Centre Dismisses Speculation of Revising Age Limit For UPSC Exam

Photo: Courtesy Aajtak

New Delhi: In good news for civil service aspirants, the Centre has dismissed reports suggesting that the upper age limit for appearing in the Union Public Service Commission  (UPSE) exam was being brought down.

The assertion from the Centre followed a suggestion of the NITI Aayog about bringing down the age limit from 32 to 27 years for general category students in a phased manner by 2022-23.

“There is no move on the part of the government to alter the age criteria of eligibility to appear in civil service examination, therefore, all the reports and speculation should be put to rest, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in Prime Minister’s Office told media.

Many general category, in several posts in social media, has expressed apprehensions and fear candidates over speculations of lowering the upper age limit, maintaining that such a move might practically devoid them of the much sought after government jobs.

According to some coaching institutes, aspirants start preparing for this exam in their mid-20’s. Very often, multiple attempts are needed for aspirants to get a top rank. Hence, the average age of selected aspirants in a new batch currently is 27+ years.

The civil service is considered one of the toughest competitive exams in India. Over 11.35 lakh candidates sat for the exam in 2016 for 1209 post.