Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Masood Itoo on Wednesday supported the demand for age relaxation in Jammu and Kashmir Bank recruitment, urging the bank authorities to raise the upper age limit to 40 years to provide a fair opportunity to aspirants who have lost valuable years waiting for recruitment.

In a post on X, the minister as per  news agency said thousands of aspirants had spent years waiting for recruitment opportunities and should not be penalised for delays beyond their control. “Dreams shouldn’t have an expiry date! Thousands of J&K Bank aspirants have lost precious years waiting for recruitment opportunities. They must not be punished for delays beyond their control,” she said.

Appealing to the bank authorities, minister Ittoo said the upper age limit should be extended to 40 years to ensure that eligible candidates get an opportunity to compete.

“Give our youth a fair chance. Their future cannot wait,” she added.

Her statement comes amid growing demands from job aspirants and  political representatives for relaxation in the age criteria prescribed under the bank's latest recruitment notification.

The bank has advertised 1,356 vacancies, including 323 Probationary Officer posts and 1,033 Banking Associate posts. The upper age limit for candidates belonging to the Open Merit category has been fixed at 30 years, with applicable relaxations for reserved categories.

Aspirants have been seeking an increase in the upper age limit, arguing that the prolonged gap between recruitment cycles has rendered several candidates ineligible despite years of preparation.

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association has also sought the intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, demanding that the upper age limit be extended to 40 years.
Minister Ittoo is the first minister in the Omar Abdullah-led Council of Ministers to publicly support the demand for age relaxation in the ongoing J&K Bank recruitment process. (KNS)