Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) Rules for Section Officers – DoPT Notification dated 13.11.2024

Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) Rules for Section Officers – DoPT Notification dated 13.11.2024

MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
(Department of Personnel and Training)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 13th November, 2024

RULES

G.S.R. 707(E).-The rules for the Combined Section Officers’ (Grade ‘B’) Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for the year 2024 to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, for making additions in the Select List for the Section Officers’ (Grade ‘B’) of the Services mentioned below, are published, with the concurrence of the Ministries concerned, for general information.

Category I

Section Officers’ Grade of the Central Secretariat Service.

Category II

Section Officer Grade of the General Cadre of the Indian
Foreign Service, Branch ‘B’

Category III

Section Officers’ Grade of the Railway Board Secretariat
Service

Category VIII

Section Officers’ Grade of the Intelligence Bureau.

Category X

Section Officers in Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service

1. The number of persons to be selected for inclusion in the Select List for each grade/service will be specified in the Notice issued by the Commission. Final Selection of the candidates under different categories shall be decided and results declared inter alia based on the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel & Training vide O.M. No. 36012/2016/2019-Estt (Res.) dated 12.04.2022 subject to final outcome of the Civil Appeal No. 629 of 2022 arising out of SLP (C) NO. 30621/2011.

In respect of Category – III (i.e the Section Officers’ Grade of RBSS), the seniority list of Assistant Section Officers’ grade is under challenge, the result of Category-III (i.e the Section Officers Grade of RBSS) for the year 2024 would be provisional subject to the outcome of the pending court cases (O.A.s No. 114/2022 and 215/2022), before the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, and revision of seniority list of Assistant Section Officers (ASOs’) Grade of RBSS, if any.

2. The examination will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission in the manner prescribed in Appendix to these Rules. The
dates on which and the places at which the examination will be held shall be fixed by the Commission and informed separately by the Commission.

3. Permanent or regularly appointed temporary Officers of the Grade and Services mentioned in column 1 below who on the crucial date of eligibility (as mentioned below) satisfy the conditions regarding length of service and educational qualification etc. mentioned in column 2 shall be eligible to appear at the examination for the respective categories of service mentioned in column 3.

Crucial dates of eligibility

1st July, 2024                for 2024 Examination

Provided that in the case of a candidate (except a candidate appearing for Category I and Category II) who had been appointed to the Grades mentioned in column 1 above on the result of a Competitive Examination, including a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, such an examination should have been held not less than 5 years before the crucial date and he/she should have rendered not less than 4 years approved and continuous service in that grade on the crucial date.

Note 1 – Permanent or regularly appointed officers of the Grades and Services mentioned in Column 1 above who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts for a specified period with the approval of the competent authority will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible and the service rendered by them during the period of deputation will qualify towards the length of service mentioned in column 2. This, however, does not apply to the officers of the Grades and Services mentioned in Column 1 above who have been appointed to ex-cadre posts or to another Service on “transfer” (whether they have a lien or not) in their respective Grades and Services referred to in Column 1.

Note 2 – Assistant Section Officers of the Central Secretariat Service and Stenographers of the Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service who have opted for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service, Branch ‘B’ and have been appointed to any Grade of that Service in pursuance of such option shall not be eligible for admission to the examination for Category I.

Note 3 – Assistant Section Officers of the Central Secretariat Service and Stenographers of the Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service who are on deputation to the Indian Foreign Service, Branch ‘B’ shall not be eligible for admission to the examination for Category II.

Note 4. All the candidates expecting to complete the requisite eligibility as above on crucial date can apply for the examination.

4. After the notification of the rules of the examination in the Gazette of India by the Department of Personnel & Training and publication of Notice of Examination by the Commission, the candidates will have to fill in the application form on-line on the UPSC web-site and hard copies of the same are to be routed through proper channel, to the Cadre Controlling Authorities of participating Services for verification/authentication and onward transmission to the Commission. The scrutiny of applications for deciding the eligibility of candidates, with reference to the stipulated eligibility conditions will be done by the CCAs concerned.

5. The decision of the Commission with regard to the acceptance of the application of a candidate and his/her eligibility or otherwise for admission to the Examination shall be final.

