PSC Mastery

NCA — no candidate available

NCA stands for no candidate available. It is declared when a vacancy reserved for a community has no eligible candidate left in that community’s list, and the Commission then issues a fresh notification restricted to that community alone — a first NCA, a second, and so on. These chains can run for years: one verified example reached a fifth notification six years after the parent, another a fourth after sixteen.

Steps

  1. What triggers it

    The Commission’s glossary states that the required number of candidates belonging to a Backward Class or Scheduled Caste or Tribe to fill the vacancies reserved for them may not be available in the ranked list, and that this situation is termed NCA.

  2. Only that community may apply

    NCA notifications state plainly that applications from candidates of other communities will be rejected, and that no individual rejection communication is sent. Applying outside the named community is wasted effort.

  3. Scheduled Castes and Tribes substitute for each other first

    Before a fresh round, the glossary provides that where no suitable candidate is available from the Scheduled Caste group the post shall be filled by a suitable candidate from the Scheduled Tribe group, and the other way round.

  4. The chains are numbered and can be long

    A verified chain ran from a 2017 notification through first, second, third and fourth NCA rounds to a fifth in 2023 — six years for one reserved post. Another ran from 2004 through rounds in 2007, 2008 and 2009 to a fourth in 2023.

  5. Each round can produce its own list

    Appointment charts record turns satisfied from a second or third NCA ranked list, meaning the later notification’s own list supplied the candidate rather than the original.

  6. It is not the same as NJD

    Non-joining duty is a vacancy created when an advised candidate does not join, refilled from the same list. NCA is a fresh community-restricted notification because nobody eligible remains. See the advice memo and NJD guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can a general-category candidate apply for an NCA vacancy?#

No. NCA notifications state that applications from candidates other than the named community will be rejected, without individual rejection communications.

What is the difference between NCA and NJD?#

NJD is a vacancy created when an already-advised candidate fails to join, refilled from the same list. NCA is a fresh notification restricted to one community because no eligible candidate remains in the list.

How many times can an NCA notification be repeated?#

No limit is published. Verified chains reached a fifth round over six years and a fourth over sixteen.

Does an NCA notification carry the same age rules as the original?#

Not necessarily. One verified NCA notification excluded a paragraph of the standard age-relaxation conditions. Read the NCA notification’s own age clause rather than assuming the parent’s rules carry over.

Official sources

Steps last verified against official Kerala PSC sources on 25 August 2026.

Where the Commission has not published a rule, this guide says so rather than guessing. Anything marked “not officially published” is exactly that.

This is an independent guide for aspirants, written from the Commission’s own published instructions. Portal screens and rules change — always confirm on keralapsc.gov.in and in your own Thulasi profile before acting. PSC Mastery is not affiliated with the Kerala Public Service Commission.