UPSC IAS 2020 prelims postponed: New dates soon

Will UPSC conduct the IAS prelims 2020 on May 31, 2020? Read below to have a reality check.

IAS Exam 2020 postponed due to coronavirus pandemic and the consequent lockdown in the country. See here details

The IAS exam is the most prestigious exam in the country conducted by the top recruiting agency – Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC IAS prelims exam 2020 was scheduled to be conducted on May 31. Around 9 Lakh candidates apply for the IAS exam and approximately 7 lakh candidates appear in the IAS prelims exam every year.

But amid the lockdown because of coronavirus pandemic, UPSC issued notice postponing the remaining IAS interviews 2019 scheduled from March 23 to April 3 2020. It means UPSC requires 11 days are to complete the IAS interviews of 2019. The IAS interviews are conducted at the UPSC building premises in New Delhi. UPSC has not issued any notice regarding the new IAS interview 2019 dates. There is no update on the IAS 2020 Prelims exam date from UPSC.

Read Here: 100 days plan for IAS prelims

From various quarters, the demand is coming to postpone the IAS prelims 2020 exam to a future date because the candidates could not appear in the mock test conducted by various coaching institutes due to lockdown. Even Mr Shashi Tharoor, in a twitter post, demanded clarity on the Civil Services prelims 2020 exam date. But all these concerns have not much impact on reality.

But in reality, we have two scenarios. Let us analyse each one.

Scenario 1: IAS Prelims 2020 Postponed

The UPSC need to conduct the IAS interview 2019 and declare the IAS result 2019. Both events have the consequences on the IAS prelims exam because the candidates selected and assigned for IAS and IFS need not appear in the IAS exam again as per the official IAS notification.

UPSC will take 11 days to complete the IAS interview process and another 4-5 days to declare the final IAS result. So UPSC requires 15-17 days to complete the IAS 2019 exam process.

The lockdown because of coronavirus is extended till May 3 and it is not sure that it will end on May 3, 2020. Railways and all airlines have suspended all the passenger services till May 3. So if the new IAS interview 2019 schedule is released, the candidates need to take reservations for the specified dates and it requires time. After that, it can conduct the IAS prelims exam 2020.

There are very grim chances that UPSC will act as per scenario 1.

Scenario 2: IAS Prelims 2020 not postponed

UPSC can also postpone the IAS interview to any date after the IAS Prelims exam 2020 and release the IAS admit card as per schedule. The UPSC need to print the IAS question papers in the meantime. Every year, the IAS question paper for the prelims exam is printed 25 days before the exam. So this year, they can also print in time for the IAS prelims 2020.

After the IAS prelims exam 2020, UPSC can release the Interview schedule for IAS 2019 and conduct the interviews as per the new schedule.

In our opinion, UPSC will likely to act as per the scenario 2.

It is very early to say and predict anything because still 50 days are left for the IAS prelims exam. If the number of corona infected cases does not drop in future and the country run into another lockdown, then only UPSC will consider postponing the IAS prelims exam 2020. Moreover, the notice in this regard can be issued two-three days or a week before the exam. The

UPSC will make the final decision regarding the IAS prelims 2020 but the lockdown period is a boon in disguise for the IAS aspirants as they can consolidate their preparation in the meantime.

Read More: UPSC press release related to exam dates