Over 93K to appear for HCS prelims, biometric verification at centres

Chandigarh: Haryana chief secretary Anurag Rastogi on Friday reviewed administrative and logistical preparations for the Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch) and Allied Services Preliminary Examination-2025, scheduled for April 26.The examination will be held in two sessions — General Studies from 10 am to 12 noon and CSAT from 3 pm to 5 pm. As many as 93,696 candidates will take the test at 337 centres across eight districts.Centres have been set up in Ambala (31), Faridabad (80), Gurugram (56), Karnal (48), Kurukshetra (37), Panipat (19), Yamunanagar (23) and Panchkula (43).During the review meeting, the chief secretary directed deputy commissioners of all eight districts to ensure foolproof arrangements, including uninterrupted power supply, deployment of duty magistrates and enforcement of Section 144 around strong rooms and examination centres. District headquarters have also been asked to keep ambulances on standby to handle medical emergencies.Nodal officers from the IAS and HCS cadres have been appointed in each district to oversee strong room management, distribution of question papers and post-examination dispatch of materials to the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), Panchkula.To ensure a fair and transparent examination, modern security measures are being put in place. The chief secretary instructed commissioners of police and superintendents of police to ensure adequate police deployment at strong rooms from April 24 onwards, conduct checks at hotels, coaching centres and photocopy shops, and verify private agency staff deployed on exam duty. Examination centres will also have CCTV surveillance, thorough frisking of candidates and Aadhaar-based biometric authentication.Rastogi also reviewed preparations for the NEET examination, scheduled on May 3, and directed deputy commissioners to ensure equally stringent arrangements.He emphasised that all preparations must be completed well in advance to ensure smooth, fair and transparent conduct of both examinations.