Kohima, Aug 30 (PTI) Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday handed over appointment letters to 587 candidates for clearing the first-ever Nagaland Service Selection Board (NSSB) examination for various posts in 45 state government departments.

The official ceremony was held at the Capital Cultural Hall here in the presence of Assembly Speaker Sharingain Longkumer, host of cabinet ministers, advisors, members of Naga Students' Federation (NSF) and others.

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Set up in 2022, NSSB conducted the first exam for recruitment of Grade-IV staff in November, the results of which were declared in July. Altogether 50,583 candidates had appeared in the examination out of which 587 were selected.

Around 49 per cent of the new recruits are in the age group of 21-25 years, officials said.

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Addressing the successful candidates, Rio said the dream of the government to have a state-based meritocracy appointment mechanism through competitive exam without backdoor or political appointment has finally been achieved.

He vowed to bring more transparency and justice to the working system of the government.

The CM expressed hope that the pool of new and young IT savvy government employees would be an asset to the government and would ensure that the benefits of e-governance will slowly trickle to the grassroots level.

Rio also urged the successful candidates to be fearless in work and serve the people of the state with dedication and devotion.

The CM acknowledged the hardwork and dedication of the NSSB staff who despite numerous challenges and drawbacks were able to successfully conduct the first-ever NSSB examinations.

Minister for Tourism and Higher Education Temjen Imna Along said it was a red-letter day for the people of Nagaland and congratulated the NSSB officials for their dedication and hardwork in successfully conducting the first such examination.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)