Lok Sabha Question No. 5384 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Interview of Civil Services Examination
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: Shri Rajkumar Roat

## 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 Year |   General |   EWS |   OBC |   SC |   ST |
|------------------|-----------|-------|-------|------|------|
|             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 |

(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.

*****