In a significant development for Ladakh, the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, met with the Secretary of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Shashi Ranjan, at the UPSC Headquarters in New Delhi on July 9. Also present were Joint Secretary (Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh), Ministry of Home Affairs, Prashant Lokhande, and Secretary of the General Administration Department, UT Ladakh, Michael M. D’Souza.

The meeting focused on addressing the acute shortage of Gazetted officers in Ladakh, especially in light of the growing administrative and developmental responsibilities following the creation of the Union Territory.

Although the official window for submission of requisitions for Gazetted posts under the 2025 UPSC recruitment calendar had closed on March 31, the Commission has made a special exception for Ladakh. This decision acknowledges both the career aspirations of Ladakhi youth and the urgent staffing needs of critical departments. Notably, no Gazetted-level recruitment has been conducted in Ladakh since October 2019, resulting in numerous vacancies across key sectors such as Health and School Education.

In the first phase, recruitment will be initiated for the following posts:
•    125 Medical Officers – Health Department
•    75 Lecturers – School Education Department
•    32 Accounts Officers – Finance Department

Recruitment to remaining Gazetted vacancies will be taken up in a phased manner thereafter.

Chief Secretary Dr. Kotwal expressed gratitude to the UPSC for its collaborative approach in finalising the Recruitment Rules and expediting the recruitment process. He also thanked the Commission for acting promptly following the finalisation of Ladakh's domicile and reservation framework by the UT Administration.