Parliament Question: Interview of Civil Services Examination

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS (DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5384 (ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026) INTERVIEW OF CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION #5384. SHRI RAJKUMAR ROAT:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

(a) the current procedure for awarding marks in the interview (personality test) of the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC);

(b) the category-wise (SC, ST, OBC, General) details of the candidates selected during the last five years;

(c) whether it is a fact that complaints have been received regarding the awarding of relatively lower marks to the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes

(STs) categories in the Civil Services interview process;

(d) if so, the details of the efforts made by the Government to resolve this issue;

(e) whether the Government proposes to issue concrete guidelines to make the participation of members from the SC and ST categories mandatory in the interview boards and to implement an unbiased evaluation system in order to ensure complete transparency in the Civil Services interview process; and

(f) if so, the time by which it is likely to be done and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a): The Personality Tests (PT) / Interviews of the candidates for Civil Services Examinations are conducted by the PT Boards constituted by the Union Public Service Commission

(UPSC) in a fair and transparent manner. The candidates are assessed for suitability for a career in public service. The interview is intended to judge the mental calibre of the candidate and assesses the intellectual qualities, social traits and interest in current affairs. The marks are awarded to the candidates out of 275 marks.

(b): Details of recommended candidates of Civil Services Examination, during the last five

years are as under:

Community General EWS OBC SC ST Year 2021 290 77 215 106 60 2022 410 106 276 155 73 2023 435 119 323 168 87 2024 434 113 327 159 88 2025 317 104 306 158 73 Page 1 of 2(c) to (f): Complaints regarding marks awarded to SC / ST candidates were examined by the UPSC and it was found that the allegations were baseless and without Merit. The interview system followed in the Commission is free from any discrimination for any caste/ category/ community/ language. Further efforts are made to ensure overall participation of members in the Interview Boards belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Minority community as well as female candidates.

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