New Delhi: Engineers have long dominated the list of selected candidates for the Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Services Examination. But that dominance now appears to be waning. The share of engineering graduates selected in the CSE was 62.7 per cent in 2019. Five years later, it fell to 53.1 per cent, shows the UPSC Annual Report 2023-24.
The share of humanities graduates, on the other hand, has increased from 24.6 per cent in 2019-20 to 29 per cent in 2023-24. Candidates from science and medical backgrounds accounted for 11.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively, in the latest report.
“As far as academic backgrounds of the recommended candidates are concerned, 53.1% were from Engineering, followed by 29.0%, 11.2% and 6.7% from Humanities, Science and Medical Science respectively,” read the UPSC’s 74th Annual Report.
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Bias toward engineers?
Over the years, the UPSC has been blamed for being biased toward engineers. Their larger share of selections was also linked to the expansion of engineering education across India, the rise of the UPSC coaching ecosystem, and changes in the examination. The argument for many a candidate was that the Civil Services Aptitude test asked questions at the engineering level, giving engineering graduates an edge in the exam.
A striking feature in the report is the optional subjects chosen by the engineering students for the Mains examination. Few opt for technical subjects, while most candidates choose humanities subjects, as they are seen as easier.
“84.1% of optional subjects opted by the recommended candidates were related to Humanities (including literature of languages), followed by 10.2%, 3.4% and 2.3% related to Science, Engineering and Medical Science respectively,” the report said.
Despite the recent drop, engineers still account for more than half of all recommended candidates, underscoring the continued dominance of technical graduates in India’s most competitive examination.
Every year, more than 10 lakh aspirants apply for the CSE, but only a few get selected. The examination is conducted in three stages—Preliminary, Mains and Interview—and is considered one of the toughest competitive examinations in the country. Successful candidates are recruited into services such as the IAS, IPS, IFS and other central civil services.
The UPSC does not impose any restriction on graduation discipline for appearing in the CSE. Candidates from engineering, humanities, commerce, medical, and science backgrounds compete through the same three-stage examination process.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)