UPSC Conducts Civil Services Prelims Exam 2023 with 59.49% Attendance in Hyderabad District
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) successfully conducted the Civil Services Prelims exam 2023 on Sunday in two sessions across various centers in India. In Hyderabad district alone, out of the 45,611 aspirants who had applied, 27,132 students appeared for the examination, resulting in a 59.49% attendance rate.
The exam was held in two sessions, with the forenoon session taking place from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, followed by the afternoon session from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. At the national level, more than five lakh people appeared for the exam.
In Telangana state, the exam centers were set up in Hyderabad and Warangal, while in Andhra Pradesh, the exam was conducted in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and Anantapur.
This year, the number of notified vacancies stands at 1,105, which is higher compared to previous years. The first session of the exam featured questions from various areas, but there was a significant emphasis on current affairs and ecology.
According to candidates, the questions also focused on India’s role in the world. As one director of an IAS academy noted, the questions indicated that a prospective civil servant is expected to have a strong foundation, broad-based preparation, and presence of mind. The options provided were quite close, and luck played a role in identifying the correct answers.
In the forenoon paper, there were 13 questions on current affairs, 11 on Economic and Social Development, 12 on History & Culture, 3 on General Science, 17 on Indian Polity and Governance, 20 on Environment and Ecology, 15 on Geography, and about 9 questions on General Knowledge.
Suma K., an aspirant who chose political science and international relations as her optional subjects, found both papers challenging in their own ways. She expressed surprise at the level of unpredictability in the exam, stating that it was unlike any previous years’ papers. Suma mentioned that the lack of reference points made it difficult to gauge how the exam went, leading her to believe that luck played a larger role than knowledge.
Furthermore, the papers were heavily focused on topics like permutations, combinations, and probability, which posed challenges for students from non-engineering and non-math backgrounds.
Even students who usually had sufficient time to go through the exam found the papers to be lengthy and hard to complete within the allocated time.
The results of the examination are expected to be announced after June 15, 2023.
