TGPSC files appeal against single judge order staying Group-I appointment orders
The appeal petition filed by the TGPSC is likely to be heard in a day or two. The hearing of the writ petition seeking judicial inquiry into the evaluation of Group-I services, in which the bench of Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao passed interim direction staying issuing of appointment orders, was posted to Wednesday.
In the appeal petition filed by TGPSC Additional Secretary and Nodal officer (Legal) R. Sumathi, a direction was sought to suspend the single judge order. Stating that the recruitment process had to be taken to logical conclusion, the Commission contended that the single judge order put the entire recruitment process in jeopardy seriously affecting aspirations of the candidates who successfully completed the exam.
Some of the respondents, who are serving government employees, had 'abused their official access and resources to attempt to extract and compile details about individual evaluators in violation of service conduct rules,' the appellant said. According to the Commission, these respondents made 'highly hypothetical and baseless allegations without any basic material proof'.
The appellant made it clear that there was no evidence to confirm that same persons evaluated both the Telugu and English medium papers. There was no bias or language-based discrimination as alleged by the respondents, the Commission stated.
In enhance transparency in evaluation of answer scripts, the Chief Examiner Committees were constituted for each paper comprising at least two subject specialists of national repute. 'Valuation was carried out in adherence to strict confidentiality protocols,' the appeal petition said. 'The marks were awarded on designated barcode sheets without revealing candidate identity,' the Commission explained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Accepted report on SC internal reservation with tweaks: CM Siddaramaiah
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government, in its cabinet meeting, accepted Justice H N Nagamohan Das's recommendations on internal reservation to the Scheduled Castes (SC) with certain modifications, including providing six per cent internal quota to the communities identified by the Commission as 'Left-Hand castes'. Siddaramaiah told the Assembly that as soon as the internal reservation order is issued, recruitment processes will commence, and a one-time relaxation of the age limit will be provided. "We have also decided to withdraw cases filed against internal reservation activists," he said. Reading out a statement in the Assembly on the decision taken in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the CM said the cabinet noted that the Commission had grouped Paraya', Mogera' and other Right-Hand castes' among SCs together with the 'Left-Hand castes'. "We decided to classify these communities with the Right-Hand group and provide them six per cent reservation," he said. The CM said the government has decided to distribute the six per cent reservation to Adi Karnataka, Adi Andhra and Adi Dravida groups who constitute 4,74,954 population equally between the 'Left-Hand and Right-Hand groups.' He noted that Justice Nagamohan Das recommended four per cent reservation for the 'Touchables' group and also identified 59 castes with a population of 5,22,099 as Category-A, suggesting one per cent reservation for them. For certain technical reasons, these two groups will be combined and given five per cent reservation. Siddaramaiah said the Commission had proposed classification into five groups A, B, C, D and E. The cabinet has decided to reorganise this into three groups A, B and C providing six per cent internal reservation to Group A (Left-Hand castes), six per cent to Group B (Right-Hand castes), and five per cent to Group C, the CM explained. "These changes have been made to ensure equality and fairness in access to education, employment and other opportunities for all 101 Scheduled Castes. In making this decision, the cabinet has adhered to the principles outlined in the Supreme Court judgment," he underlined. The chief minister said the government has decided to constitute a Permanent Scheduled Castes Commission to periodically study intra-caste dynamics and available data and submit reports from time to time. The government is committed to revisiting this decision, if necessary, based on data available from the next national census, Siddaramaiah said. Noting that the government was pleased to place before the Assembly that Justice Nagamohan Das' report has been accepted with the modifications, the CM said this decision successfully delivers justice to decades of struggle for internal reservation. "Our government has demonstrated that Karnataka, as a progressive state, also leads the way in matters of social justice," he underlined. Siddaramaiah told the Assembly that Justice Nagamohan Das's Commission conducted an extensive study of 101 Scheduled Castes in the state and submitted its report on August 1. The Commission collected data on 1,05,09,871 persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, covering 93 per cent of the SC population. The cabinet thoroughly examined this report. The opposition BJP demanded a discussion on the cabinet decision, but the ruling Congress did not agree for it. The Speaker also did not allow any discussion. Displeased with the decision, the opposition staged a walkout.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Privilege, not a right': US tightens citizenship rules with new ‘good moral character' test
Saying it's reserved for the 'best of the best,' the Trump administration has unveiled new rules that make it harder for legal immigrants to qualify for US citizenship, expanding the long-standing requirement of 'good moral character' into a sweeping review of applicants' behaviour, values and community ties. 'US citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement to CBS News. 