West Bengal raises upper age limit for recruitment in govt jobs by 5 years
Kolkata, May 19
The West Bengal government on Tuesday increased the upper age limit for recruitment to state government posts by five years. The state cabinet has taken this decision, fulfilling the BJP's poll promise for age relaxation in recruitment.
The Finance Department has formally notified the revised age limits, which came into effect on May 11.
According to a press note from the Chief Secretary's Office, for recruitment through the Public Service Commission, West Bengal, the maximum age will now be 41 years for Group 'A' posts, 44 years for Group B' posts, and 45 years for Group 'C' and Group 'D' posts. In cases where the existing prescribed upper age limit for any post is already higher, that higher limit will continue to apply.
For other appointments, including recruitment by state statutory bodies, government companies, and local authorities covered under the West Bengal Regulation of Recruitment in State Statutory Bodies, Government Companies and Local Authorities Act, 1999, the upper age limit has been fixed uniformly at 45 years.
The existing relaxations in age available to candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and the differently-abled persons will continue to apply.
According to the Chief Secretary, the first recruitment process to benefit from this decision will be the ongoing selection for the post of Assistant Professor in Government-aided Degree Colleges. As the College Service Commission is a State statutory body, the revised upper age limit of 45 years will apply to this recruitment, instead of the earlier limit of 40 years.
In order to ensure that all newly eligible candidates are able to avail the benefit of this decision, the College Service Commission will extend the last date for submission of applications by one month.
The move comes to widen access to public employment opportunities across the State, particularly for aspirants who had narrowly crossed the earlier age threshold and would otherwise have been excluded from consideration for public service, the press note stated.
— ANI
Reader Comments
While this is welcome, I worry about the backlog of unemployed youth. Will this really reduce unemployment or just postpone the problem? The state needs to create more jobs, not just relax age limits.
Typical political move - BJP promised this during elections, TMC implemented it after winning? At least it benefits the youth. But why only West Bengal? Other states should also consider such relaxation for government jobs.
Ekdum sahi decision hai! My cousin was 42 and couldn't apply for Group B posts earlier. Now he can try again. Thank you state government for thinking about the middle-aged aspirants. 🙏
Good step but I hope this doesn't mean that recruitment exams become even more competitive. Already lakhs of candidates apply for few hundred posts. Age relaxation should be paired with increasing number of vacancies.
This will especially help women who took career breaks for family. Many talented women couldn't apply earlier due to age limits. Progressive move by West Bengal! 💪
Honestly, this is just a vote bank gimmick. Real problem is that government jobs are the only reliable option in Bengal. Private sector is not growing. Instead of age relaxation, the
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