J-K: Employment verification process for govt jobs to go digital

Srinagar: A web-based application has been developed in Jammu and Kashmir to allow candidates freshly selected for various positions in government departments to submit their Personnel Verification Rolls (PVRs) online. The new system, which will come into effect from the beginning of June, will end the previous practice of newly appointed officials submitting their verification rolls manually.

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In an order issued by the General Administrative Department (GAD), Principal Secretary Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said the application "Employee Verification System (EVS)" has been developed to undertake the process of verification of employees' character and antecedents to make the system transparent and minimise the procedural delays that hamper the efficient and speedy processing of verification.

"The EVS portal has been developed and made operational through a web-based online system…Various training sessions regarding the web application have been imparted to the appointing authorities," he said.

Besides, a number of training sessions have already been imparted to all those concerned on the process of vigilance verification, he added. Dwivedi said the PVR of all candidates shall be submitted only through the online mode to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) headquarters for verification.

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"Manual submission of PVR shall not be entertained under any circumstances after June 1," the order read. The administrative secretaries were asked to implement the instructions in letter and spirit, and the CID verification shall in no case be delayed beyond one month as stipulated in the instructions conveyed from time to time.

According to officials, the new system is akin to the passport application system as the candidates shall be asked to fill in the verification related information online and submit it to the appointing authority.

After ensuring that the eligibility conditions pertaining to educational qualifications, age and reservation have been met and are backed by genuine certificates, the appointing authority shall forward the V-rolls to the CID for field enquiries and check of criminal records to ascertain the character, conduct and antecedents of the selected candidates through its field functionaries, and this too shall take place via the digital platform, they said.

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The officials said the web portal has been designed by the University of Kashmir's IT department in record time and at a competitive rate. By switching over from manual to the digital mode, it is expected that employment verification would become speedier, time bound and transparent, they said.