Arunachal Pradesh cabinet nod for reform in APPSC

Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet on July 28 approved the proposal of the state government to constitute a high-level Ministerial Committee to examine and study the requirement of Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) for appearing in exams conducted by Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC).

“In a major push to reform APPSC and Health Dept, we’ve taken numerous decisions in our Cabinet meeting today. Among others, the inclusion of regional topics on Arunachal is compulsorily included in the syllabus of different exams. UPSC model to be replicated in marks & interviews,” Chief Minister Pema Khandu said in a tweet.

The state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pema Khandu also decided that the committee will examine various aspects of the matter, including the practice of PRC being made mandatory by other states including Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland, etc. The committee will also consider previous report(s) submitted to the government in the matter and give its recommendations in a time-bound manner.

The cabinet also approved the proposal for the inclusion of regional topics about Arunachal Pradesh in specific and Northeast in general in the syllabus of competitive exams conducted in the state.

The cabinet also decided to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism in APPSC for which regulations (about the constitution of a permanent body and timelines for disposal of grievances) shall be framed.

The provisions regarding marks in various subjects and the number of persons to be called for interview will be amended and will be aligned following prevailing rules governing the selection by UPSC. AR Department shall take steps to amend the existing OM dated 10th June 2022.

All departments shall study the practice in UPSC etc. regarding providing information in respect of (i) marks obtained for each question and (ii) marks obtained by a third party.

For the appointment of the Chairman and Members for the APPSC, the cabinet decided that the provisions of Article 316 of the Constitution will be followed.

The state cabinet approved for “Restructuring of health facilities in the state vis-à-vis Indian Public Health Standards Guidelines and Human Resource distribution as per IPHS norms to these categories of health facilities.”

The cabinet also approved developing a State HR Index and Transfer Policy linked to IPHS norms to move toward the rational deployment of Health Human Resources in the State.

The Cabinet was briefed on the decisions and deliberations of the first ever National Conference on chief secretaries by the Prime Minister in Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister instructed all ministers to hold a meeting every week with their respective commissioners and secretaries to carry forward the agenda of the conference.