Extra attempt, age relaxation for civil services aspirants unfeasible: Govt

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the government has not found it feasible to change the existing provisions regarding the number of attempts and age-limit of the civil services examination

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the government has not found it feasible to change the existing provisions regarding the number of attempts and age-limit in respect of the civil services examination.

The issue of granting age relaxation and an extra attempt to candidates for the civil services examination (CSE) due to COVID-19 was brought before the Supreme Court of India vide writ petitions by the aspirants, the Minister of State for Personnel said.

"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," he said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

However, the recruitment cycle of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) was delayed due to COVID-19. Therefore, for the examinations being advertised in 2022, the SSC has decided to fix the crucial date for determining age as on January 1, 2022, Singh said.

In the normal course, the crucial date for determining age for these examinations would have been August 1, 2022, or January 1, 2023, depending on the schedule of the conduct of tier-II examinations, he added.