The government has restarted the process of filling up member vacancies in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)—the apex body responsible for conducting examinations and recruitments to the civil services and other government posts—with the appointment of Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd), former General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) at Army Training Command (ARTRAC), who joined as a member of the agency on Monday.
An order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on July 12 conveyed the decision of the President of India to appoint Lt Gen Shukla as a member of the UPSC. “The term of his appointment will be regulated in accordance with the provisions of Article 316 (2) of the Constitution of India,” the order stated.
The development is crucial since the UPSC has been operating at almost half its strength as its chairman Pradeep Kumar Joshi and three members retired last year. Other members of the commission are scheduled to retire towards the end of this year and next year.
The commission has a strength of 10 members aside from a chairman. The chairman and other UPSC members are appointed by the President of India. They hold office for a term of six years from the date of joining or until reaching the age of 65.
Conventionally, UPSC has members from the Armed Forces as well as from the IAS, IPS, and IFS, among others.
However, at present, Dr Manoj Soni, one of the UPSC members, is the acting chairman of the commission, while it continues to function with just five members—former IAS officers Smita Nagaraj, M Sathiyavathy, Bharat Bhushan Vyas, Rajiv Nayan Choubey, and former chief statistician Dr TCA Anant.
Vyas is set to retire later this year. At least two other members are scheduled to retire next year.
A full-time chairman of UPSC is yet to be appointed even as the grapevine has it that Dr Manoj Joshi may get the job.
Other UPSC members such as former Delhi police commissioner BS Bassi, former IAF officer Air Marshal AS Bhonsle, and former Indian Foreign Service officer Sujata Mehta have retired since last year. These vacancies are yet to be filled.
Sources in the government told News18 that a call on filling up the remaining member vacancies at UPSC is expected soon and several names are under consideration, including one from the IPS.
A major challenge for the commission in the last few months has been its stretched manpower, even though with its limited number of members, it recently concluded the UPSC civil services examinations and the forest services (combined) examinations, and the interviews.
The interviews for the combined medical services examination are on at present and those for engineering services are also lined up.
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