Government Seeks Input on Uniform Civil Service Age Limit

#Union Ministry Seeks Response On Plea Seeking Uniform Minimum Age for Civil Services

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has been asked by the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice to submit a report on the plea seeking a uniform minimum age limit of 21 years for all civil services.

The observation was noted in the annual report of the department of personnel and training (DOP&T), on the Union Ministry's strategy for financial year 2021-2022.

The report stated that the Committee had recommended a uniform minimum age limit for civil services in its report on the Home Affairs' Demands for Grants in the care of the Financial Year 2020-2021. It had specifically asserted the appropriate minimum age for appearing in the civil services examination must be 21 years, and the minimum age for recruitment should be 30 years. The demand for assurance was intended to “prevent a serious set-back to the career of a person who is deprived of even appearing in civil service examinations for an unspecified period due to family circumstances, education, etc.”

The department of personnel and training informed that in sync with the above observation of the Committee, the department of Personnel and Public Grievances will return the service's proposal of the Department of Expenditure for laying down uniform minimum age criteria.

The department held that it does not have any merely logistical bearing as the petition is a general petition created on July 11, 2019, and that the department of expenditure had yet to elaborate upon the projected response of the government of India.

The department asked for the standing parliamentary committee's entire supply of civil services to understand the matter of age limit better and have mailed them to submit their reply.

The Rashtriya Lok Samta Party's president, Upendra Kushwaha, who is also a Lok Sabha member, had asked for a uniform minimum age limit of 21 years, or attained physical and mental maturity, for all civil services' aspirants.

Civil Service Examination Age Limit

The new attempt to amend Civil Services Age Rules started in June 2019 when the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions asked for suggestions, views, and comments from stakeholders about reducing the non-optimal behaviour among the candidates.

As per the request of personnel, several proposals for de-linking age-effect on attempts had been submitted by its Department of Expenditures. The Department of Expenditures wants to be Planning Panel for:

* Decreasing upper age limit to 26 years, down from 27 for Individuals Belonging to the Outside General category

Reduces upper age limit and attempts for Individuals Belonging to OBC category
All class of IAS aspirants should allow four attempts. While three chances should be given to those with physical disabilities
It called for scrapping the allocation implementation phase when the candidates had an OBC certificate

An additional proposal came that the minimum age for Civil Services Examination could increase from 21 to 22 or 23. In its inquiry, DOP&T has ensured that aspirants demand an increase in age eligibility.

Increase in Age Elegibility

One 2019 petition, the petition's mover Rameshwar Dudi of the Marwar Rajput Sabha at Pali district of Rajasthan, was allowed the candidate belonging to Scheduled Tribe Hill Areas or notified tribal dominating, neglected, and isolated area.

Attorney General KK Venugopal at that time had accepted the bench that examinations' complexity makes it suitable to harder entrance examinations. That must determine their calibre.

He contended that a greater number of backlogs occurred prior to the changed age limit rule. Increasing the age lessens right opportunities for OBC, SC, and other candidates from deprived sections.

Final Take

A provision makes the criticism of the candidates for Civil Services Examination need 32 years. The statement ignored 22 to 24 years of age as an examination that could affect the recruiting by the UPSC and other government recruitment organizations.

This provision has implied that age limits left as late as possible and called for the government to think about increasing the fixed probable limit to 30 years. A president's order dated May 8, 2019, had decided that the age of OBC candidates should be done from 32 to 30.

Till a while back, UPSC offers 6 attempts