Man waits 34 years for interview

Millions of people have signed up for state jobs

A man in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta says he has been invited for a state government job interview, 34 years after he applied.

I'd given up hope

Job-seeker Ravindra Nath Halder

But Ravindra Nath Halder, a 52-year-old grandfather, told the Reuters news agency he was now too old to take the post offered.

Mr Halder, who owns a snack shop, was a teenager when he put his name down for work at West Bengal state's labour exchange in 1968.

The letter asking him to come for interview was dated 6, March, 2002.

Even if he wanted to attend the interview, state government jobs are only available to applicants up to 37 years old.

Job hunting

"I'd given up hope... I'm now 52 and too old for a government job," said Mr Halder, a father of two daughters and a son.

But according to Reuters, the family still hopes that one of them will find employment through the labour exchange.

Mr Halder's son applied for a job at the exchange four years ago but has yet to receive a reply.

"I hope he has better luck than me," the father said.

Labour minister Mohammad Amin told Reuters it often took a "long time" for a person to be called for an interview.

"We have 77 state employment exchanges state-wide and more than 5.5 million persons are registered on them. Just 16,000 to 17,000 people listed get jobs every year," Mr Amin was quoted as saying.