UPSC permits candidates to withdraw applications

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday gave its green signal to the withdrawal of applications by candidates.

The arrangement will be implemented starting from the Engineering Services Examination, 2019, and more examinations will be brought under this in the near future.

This was announced by the Chairman of UPSC, Arvind Saxena, while speaking on the occasion of the 92nd Foundation Day celebrations here today.

The Chairman said that UPSC's experience with the Civil Services Examination is that roughly 50 per cent of the 10 lakh plus candidates who fill in the application forms for the Preliminary examination actually write the examination.

"The Commission has to book venues, print papers, hire invigilators and ship the documents for all the 10 lakh applicants - which turns out to be a 50 per cent waste of energy and resources. UPSC's view is that if we are able to work with genuine and serious candidates, we can give them better facilities and make our system more efficient", he added.

In order to avail this facility, the candidate has to provide details of an application. Separate One Time Password (OTPs) will be sent on the candidate's registered mobile number and email id. On successful completion of withdrawal of an application, the confirmation message will be sent via email and SMS. Once an application has been withdrawn, it cannot be revived.

With a view to reducing the stress for the candidates, the UPSC has brought an increasing number of exam-related interactions and transactions online. In this regard, Saxena said, "We are also moving ahead with shifting from a "pen and paper" mode of examination to a computer-based mode. Apart from making the examination process more candidate-friendly, the new systems also serve to cut down the time cycle for each examination."

Bearing in mind the aspirations of the youth for better job opportunities, the Chairman said that the Commission is now disclosing the scores and ranking of the non-recommended candidates in some examinations on its website and further linking it with the "National Career Services" portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

"The Central Ministries and organisations can, conceivably take advantage of this arrangement wherein candidates who have cleared a rigorous screening process in the Civil Services, Engineering Services or Combined Medical Services Examinations, but could not find a place in the merit list due to constraints of vacancies, can now look forward to being picked up for other Government, public sector or private sector jobs, from the same database," he said.

Saxena continued, "The measure should obviate the need for conducting of multiple and separate examinations by different organisations for posts with similar entry-level qualifications. This will reduce the stress on young job aspirants and also the time is taken for recruitment by various bodies."

He also referred to the recent judgement of the Supreme Court regarding the appointment of Director General of Police (DGPs) of states as well as the government's proposal of lateral entry into the services. He said these developments have heightened the responsibilities of the UPSC.

Referring to 'Gandhi Jayanti' on October 2, Saxena said that the bronze Gandhi statue in the UPSC building signifies the ethos of Civil Services, adding that "the message to aspirants is quite simply this: that when you join the civil services, you join to serve the masses.