New Delhi:
The government on Wednesday said a committee appointed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is reviewing the present format of the prestigious civil services examination held annually.
"UPSC has appointed a committee of experts, headed by ex-University Grants Commission Chairman Arun S Nigavekar to review the existing structure of civil services (main) examination and suggest necessary changes," Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances V Narayanasamy told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
However, there is no proposal to introduce changes in the examination format at present, he said.
In reply to another question, the minister said, "There is no proposal to increase the number of attempts to 10 for all candidates appearing in the civil services examination."
As per the present format, the maximum number of attempts one can make in the examination is four for general candidates, seven for aspirants from other backward classes and no restriction for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category.
According to the PIL, the government amended the Indian Police Service (IPS) Rules unconstitutionally and arbitrarily, taking resort to a Limited Competitive Examination (LCE) for recruitment of the IPS officers rather than increasing their intake through normal Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.
Claiming that it acquired the information on the issue through a plea under the transparency law, the petitioner said LCE would be held annually for those serving at a Major or Captain level officer in the Army, Navy or Air Force or as Deputy Superintendent of police in a state or union territories or as assistant commandant in central police organisations for five years or more.
The civil society had also objected to the new channel of recruiting IPS officers, alleging that it would further bring down the Muslim community share in the police service.