News Analysis India

Tag: UPSC

  • Dream to join IAS and serve underprivileged realised: Civil services exam topper Shubham Kumar

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Civil services exam topper Shubham Kumar on Friday said his dream to become an IAS officer and to serve the underprivileged has been realised.

    Speaking to PTI, he said development of villages, employment generation and poverty alleviation in rural areas of the country would be his focus areas.

    Kumar, aged 24 years, topped the civil services examination in his third attempt.

    He got selected in the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) after qualifying the civil services examination 2019.

    Kumar could not make it in his first attempt in the 2018 examination.

    A Bachelor of Technology (civil engineering) graduate from IIT Bombay, he has qualified the 2020 examination with anthropology as his optional subject.

    Kumar, who hails from Katihar in Bihar, is currently undergoing training at the National Academy of Defence Financial Management (NADFM), Pune.

    “My dream was to get into the IAS as it gives a wider platform to work for the betterment of the people. It has been realised and I would like to work for the underprivileged people, especially in rural areas,” he said.

    Kumar said areas like poverty alleviation and development of villages and its people would be his focus area while in the service.

    “There are lots of areas in which we all can work to uplift the underprivileged and bring positive changes,” he said.

    Kumar said he got a lot of support from his father and the academy, especially its director, in preparing for the examination.

    Younger of the two siblings, his elder sister work as a scientist in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

    “My father used to motivate me a lot and helped me in maintaining a positive attitude that helped me in clearing the exam,” said Kumar, adding that his father works as a bank manager in Bihar.

    Second rank holder Jagrati Awasthi, who hails from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, said she would also like to join the IAS and work for rural development, besides women and child development.

    “I have opted for IAS. I got motivated from people around me. I would like to work for development of rural areas besides women and child development,” she told PTI over phone from Bhopal.

    Awasthi, aged 24 years, believes skilling women, especially from rural areas, in handicrafts can make India a world leader in the sector.

    She completed her schooling from Maharishi Vidya Mandir and graduation in electrical engineering from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal.

    Awasthi qualified the examination with sociology as her optional subject.

    Awasthi said she had left her job at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bhopal to prepare for the examination.

    “I worked with BHEL for two years after completing my graduation in 2017. I could not clear the examination in first attempt. This was my second exam,” said Awasthi, who is also the overall topper among women candidates.

    She said her brother, who is pursuing medical studies in Bhopal, was the biggest source of inspiration for her.

    Awasthi’s father is a professor and mother is homemaker.

    A total of 761 candidates — 545 men and 216 women — have cleared the civil services examination 2020, results of which were declared on Friday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

    The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

    The UPSC said that the top 25 candidates comprise 13 men and 12 women.

    Ria Dabi, who is the sister of 2015 civil services exam topper Tina Dabi, has secured 15th rank in the examination.

    Tina Dabi, an IAS officer, is currently posted in her cadre state Rajasthan.

  • UPSC civil services 2020 final results declared; Shubham Kumar tops exam

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Shubham Kumar has topped the prestigious civil services examination 2020, results of which were declared by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday.

    Jagrati Awasthi and Ankita Jain have got second and third ranks respectively.

    A total of 761 candidates — 545 men and 216 women — have cleared the examination.

    The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

    Shubham Kumar has secured the 1st position. He has graduated in B Tech (Civil Engineering) from IIT Bombay. Jagrati Awasthi is the topper among the women candidates securing an overall Second rank. She has graduated in B Tech (Electrical Engineering) from MANIT Bhopal: UPSC pic.twitter.com/9rYWEZahOR
    — ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2021

  • After SC verdict, UPSC allows unmarried women to apply for national defence, naval academy exam

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed unmarried women to apply for the national defence academy (NDA) and naval academy exam, an official statement said Friday.

    The move follows a Supreme Court directive on the issue last month.

    In compliance with the apex court’s interim direction, the UPSC has decided to open the application on upsconline.nic.in for this exam to enable “unmarried women candidates only” who are otherwise eligible in terms of nationality, age, educational qualification etc., the statement said.

    Physical standards and the number of vacancies for women candidates would be notified after it is received from the Ministry of Defence, it said.

    The application window will remain open for women candidates from September 24 to October 8 (till 6 PM), said the statement issued by the UPSC.

    No application will be accepted beyond the prescribed last date/time, i.e., 08.10.2021(till 6 PM) or through any mode other than the aforesaid online mode, it said.

    “Women candidates are not required to pay fee for their application for this examination,” the statement said.

    The examination is scheduled to be held on November 14, an official said.

    The admission of the women candidates in the national defence academy and naval academy examination (II), 2021, will remain provisional and subject to the final outcome of a writ petition pending in the court or such other order(s) as may be passed by the Supreme Court and action by the government of India in the matter, the statement said.

