Aspirants get two more chances to crack civil services exams

SC, ST candidates will get relaxation of 5 yrs in age limit

Aspiring civil servants will now have two more chances to crack an examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to fill the vacancies of officers in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service and 20 other allied services. 

A decision to this effect has been taken by the Commission recently which will also give “consequential age relaxation” to the candidates belonging to all the specified categories in the examination.

With the UPSC’s decision coming to effect from this year, candidates belonging to general category, who were earlier entitled for four attempts only, will now get six chances to clear the test, according to a notification issued by the Commission. 

To allow them to avail of two more attempts, the Commission has increased the upper age limit to 32 from 30 years for general category candidates, provided they have been born not earlier than August 2, 1982 and not later than August 1 1993.  

Candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, who got seven chances to clear the examination earlier, can now avail nine attempts. The upper age limit prescribed for candidates belonging to this category will be relaxable upto a maximum of three years. Candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will continue to be eligible for as many attempts as they want to clear the examination, provided they do not cross the maximum age limit fixed.

With the Commission increasing the number of attempts by candidates belonging to all the categories, those coming from SC and ST communities will get a consequential relaxation of up to a maximum of five years in their age limit to take the examination.

A physically handicapped belonging to the general category will be eligible for nine attempts to clear the examination while others will get as many attempts as are available to non-physically challenged candidates belonging to their respective categories. In the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons, there will be a maximum 10 years of relaxation in the upper age limit, according to the Commission.

The civil services examination is conducted in three parts—preliminary, mains and interviews. The Commission will hold the preliminary examination on August 24. “An attempt at a preliminary examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the civil services examination,” the Commission said in its notification.