Govt to not alter upper age limit for civil services exam

New Delhi, Dec 25: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that the Central government has no plan to alter the age criteria for the civil services examinations.

NITI Aayog had earlier suggested reducing the upper age limit for the aspirants to 27 years. The present upper age limit for the general category candidates is 32 years

"There is no move by Government to alter the age criteria of eligibility to appear in civil service examinations. Reports and speculations should be put to rest," Singh told ANI.

NITI Aayog had suggested that maximum age limit be brought down to 27 years from the present 32 years for general category candidates in a phased manner by 2022-23.

In the 'Strategy for New India @75' document released, the government think-tank also pitched for an integrated exam for all civil services.

"Recruits should be placed in a central talent pool, which would then allocate candidates by matching their competencies and the job description of the post," it also said.

The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages - preliminary, main and interview - to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had earlier suggested that the existing pen and paper based exams should be replaced by online mode.