Around 4 lakh application data in Loksewa (Public Service Commission or PSC) has been lost. The applicants’ data have gone missing after problems emerged in the National Information Technology Center (NITC) server. Also affected are 60 separate government bodies.
The news of PSC application data going missing has shocked the individuals who are directly related to it with many venting their anger at the government for being negligent with user data. Worse, it’s feared that the lost data may not be recovered again. The center has referred to the concerned bodies that despite trying to retrieve the data for over 2 months, it hasn’t been able to determine if the data will ever be restored.
Also read: Old Data from Government Websites to be Removed
Three months PSC Loksewa Ayog data loss
According to PSC Information Officer Devi Prasad Subedi, the commission used a backup system three months ago.
“The data from Kartik, Mangsir, and Poush has been missing,” he said. Sixteen thousand users who applied to create a new account are not to be found within PSC’s system. The commission has asked the data center for all the data of this year but the latter has been reluctant to comply, he added.
At the moment, PSC is utilizing the data stored in its old backup server.
Center’s IT departs employee Sumod Pokharel said that the server where PSC has hosted its site has had problems which resulted in the data loss crisis. He shared that the reader in the hard disc installed by Oracle crashed and it led to the data loss. The server had no backup.
PSC’s server https://psconline1.psc.gov.np has been down since Falgun 23, 2079.
Check out: All Nepali Government websites To Maintain A Similar Structure
PSC to call for new application
In the meantime, PSC is to conduct exams of various levels from Jestha, 2080 BS, however, it doesn’t have data on applicants who submitted their application this fiscal year FY 2079/80. Various media outlets have reported that the commission is likely to call for another round of applications as the chance to retrieve the lost data is extremely minimal.
The frustrated users have criticized the commission for not being conscious enough regarding the applicants’ data and are curious if they will need to pay fees to submit another application if they needed.