Ladakh language paper exemption under review: Govt to LS
The civil services examination rules are part of an evolving framework, and the Government continuously undertakes reforms besides remedial measures to ensure a level playing field, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Singh was responding to a query seeking details of any proposal under the Government’s consideration to exempt aspirants from Ladakh from qualifying for the Indian language paper as part of the civil services (main) examination.
The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Singh, the Union Minister of State for Personnel, said that the Indian language paper is not compulsory for candidates hailing from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
His response came to a question as to whether candidates from these six states are exempted from the qualifying language papers in the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
Singh said that the examination is conducted by the UPSC annually in accordance with the civil services examination (CSE) rules notified by the Department of Personnel and Training.
“As per CSE Rules-2025, the Paper A on Indian Language is not compulsory for candidates hailing from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim,” he said.
To a question whether there is any proposal to extend a similar exemption from qualifying language papers to candidates from Ladakh, Singh said CSE Rules are part of a dynamic and evolving framework.
“To ensure a level playing field for the aspirants nationwide, the Government continuously undertakes reforms and remedial measures,” the minister added.
