The NITI Aayog has recommended that the upper age limit for entry into the civil services be reduced to 27 years from the present 32 years for general category candidates in a phased manner by the year 2022-23, Press Trust of India has reported. The recommendations were made in the ‘Strategy for New India @75’ document released by the think tank.

“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,” the document said. It also called for rationalisation and harmonisation 60-plus separate civil services at the central and state levels.

As per the document, the recruits need to be placed in a central talent pool, which would then allocate job postings based on their competencies. It also said that the ideally there should be just one civil service exam both for centre and states.

NITI Aayog also called for regulation and harmonisation of service conditions for employees of autonomous bodies. The body also remarked that civil service reform was a continuous process.