Engineering Services Exam in three stages from 2017

 Aspirants of engineering services will have to clear three successive tests from 2017, to figure in all-India merit list of candidates drawn to fill up vacancies in various government departments, with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) bringing changes in the plan and syllabus of the examination.

According to a notification issued by the all India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) earlier this week, the commission has decided to hold the Engineering Services Examination (ESE)-2017, in three stages—preliminary, main and personality test.

At present, the test is conducted in two stages—a written examination consisting of two papers and a personality test.

To figure in the final merit list of candidates drawn to fill up vacancies of engineers in various departments, candidates will have to first qualify a preliminary examination to become eligible for taking ESE (Mains). 

Only those candidates qualifying the ESE (Mains), second stage of the recruitment test, will be permitted to appear for the personality test.

The UPSC informed the AICTE about its decision to hold the recruitment test in three stages from next year in a communication to council on February 15, asking the technical education regulator to apprise all engineering colleges affiliated to it with the new plan and syllabus finalised for the ESE-2017.

According the details of the new plan and syllabus finalised by the commission, the preliminary test will consist of two objective type papers. The first paper will be the test of general studies and engineering aptitude of the candidates, while the second will of engineering discipline.

The duration of the first paper in the ESE (preliminary), 2017, will be two hours with questions carrying a maximum 200 marks while the candidates will get three hours to take the second paper carrying a maximum 300 marks.