New Delhi: For an examination meant to recruit India’s future civil servants from every corner of the country, the Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Services Examination is becoming increasingly monolingual. Data from recent years show an overwhelming dominance of English in the UPSC Mains, with only a handful of candidates writing the country’s toughest exam in regional languages.
In 2022, around 14,000 students wrote the UPSC CSE Mains. Of them, 13,000 wrote in English while only 500 wrote in Hindi. The number for other regional languages was much less — 40 wrote in Gujarati, 21 in Marathi, and 6 each in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Malayalam had just two takes and Bengali and Punjabi had just one each.
The figures, when compared with previous years (2018-2022), suggest that the dominance of English-medium candidates has steadily increased, while participation in most regional languages has either stagnated or declined.
In 2018, more than 10,000 candidates appeared in the Mains examination, where 9,000 wrote in English and 888 in Hindi. Marathi saw 75 candidates, Gujarati 89, Tamil 22, Telugu 13, and Kannada 12.
Those numbers have dived spectacularly.
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Increasing dependence on English
While the UPSC officially allows candidates to write the Mains examination in multiple languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, aspirants from vernacular backgrounds have long argued that the system remains tilted in favour of English-medium candidates.
Critics argue that while civil services are meant to draw talent across regions and social backgrounds, the increasing dependence on English risks excluding candidates educated in vernacular-medium institutions.
Aspirants and education experts have often flagged that students from vernacular backgrounds face disadvantages due to the lack of quality coaching material, mentorship, and test preparation support in regional languages.
“Most good study material is available in English. Even current affairs and newspaper coverage is better in English, Hindi papers mostly focus on regional news. The internet too is largely English-dominated. So Hindi medium students end up working twice as hard just to access the same information. For regional language students, it is even harder,” said Ketan, who teaches UPSC aspirants on an online coaching platform.
Every year, more than 10 lakh candidates apply for the Union Public Service’s Commission’s Civil Service Examination. But only a fraction make it to the Mains after clearing the preliminary exam.
After clearing the Mains, candidates appear for an interview before the final selection process.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)