With a view to focus on aptitude of candidates to meet challenges of demanding life in civil services,the UPSC on Thursday advocated replacing the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination with an Aptitude Test. "UPSC is convinced of the need for important changes in the method of recruitment to the higher civil services that are the vehicle for public service delivery. One of the recommendations made by the Commission to the government is that a Civil Service Aptitude Test replace the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination," UPSC Chairman,Professor D P Agrawal said. The proposal is to have two objective type papers that are common to all candidates. The emphasis is on testing the aptitude of the candidate for the demanding life in the civil service,as well as on ethical and moral dimensions of decision-making,he said. "It has also been proposed that the structure of the Civil Services (Main) Examination may remain the same till a Committee of Experts,that may be appointed by the Commission,goes into various aspects," Agrawal said during the inauguration of UPSC lecture series on governance,here. The UPSC chairman said "Careers in public service have become more attractive in the context of a better emoluments regime,as also on account of the changes in the global economic scenario. This places a responsibility on the government system to tailor procedures and careers to suit the newer vistas." The Commission is also of the view that while lowering the age of entry to the civil services may be desirable,interests of rural candidates who may complete their graduation later than their urban counterparts needs to be considered also,the UPSC chairman said. "A reduction in the number of attempts allowed at the examination,as proposed by the 2nd Administrative Reform Commission (ARC),is however called for,so as to remove the premium on cramming and memorisation that a large number of attempts provides," Agrawal informed. "We have plans for introducing computer based applications for various examinations,and an 'always on' interactive voice response system over telephone so that interface between aspirants and the Commission is easy,efficient,and quick," he said. UPSC receives more than a million applications for all of the 14 regular examinations and other recruitments it conducts every year. It recommends for appointment of about 5,000 officers annually,after a rigorous process of screening,testing,and personal interview as necessary. The series of lecture was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil and attended by Minister of State for Personnel,Public Grievances and Pensions Prithviraj Chavan among others.
