Jammu, February 18 – The Jammu and Kashmir government informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that it is considering a proposal to increase the upper age limit for candidates appearing in the Union Territory's civil services examination.
Responding to a motion to reject the proposal moved by MLA Sajad Gani Lone, the government said that the issue of enhancing the upper age limit for the Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE) is currently under review.
"The issue is being examined to assess its feasibility in light of the existing provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination, 2018 Rules, overall service requirements, cadre management considerations, and comparative recruitment standards followed in other jurisdictions," the government said in its reply.
The government further stated that prior to the issuance of SRO 103 of 2018, the upper age limit for appearing in the Combined Competitive Examination was 30 years for Open Merit candidates and 32 years for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and those holding a civil post in the erstwhile state in a substantive capacity, or those who had served in a temporary post continuously for at least three years.
In a separate development, the government informed the House that out of the 877 ventilators installed across hospitals in the Union Territory, 219 are currently non-functional, highlighting gaps in critical care infrastructure.
Responding to a question raised by MLA Shamim Firdous, Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo said that 658 ventilators are functional, while 219 are not operational.
Providing details by institution, the minister said that Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu and its associated hospitals have 320 ventilators, of which 209 are functional and 111 are non-functional. At SMHS Hospital Srinagar, eight ventilators are non-functional, while in GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals, excluding SMHS, 44 ventilators are non-functional.
She said that in GMC Anantnag, only 10 out of 36 ventilators are functional. GMC Baramulla has two non-functional ventilators, GMC Doda has 10, GMC Kathua has two, and GMC Rajouri has three non-functional ventilators. In GMC Udhampur and GMC Handwara, all 39 and six ventilators, respectively, are functional.
The government further stated that at SKIMS and its associated hospitals, out of 53 ventilators, 40 are functional while 13 remain non-functional.