Parliamentary Panel directs UPSC to reduce selection cycle for physical, mental well-being of candidates

The Committee has also asked the Commission to find the reason for low turnout of the candidates in the civil services examination. Currently, the UPSC Exam is held in three phases; preliminary, main, and interview, to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.  

Parliamentary Panel directs UPSC to reduce selection cycle for physical, mental well-being of candidates

A Parliamentary Committee has directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to reduce the civil services examination's whole selection cycle as the whole process wastes candidate's prime years and also takes a toll on their physical and mental well-being. 

The Committee has also asked the Commission to find the reason for low turnout of the candidates in the civil services examination. Currently, the UPSC Exam is held in three phases; preliminary, main, and interview, to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.  

"As per the data provided by the UPSC, the average time taken for civil services examination from the date of issue of notification to the date of declaration of the final result is nearly 15 months," the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said.

"The Committee is of the opinion that the duration of any recruitment examination should not ordinarily exceed six months as long and protracted recruitment cycles waste prime years of a candidates’ life besides taking a heavy toll on their physical and mental health. The Committee, accordingly, recommends that UPSC should take steps to reduce the duration of the recruitment cycle significantly without compromising the quality," the report said.

"While UPSC has changed the pattern of civil services examination from time to time on the basis of recommendations made by various expert committees, no study has been commissioned to assess how such changes impacted the aspirants, nature of recruitment and administration at large," it said.

The panel has further suggested that an expert group or committee should be appointed to assess how the quality of recruitment and administration has improved after changing the scheme, pattern and syllabus of civil services examination in the last ten years.

"The expert group so constituted may assess if the present scheme of recruitment provides an equal opportunity to both english-medium educated urban candidates and non english medium educated rural candidates," said the report tabled in Parliament recently.

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