The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducted the Civil Services Preliminary Examination on Sunday, attracting thousands of aspirants in the city. Out of 4,554 registered candidates in the district, 61% appeared for the Paper 1 examination.
The exam was conducted at 15 centres across the city in two shifts: the first paper (9.30 am - 11.30 am) had 2,781 candidates, while the second paper (2.30 pm - 4.30 pm) had 2,766 candidates.
The exam centres included institutions such as SDP College for Women, SCD Government College, Government Senior Secondary Schools at Cemetery Road, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Multipurpose School, Jawahar Nagar, Government College for Girls, Ramgarhia Girls College, Khalsa College for Women, Malwa Central College of Education for Women, and Arya Senior Secondary School for Boys.
Among the candidates was a 23-year-old Aarti Sharma, who appeared for the exam at SCD Government College. Having prepared for two years, she described her first attempt as a balanced test of knowledge and reasoning. “The general studies paper was of average difficulty. The polity section was fairly easy and had a significant number of questions. Other areas like modern history, environment, and science and technology also featured prominently,” she said.
Aarti found the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), the second paper, slightly more demanding. “The CSAT had a good mix of reasoning-based questions and mathematical problems,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}Aarti found the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), the second paper, slightly more demanding. “The CSAT had a good mix of reasoning-based questions and mathematical problems,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}Shruti Mishra, another first-time candidate, echoed similar views. “The general studies paper leaned more towards static general knowledge rather than current affairs, which was a bit surprising,” she remarked. “In the CSAT, mathematics questions were slightly tricky, and the comprehension passages needed a very focused approach.”