Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 28 July 2025
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble Member of Parliament from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has formally appealed to the Central Government and the UT Administration to repair the higher age restrict for direct recruitment to Group-B (Non-Gazetted) and Group-C posts at 40 years throughout all departments underneath the A&N Administration, with an extra five-year leisure for native residents.
In representations addressed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah, and Hon’ble Lt. Governor Admiral (Retd.) D.Ok. Joshi, the MP has sought pressing intervention on the difficulty. Copies of the letter had been additionally marked to the Chief Secretary and different senior officers of the UT Administration for vital motion.
In his communication, Mr. Ray underlined the distinctive geographical isolation, restricted financial alternatives, and the absence of private-sector development within the islands. He emphasised that authorities employment stays the first supply of livelihood for the educated youth of the Union Territory.
Highlighting previous practices, Mr. Ray famous that the Administration had traditionally maintained a extra versatile higher age restrict of 38 years, in alignment with the bottom realities of the islands. However, he expressed critical concern over latest administrative proposals to cut back the higher age restrict to 27 years for sure posts, together with Surveyor within the Revenue Department and Field Worker/Mazdoor within the Health Department.
The MP argued that such a drastic lower within the age restrict would disqualify many deserving candidates, particularly those that pursue larger training on the mainland—typically with important monetary burden—solely to overlook out on authorities jobs attributable to rare job notifications and inflexible age norms. He additionally cited Article 309 of the Constitution, which empowers Union Territories to border recruitment guidelines based on native socio-economic circumstances.
To strengthen his case, Mr. Ray referenced related insurance policies in different areas:
1. Ladakh has set the higher age restrict at 40 years for all Group-B (Non-Gazetted) and Group-C posts (Order No. 448 LA(GAD) of 2024, dated 27.09.2024).
2. Goa permits candidates as much as 45 years for state authorities jobs.
3. Telangana permits as much as 46 years, and Andhra Pradesh as much as 42 years for non-uniform posts.
Based on these examples and the precise context of the islands, Mr. Ray positioned the next calls for:
1. Fix the higher age restrict at 40 years (as on 1st January of the recruitment yr) for all Group-B (NG) and Group-C posts underneath the A&N Administration.
2. Provide an extra five-year leisure for everlasting native residents, given the absence of a proper native reservation coverage.
Mr. Ray urged each the Central Government and the A&N Administration to undertake an inclusive, empathetic strategy to guard the aspirations of the unemployed youth of the islands. A coverage framework just like that of Ladakh, he mentioned, can be a good and simply response to the socio-economic challenges confronted by island residents.
