Alphons seeks reduction in age limit for civil service exams

BJP member K J Alphons on Monday sought reduction in upper age limit of candidates appearing in civil service examination to 26 years saying current entrants with "advanced age" were "untrainable".

In a special mention in Rajya Sabha, Alphons, a former IAS officer who was minister of state for culture and tourism in the previous NDA government, said the upper age limit needs to be reduced while providing appropriate concessions to OBC and SC/ST candidates.

"Civil service examinations are one of the toughest in the world. Out of around 1.5 million candidates appearing in the examination, only 100 get selected to the IAS," Alphons said.

The upper age limit for appearing in the examination was increased to 32 years for general candidates, 35 years for OBC and 37 years for SC/ST candidates.

"At that age the selected candidates are untrainable. They come with huge baggage. Civil service needs people with back bone, who are committed to the country and it is difficult to instill these qualities at such an advanced age," Alphons said.

He said: "Therefore upper age limit may be reduced to 26 years with appropriate concessions to OBCs, SC/ST candidates in a phased manner."