Age relaxation for Aspirants – Rajya Sabha QA
Age relaxation for Aspirants of Exams conducted by UPSC, SSC & Banking Sectors – Rajya Sabha QA
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
(DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)
RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 59
(TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2022)
AGE RELAXATION FOR ASPIRANTS
59 SHRI K.R. SURESH REDDY:
Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:
(a) whether due to COVID-19 pandemic, recruitments were not done in Central Government offices and other Government bodies like UPSC, SSC and Banking Sector also;
(b) whether because of this, aspirants either got age barred or attempt barred from appearing in the competitive exams conducted by the Central Government and Other Central Government organizations; and
(c) if so, the details of steps taken/proposed to be taken by Government to give age relaxation to those aspirants?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
(a): Recruitment in Central Government is a continuous process. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) have been conducting their examinations duly complying with all COVID-19 safety protocols. Following recruitments have been made by UPSC, SSC and IBPS during COVID-19 pandemic period:
| YEAR | UPSC | SSC | IBPS | Total |
| 2020-21 | 4,214 | 68,891 | 23,496 | 96,601 |
| 2021-22 | 4,699 | 29,023 | 29,292 | 63,014 |
| GRAND TOTAL (2020-22) | 8,913 | 97,914 | 52,788 | 1,59,615 |
(b) & (c): On the issue of granting age relaxation and extra attempt to candidates for Civil Services Examination (CSE), due to COVID-19 pandemic, the matter was also brought before Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide Writ Petitions by CSE aspirants. Based on the judgments passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, the matter was considered and it has not been found feasible to change the existing provisions regarding number of attempts and age-limit in respect of the Civil Services Examination. As regards examinations to be conducted by SSC for the examinations being advertised in the year 2022, the SSC has decided to fix crucial date for determining age as on 01.01.2022. In the normal course, the crucial date for determining age for these examinations would have been 01.08.2022 or 01.01.2023, depending on the schedule of conduct of Tier-II Examination. As regards the Banking Sector, since each year exams were conducted, the issue of age relaxation is not applicable.
Source: Rajya Sabha