Reforms to UPSC Exam by Subbarao: Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao has advocated for a significant reform of the country’s hiring practices for the civil services. A structured, mid-career entry path into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for professionals in their 40s is one of the two major reforms he has suggested: lowering the upper age and number of attempts for the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
“The 2024 civil service results are available. He highlighted the years of work and numerous attempts that many candidates put into the process in an opinion piece. “Congratulations to the thousand-odd candidates who have passed what is arguably one of the most competitive exams in the world,” he wrote. “There are at least ten candidates who have spent years preparing but have not passed for each candidate. They have to start over. A pitiful waste of years of productive life?”
“In the end, they succumb to the’sunk cost fallacy’ – ‘I’ve invested so much time, money, and effort,’” he wrote. It will all be for nothing if I give up now. Maybe I’ll be successful this time. He urged the government to lower the age restriction and the number of allowed attempts, arguing that many people waste their most productive years pursuing an almost impossible goal by persevering in the face of overwhelming odds.
He claimed that “this levelling has gone too far,” citing his own experience from the 1970s, when only two attempts were permitted within a more constrained age range of 21–24 years. He proposed that an upper age limit of 27 years and a maximum of three attempts would provide a more sensible balance.
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“Reducing the number of allowed attempts has additional justification. The selection process is prone to “type I and type II errors,” he said, adding that any exam that gives up to six chances is likely to prioritize exam technique mastery over intrinsic merit. “.
Subbarao suggested a second, yearly recruitment channel aimed at seasoned professionals between the ages of 40 and 42 to complement this modification. This would operate as a permanent, competitive admission tier administered by the UPSC, as opposed to ad hoc lateral entries. He wrote, “They can take another shot at the exam mid-career and pursue other careers.”
“Tier 2 recruits will make up for these lacunae and make the civil service collectively more relevant and useful, and perhaps even more caring,” he said, arguing that younger recruits lack practical experience and exposure to governance from the outside. “
Subbarao, however, issued a warning against gradually closing the current entry path to younger applicants. “There are many benefits to keeping young people enlisted in the IAS. They infuse administration with their youthful energy, unadulterated passion, and unadulterated enterprise. “.
“The civil service examination has greatly improved since I took it more than 50 years ago,” he wrote at the end of his note. However, pushing the boundaries is still necessary. “.
