venue, it added.

The programme at the venue could begin at 9.45am. The designated dignitary should be welcomed and fillers on national flagship programmes should be run on screens until the Prime Minister joins the events over video. The dignitary would hand over the appointment orders to at least 25 candidates physically.

“Arrangements should be made for taking photographs with dignitaries” and taking sound bites from the new appointees, the protocol said.

While recording bites from the newly appointed candidates, they should be asked to mention their names and the post and give a message about their expected role. The bite should be recorded in high resolution.

Selfie points should be set up and candidates’ pictures through selfie cutouts should be recorded along with the name and designation of the candidates. Group pictures of candidates receiving their appointment letters should be taken after the letters are distributed.

The entire footage/recording should be consolidated venue-wise and handed over to DoPT on a hard drive and Google Drive (the file storage and synchronisation service), the protocol said.