UPSC allows civil services prelims’ candidates to change exam centres

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed candidates to change their centres for the civil services preliminary examination, scheduled on October 4. “Keeping in view the large number of candidates of the civil services (preliminary) examination, 2020 (including the Indian Forest Service (preliminary) examination, 2020) and requests received from the candidates for changing their centers, the Commission has decided to give an opportunity to them to submit their revised choice of centre,” the UPSC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Besides this, the option to change the centers for the civil services (main) examination, 2020, and the Indian Forest Service (main) examination, 2020, is also being made available, it said. The window of submitting the revised choice of Centers by the candidates will be operational in two phases i.e. 7th-13th July, 2020 (6 PM) and 20th-24th July, 2020 (6 PM) on the Commission’s website https://upsconline.nic.in. “The candidates are advised to visit the website and submit their choices of centers of the above examination, if required,” the statement said.

The request for change will be considered against the enhanced capacity intimated by the centers for accommodating additional candidates, it said.

“The candidates may please note that their requests for change in the centers will be considered based on the principle of ‘first-apply-first-allot’ basis (which is followed in all the examinations of the Commission and was mentioned in the examination notices of the civil services (preliminary) examination, 2020 and Indian Forest Service examination, 2020) and once the capacity of a particular centre is attained, the same will be frozen,” the Commission said.

The candidates, who cannot get a centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a centre from the remaining ones, it said.

Originally, the civil services preliminary examination 2020 was scheduled to be held on May 31, but it had to be postponed to October 4, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages – preliminary, main and interview -- by the UPSC to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others. Lakhs of aspirants take the examination every year to be part of the country’s coveted civil services. The UPSC has also decided to make a ‘withdrawal window’ available to the candidates on the Commission’s website during the period from 1st-8th August, 2020 to allow them to withdraw their application from the test, the statement said.

All the terms and conditions of the withdrawal of application will be the same as have been mentioned in the examinations notice issued in February this year, it said.

“Candidates must note that once the application has been withdrawn by the candidate, it cannot be revived in future under any circumstances,” the statement added.