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In a significant reform aimed at supporting persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD), the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has overhauled its examination centre allocation framework. The Commission has launched a series of technological interventions for the civil services examination-2026 and the Indian Forest Service examination 2026, with a focus on enhancing candidate accessibility and strengthening examination security. Under the revised mechanism, there will be no capping on examination centre capacity for PwBD candidates. Initially, the existing capacity of each centre will be utilised by both PwBD and non-PwBD candidates. However, once a centre reaches full capacity, it will no longer be available for selection by non-PwBD candidates, while PwBD candidates will continue to have the option to select the same centre, a statement issued by the UPSC said. Additional capacity will be created wherever required to ensure that no PwBD candidate is denied their preferred ...
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. ...
All candidates appearing in recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will undergo face authentication at the venues, officials said on Saturday. They said it would further strengthen the integrity of the examination process. "All candidates appearing in the UPSC examination will undergo face authentication at the venue," read a note on the Commission's website. The commission conducts various recruitment examinations for government jobs, including the civil services exam to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others. The UPSC successfully conducted a pilot program to test an artificial intelligence-enabled facial authentication technology for quick and secure candidate verification during the NDA (National Defence Academy) and NA (Naval Academy) II Examination, 2025 and CDS (Combined Defence Services) II Examination, 2025, held on September 14, 2025.
The Centre is in consultation with the stakeholders on requirements and impact of lateral entry recruitment, a top government official said on Tuesday. Lateral recruitment in the central government has been undertaken since 2018 to appoint persons for specific assignments, including those from the private sector, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area. Addressing a presser, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Secretary Rachna Shah said almost 60 officers were taken under the lateral entry in three installments -- at the level of Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary/Director -- and almost 38 to 40 of them are continuing and contributing in various ministries and departments. Shah said that "we are in consultation and discussion with the stakeholder ministries and departments". Asked if the government was considering forming new rules and procedures on lateral entry recruitment, she said if something comes up in the course of consultation
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined coaching institute Vision IAS Rs 11 lakh for publishing misleading advertisements about its students' performance in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, a first case of penalty for repeat offence under consumer protection laws. The CCPA found that the institute, officially registered as AjayVision Education Pvt Ltd, deliberately concealed information about which courses successful candidates had actually enrolled in, creating a false impression that all toppers had taken its expensive foundation courses running into lakhs of rupees. "This is the first case of penalty on the second offence," CCPA Chief Commissioner and Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told PTI. "Despite regulatory intervention and caution, the institute continued to make similar claims in its subsequent advertisements, demonstrating a lack of due diligence and regulatory compliance." The institute's advertisements prominently claimed "7 in Top 10 & ..
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
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Drishti IAS (VDK Eduventures Pvt Ltd) for publishing misleading advertisements regarding the results of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022. Drishti IAS, in its advertisement, prominently claimed "216+ selections in UPSC CSE 2022" along with names and photographs of successful candidates. However, upon examination, CCPA found that the claim was misleading and concealed crucial information regarding the type and duration of courses opted for by these candidates, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement. The investigation revealed that out of the 216 candidates claimed by Drishti IAS, as many as 162 candidates (75 per cent) had only taken the free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP) of the institute, after independently clearing the Preliminary and Mains stages of UPSC CSE. Only 54 students were enrolled in IGP and other courses. This deliberate concealment of important informati
The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Tamil Nadu government over appointment of an acting DGP and directed the UPSC to expeditiously recommend names for making a regular appointment. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar was hearing a petition seeking contempt action against Tamil Nadu for appointing G Venkatraman as the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police on August 31. "Why do you have an acting DGP? the bench asked. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state, submitted that DGP could not be appointed as one of the officers filed a proceeding before the CAT praying for inclusion of his name in the panel. The bench then ordered, "We request the UPSC to consider the matter expeditiously. On the recommendation received from the UPSC, the respondent states shall take steps for appointing a regular DGP." The contempt petition was filed by lawyer Henri Tiphagne who has contended that the appointment of a