Fourteen serving officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) have been cleared for induction into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), paving the way for the formal completion of a long-pending induction process.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) have sought consent letters from the 14 officers before issuing the formal notification for their induction into the IAS.
The development follows the meeting of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held in New Delhi on April 23 and 24, 2026, where proposals for induction of eligible JKAS officers against identified IAS vacancies were considered.
14 Officers Cleared for IAS Induction
According to official sources, the General Administration Department (GAD), Jammu and Kashmir, has received communication from the MHA and DoPT seeking consent from the officers cleared for induction.The officers are.Babila Rakwal.Shabnam Kamili.Rachna Sharma.Leena Padha
.Rajinder Singh Tara.Tariq Hussain Ganai.Munir Ul Islam.Sajjad Hussain Ganai.Anoo Malhotra.Nitu Gupta.Prediman Krishen Bhat.Bhawani Rakwal.Smita Sethi.
Anuradha Gupta.Officials said submission of consent is a mandatory procedural requirement, as an officer has the option to decline induction into the IAS.
After receiving the consent letters, the GAD is expected to forward the cases to the MHA and DoPT for issuance of the formal induction notification and allotment of the respective induction years.
Nine Vacancies to Be Carried Forward
Sources said that 23 vacancies had been identified for induction of JKAS officers into the IAS. However, nine vacancies pertaining to retired JKAS officers will be carried forward to the next year.
The eligible officers will accordingly be considered against the available vacancies, along with vacancies becoming due during the next induction cycle.
A majority of the 14 officers have been cleared against 2019 vacancies, while the remaining cases pertain to 2020 vacancies.
Officers to Join AGMUT Cadre
Following their induction into the IAS, the officers will be allotted the AGMUT cadre.
The AGMUT cadre comprises Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep.
The UPSC meeting held in April was attended by senior officials from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, the MHA and other concerned authorities. The meeting considered proposals for induction against vacancies identified for the 2019 and 2020 batches.
IAS Induction Resumes After Nearly Four Years
The latest development comes after a gap of nearly four years. The previous induction of JKAS officers into the IAS took place on August 4, 2022, when 16 JKAS officers were inducted into the All India Service.
Since then, the induction process remained pending due to seniority disputes, legal challenges and various procedural issues.
In July 2022, as many as 28 JKAS officers had initially been cleared for induction. However, several cases were subsequently dropped or withheld after eight officers retired, two declined induction and one officer died, while another case remained under a sealed cover.
The induction process had earlier remained stalled for nearly 12 years between 2010 and 2022, amid seniority disputes and various legal challenges.
The clearance of the latest batch of 14 serving JKAS officers is being viewed as a significant step towards reviving the regular IAS induction mechanism and addressing long-pending vacancies from the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service
