Experts discuss the changes in the paper pattern introduced in the UPSC CSE Prelims exam.
UPSC CSE Prelims 2021: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the Civil Services Exam (CSE) Preliminary 2021 on October 10. As the UPSC Prelim exam 2021 stands just 15 days away, students are now focusing on the final round of revision before the examination day. For better preparation this close to the exam date, it is important to be well informed about the changes that have been introduced over the years in the exam pattern.
The UPSC exam has undergone many changes since 2011. The body introduced Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), reduced the number of optional examinations, etc. Throwing light on the various changes introduced by UPSC in the examination, Abhishek Patil, CEO, Co-founder, skholar.com and Oliveboard while talking to IndiaTV said, "There have been significant changes in the UPSC Exam in the last decade. Starting from 2011 with the replacement of optional papers with CSAT to making CSAT a qualifying paper in Prelims, increasing the number of General Studies papers and decreasing optional papers in mains, and increasing the number of attempts and decreasing vacancies, the UPSC CSE has been constantly evolving."
UPSC CSE Prelims 2021: What to expect?
UPSC is undoubtedly the most challenging graduation-level examination in India. Naturally, the preparation for this exam demands as much hard work. Along with hard work, it is important to understand the objective of the examination and what are the related topics and the possibility of them being asked in the exam.
In this regard, Abhishek Patil said, "Testing a candidate’s conceptual clarity remains UPSC’s core objective. And UPSC also tries to beat the predictions of coaching institutes. Taking into account these things, this year’s Prelims can be expected to throw unconventional and analytical questions at students."
Sarmad Mehraj- Teacher and AVP -Product (UPSC), BYJU'S, said something of the similar lines-- "the preparation demands candidates to not just be aware of the subject but also form an opinion on them."
UPSC CSE Prelims 2021: Topics to be covered
Sarmad Mehraj said, "for this year’s prelims, we believe it will be a mixture of current affairs and static subjects with a slight advantage to current affairs. Unlike last year, we assume the prelims may include a good amount of recent incidents between June – August with an emphasis on subjects like polity, science and technology, environment, ecology, and agriculture”.
Patil believes that the UPSC CSE Prelim exam is going to be more challenging for aspirants this year due to the uncertainty and stress caused by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said, "Apart from the inherently difficult nature of the UPSC Prelims, a lot of students have also been subject to pandemic-induced stress like last year. Uncertainty of exam dates, personal losses, etc. could add pressure on students."
UPSC CSE Final Result 2020
The UPSC CSE Final Result 2020 was declared on September 24, 2021. Shubham Kumar secures the first position, followed by Jagrati Awasthi at the second position and Ankita Jain at the third place.
UPSC CSE 2020 exam was conducted to fill up 836 posts out of which 180 for I.A.S, 36 for I.F.S, 200 for I.P.S, 302 for Central Services Group A and 118 for Group B Services.
READ| UPSC CSE Main 2020 Result released LIVE UPDATES: Shubham Kumar tops, Jagrati Awasthi second
ALSO READ| UPSC CSE Main 2020 Final Exam Result released, Shubham Kumar tops
