Civil service aspirants gave it their first shot at being shortlisted for appointment to the administrative services in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Sunday.
Describing the tests as “dynamic”, many students said there was much emphasis on current affairs, international issues and Union government policies, and not on geography, history and other “static” subjects. The exam was conducted in two parts — general studies and CSAT. While many aspirants termed paper one as moderate, they said paper two was difficult. Attempting the test for the second time, Lakshmi Savanoor, an IAS aspirant, said the paper was not predictable. She pointed out that the questions were very different compared to previous years.
Another IAS aspirant said that those from rural areas would have found paper two very difficult, as the comprehension section was tricky. The UPSC main exam for qualifying students will be held in December.
