Kerala PSC cancels Planning Board rank list, orders internal Vigilance inquiry

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Public Service Commission has ordered an internal vigilance inquiry following the discovery of significant evaluation errors in an examination conducted for the State Planning Board. In an emergency meeting, the commission decided to cancel the existing rank list and re-evaluate ten answers that had been completely overlooked during the initial grading process. The vacancy in question is for the highly sought-after position of Chief in the Industry and Infrastructure Division of the Planning Board.

The discrepancies came to light after concerned candidates paid the required fees to obtain copies of their answer sheets. An applicant from Muhamma in Alappuzha discovered that ten consecutive questions on their first paper had not been evaluated at all. These unrated answers accounted for fifty-eight marks out of the total one hundred, meaning the candidate was graded on less than half the exam paper. This severe oversight prompted the affected applicant to approach the Kerala Administrative Tribunal for legal intervention.

The notification for this high-level position, which offers a pay scale ranging from 1,23,700 to 1,66,800 rupees and carries a rank equivalent to an Additional Secretary in the Secretariat, was originally released in 2022. The examination took place in July 2023, and a shortlist was published in February 2025. Following subsequent interviews, the top-ranked candidate on the list was officially recommended for the single available vacancy.

Officials delayed providing copies of the answer sheets to the applicants for over a year after the complaints were initially raised. Sources indicate that this critical lapse in the evaluation process by the commission is now expected to complicate and potentially stall at least three major appointments within the State Planning Board.