Jammu, May 3 : In a key administrative development, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has approved the induction of 23 officers from the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and forwarded its recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for final notification.
Sources said that three officers who had earlier been inducted on a provisional basis have now been formally confirmed as IAS officers.
The inductions have primarily been made against vacancies of 2019, while a smaller number of officers have been adjusted against vacancies for 2020.
The UPSC held detailed deliberations with senior Jammu and Kashmir officials in New Delhi on April 23 and 24. Following the meeting, the Commission forwarded its recommendations to the MHA, which will subsequently send them to the General Administration Department (GAD) for further processing.
According to sources, seven among the 23 cleared officers have either retired or are close to retirement. These vacancies will be carried forward and re-notified after completion of the current induction process and assignment of service years.
“These posts, along with future vacancies, will be available for induction of more JKAS officers next year,” sources said.
The year of allotment for the newly inducted IAS officers will be determined after the MHA issues a formal notification, which is expected shortly.
The UPSC has also approved the confirmation of three officers who were earlier inducted provisionally and are already serving in the IAS.
Senior officials including Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Commissioner/Secretary GAD M Raju represented Jammu and Kashmir during the two-day UPSC meeting in New Delhi.
Following Jammu and Kashmir’s inclusion in the AGMUT cadre, IAS officers are now posted across various States and Union Territories including Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Delhi, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep.
Notably, this is the first such induction in nearly four years. The previous induction was carried out on August 4, 2022, when 16 JKAS officers were elevated to the IAS.
The process had remained stalled due to legal disputes and seniority issues. Although 28 officers were initially cleared for induction in July 2022, 11 were later dropped due to retirement, refusal, or other reasons.
Inductions from JKAS to IAS had also remained pending for over a decade between 2010 and 2022 due to prolonged legal and administrative hurdles. Officers of the 1999 JKAS batch, in particular, had to wait over two decades for elevation.
The government is now planning to make the induction process a regular annual exercise to ensure timely promotions and avoid long delays in future.(KNC)