'Today, USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America's newest citizens not only embrace America's culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate Good Moral Character.' The directive, issued on Friday by USCIS, the agency that oversees the nation's legal immigration system, marks the Trump administration's latest move to tighten access to US immigration benefits. Traditionally, legal immigrants with US permanent residency or green cards, have been able to apply for citizenship after a three- or five-year period, provided they pass English and civics tests and demonstrate 'good moral character.' For decades, that requirement was generally satisfied if applicants avoided serious crimes such as murder, aggravated felonies, drug offenses, or being deemed a 'habitual drunkard.' But the new policy expands the definition, saying officers must go beyond a 'cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing.' Instead, they must conduct 'a holistic assessment of an alien's behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.' Officers are instructed to put 'greater emphasis' on positive attributes such as community involvement, family caregiving, educational attainment, lawful and stable employment, tax compliance, and the length of time spent in the US. At the same time, they are also ordered to apply 'greater scrutiny' to conduct suggesting poor moral character, even when it falls short of crimes. That includes 'reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.' The policy also directs officers to weigh evidence of rehabilitation where wrongdoing is present, such as completing probation, paying overdue taxes or child support, and letters of support from community members. According to the guidelines, 'aliens applying for naturalization must demonstrate that he or she has been and continues to be an individual of good moral character'. In another setback for immigrants seeking to live and work legally in the United States, Trump's administration on Tuesday, announced that applicants will now be screened for signs of 'anti-Americanism.' The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said officers will examine whether applicants for immigration benefits, including green cards, have 'endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused' anti-American, terrorist, or antisemitic views. 'America's benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies,' USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said in a statement. He further clarified, 'Immigration benefits, including to live and work in the United States remain a privilege, not a right.' The USCIS has not issued a detailed list defining what constitutes anti-Americanism, leaving uncertainty about how and when these directives will be applied. Over the past decade, the US has naturalised between 6,00,000 and 1 million immigrants annually, according to USCIS data. While the Trump administration's hardline stance on illegal immigration — from deploying troops at the southern border to expanding deportations — has dominated headlines, it has also steadily pursued restrictions on legal immigration. Those include scaling back refugee admissions, scrapping Biden-era visa programs, tightening vetting procedures, and broadening social media reviews of applicants.
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Are engineers taking over India's civil services?
Once the backbone of India's civil services, humanities graduates are now finding themselves edged out by engineers and technocrats. In the 1980s and '90s, subjects like history, political science, and sociology dominated the UPSC ranks. Fast forward to today, and the majority of recruits come from technical streams, with engineers alone making up nearly two-thirds of successful candidates. A recent parliamentary committee report has flagged this imbalance, warning that the nation's bureaucracy may be losing its diversity of thought and, along with it, the empathy and perspective that the humanities once brought to 2023 report by the Department-related Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice titled 'Review of Functioning of Recruitment Organisations of the Government of India' raised concerns over the growing dominance of candidates from technical backgrounds in the Civil Services The share of successful candidates from engineering backgrounds rose sharply—from 46% in 2011 to 65% in professionals: Their representation dropped from 14% to just 4% over the same While fluctuating between 23–28%, the proportion decreased from 27% in 2011 to 23% in engineers and medical professionals, over 70% of recruits in recent years came from technical streams raising concerns that the country may be losing 'exceptional doctors and engineers' to bureaucracy. Further data from 2017 to 21 echoes this skew:76% of recommended candidates hail from the science stream (engineering, sciences, medicine).Only 23.6% came from the humanities. INSIGHTS BEYOND NUMBERS: HISTORICAL CONTEXT & TRENDSHistorical shifts: Up until the 1980s, the Humanities and Social Sciences dominated the educational backgrounds of IAS recruits. But between 2000–2019, the trend reversed: disciplines such as engineering, medicine, and computer science became more prevalent. For instance, Electrical Engineering and Medicine emerged among the top entry-fields, while Economics and Political Science declined in impact: The 2011 introduction of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) recalibrated the landscape:Humanities candidates' IAS success dropped from ~30% in 2009 to 15% by engineering representation surged to ~50%.Humanities aspirants argue CSAT's format disadvantaged non-technical and non–English-speaking though UPSC uses a normalization formula to level scores across optional subjects, the number of engineers remains high. Many engineers still choose humanities subjects (like political science, sociology, geography) as their options due to better familiarity with exam structure and 'model answers.'WHY IT MATTERSLoss of interdisciplinary richness: Humanities graduates often bring critical thinking, empathy, and nuanced analytical capacity—qualities crucial for public mismatch: The committee lamented that the increasing allure of civil services may be depriving sectors like healthcare and engineering of high-caliber in decision-making: A disproportionately technical bureaucracy risks underrepresenting social and cultural perspectives essential for inclusive Table (Note: 2017–21 data shows 76% from science overall, and ~23.6% humanities, approx data)The parliamentary panel's warning is more than a statistical footnote it's a reminder that India's civil services must reflect the country's intellectual diversity. A bureaucracy dominated by technocrats may deliver efficiency, but risks losing the cultural, social, and ethical lenses that humanities graduates naturally bring to governance. Scholars and policy experts have suggested several reforms: revisiting the structure of the CSAT to reduce technical bias, creating differentiated service tracks for domain experts, and encouraging a balanced intake across many countries nurture civil servants from social sciences and liberal arts, valuing their ability to question, contextualize, and connect policies with people. For India, a similar recalibration could ensure that the next generation of administrators are not just problem-solvers with technical acumen, but empathetic leaders who understand the social fabric they serve. After all, governance is not only about efficiency it is also about equity, context, and vision.- Ends
