A Hard Look at UPSC

As lakhs chase a few hundred UPSC seats each year, the widening attempt window and heavy syllabus burden call for an urgent rethink of what India wants from its bureaucracy

- ALOK RANJAN THE WRITER IS A FORMER IAS OFFICER WHO SERVED AS THE CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVT OF UTTAR PRADESH

Overburdened syllabus drives years of preparation, deterring talented students

Just a few days ago, the results of the main written examination of the civil services were declared by UPSC, and now about three thousand aspirants shall compete for about 700-800 vacancies. Their hopes are riding high, and frantic preparation for the personality test and interview is going on. Candidates are attending mock interviews and also practising their communication skills. Finally, a few months from now, the final results will be announced, and less than a thousand from about ten lakhs who started the race will finally cross the finishing line. There will be joy and ecstasy in several homes, but there will be despondency and a sense of failure in a much larger number of homes.

The UPSC exam for the civil services is perhaps one of the most gruelling tests of a candidate's endurance, intelligence, resilience, determination, and above all, the capacity for hard work and self-belief. A minuscule number gets selected, while thousands keep giving one attempt after another, spending their entire youth in this preparation. Those who manage to clear the exam on their first attempt feel vindicated, but those who struggle year after year without succeeding are left stranded in the journey of life without any destination in sight. Some of them become victims of depression, as they do not have any promising alternative available at that stage.