Why Do English-Medium Candidates Still Dominate UPSC?

The National Education Policy 2020 has already been implemented in the country, under which provisions have been made to receive education in local languages.

- 

Even academic courses in medical and engineering are now being offered in Hindi along with English. However, effective implementation is still lacking. On the other hand, for the UPSC Civil Services Main Examination, candidates are already allowed to write their answers in any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. But in the Preliminary Examination, question papers are available only in Hindi and English. Despite the provision to take the Civil Services Examination in 22 Indian languages, candidates who take the exam in English still dominate the results. This reflects a significant contradiction between English and Indian languages. English speakers constitute less than two percent of the Indian population, yet 95 percent of the candidates selected in the Civil Services Examination come from an English-medium background. Only about five percent of selected candidates come from Indian languages, and even among them, the contribution of Hindi-medium candidates is just two percent. The inclusion of English in the Preliminary Examination has resulted in increased attraction among youth toward English-medium schools. Despite the government's policy of promoting Indian languages, the trend remains unchanged. Only economically well-off parents can afford to send their children to English-medium schools. Studying in expensive schools and colleges and attending costly coaching centers in metropolitan cities is beyond the reach of