UPSC issue to be resolved in a week: Rajnath Singh

Amid protests by civil services aspirants against the new Union Public Service Commission syllabus, the government on Monday said the issue will be resolved within a week.

"The UPSC issue will be resolved within a week. Discussions are going on," Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters in New Delhi.

Singh said he had held a meeting on Sunday to find a way out following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the students' protests.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh among others.

Replying to a question, the home minister said the report of the three-member government-appointed committee, which is looking into the demands of the aspirants to change the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas, will come soon.

Singh, however, remained non-committal when asked whether the civil services preliminary examination, scheduled to be held on August 24, will be postponed.

There are two compulsory papers of 200 marks each in the preliminary examination. These papers are also known as CSAT I and CSAT II.

The CSAT-II paper carries questions on comprehension, interpersonal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision-making and problem- solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy, and English language comprehension skills (of Std X level).

Students have been objecting to the level of aptitude and English language questions being asked in the CSAT II paper claiming they are much above the standard prescribed for the examination.

The civil services examination is conducted in three stages-- preliminary, main, and interview-- to choose candidates for Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service and Indian Police Service among others.

Image: Students protest against introduction of CSAT in civil services exams outside the UPSC in New Delhi on Monday. Photograph: PTI