Centre has agreed to give one more chance to UPSC candidates who missed last chance in 2020
Civil service candidates who have exhausted their last chance in 2020 - amid the coronavirus pandemic - to appear in the Union Public Service Commission exam will get one extra chance, provided they have not crossed the age limit, the government told the Supreme Court today.
The Supreme Court had in the last hearing told the government to consider giving one more chance to those who could not prepare well for the UPSC exam last year amid the disruption caused by the pandemic.
"This relaxation for the candidates… shall be a one-time relaxation only and shall apply only for appearing in CSE-2021 and shall not be treated as a precedent," the centre said in a note to the Supreme Court today.
The Supreme Court took up the matter with the centre on a petition seeking an extra chance to appear in one of the most competitive exams in the country for government service.
Initially, the government was reluctant to allow those who exhausted their last chance in 2020 to sit in the exams for a final time. However, the centre today agreed to the Supreme Court's move to check if it was possible to give one more chance, if a candidate is within the age limit eligible to take the exam.
"We appreciate your stand," a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said today.
The Supreme Court then adjourned the proceedings to Monday.
In an affidavit earlier, the centre had said the claim by the petitioner, Rachna Singh, that they could not prepare well for the exam due to stress amid the lockdown necessitated by the pandemic was not entirely true as they were given extra time to prepare by postponing the civil service (preliminary) examination from May 31 to October 4, 2020.
The UPSC conducts examinations for appointment to central government services. Among other functions, it appoints officers on promotion, deputation and absorption and also frames and amends recruitment rules for different services and posts under the government.