n a move that will benefit disabled persons qualifying the Civil Services Examination, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued orders to reserve 3% of the IAS jobs in the 2005-06 exams for persons with disability.

As per the orders, three of the 85 posts for I.A.S. this year will now go to persons with disabilities such as low vision or blindness, hearing impairment and cerebral palsy, according to an official release.

The Ministries controlling other central services -- the Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign Service and Indian Forest Service -- have also been told to examine the applicability of the Physical Disability Act, 1995, and reservation of 3% in these services. The Ministries will submit their report to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.

The orders came after Singh approved the appointment of M Satish, a disabled candidate who qualified the examination in 2002, to the Indian Revenue Service (I.R.S.). Satish, who secured rank 249 in the examination, had written to Singh after he was denied the I.R.S. because of his being disabled (right hand polio).

After an inquiry, his name was cleared for allocation to the I.R.S., and Satish has been told to join the training course.

With this decision of the government, the higher Civil Services, non-technical Group A and Group B services have now been opened up for the first time to disabled persons.