More than fifty KAS candidates miss exam after last-minute hall ticket distribution by KPSC: Report
Bengaluru: Over 50 candidates slated to appear for the Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) mains exam were unable to take the test on Saturday following a last-minute and poorly communicated hall ticket distribution process by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
The candidates are now demanding the state government and the High Court of Karnataka to intervene and ensure justice to them, as reported by The New Indian Express on Sunday.
The confusion began after the Karnataka High Court allowed around 120 aspirants—previously left out because of some confusion in the Kannada translation of a question paper for the preliminary exam—to appear for the mains. Acting on the court’s directive, the KPSC instructed these candidates to submit their applications and fees by 3:00 p.m. on May 2 and collect their hall tickets in person from its Bengaluru office at 5:30 p.m. the same day.
However, the KPSC issued a fresh notification at 9:40 p.m. on Friday—just hours before the exam—stating that hall tickets would be available only until 12:00 a.m. With the exam scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, this sudden change caused significant confusion and distress among candidates, the report added.
Several candidates rushed to the KPSC office, only to be stopped at the gate. When they protested, the police reportedly resorted to a lathicharge to control the crowd. Despite this, candidates continued to protest until they were allowed entry to collect their hall tickets one by one—some staying at the KPSC office until as late as 4:00 a.m.
While KPSC maintained that it complied with the court’s order, candidates argued that the last-minute communication and lack of clarity were unfair and exclusionary. They also questioned why only a limited group of candidates—those part of the court petition—were allowed to appear, despite over 5,000 aspirants having raised concerns. “There are 65,000 Kannada-medium candidates. If only a few are helped, is that the social justice promised by the chief minister?” TNIE quoted one candidate as saying.
Meanwhile, several candidates requested the governor to stop the exam immediately to prevent injustice to them. Additionally, allegations of bias and result manipulation have also surfaced. A candidate from Bidar accused the commission of intentionally manipulating the process to favour certain candidates. “If KSEAB can conduct SSLC and PU exams smoothly, why can't KPSC? Unless there’s something to hide,” he remarked.
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Sensex climbs 304 pts, Nifty closes above 24,600 as steady US inflation fuels global rally
Mumbai, Aug 13 (PTI): Stock markets rebounded on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex closing higher by 304 points on buying in metal, auto and pharma shares as steady US inflation data propelled a sharp rally in global markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 304.32 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 80,539.91. During the day, it jumped 448.15 points or 0.55 per cent to 80,683.74.
The 50-share NSE Nifty edged up by 131.95 points or 0.54 per cent to 24,619.35.
Analysts said retail inflation slowing to an 8-year low of 1.55 per cent in July led to the positive trend in domestic equities.
"Indian equities experienced a broad-based optimism as CPI hit an eight-year low, boosting hopes for a revival in discretionary spending, led by autos and metals. Globally, sentiment improved on the extension of China’s tariff deadline and easing oil prices.
"Despite uncertainties around Trump’s trade stance and global risks, India’s growth-inflation dynamics remain favourable for FY26 with risk to marginal downgrade based on tariff updates. India looks forward to the Trump-Putin meet dated 15th August," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Among Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors and Power Grid were the gainers.
However, Adani Ports, ITC, UltraTech Cement and Titan were among the laggards.
Retail inflation slowed to an 8-year low of 1.55 per cent in July, falling below the Reserve Bank's comfort zone for the first time since January 2019, helped by subdued prices of food items, according to government data released on Tuesday.
"Indian equities advanced on Wednesday, buoyed by easing domestic retail inflation, positive global cues, and renewed hopes of a US Federal Reserve rate cut, Gaurav Garg, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.58 per cent and midcap index went up by 0.56 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, healthcare jumped 1.76 per cent, metal (1.22 per cent), auto (1.18 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.96 per cent), industrials (0.70 per cent) and financial services (0.45 per cent).
Oil & Gas and FMCG were the laggards.
Shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd spurted by nearly 8 per cent, emerging as lead gainer among Nifty50 shares after the healthcare services provider reported a 42 per cent jump in profit after tax to Rs 433 crore in the June quarter.
Paytm shares closed higher by 3 per cent as Paytm Payments Services received the Reserve Bank of India's nod to operate as an online payment aggregator.
As many as 2,230 stocks advanced while 1,861 declined and 155 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Among Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled sharply higher. European markets were trading in the green.
The US markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.36 per cent to USD 65.88 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,398.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Sensex dropped 368.49 points or 0.46 per cent to settle at 80,235.59 while Nifty went lower by 97.65 points or 0.40 per cent to 24,487.40 on Tuesday.
