According to a notification by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension on February 26, 2013, the new format of UPSC exam proposed that general studies and aptitude skills will be given more weightage. English language paper’s score will be counted in the final stage of selection. The Civil Services (Mains) exam is scheduled to be held on November 8, 2013. However, the change in UPSC format was not taken well by the student community.

A few weeks later, the government announced that UPSC will be conducted in the old fashion itself without any changes. According to government sources, the changes in the examination pattern were introduced to make the test more relevant to the current global and internal scenario.

Reasons behind changes in the UPSC exam format:

• Rationality: The main objective of UPSC is to test the student’s ability to become a Civil Servant and not act as just a moving encyclopedia. Hence the emphasis on subjects that will assess the student’s administrative skills.
• Equality: So that all students write the same papers and are evaluated on the same standards, on an equal platform, irrespective of their background.
• Eradicate irrelevant procedures: Judging the candidates based on their graduation results has no value as the same is reflected in their mark-sheet. Hence the need to implement uniformity in papers/ standards.
• Uncomplicated procedure: The current evaluation system of the UPSC is complex. Students prefer taking some subjects simply due to their high scoring ratio. This process needs to be done away with

The UPSC prelims/ CSAT pattern was last changed in 2011 amid mixed reactions. The impact of the changes was faced by Humanities students, while Science & Engineering students had an advantage, the result being that many students (who had made earlier attempts) skipped taking the UPSC exam to save an attempt.

UPSC Chairman D.P Agarwal informed that two committees – Alagh committee and 2nd ARC are influential in implementing these changes. The changes are not clear yet. Assumptions are that optional subjects will be phased out of the exam. The committee suggested that UPSC should only keep two compulsory General Studies (GS) papers and an essay paper for Mains Examination. It also suggested that there should not be any optional subject.

Currently, the UPSC Mains pattern comprises of:

• 2 General Studies Papers and 4 optional subjects papers (2 each)
• These 6 papers constitute 1800 marks (300 by 6)
• There is an Essay Paper and Personal Interview as well of 200 and 300 marks each, which amounts to 2300 marks
• An Indian Language paper, which is also a qualifier

Click here to see the difference in the previous UPSC format VS the new UPSC pattern.

What does change in UPSC format mean for the aspiring UPSC students?

• Less subjects to choose from
• More papers to appear for under General Studies
• Constriction in language/ medium (to give the exam)
• English paper sub-divided into 2 sections (300 marks total)
• Reduction in total marks
• New paper on ethics, integrity and aptitude

Related Links

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