• The ministry of home affairs has issued a new order adding Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to the ‘hard areas’ list in the Joint AGMUT cadre.

• The guidelines for the transfer and posting of IAS, IPS officers of the Joint AGMUT cadre-2016 has been modified.

• In January 2021, the Jammu & Kashmir cadre was merged with the Joint AGMUT cadre as a consequence of the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — on August 5, 2019.

What is the AGMUT cadre?

• The AGMUT cadre, popularly known as the UT cadre, is governed by the Union home ministry and caters to the needs of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Delhi, Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. These units are far flung, geographically dispersed and widely differ from each other climatically, linguistically, culturally and even administratively.

• In 2016, the Union home ministry decided to change the transfer and postings for IAS and IPS officers under two categories of ‘regular’ and ‘hard postings’. The aim was to ensure that no unit serviced by the cadre remained starved of cadre officers and the onus to serve in the constituents outside Delhi and also hard and soft areas is shared equally by the officers.

• “Consequent upon the merger of the J&K cadre into AGMUT cadre, it has been decided that the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh may be categorised as Category B (Hard Areas) in the Joint AGMUT Cadre,” the home ministry communication said.

• Accordingly, the guidelines for transfer, posting of IAS, IPS officers of the Joint AGMUT cadre-2016 has been partially modified and the segments of the AGMUT cadre were classified into two categories, namely regular and hard areas.

• Postings in Delhi, Chandigarh, Goa, Puducherry, Dadar Nagar Haveli and  Daman & Diu will be considered as ‘regular areas’ or Category A, while postings in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will be considered as ‘hard areas’ or Category B.

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