The toughest test

Published : Dec 30, 2005 00:00 IST

The UPSC headquarters in New Delhi. - PICTURES: R.V. MOORTHY

The UPSC headquarters in New Delhi. - PICTURES: R.V. MOORTHY

The civil service examination is an arduous process. What is required for success is not just hard work, but the ability to make the right choices.

KNOWN to be the toughest and the most competitive exam in the country, the Union Public Service Commission's civil service exam, is a difficult and arduous process. It stretches over almost a year, with three gruelling stages.

The exam is common for entry into a whole array of government services such as the Indian Administration Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Railways, Income Tax and Auditing and the Postal Department. Aspirants are required to rank the services according to their preference. Successful candidates are assigned services on the basis of their rank and their preferences.

The first stage of the examinations is the preliminary round worth 450 marks. It is an objective-type paper that consists of one General Studies paper and one optional paper. Contrary to its title, General Studies is a highly specific paper that encompasses a broad range of topics such as History, Geography, Polity, Economics and Current Affairs. In fact, Ashok K. Singh, of Meridian Courses, a New Delhi-based UPSC study centre, explains that over the years several new areas have been included in the syllabus. These include Environment, National Security, External Affairs as well as Communications and Information Technology. While this has made the General Studies paper more relevant, it has also made the exam much tougher.

The optional paper is a paper of the candidates' choice from a wide range of topics in the social sciences, the pure sciences and engineering. Since the UPSC exam is open to all graduates between the ages of 21 and 30, the range of optionals reflects the diverse educational backgrounds of the aspirants. However, the choice of optional subjects is crucial to the application process. In selecting an optional paper, the aspirant must choose a subject that he or she has an aptitude for and is confident of doing well. Given that optional papers require a degree of analysis and thought, one must be pragmatic while choosing the subject.

Hemant Jha of Career Point, a New Delhi-based study centre, points out that choosing a subject must be a rational decision. All papers have comprehensive syllabi, and require a similar amount of hard work. "However, some subjects such as History, Geography and Public Administrations, play an important role in the General Studies papers," he says, "and so are good, effective choices to make."

The second stage is the main examination. Candidates are selected on the basis of their performance in the preliminary examination. Approximately 12 times the required number of candidates qualify for this stage.

The main examination consists of two optional subjects each of two papers. Two General Studies papers, two language papers and one essay. The language papers are merely qualifying papers and their scores are not added to a candidate's result. English is compulsory alongside one Indian language. Unlike the preliminary round, this round of testing is mostly subjective. It is an attempt to evaluate the candidate's ability - to think innovatively, creatively and quickly.

After the main round of examination, the candidates are short-listed further. A select few are invited for the final round of interviews. Even for this stage the number of candidates selected is usually two and a half times the desired number of candidates. The candidates are interviewed by a board of about nine members and are asked a series of questions on a varied range of topics. They could be probing questions based on their optionals or on topics of current interest.

After the interview, a final list of candidates is drawn up based on their cumulative scores. The candidates are ranked on the basis of these scores. Candidates with high ranks are usually given the service of their choice, while others are awarded services depending on the availability of jobs. Candidates are required to indicate their preferences in the very beginning. However, in case a candidate does not mention his or her preference clearly, the board is empowered to assign a service to that candidate as it sees fit. The entire process takes almost a year.

Ramaswamy's IAS Academy points out that since the entire process takes almost a year, the costs of attempting these exams is very high. Thus, it is important that the student study systematically and ceaselessly.

At present, the IAS is the most sought after service followed by the IPS and then the IFS. To be assured of placement in the IAS, usually a candidate must be ranked in the top 50, out of a more than 1 lakh applicants; however, the ranking required is dependent on the number of seats available in that particular year.

To be assured of an IPS placement, a rank of up to 75 is usually sufficient. And the same goes for the IFS. This is because, in spite of a limited popularity, the IFS is a very select service, and very few seats are made available every year.

Whatever the choice of subjects, or service, the UPSC exam is not one that can be taken lightly. What is required for success is not just hard work, but the ability to make the right choices. But then, is not making the right choices what administration is all about?

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