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The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has made face authentication mandatory for all aspirants at examination centres and introduced strict eligibility restrictions for candidates already appointed to certain services. These changes were announced in an official notification for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026, released on Thursday. The commission announced 933 vacancies for this year's recruitment cycle, which include 33 posts reserved for persons with benchmark disability. The preliminary examination of the competitive examination will be held on May 24, it said. The prestigious exam 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. "In order to ensure a secure and smooth examination process, all candidates will be required to undergo face authentication at the examination venue mandatorily. ...
The Union Public Service Commission has decided to allot 'centre of choice' to candidates with benchmark disabilities for all its examinations, in a move aimed at enhancing accessibility for such aspirants, an official statement issued on Friday said. Recognising the logistical challenges and special requirements often faced by these candidates, the Commission decided to ensure that every person with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) applicant is allotted the examination centre they indicate as their preferred choice in the application form, the statement added. Speaking about the initiative, UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar said, after analysing examination centre data of the last five years, "we observed that certain centres such as Delhi, Cuttack, Patna, Lucknow and others reach their capacity ceiling very early due to the high volume of applicants". "This creates challenges for PwBD candidates, who are then compelled to opt for centres that may not be convenient for them. I am pleased that,
Turning aspirations into achievements, the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university's Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) has once again proven to be a beacon of hope for civil service aspirants as a total of 32 students trained there have cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination 2024, one of the most competitive exams in the country. Of the 78 candidates from theA who reached the interview stage, 32 made it to the final selection list, according to a statement issued by the JMI. Twelve among them are women, reflecting theA's strong emphasis on inclusive and gender-responsive education, the statement said. Alfred Thomas emerged as the academy's top performer this year with an All India Rank (AIR) of 33. He was followed by Iram Choudhary (AIR 40) and Ruchika Jha (AIR 51), all of whom have earned praise for their inspiring journeys. Speaking exclusively to PTI, Jha said, "The Jamia Millia IslamiaA gave me a healthy competitive environment to push myse