The Jharkhand government on Monday, August 17, 2026, cancelled the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC‑CGL) examination and voided all recruitment tests conducted by outsourced agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014, Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced after a cabinet meeting at the state secretariat. Soren also said the government has formed an exam reforms committee led by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to recommend measures to strengthen the state’s recruitment process.
“The government has decided to cancel the JSSC‑CGL exam, which was one of the major demands of the protesting students. We have also decided to cancel all tests conducted by outsourced agency TDPL and the results published by it,” Soren said, framing the cancellations as a response to sustained agitation by job aspirants over alleged irregularities.
The decision comes as six protesters remained on a hunger strike and the JPSC‑JSSC Reforms Manch — which has led the protests for more than three weeks — prepared for further talks with the government. The Manch has insisted the agitation will continue until authorities agree to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe; protesters have announced plans to gherao the chief minister’s residence on August 20, 2026.
Soren said inquiries by the CID and a special investigation team uncovered several “surprising factors,” including the apparent involvement of firms operating within Jharkhand in what he described as a “huge exam racket,” but he added that details could not yet be disclosed. He also noted that the state has enacted the Jharkhand Competitive Examination Prevention and Redressal of Unfair Means in Recruitment Act and would enforce it strictly.
The cancellations prompted a counter‑protest by candidates who cleared the JSSC‑CGL and were allotted government posts; a group gathered outside the secretariat, warning that about 2,000 people could lose jobs if the results were scrapped. The opposition BJP, led by Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, backed calls for a CBI probe and urged the chief minister to accept the demand if the government had nothing to hide.
Meanwhile, CID ADG Manoj Kaushik said raids were continuing, with officials conducting searches at the JSSC office as part of the ongoing investigation.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/national/story/jharkhand-cancels-jssc-cgl-tdpl-recruitment-tests-amid-protests-1439267-2026-08-18?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-08-18 09:20:00
