UPSC Extra Attempt: The Minister of State for Personnel said - it is not possible to change the provision for the number of attempts for the Civil Services Examination.

Amidst the growing demand for additional changes in the Civil Services Examination, the Central Government has clarified that it is not possible to change the provision to increase the number of attempts for the Civil Services Examination. Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that it is not easily possible for the government to change the existing provisions regarding the number of attempts and age limit concerning the Civil Services Examination (CSE).

The ever-increasing demand to allow extra effort

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said that due to the COVID pandemic, there is a constant demand from the candidates for relaxation in age and opportunity for additional attempts for Civil Services Examination. Writ petitions have also been filed by the candidates before the Supreme Court in respect of such requests. However, deciding on these is a very complicated matter for the ministry.

Consideration of judgments passed by the Supreme Court

The Union Minister of State for Personnel and Training said that the government has considered the matter based on the judgments passed by the Supreme Court. However, the Ministry did not find it possible to change the existing provisions regarding the number of attempts and age limit in respect of the Civil Services Examination. Therefore, to avoid such a situation, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Staff Selection Commission (SSC), in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said that all necessary steps are taken for the smooth conduct of examinations by adopting all COVID-19 safety protocols. are arranging.

Government should take a soft stance on civil service candidates

During the first and second waves of Kovid, when everything came to a standstill, the candidates preparing for civil services also had to face a lot of difficulties due to these difficulties. A parliamentary committee headed by BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi has asked the government to amicably consider giving an additional chance to the civil service candidates and accordingly relax the age limit. The committee advised the government to constitute an expert committee to assess the recruitment and administrative capacity based on changes in the examination system, pattern, and syllabus in the last 10 years.

CBI probe into bank fraud is pending due to states' refusal

Many cases have been stalled due to the state wrangling over the CBI probe against corruption. The government on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that a CBI probe into bank fraud involving over Rs 21,000 crore is pending in the absence of approval from five non-BJP ruled states. In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said that Maharashtra has the highest number of 101 pending bank fraud cases out of 128 of Rs 21,074.43 crore.

He said that the investigation of fraud of Rs 20312.53 crore in Maharashtra from 2019 to 28 February 2022 is pending. The minister said that a dozen such cases worth Rs 298.94 crore are pending in Punjab. While eight cases worth Rs 157.26 crore in Chhattisgarh, six cases worth Rs 293.64 crore in West Bengal, and one case worth Rs 12.06 crore in Rajasthan are pending investigation due to lack of consent.

No political exploitation of minorities, only welfare purpose: Naqvi

Union Minorities Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has described the welfare of minorities without appeasement and discrimination as the mantra of the Modi government. During the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Naqvi said on the allegations of lack of minority welfare schemes, the Modi government is engaged in the all-around development of the minorities. Schemes like scholarships for minority students have been given more funds than the UPA government.

Claiming to run minority schemes without political exploitation and publicity, he said, the government has done PWD (poor, women, Dalit) engineering instead of communal. He said that out of 2.31 crore houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, 31 percent have been allotted in 25 minority-dominated areas. 33% of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi are minorities. Of the nine crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, 37 percent are minorities. 36% of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana are minorities.

Minorities increased in bureaucracy

Naqvi said the number of minorities successful in the Union Public Service Commission examination has increased. The government is providing coaching to deserving candidates. The number of minorities in the bureaucracy is increasing.

Awaiting reply from the Saudi government for Hajj

Naqvi said that due to the Kovid epidemic, Saudi Arabia has not allowed Haj pilgrimage for the last two years. Everyone wants Hajj to be organized, but it depends on the decision of the Saudi Arabian government whether Hajj will be organized or not. However, the Government of India has started preparations for the Haj pilgrimage from these 10 places out of 21.

TRS MPs created a ruckus on the demand to fill one million posts of the Center

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MPs on Thursday created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha over their demand for recruitment to one million posts at the Centre. As soon as the meeting started, TRS MPs led by Nama Nageswara Rao came in front of the Speaker's podium. Raising slogans with placards in their hands, they demanded the government to investigate the cases of suicides of unemployed youth and discuss filling up 10 lakh vacant posts of the Centre. Speaker Om Birla, however, refused to allow discussion on the issue saying that the first hour is fixed for questions from the MPs.

RJD raised the issue of revision of minimum wage

RJD MP Manoj Jha raised the issue of the revision of minimum wages in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. He demanded the Chairman to discuss this during Zero Hour. Referring to the Satpathy Committee report, he said that there was talk of paying Rs 375 per day or Rs 9,750 per month as well as paying house rent, but to date, it has not been implemented. He said that in the ever-increasing inflation, it is becoming difficult for the poor man to walk home in an orderly manner.

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