PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 17 -- Aspirants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have once again emerged as frontrunners in central government job recruitments conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). According to the latest data, between 22% and 37% of candidates selected in the last five major SSC examinations hailed from the central region that comprises these two states. Ashish Kumar Srivastava, regional director of SSC's central region headquartered in Prayagraj, said the consistent success reflects a positive and sustained trend over the past several years. The most notable result came from the recently declared Junior Engineer (JE) Recruitment Exam-2024, where candidates from the central region accounted for 36.76% of total selections-the highest among all regions, SSC officials reported. This strong showing continues across other major SSC exams. In the Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL) Exam-2024, 29.21% of selected candidates were from the central region. Similarly, in the Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) Recruitment 2024, 28.85% of selections came from UP and Bihar. Officials acknowledge that these figures underscore not only the numerical dominance of candidates from the two states but also their expanding reach into technical and skilled roles- challenging the perception that their strength lies solely in clerical or non-technical domains. In the CHSL Exam-2024- one of SSC's most sought-after recruitments- nearly 30% of selected candidates for roles such as lower division clerk, junior secretariat assistant, postal assistant/sorting assistant and data entry operator were from UP and Bihar. Likewise, the MTS and Havildar Recruitment 2024 for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Central Bureau of Narcotics also saw 28.85% selections from the region. In the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam 2024, and in recruitments for constable (GD) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and SSF, rifleman (GD) in the Assam Rifles, and sepoy in the Narcotics Control Bureau, candidates from UP and Bihar made up 22.10% of the final selections. Experts attribute this consistent success to the focused academic environment in cities like Prayagraj, Patna, and Lucknow, which have become hubs for competitive exam preparation. They also credit the diligence and determination of candidates from these states. Youths from two states vying for SSC exams in large numbers Educated youngsters vying for government jobs apply and appear in various recruitment exams conducted by SSC in large numbers, data show. Records show that 14 recruitment exams conducted by SSC in 2024-25 saw 62,32,978 applying and out of 30,58,016 (49.06%) appearing in them from the central region comprising UP and Bihar. Data available with the SSC's central region headquarters show that among these exams held in 2024-25, Constable GD Exam held on February 4, 2025 saw a maximum 18,40,496 youths applying and 8,80,635 appearing in it from the two states while MTS (NT) Staff and Havaldar (CBIC and CBN) Paper-1 Exam-2024 held between September 30 and November 14, 2024 saw 17,93,064 applicants from these two states and 7,68,769 out of them appearing in it. Other major exams like Combined Graduate Level Exam (Tier 1)-2024 held between September 9 and 26, 2024 saw 8,81,888 applicants out of which 4,88,944 appeared in it were from UP and Bihar. The Combined High Secondary Level (Tier 1) Exam-2024 held between July 1 and July 11, 2024 also attracted 8,49,815 applicants from the two states and out of which 4,54,500 appeared in it....