In a bid to ensure Punjabis getting state government jobs, Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Friday, gave nod for amending Rule 17 of Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of services) Rules, 1994 and Punjab State (Group D) Service Rules 1963 with an aim to ensure that only those candidates are appointed in the Punjab government who have an in-depth knowledge of Punjabi language.

Divulging details, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that in the rule 17 of the Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, the first proviso, for the words “Provided that where a person”, has been replaced with “Provided that no person will  be appointed to any post in Group-‘C’ service unless he has passed a qualifying test of Punjabi Language equivalent to Matriculation standard with at least fifty per cent marks, to be conducted by respective recruitment agencies in addition to competitive examination.

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The test of Punjabi Language will be a mandatory qualifying test and failure to secure a minimum of 50 percent marks in Punjabi Language will disqualify the candidate for being considered in the final merit list of candidates to be selected irrespective of their scores or marks in other papers of the respective exam.

Similarly, as per amendment in clause (d) of the Rule 5, in the Punjab State (Group-D) Service Rules, 1963, the words “provided that” has been replaced with “Provided that no person shall be appointed to any post in any service by direct appointment unless he has passed a qualifying test of Punjabi Language equivalent to Middle standard with at least 50 percent marks, to be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies in addition to competitive examination.

The test of Punjabi language will be a mandatory qualifying test and failure to secure a minimum of fifty per cent marks in Punjabi Language will disqualify the candidate for being considered in the final merit list of candidates to be selected irrespective of their scores or marks in other papers of the respective exam.