The first ever OMR-based examination for paramilitary forces went off successfully today with almost 50,000 candidates appearing for 2,500 posts of constables in the border guarding force ITBP.

In examinations based on Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), a candidate has to darken the correct answer among multiple options on special answersheets, which are later scanned during evaluation thus avoiding human interference in the process.

To make the process transparent, the candidates taking the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) exam, for the first time, were allowed to take away a copy of their answersheets so that they can later tally their response with the correct ones posted on the ITBP website www.itbprecruitment.in, a senior ITBP official said.

"The final merit list will be out on June 29. This is for the first time when the recruitment for constables in a central police force (CPO) is done according to the new guidelines of the Home Ministry to ensure transparency and fair play in the exercise," the official said.

He said 98 women will also be recruited through this examination. The new software system enables zero interference by an individual.

The examination has been conducted after obtaining biometric data, including fingerprints of the candidates, and a short message service (SMS) was initiated to inform them about their examination centre and roll number among other details.

A total of 5,436 candidates undertook the examination in Delhi while 20 centres across the country were also set up.

The MHA has recently revamped the examination procedure for recruitment in lower ranks for CPOs and has also advised the state governments to adopt the same method.

The 45,000 personnel strong ITBP guards 3,488-kms long Sino-Indian border and is proposing to raise 15 new battalions (15,000 personnel) in a time-bound manner.