Srinagar, Apr 5: After nearly four years, the long-pending induction of 23 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) officers into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is set to materialise, with the process likely to conclude by the end of April.
Official sources said the Jammu and Kashmir administration has completed all required formalities and referred the vacancies for 2019 and 2020 to the Union Public Service Commission, which will convene a final meeting to clear the inductions. The UPSC has also nominated one of its members as chairman of the selection committee.
The panel will include senior UT officers such as the Chief Secretary, an Additional Chief Secretary, and the Administrative Secretary of the General Administration Department.
This will be the first such induction exercise since August 4, 2022, when 16 JKAS officers were inducted into the IAS. Since then, the process remained stalled despite identified vacancies, largely due to legal disputes.
Sources, however, indicated that while some legal issues persist, they are unlikely to derail the process. “The concerns have been communicated to the UPSC, and a solution is expected—either by clearing the vacancies subject to court outcomes or reserving some posts,” they said.
The final meeting is expected to be held in Jammu later this month. The officers likely to be inducted belong to the 1999 batch and will be allotted the AGMUT cadre.
Officials said filling these 23 vacancies will pave the way for identifying fresh vacancies in subsequent years, helping address long-standing stagnation within the JKAS.
Notably, inductions had remained frozen for nearly 12 years—from 2010 to 2022—due to seniority disputes and legal hurdles. The 1999 batch, in particular, has waited over two decades for elevation to the IAS.
In July 2022, 28 officers were initially cleared for induction, but 11 were later dropped due to retirement, refusal, death, or pending cases.
The administration now aims to make such inductions a regular annual exercise, in line with other States and Union Territories, to ensure timely career progression for JKAS officers.
With Jammu and Kashmir part of the AGMUT cadre, IAS officers are posted across multiple regions, including Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Delhi, Ladakh, and other Union Territories.
