CHENNAI : The seven-month-long standoff between the DMK government and Governor R N Ravi over the appointment of members to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) finally ended on Friday, with the governor approving the names of five people to be appointed members of the commission. The impasse ended after the state government responded positively to certain recommendations from the governor’s office over the appointments in accordance with law, sources said.
As per an order from the governor’s office, retired IAS officer
M P Sivanarul, who was former special officer for modernisation of cooperative societies, IRS officer R Saravanakumar, Dr A Thavamani, Usha Sukumar, and R Premkumar have been appointed as new TNPSC members.
10 lakh to sit for Group IV
About 10 lakh aspirants may sit for Group IV exam in June. Appointment of five new members may help speed up the TNPSC recruitment process
TNPSC tasked with filling 15k vacancies in 2024-25
While Premkumar is principal of Sree Narayana Guru Institute of Management Studies in Coimbatore, Usha Sukumar is a relative of former DMK Mayor C Chittibabu.
The members will hold office for a period of six years from the date of assuming charge or till they attain the age of 62, whichever is earlier. The TNPSC, headed by its chairman, is a 14-member body but currently it has only five members. C Munianathan has been the acting chairman of the commission since June 2022. Earlier, the governor had returned a file sent by the government last June recommending the appointment of retired DGP Sylendra Babu as TNPSC chairman.
According to the annual planner, the recruitment agency is tasked with filling over 15,000 vacancies for 2024-25 and handling promotions and demotions for over 20,000 government officials in compliance with multiple SC orders.
The announcement of Group II and IV results was delayed last year due to staff shortages at various levels. With the appointment, the long-pending works at the commission are expected to be expedited.
Sources from TNPSC training institutes said the move would help speed up the recruitment process and timely announcement of results. “Last year, 18.5 lakh candidates wrote Group IV exams to fill around 10,200 vacancies. It took nearly eight months for result announcement. This year, 10 lakh aspirants are expected to write the exam scheduled for June.