The pay is less than ₹650 a day and the job sits at the lowest rung of policing, demanding long hours of vigil at police stations and law-and-order hotspots. Yet, such was the rush for job that the Odisha Police had to turn an airstrip into an examination hall for nearly 8,500 aspirants competing for just 183 Home Guard posts in Sambalpur district on December 16. The images have since gone viral.
“When we advertised for recruiting 183 posts of home guards, little did we know that so many candidates would vie for the job. More than 10,600 candidates have applied for the job for which Standard V was the minimum qualification. We had to reject applications on ground of under-qualification and under-age,” said Bilkis Nesha, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Home-Guard), Sambalpur.
Around 8,500 admit cards were issued and routed through police stations for distribution among aspirants.
Ms. Nesha said the Home Guard job was not easy to secure as it seemed, as candidates had to clear both written and skill tests. “We were determined to ensure a clean recruitment process. Had the examinations been conducted at police stations, schools or colleges, there would have been scope for favouritism. The Sambalpur police administration therefore took a unanimous decision to bring all candidates to one location. The Zamadarpali airstrip suited the purpose perfectly,” she said.
To prevent malpractices during the written examination that carried 50 marks for general knowledge and an essay, over 150 police personnel were deployed as invigilators. Modern surveillance measures, including drones and CCTV cameras, were also used to closely monitor the candidates.
The Sambalpur police are yet to evaluate the answer scripts. “During the application screening, we found that many highly educated candidates, including graduates, diploma engineers and those with teachers’ training, had applied,” Ms. Nesha said.
Explaining the heavy rush for a low-paying post, the DSP noted that Home Guards are generally deployed in their own localities and are rarely transferred unless involved in serious indiscipline or corruption.
Candidates, however, said that despite the remuneration being lower than prevailing daily wages in the market, the fixed monthly payment of a little over Rs.18,000 offered stability and a sense of financial assurance for families.
While the unusual choice of venue and seating arrangements on the airstrip drew national attention, police officials said similar turnouts have been witnessed during Home Guard recruitments in other districts as well.
According to the Odisha Economic Survey-2025, the State has shown improvement in key employment indicators, particularly the labour force participation rate and worker population ratio, especially among women. However, Odisha continues to figure among the seven States with high labour participation in agriculture, while employment in industry and services which are considered more stable sources of income remains relatively low.
Employment has remained a major political issue in the State. Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said his government has provided jobs to 30,032 people in the government sector since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in June 2024. The BJP government has promised 65,000 government jobs in its first two years and to fill an additional 40,000 vacant posts by June 2026.