Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that recruitment in Central Government continued even during COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement laid on the table of the Rajya Sabha by Dr Jitendra Singh stated that recruitment in Central Government is a continuous process. A total of 1,59,615 candidates were selected by UPSC, SSC and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, popularly known as the IBPS during 2020-21 and 2021-22.

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:

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 the Supreme Court of India vide Writ Petitions by CSE aspirants.  Based on the judgments passed by 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.

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