CS meets Secy UPSC as Commission makes special exception
Shivang Satya Gupta
Leh, Jul 09: In yet another testimony to the Union Territory administration’s commitment to the youth of the region, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is all set to roll out the recruitment process for Gazetted Posts in Ladakh.
The exception made by the UPSC even after the finalisation of its recruitment calendar for the year 2025 three months ago, has come as the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Dr Pawan Kotwal called on the Secretary of the Commission, Shashi Ranjan, at the UPSC Headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday.
In the first phase, the UPSC will initiate the recruitment for as many as 232 key Gazetted posts in Ladakh across the Health Department, School Education Department and Finance Department, while the recruitment to the remaining Gazetted vacancies will follow in a phased manner, the Chief Secretary announced after the meeting.
This historic decision spells ending a six-year-long drought in the Union Territory, where no Gazetted recruitment has taken place since October 2019.
Not only will this decision help the career interests of the youth of Ladakh greatly, but it would also serve the administrative needs of the Union Territory, where a large number of vacancies have accumulated in key departments such as Health, Finance and School Education.
Chief Secretary Dr Pawan Kotwal informed that the meeting involved detailed deliberations on the pressing requirement of Gazetted officers in the UT of Ladakh, particularly in view of the growing administrative and developmental responsibilities of the Union Territory.
Besides Kotwal and Ranjan, the meeting was also attended by Joint Secretary (Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh), Ministry of Home Affairs, Prashant Lokhande, and Secretary, General Administration Department, UT Ladakh, Michael M. D’Souza.
Although the UPSC calendar for recruitment to Gazetted posts for the year 2025 had set the window for receipt of requisitions between 1st January and 31st March 2025, and the final date had passed on 31st March 2025, the Commission has agreed to make a special exception in the case of Ladakh.
Recognising the administrative urgency, the UPSC has agreed to initiate recruitment for key Gazetted posts in Ladakh in the first phase.
“These include the recruitment to the 125 posts of Medical Officers in Health Department, 75 posts of Lecturers in School Education Department, besides 32 posts of Accounts Officers in Finance Department,” the Chief Secretary informed The Earth News.
Recruitment to the remaining Gazetted vacancies will be undertaken in a phased manner, he added.
The Chief Secretary thanked the UPSC for the consultative process undertaken in finalising the Recruitment Rules and initiating recruitment for the Union Territory.
He also thanked the Commission for initiating the process immediately after the finalisation of the domicile and reservation framework by the UT Administration.
