Why has Andhra Pradesh raised the age limit for government jobs, and who is still left out? | Explained

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Caption: Candidates come out of an APPSC Group-I Mains examination centre in Vijayawada. The upper age limit for non-uniform government jobs has been raised to 44 years till September 2027. File photo | Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri

The Andhra Pradesh government, through G.O. Ms. No. 187 , has raised the upper age limit for direct recruitment to non-uniform services from 42 to 44 years and extended the relaxation up to September 30, 2027. The decision followed several representations from job aspirants, routed through the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), seeking relief in view of prolonged gaps in recruitment. It comes just weeks before the APPSC is scheduled to open applications on October 6, 2026, for 892 posts, including 163 Group-I posts.

Gaddam Venu Madhav, a 43-and-a-half-year-old Group-II job aspirant from Guntur, is upbeat. After three unsuccessful attempts at securing a Group-II post over the past decade, he was forced to take up a private job in the medical field. The government’s decision has, however, revived his hopes of entering public service.

“This is my only chance to realise my dream of securing a government job. I’ll give it my best shot,” Mr. Venu Madhav said.

For Regalla Srinivasa Rao, 47, of Guntur, however, the relaxation has come too late. After spending nearly 15 years trying to secure a government job, he now works as a computer operator in a private company. An increase of the upper age limit by another five years would have brought him within the eligibility bracket, he said.

The coalition government’s job calendar, issued on March 19, 2026, proposed 41 recruitment notifications covering 10,060 posts. The announcement raised expectations among job seekers, but aspirants argued that the benefits could be fully realised only with corresponding age concessions.

APPSC member Parige Sudheer said the government had periodically relaxed the upper age limit in view of delays and gaps in recruitment. He cited a series of Government Orders issued since 2016, including measures intended to address recruitment stagnation, backlog vacancies, administrative delays and incomplete recruitment processes. Mr. Sudheer had also represented the case of job aspirants before the APPSC Chairman, seeking enhancement of the upper age limit in view of the irregular recruitment cycles.

The gaps are evident from the frequency of APPSC notifications. Group-I notifications were issued in 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2023, and Group-II notifications in 2016, 2018 and 2023. Group-III notifications were issued in 2013, 2016 and 2018, and Group-IV recruitment was notified in 2021. Notifications for Junior Lecturers were issued in 2018, Degree Lecturers in 2016, 2018 and 2023, Assistant Executive Engineers in 2016 and 2018, Assistant Engineers in 2012 and 2016, and Deputy Educational Officers in 2006 and 2023.