Successful TGPSC Group-1 candidates addressing the media at the Press Club in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: Siddharth Kumar Singh
Voices cracked with emotion, eyes filled with frustration and hearts weighed down by years of waiting — this was the mood at the press conference organised by the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) Group-1 rankers on Sunday.
The aspirants, who have successfully cleared the exam and completed their document and medical verification, made a public appeal to the State government to expedite their appointments. Nearly 100 successful candidates addressed the media at the Press Club in Hyderabad.
“We are not here to protest, we are here to plead. I left a Central government job in 2022 to prepare for this exam, believing that serving my State would be more meaningful. Since then, I have seen the process collapse twice,” said Gopi Krishna, who secured Rank 70.
The TGPSC had announced a total of 563 vacancies for Group-1 recruitment. In April 2025, the Telangana High Court temporarily halted the recruitment after a writ petition was filed over allegations of irregularities in the evaluation process. The rankers, however, repeatedly asserted that the exam was conducted transparently, without irregularities, and that their only currency was merit. They said they have also challenged the recruitment halt in the High Court and the next hearing is on June 30.
Candidates, many of whom are now in their late 20s and early 30s, recounted how they survived on limited means, taking loans to pay for coaching classes and high rents. “This is not just about jobs. This is about justice and restoring faith in governance,” said another candidate who secured rank 225.
“Delays in Group-1 appointments would ripple through Group-2 and Group-3 recruitments due to overlapping merit lists, creating backlog vacancies and demoralising tens of thousands of aspirants. It has already been three years. If this is not resolved, Telangana will lose a whole generation of officers and aspirants,” said Ranjith, another ranker.
He added that the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh has completed two cycles of Group-1 recruitment, while Telangana is yet to even finish one.
The journey for these aspirants began in 2022 with the issuance of the initial Group-1 notification. However, the process was derailed by a paper leak, leading to the cancellation of the exam not once, but twice. A fresh notification was eventually issued on February 19, 2024. The preliminary examination was held on June 9, with results declared on July 7.
The mains were conducted between October 21 and 27, and the results were announced on March 10 this year. A re-counting window followed from March 10 to 24, after which the general ranking list was released on March 30. Certificate and medical verification processes were completed by April 23.
Published – June 22, 2025 11:50 pm IST
