Govt eases age bar for JK residents to take civil service exam

In a major relief for civil services aspirants from Jammu and Kashmir, the Government has extended till next year-end the upper age limit relaxation for the residents of the state to take the examination.

According to the notified changes, people of the state can write central civil services examination till they attain the age of 37 years.

The latest notification by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the prestigious test, states that the lower age limit is 21 years and the upper bar is 32 years (as on August 1, 2014) to appear in central civil services examination.

"The Central Government has decided to extend the age relaxation to all persons who had ordinarily been domiciled in the state of Jammu and Kashmir during the period from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 1989 for a further period of two years beyond December 31, 2013," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order.

It is clarified that nobody's interest will be adversely affected by the retrospective effect being given to the rules, it said.

A notification in Jammu and Kashmir (Relaxation of upper age limit for recruitment to Central Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1997, for relaxing upper age limit till 2015 has been issued by the DoPT.

As per the civil services 2014 notification, the upper age limit is relaxable upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir during January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.

The DoPT has also asked the Ministry of Railways, Department of Financial Services, Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Department of Electronics, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for issue of similar orders for appointment to posts under their control, nationalised banks or public sector undertakings.

The civil services examination is held annually to select officers for IAS, IPS and IFS among others.