Ladakh’s 85% jobs for locals, one-third seats in councils for women. Know all about new rules

The Union government has announced new domicile and reservation policies for the Union Territory of Ladakh through a number of notifications and has reserved 85 per cent of the jobs for local residents besides allotting one-third of the total number of seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils for women.

The government’s announcements are aimed at safeguarding the interests of local people in Ladakh as they have been protesting for constitutional safeguards to protect their language, culture, and land after the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was abrogated in 2019.

The new rules take effect immediately, state the official notifications.

English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi languages have been made the official languages in Ladakh, but English shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the UT for which it was being used before the date of commencement of this regulation.

The administrator of the UT will strengthen the institutional mechanisms for the promotion and development of other languages in Ladakh and the establishment of the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.

Key highlights of new rules

Under the new domicile rules, all those who have resided for a period of 15 years in the UT or studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution located in the UT shall be domicile of Ladakh for the purposes of appointment to any post under the UT or under a local or other authority other than the cantonment board.

Children of central government officials, All India Services Officers, officials of public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies of central government, public sector banks, statutory bodies, central universities, and recognised research institutes of central government who have served in the UT for a total period of 10 years will also be eligible for domicile.

Reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) continues to be 10 per cent.

As per the new rules, not less than one-third of the total number of seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different territorial constituencies.

The domicile certificate will be valid only for the purpose of appointment to the posts under the UT of Ladakh as defined in the Ladakh Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025.

The new rules were announced after months of protests and negotiations. In January 2023, the Centre constituted a high-level committee led by the minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai to address concerns raised by Ladakh’s civil society. The committee held several rounds of talks with local representatives.

In October 2024, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite fast in Delhi to demand constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. Subsequent discussions were held with civil society leaders on December 3, 2024, January 15, 2025, and most recently on May 27.

These new policies were drafted to protect the region’s unique cultural and demographic identity.