PM approved new format of Civil Services Exam, notification soon

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved changes to the format of civil services examinations, with Department of Personnel and Training Secretary P K Misra now indicating notification for the Civil Services Examination, 2013 would be issued in a couple of days.

The notification, which was scheduled to be issued on February 2, has been inexplicably delayed by over three weeks, causing anxiety among lakhs of civil services aspirants.

While there was no official word, sources said the government, on the suggestion of the Union Public Service Commission, has cleared changes in exam pattern, giving more weightage to general studies.

The decision to change the pattern came on the recommendation of a panel headed by former University Grants Commission chairman Prof Arun S Nigavekar, constituted by the UPSC, which conducts the examination.

Currently, the civil services main examination has General Studies Paper I and II of 300 marks each, including Compulsory and Optional subjects. But under the new system, both the general studies papers will have more weightage.