6. No candidate will be admitted to the examination unless he holds certificate of admission from the Commission.

7. A candidate who is or has been declared by the Commission to be guilty of:-

1. Obtaining support for his candidature by the following means, namely:-
   1. Offering illegal gratification to; or
   2. Applying pressure on; or
   3. Blackmailing, or threatening to blackmail any person connected with the conduct of the examination; or
2. impersonation, or
3. procuring impersonation by any person, or
4. submitting fabricated document or documents which have been tampered with, or
5. uploading irrelevant photos in the application form in place of actual photo/signature.
6. making statements which are incorrect or false or suppressing material information, or
7. resorting to the following means in connection with his candidature for the examination, namely:-
   1. obtaining copy of question paper through improper means;
   2. finding out the particulars of the persons connected with secret work relating to the examination;
   3. influence the examiners; or
8. being in possession of or using unfair means during examination, or
9. writing obscene matter or drawing obscene sketches or irrelevant matter in the script(s), or
10. misbehaving in the examination hall including tearing of the scripts, provoking fellow examinees to boycott examination, creating a disorderly scene and the like; or
11. harassing or doing bodily harm to the staff employed by the commission for the conduct of their examination, or
12. being in possession of or using any mobile phone, (even in switched off mode) , pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc. or camera or Bluetooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories either in working or switched off mode capable of being used as a communication device during the examination; or
13. violating any of the instructions issued to candidates along with their Admission Certificates permitting them to take the examination, or
14. attempting to commit or, as the case may be, abetting the Commission of all or any of the acts specified in the foregoing clauses; may, in addition to rendering himself liable to criminal prosecution, be liable :-
    1. to be disqualified by the Commission from the Examination held under this Rules for which he/she is a candidate, and/or
    2. to be debarred either permanently or for a specified period-
       1. by the Commission from any examination or selection held by them;
       2. by the Central Government from any employment under them; and
    3. to disciplinary action under the appropriate rules. Provided that no penalty under this rule shall be imposed except after
       1. giving the candidate an opportunity of making such representation in writing as he may wish to make in that behalf ; and
       2. taking the representation, if any submitted by the candidate within the period allowed to him, into consideration.

8. Any person who is found by the Commission to be guilty of colluding with a candidate(s) in committing or abetting the commission of any of the misdeeds listed at the clauses (i) to (xiii) above render himself liable to action in terms of the clause (xiv).

9. (i) After the examination, candidates shall be considered for vacancies for the year 2024 subject to their eligibility for the year and will be arranged by the Commission in the order of merit as disclosed by the aggregate marks finally awarded to each candidate subject to qualifying standards for each paper/part of the examination as decided by the Commission.

Category wise merit lists for inclusion in the Select List will be based on the number of vacancies and candidate’s merit and fulfilment of all other eligibility conditions. The Commission reserves the right to fix minimum qualifying standards for any or all stage(s) or paper(s) of the Examination.

Vacancies remaining unfilled in the year 2024 due to non-availability of suitable/qualified candidates will be carried forward to the next Vacancy year for Category I, IIIandVIII.In case of candidates appearing for Category II, only vacancies reserved for SC/ST/Person with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) Category candidates remaining unfilled in the year due to non-availability of selected/qualified candidates will be carried forward to the next examination.

(ii) The final selection of the candidates including candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for inclusion in the Select List for each category will be decided based on the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel & Training vide OM 36012/16/2019-Estt. (Res.) dated 12.04.2022 subject to the final outcome of the Civil Appeal No. 629 of 2022 arising out of SLP(C) No. 30621/2011.

(iii) The final selection of the PwBD candidates for inclusion in the Select List for each category will be decided based on the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel & Training vide OM 36012/01/2020-Estt. (Res.-II) dated 17.05.2022.

Note: – Candidate should clearly understand that this is a competitive and not a qualifying examination. The number of persons to be included in each Select List on the result of the examination is entirely within the competence of Government to decide. No candidate will therefore have any claim for inclusion in the Select List on the basis of his performance in this Examination as a matter of right.

10. The form and manner of communication of the result of the examination to individual candidates shall be decided by the Commission in their discretion and the Commission will not enter into correspondence with them regarding the result.

11. Success in the examination confers no right to selection unless Government are satisfied after such enquiry as may be considered necessary, that the candidate, having regard to his conduct in service, is eligible and suitable in all respects for selection:

Provided that the decision as to ineligibility for selection in the case of any candidate recommended for selection by the Commission shall be taken in consultation with the Commission.

12. A candidate who after applying for admission to the examination or after appearing at it, resigns his appointment or otherwise quits the service or severs his connection with it or whose services are terminated by his Department or who is appointed to an ex-cadre post or to another Service on ‘transfer’ (whether they have a lien or not) in the Assistant Section Officers’ Grades of the Central Secretariat Service/Railway Board Secretariat Service/AFHQ Civil Service/I.B./ or any post in the Indian Foreign Service, Branch ‘B’ will not be eligible for appointment on the result of this examination.

This, however, does not apply to a person who has been appointed on deputation to an ex-cadre post with the approval of the competent authority.

[F.No.06/01/2024-CS.I (P)]
J. ASHOK KUMAR, Jt. Secy.

Click to view/download PDF

Follow us on Telegram Channel, Twitter and Facebook for all the latest updates