ESIC picks up 451 who failed to make UPSC's final cut

NEW DELHI: The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has recruited 451 candidates to the post of insurance medical officer through the UPSC ’s Pratibha Setu portal — which has on offer a talent pool of nearly 10,000 candidates who had cleared all stages of select UPSC recruitment examinations, including the Civil Services Examination, but did not make it to the final list of recommended candidates.

In an update on LinkedIn, ESIC, which comes under the Union ministry of labour , said the 451 candidates were selected after going through the list of non-recommended candidates from Combined Medical Services Examination (CMSE) held in 2022 and 2023, on the Pratibha Setu portal.

The UPSC Pratibha (an acronym for Professional Resource and Talent Integration — Bridge for Hiring Aspirants) Setu portal is a strategic initiative that allows verified employers, including ministries, public sector units ( PSUs ), autonomous bodies and private organisations, to access details of non-recommended, willing candidates who had cleared the written examinations and made it to the interview stage.

Pratibha Setu was born out of the public disclosure scheme , started by department of personnel and training (DoPT) in 2018, under which UPSC published details of such non-recommended candidates from the Civil Services Examination, Indian Forest Service Examination, Central Armed Police Forces (ACs) Examination, Engineering Services Examination, Combined Geo-scientist Examination, CDS Examination, Indian Economic Service Examination, Indian Statistical Service Examination and Combined Medical Services Examination.

“Many of these non-recommended candidates usually end up becoming teachers or run coaching centres for future aspirants. They can now be picked up by the private sector and PSUs for jobs suited to their qualifications and aptitude, via Pratibha Setu portal,” minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told TOI on Friday.

A soft biodata of the non-recommended candidates, with their educational qualifications and contact details, is available on the portal.

The first-of-its-kind initiative offers a platform for candidates who cleared UPSC exams but did not get recommended, to connect with prospective employers who are looking for meritorious candidates with high qualifications. Any duly registered private company, PSU, etc. may register on Pratibha Setu portal using their corporate identification number. With OTP-based verification, their nodal officer can access the dashboard and the Pratibha Setu software functionalities.