Opinion Civil Services Aptitude Tests

The Alagh Committee recommended recasting the general studies paper into an aptitude test with emphasis on comprehension,logical reasoning,problem solving and data analysis.

“Aspirants would be tested on decision making skills,the overall focus being the aptitude for public service,” The prelims pattern should be changed since it prompts cramming. The civil servant of the future to come will be playing a role of strategic planner and facilitator of change. He/She will be preparing a vision of the future,but also the instruments and methods of achieving it and these will be in the legislative community and Private sector regimes.

He/She will have to play a role of facilitating innovation,create rules for organisations to implement such change and sort out the inevitable problems that will arise. He/She-will have to establish and run a fair and transparent regulatory regime. These are complex issues,with a strong interface with good governance. Whether we discuss wide based rural development or growth centres,the nature of public policy skills required now will involve much greater reliance on technology at a decentralised level,networking and an ability to work with civil and community groups.

Thus the need will be to champion reforms,facilitate community,private,focussed NGO cooperative groups and to help the economy and society to integrate with the opportunities provided by wider national and global markets,through productive activities,In the rapid changes that will take place in the country and the World in the Twenty First century,the Higher Civil Services will as is obvious,have to be at the cutting edge of being the protectors of the poor,the oppressed,the vulnerable and the underprivileged.A decade ago it said almost prophetically that ‘The democratic urges and aspirations of India,enshrined in its Constitution and its legislation,will have to be met in a fair and transparent manner not only impartially. but in spirit,by protecting the rights of the poor. limiting the coercive power of the State. Safety nets will need to be developed and implementd as the market economy expands.

The poor women,the girl child. the tribal arid the Dalit. the handicapped and the destitute. will need special attention. It then talks of security concerns in some detail. It points out that many of the attributes desired can be developed. Another critique has been that in an imperfect World,the civil servant cannot be expected to follow ideal standards.

This view cannot be agreed to. In a nation of over a billion people,it is definitely possible to find and nurture a few hundred exceptional persons every year. In fact that is the only rationale for a higher civil service bound together and dedicated to the nation’s ideal. All else can be purchased from the market.’

The CSAT paper it said may include The general awareness of current affairs having a bearing on pubic life in India. Problem solving and analytical skills,logical reasoning and Decision Making Skills (Situations from civil service arena be taken to test reasoning and understanding of problems related to the same). – Elementary Arithmetic,Data analysis ability.

The Committee did not agree with the view that the marks obtained in an objective type test do not reflect the real calibre of the candidates. In fact all over the world the objective type tests are widely used for testing the aptitude,logical reasoning,data interpretation,comprehension,communication as well as the academic knowledge and are given due weightage.

The CSAT paper,as proposed was a major departure from the general knowledge paper which mostly tests memory based learning with focus on bits of information since the CSAT paper was expected to test the analytical,logical reasoning and problem solving abilities of the.

Very good groups later like the Hota Committee and the Vaidyanathan Aiyar Committee gave flesh to the structure and nowthe very meticulous IMG Khan who was its Secretary is a member of the UPSC,to pilot it through.

I feel good. I am asked why I keep on talking of ideas like a tariff policy to make Indian agriculture globally competitive,rejected by the government. You never know when a good idea will come back.

I don’t even have a copy of this report. I always walk away into the sunset after writing a government committee report. But somebody put it on internet and I could write this piece authoritatively. The Tariff report was extensively summarized by some thoughtful civil servant and placed in Parliament in answer to an unstarred question. I can now use that too. Satyameva Jayate.