Panel's report on civil services exam pattern in six months

New Delhi: An expert committee formed by the government to examine various issues related to age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of civil services examination, to select IAS and IPS officers, will give its report within six months time.

It will also review the effectiveness of the existing scheme of the prestigious test in selecting suitable candidates and "suggest the time frame for implementation of the revised pattern of examination".

The committee headed by former HRD Secretary and retired IAS officer B S Baswan will examine the time frame in which the examination is conducted and suggest suitable changes to reduce the time taken for selection of candidates by utilising information and communication technologies, as per its Terms of Reference (ToR).

The expert committee will submit its report within six months of its constitution, in February next year, it said.

It will evaluate the effectiveness of the existing scheme of the civil services examination in selecting suitable candidates keeping in view factors such as the need for inclusiveness in the selection process, fair mix of candidates from different disciplines, the skill-sets required for a modern, effective and efficient civil service and trainability of selected candidates, after reviewing the recommendations of previous expert committees in this regard.

The civil service examination is conducted by Union Public Service Commission annually in three stages - preliminary, main and interview - to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The panel will also examine the plan of examination, number of papers, their structure and duration, marking scheme, weightage of marks and system of evaluation "so as to arrive at an examination pattern that is holistic and does not exhibit any bias for or against candidates from any particular stream, subject area, language or region", according to the ToR.