NITI Aayog has unveiled its comprehensive national ''Strategy for New India,'' which clearly defines the objectives for 2022-23. It was released by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley along with the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar.
The ''Strategy for New India'' is a detailed account that focuses on 41 crucial areas.
These 41 chapters have been classified into four - Drivers, Infrastructure, Inclusion and Governance. The Civil Services Reforms under Governance draws special attention with key suggestions.
The report suggested that the upper age limit for the Civil Services should be brought down to 27 years for the general category in a phased manner by 2022-23. Service conditions for employees of autonomous bodies need to be regulated and harmonized. It even suggested promoting officer-oriented culture among the cadre. The Civil Services Examination is a dream to thousands of aspirants and over 4 Lakh candidates register for the year-long selection process. As for now, the upper age limit for the general candidates is 32 years. The age relaxation is provided to candidates belonging to OBC, SC and ST categories. The second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) under the Chairmanship of Shri Veerappa Moily in 2005 and 2009 had recommended that the upper age limit for general category candidates should be 25 years and 28 years for OBC. NITI Aayog's Strategy for New India even mentioned the number of exams for civil services should ideally be brought down to one with all India ranking. The states may also be encouraged to use this pool for recruitments. The official report stated, ''Reduce the number of civil services: The existing 60 plus separate civil services at the central and state level needs to be reduced through rationalization and harmonization of services. Recruits should be placed in a central talent pool, which would then allocate candidates by matching their competencies and the job description of the post.''
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