Hyderabad, Nov. 14 -- The Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Ltd (TOMCOM) enrolled 600 candidates in the Japan and Germany programmes it reported for 2023 to 2026. By October 2026, 455 of them, or 75.8 per cent, had not been deployed abroad. Only 145 had.

The figures come from TOMCOM's replies to two Right to Information (RTI) applications and to questions Siasat.com sent on September 16. They are the first programme-wise figures TOMCOM has made public since it was set up as a state government company in 2015. Its documents do not always agree, but on any of its counts, three in four candidates were not deployed.

"Deployed" is TOMCOM's term. Its figures exclude candidates awaiting visas or holding pre-visa approvals. Whether any of the...