Reforms in State PCS Exams: Some in line with UPSC, others opt for flexibility

Similarity in syllabus and exam pattern prompt many candidates preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examinations to prefer state PCS jobs as a back-up option.

Arunachal Pradesh also tweaked the eligibility criteria by increasing the upper age limit for candidates applying for state PCS exams. (Express photo)

Written by: Sakshi Saroha

4 min readNew Delhi IMar 23, 2023 09:57 AM IST First published on: Mar 20, 2023 at 01:54 PM IST

State PCS jobs are among the preferred alternative options for candidates preparing for the UPSC Civil Services exam. The primary reason is a similarity in the syllabus and exam pattern of UPSC CSE and several state-level Provincial Civil Service (PCS) exams. While some states have modified their exam pattern to align with the central level exam, others have modified it to maintain flexibility.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) modified the exam pattern for the Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services or Provincial Civil Services (PCS) main exam 2023.

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The commission stepped back from the UPSC CSE-based exam pattern and introduced two new general studies papers instead of the optional exams. Though the optional subjects have been removed, the number of subjects will still remain the same.

In the new pattern, the main exam will have eight papers – Essay, General Hindi and six GS papers. General Hindi and Essay exams will be of 150 marks each while the GS papers will be of 200 marks each.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) decided to modify its existing exam pattern for state Civil Services in line with the UPSC CSE pattern. In June 2022, the MPSC announced that it would switch to descriptive pattern examinations from the current objective type.

As per the new exam pattern, the main exam will now be more descriptive in nature, having a total of nine papers, instead of six. The exam will be held for a total of 1,750 marks instead of 800. The marks obtained in two language papers of 300 marks each will no longer be included in the merit score. A candidate will have to score 25 per cent marks in each of these papers to qualify for the merit score.

There will be seven compulsory papers — one for essay writing, four on general studies and two papers on any topic selected by the candidate from the list of 26 optional subjects. All these papers will be descriptive in nature and will carry 250 marks each. Marks obtained here will be considered for the merit score.

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Recently, Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) introduced changes in the examination for Group-2 posts. Earlier, the Group-2 screening test was conducted for 150 marks. The mains examination had Paper-I General Studies and Mental Ability, Paper-II Social History of Andhra Pradesh and Paper-III Planning in India and Indian Economy Contemporary problems and Developments in Rural Society.

As per the new pattern approved by the state government, the Group-II mains examination will be conducted in two papers for 150 marks each.

Meanwhile, Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) modified the prelims exam pattern. On July 12, 2022, the commission decided to give five options instead of four in the OMR sheet. As per the new pattern, candidates will not be able to leave the circle blank on the OMR sheet. If a candidate does not know the answer to any question and leaves options A, B, C and D blank, then he/she will have to compulsorily fill in the fifth circle (Has-#).

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States like Punjab increased the number of attempts offered to candidates for appearing in the state services exam in 2019. The then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had announced that the state will adopt the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) pattern by increasing the permissible number of attempts for Punjab Civil Services aspirants from the existing four to six in the general category and nine for Backward Classes (BC)(ST), while students in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category would be allowed unlimited chances.

While the age limit for the SC category will be 42 years, for the general and BC/Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories it would be 37 and 40 years, respectively, as per the UPSC rules.

Arunachal Pradesh also tweaked the eligibility criteria by increasing the upper age limit for candidates applying for state PCS exams. The state cabinet approved to increase the upper age limit for state civil service examination for general candidates to 35 and scheduled tribes to 40.