Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A long wait for the final results of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) examination has forced aspirants to find an alternative source just to make ends meet. There are two shops opened in the students’ area in Indore that are not only meant for sustaining their daily expenses but also to mark their protest, say agencies.
The aspirants waiting for completion of the MPPSC recruitment examination for the past four years have named their shops PSC Falahar and PSC Samosawala. According to reports, over 10 lakh aspirants have taken exams for 1,400 posts in these years. But the final results of the examinations are yet to be declared.
A 28-year-old aspirant, Tejprakash Kushwaha, began his start-up, ‘PSC Falahar’ along with three of his friends—Suraj Bukhare, Shubham Thakur and Pradeep Meena—around two months ago at Bholaram Main Gate, Ustad Marg, Bhanwarkuan, Indore.
Tej, a resident of Rewa district, said he had been preparing for the Civil Services examination for the past six years, including two years for UPSC in Delhi. After completing his graduation and post-graduation from Allahabad University, he went to Delhi and then back to Indore in 2018. He also cleared the UGC NET examination in Geography.
“I’ve taken the MPPSC 2019 Mains exam, 2020 Mains exam and will take the 2021 Mains exams. But the problem is that the results haven’t been declared and there’s too much pressure from my parents as my family’s financial condition isn’t stable. I used to teach in a few coaching classes to meet my daily expenses. I’ve worked at many coaching institutes but didn’t have regular work. So, I decided to start something on my own,” Tej added.
Tej said they used to wake up at 4 am, get stuff ready and open shop around 6.30 am. They sell fruit chat for around three hours till 9.30 am. After that, they focus on their studies as their main aim is to serve as government officials. They are selling fruits just to make ends meet.
Spontaneous Idea
Tej said, “The idea of the start-up was very spontaneous. We used to bring papaya from a nearby fruit mandi for to eat by ourselves. One day, I served a papaya left in my room to one of my friends and, at that moment, I decided that I’d sell papaya. On the first day, we sold 6 kg papaya and earned Rs 35 profit from it. We sell it continuously for one month and make a profit of around Rs 300 on a regular basis. After that, we charged Rs 20 a plate containing 200g of different varieties of fruit.”
There is another start-up, ‘PSC Samosawala’, set up by aspirant Ajit Singh, a resident of Rewa, at Ganesh Nagar, Khandwa Naka, Indore.
Ajit said that, after completing his intermediate exam in 2016, he came to Indore to prepare for his MPPSC exams in 2017. He took the PSC exam 2019 and 2020. He failed to clear PSC 2020 by one mark. Now, he is preparing for the 2021 examination.
He began the start-up to ease the financial burden on the family. As the MPPSC failed to declare the final results for the past four years, the pressure from his parents has been increasing continuously.
“The family is spending around Rs 70,000 every year for his studies. When they asked about the results, we didn’t have an answer. I feel I’m becoming a liability to my parents. So, I’ve decided on the start-up parallelly with my studies,” Ajit said. “For the time being, I prepare samosa by myself and sell them. I used to sell samosas for around 6 hours from 3 pm to 9 pm. The rest of the time I use for my studies,” he added.
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