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More than two million people applied for just 368 jobs in the Indian state government of Uttar Pradesh, leaving officials overwhelmed by the number of applicants, saying that they say would take four years to interview.
The state, which has a higher population than Brazil with 215 million residents, had advertised for jobs known as "peons," whose tasks include making tea and transferring files between governmental offices. The requirements for the jobs included passing primary school education and being able to ride a bike.
The posts, which were advertised in August, have a monthly salary of 16,000 Indian rupees ($243). The applications included 255 people with PhDs and 150,000 university graduates, according to AFP news agency, highlighting the dearth of jobs for India's educated class.
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"We have been left astounded with the response not just because the number of applicants is as high as 2.3 million. We are stunned also to find candidates with PhD, B.Tech, MBA and other masters and bachelor degrees applying for these jobs of peons," Prabhat Mittal told VOA News.
The last time India's most populous state advertised for such jobs was 2006 and the level of applications at the time was 16 times lower, highlighting the lack of jobs for the country's young and educated workforce. Half of India's population is under 25 years old. According to World Bank figures, youth unemployment in India was 10.5 percent in 2013, compared to 3.6 percent for the working population as a whole.
"These candidates only have to be interviewed but my estimate is that the entire process will take at least four years to complete even if there are 10 boards interviewing 200 candidates a day, for 25 days a month," a senior state government official told the BBC.
The average number of people applying for each government post is 6,250. The government posts are attractive for young Indian workers as they are largely secure from large layoffs seen in the private sector. One graduate told AFP that he applied for a government role because "there is so much security" in the government sector.
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