UPSC allows facility of withdrawal of applications by candidates

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed the facility of withdrawal of applications by candidates. The arrangement will be implemented beginning with Engineering Services Examination, 2019. This was announced by the Chairman of UPSC Arvind Saxena, while speaking on the occasion of the 92nd Foundation Day Celebrations here today.

The Chairman said that UPSC’s experience with the Civil Services Examination is that roughly 50% of the 10 lakh plus candidates who fill in the application forms for the Preliminary examination actually write the examination. “The Commission has to book venues, print papers, hire invigilators and ship the documents for all the 10 lakh applicants – which turns out to be a 50% waste of energy and resources”, he said. “UPSC’s view is that if we are able to work with genuine and serious candidates, we can give them better facilities and make our system more efficient”, he added. A start is being made with the Engineering Services Examination, 2019 and more examinations will be brought under this arrangement. In order to avail this facility, the candidate has to provide details of application. Separate OTPs will be sent on candidate’s registered mobile number and email id. On successful completion of withdrawal of application, confirmation message will be sent on email and also an SMS. Once application has been withdrawn, it cannot be revived.

With a view to reduce the stress for the candidates, the UPSC has brought an increasing number of exam related interactions and transactions online. In this regard, Saxena said “We are also moving ahead with shifting from a “pen and paper” mode of examination to a computer-based mode. Apart from making the examination process more candidate-friendly, the new systems also serve to cut down the time cycle for each examination.”

Bearing in mind the aspirations of the youth for better job opportunities, the Chairman said that the Commission is now disclosing the scores and ranking of the non-recommended candidates in some examinations on its website and further linking it with the “National Career Services” portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. He said, “Central Ministries and organizations can, conceivably take advantage of this arrangement wherein candidates who have cleared a rigorous screening process in the Civil Services, Engineering Services or Combined Medical Services Examinations, but could not find a place in the merit list due to constraints of vacancies, can now look forward to being picked up for other Government, public sector or private sector jobs, from the same data base.” The measure should obviate the need for conducting of multiple and separate examinations by different organizations for posts with similar entry level qualifications, he added. This will reduce the stress on young job aspirants and also the time taken for recruitment by various bodies.

He also referred to the recent judgment of Supreme Court regarding appointment of DGPs of states as well as Government’s proposal of lateral entry into the services. He said these developments have heightened the responsibilities of UPSC.

Referring to the ‘Gandhi Jayanti’ on 2nd October, Shri Saxena said that the bronze Gandhi statue in UPSC building signifies the ethos of Civil Services. He said “the message to aspirants is quite simply this: that when you join the civil services, you join to serve the masses.”