    In a major step towards gender equality, the apex court had on August 18 allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to national defence academy.

    A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order on a plea filed by a person named Kush Kalra who sought a direction to the authorities concerned to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the ‘national defence academy and naval academy examination’ and train at the NDA.

  • UPSC’s test questions on poll violence in Bengal ‘given by the BJP’: Mamata

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The competitive exam for jobs in the central police forces has become the latest point of conflict between the BJP-led central government and West Bengal.

    CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is preparing questions for the aspirants on behalf of the BJP. She made this allegation while referring to questions on “poll violence in West Bengal” asked aspirants in exams for jobs in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

    “The UPSC is asking BJP’s questions. UPSC used to be an impartial body but the BJP is giving its questions to ask. The questions are politically motivated. The question paper also asked candidates to write on the protests by farmers. BJP is destroying institutions such as the UPSC which conducts national exams for civil services,” Mamata said.

    ALSO READ | Bengal BJP renames ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ as ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’

    The post-poll violence became an issue in Bengal’s political circuit after the recent Assembly elections in which Trinamool Congress came to power for the third straight term. Mamata and the TMC claimed that the reports of post-poll violence has been exaggerated by using fake videos and images and most of the incidents took place when the state police force was under the control of the Election Commission. 

    The BJP accused the ruling party of perpetrating the attack on their supporters.

    The BJP sharpened its attack on the TMC after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) formed a committee last month on the order of Calcutta High Court and conducted a probe before submitting a report before a five-judge bench. In its observation on the basis of the report, the high court had said the situation in the state was a manifestation of “law of ruler” instead of “rule of law”.    

    Castigating the NHRC committee’s report, Mamata had labelled one NHRC member as a BJP man. “I think he has gone by the BJP version and contributed his political allegiance in the report,” she alleged last month.

  • Politically motivated questions in CAPF recruitment exam: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday came down heavily on the Centre for alleged “politically motivated” questions asked at the CAPF (central armed police force) recruitment examination and said it proved how BJP has politicised the central forces to serve its political interests.

    Banerjee alleged that the questions were prepared at the “BJP party office” and that it has undermined the impartiality of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

    “I was shocked to see that politically motivated questions were asked in an exam conducted by the UPSC.

    It shows how the BJP has politicised the central forces to serve its political interests.

    We have seen how CAPF were used to capture booths and kill people at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar during the assembly poll in West Bengal,” she said.

    Four persons were killed in firing by the CAPF at a polling station at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar on April, the fourth phase of polling in the state.

    “This (questions) is too much and completely unacceptable.

    What is the message they (Centre) are trying to send out through this incident ? That if you want to work in the central forces, you have to be a yes man of BJP and believe whatever canards they are spreading,” she said.

    The feisty TMC boss slammed the BJP for trying to destroy the “secular fabric and constitution of the country”.

    “This is politicising of the entire recruitment process. They (UPSC) are supposed to be neutral. It’s an effort to malign all people who are in opposition. They (BJP) have also politicised the NHRC,” she added.

  • Politically motivated questions in CAPF recruitment exam : West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday came down heavily on the Centre for alleged “politically motivated” questions asked at the CAPF (central armed police force) recruitment examination and said it proved how BJP has politicised the central forces to serve its political interests.

    Banerjee alleged that the questions were prepared at the “BJP party office” and that it has undermined the impartiality of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

    “I was shocked to see that politically motivated questions were asked in an exam conducted by the UPSC.

    It shows how the BJP has politicised the central forces to serve its political interests.

    We have seen how CAPF were used to capture booths and kill people at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar during the assembly poll in West Bengal,” she said.

    Four persons were killed in firing by the CAPF at a polling station at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar on April, the fourth phase of polling in the state.

    “This (questions) is too much and completely unacceptable.

    What is the message they (Centre) are trying to send out through this incident ? That if you want to work in the central forces, you have to be a yes man of BJP and believe whatever canards they are spreading,” she said.

    The feisty TMC boss slammed the BJP for trying to destroy the “secular fabric and constitution of the country”.

    “This is politicising of the entire recruitment process. They (UPSC) are supposed to be neutral. It’s an effort to malign all people who are in opposition. They (BJP) have also politicised the NHRC,” she added.

  • FIR against BYJU’s owner for ‘misleading’ information in UPSC curriculum

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Mumbai police have registered an FIR against the owner of BYJU’s, a leading education technology firm, for allegedly putting misleading information in its UPSC curriculum, an official said on Wednesday.

    Based on the complaint filed by a firm named Crimeophobia, the Aarey Colony police have booked BYJU’s owner Raveendran under IPC sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act.

