Discuss changing recruitment process of UPSC civil services proposed by government
Last Updated: Jan 7, 2026
Cracking the UPSC Civil Services Exam remains the dream of countless aspirants nationwide, drawn to its prestige and power. Applicants from every corner of India pour in relentless hard work to qualify this formidable test. Success demands more than bookish knowledge—it hinges on sharp reasoning skills and the ability to apply concepts practically in real-world scenarios.
This exam is conducted in three phases. They are as follows:
The Prelims
The Mains
Personality test (verbal)
Each phase of the UPSC Civil Services Exam holds equal importance in the selection process. Prelims acts as a mandatory gateway, requiring qualification to advance to Mains, though its marks do not factor into the final merit list. Mains carries significant weight in determining ranks, while the Personality Test serves as the ultimate filter—failure here disqualifies even top performers from earlier stages.
Now, let us have look at the structure of question papers in the Prelims and Mains.
The Prelims comprises of two papers (objective type). Each paper has multiple choice questions and carries 200 marks. So, it makes total of 400 marks. Candidates are given time duration of 2 hours to complete each paper. The Prelims are mainly conducted with the aim of shortlisting the candidates for the Mains. Only those candidates who qualify the Prelims can appear for the Mains.
The Mains are very important as the marks obtained in this exam are considered while determining the merit. The Mains is the set of 9 papers. Each of which is a subjective paper. Two papers out if the 9 are qualifying papers. These two papers carry 300 marks each. And, the remaining 7 papers carry 250 marks each. Moreover, the marks obtained in these 7 papers are considered while determining the merit.
Now, the candidates who qualify the Mains are called for Personality Test (or Personal interview). In this interview, the panel judges the candidates based on their logical and reasoning abilities and ethical strength. The candidate has to fill the Detailed Application Form before appearing for this interview. Candidate is also judged based on the information given by him/her, in this form. The panel has a copy of Detailed Application Form (DAF) of each candidate appearing for interview.
The changes introduced in recruitment process
Once the candidate qualifies all the three phases of this exam, he/she is then supposed to go through two processes: Service/Cadre allocation and Foundation Training. As per the process that was followed till now, the candidates were first allocated the cadre (based on the merit list) by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and then were sent to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) for Foundation training.
However, as per the recent amendment in this process, the candidates will have to through the Foundation Training first and then the cadre/services will be allocated to them. But, in this case, Cadre will be allocated based on combined merit of Civil Service exam and Foundation Training.
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