    The case was registered on July 30, he said.

    ALSO READ | Why the most-valued start-up Byju’s is hungry for acquisitions

    In the complaint, Crimeophobia alleged that the ed-tech company, in its UPSC curriculum, mentioned that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a nodal agency for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).

    However, the complainant said that the CBI had given it in writing that it was not the nodal agency for the UNTOC, the police official said.

    Crimeophobia founder Snehil Dhall said, “I came across misquoting about UNTOC (India) implementation details in May on BYJU’s UPSC curriculum, after which I approached them through an e-mail, asking them to make necessary changes.

    “In their reply, they sent me a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) about the CBI being the nodal agency. However, it was dated 2012, hence I found it unsatisfactory and approached the police.”

    Dhall said that in 2016, the CBI had given in writing that it was not the nodal agency for implementation of UNTOC, after which he had filed a criminal writ petition in the Supreme Court against the Union of India and 45 ministries for not implementing the UNTOC in the country.

    “The top agenda of India in UNSC is anti-terrorism and UNTOC is one of the core laws for cutting down terrorism, which has no takers for implementation due to which Crimeophobia had taken over the issue through SC,” he added.

    A spokesperson of BYJU’s said, “We have obtained a copy of the FIR by making an application to the court.

    Our lawyers are reviewing the FIR’s contents and we will take necessary steps as per legal advice.

    “We received a letter from Crimeophobia, claiming that the preparatory material published by us for UPSC examination in relation to the UNTOC is incorrect.

    “But contrary to the allegations, the material is factually correct and backed by a publicly available official memorandum issued by the MHA on April 30, 2012, a copy of which was also shared with Crimeophobia in response to the letter,” the spokesperson said, adding that all information that was utilised was verified.

  • UPSC to commence interviews for civil services exam from August 2

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has decided to commence interviews for civil services examination 2020, which were deferred due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, from August 2, according to an official statement.

    The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages — preliminary, main and personality test (interview) — to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

    It had in April this year deferred interviews for the prestigious examination due to increase in coronavirus cases.

    “After reviewing the situation, the Commission has decided to commence the personality test of the civil services examination, 2020 from 02.08.2021,” according to the statement issued by the UPSC.

    The e-summon letters of personality tests (Interviews) of the candidates will be made available shortly, which may be downloaded from the Commission’s website www.upsc.gov.in and www.upsconline.in, it said.

    “No request for change in the date and time of the personality test (interview) intimated to the candidates will ordinarily be entertained,” the Commission said.

    On the basis of the results of the civil services (main) examination, 2020 declared by the UPSC on March 23 this year, the Commission decided to commence the personality tests (interviews) of the civil services (main) examination, 2020 from April 26.

    “However, due to unprecedented growth in the number of people infected with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) countrywide, as a precautionary measure, the Union Public Service Commission deferred the personality test of the civil services examination 2020, which were scheduled to commence with effect from 26.04.2020,” the statement said.

  • UPSC postpones June 27 civil services preliminary exam; to be held on October 10

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday postponed the civil services preliminary examination, scheduled to be held in June, to October 10 in view of the alarming COVID situation.

    The commission conducts civil services examination annually in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

    “Due to the prevailing conditions caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Union Public Service Commission has deferred the civil services (preliminary) examination, 2021, which was scheduled to be held on 27th June, 2021. Now, this examination will be held on 10th October, 2021,” a statement issued by the commission said.

  • UPSC defers interviews for civil services exam due to surge in COVID-19 cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has deferred interviews for civil services examination 2020 due to a surge in coronavirus cases, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

    The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

    It said that the dates for interviews and recruitment test, when candidates and advisers are required to travel from all parts of the country, will be reviewed from time to time. “Revised schedules of the same will be notified on the website of the UPSC,” the statement issued by the Commission said.

    In its special meeting, the UPSC considered rapidly changing circumstances, health considerations, lockdown restrictions including social distancing norms and aggravating situation enforced due to the pandemic on Monday. “The Commission has decided that it will not be possible to conduct examinations and interviews for the present,” it said.

    The statement said that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EO/AO) Recruitment Test 2020 scheduled to be held on May 9, therefore, stands deferred. “The personality tests (interviews) of the Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2020 (scheduled from 20th-23rd April, 2021); the civil services examination, 2020 (scheduled from 26th April-18th June, 2021) and the recruitment tests are also deferred till further notice,” it said.

    The statement said that any other decision of the Commission in respect of the examinations, recruitments and interviews will be promptly made available on the Commission’s website. “As and when dates are decided for the deferred tests/interviews, it will be ensured that candidates are given a notice of at least 15 days,” the UPSC said.