Baswan Committee Gathering Feedback from UPSC Aspirants

The expert committee headed by Sri B.S. Baswan is gathering feedback from UPSC aspirants on certain issues connected with Civil Services Examination. The Baswan Committee was constituted on August 2015 to look into issues pertaining the eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of UPSC Civil Services examination. Aspirants can take the survey at the link – https://iimb.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2t54PfUg0oNAMrH.

Background – Baswan Committee

An expert committee consisting of leading academicians, technocrats and senior bureaucrats of national repute has been constituted to revisit the entire pattern, syllabus and eligibility criteria for IAS / Civil Services examination.

The members of the committee:

1. Sri B.S. Baswan – Chairman.
2. Shri B N Navalawala.
3. Dr. Hari Pratap Gautam.
4. D. Anil Sahasrabudhe.
5. Prof. Peter Ronal deSouza.
6. Prof. B Mahadevan.
7. Shri M.P. Tangirala, Additional Secy (Examination), UPSC.

Based on the report of the Baswan Committee, further changes in the civil services exam pattern will be contemplated with the primary objective of providing a level playing field to aspirants from diverse streams of curriculum like mathematics, engineering, medicine or humanities and at the same time, also ensuring that the youngsters who took up IAS as a career possess a genuine aptitude for administrative job.

The terms of reference of the Expert Committee

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of the existing scheme of the Civil Services Examination in selecting suitable candidates for the Services participating in the Examination, keeping in view various factors such as the need for inclusiveness in the selection process, fair mix of candidates from different disciplines, the skill-sets required for a modern, effective and efficient civil service and trainability of selected candidates, after reviewing the recommendations of previous expert committees in this regard.
2. To examine the Plan of the Examination and suggest suitable changes to both the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination and the Civil Services (Main) Examination (including the interview process), including, inter alia, whether there is a case for prescribing different papers for selection to different participating Services, the number of papers in each stage, mix of compulsory and optional subjects, their structure (whether objective or conventional type), their duration, broad areas to be covered in each paper, medium of examination, the marking scheme, weightage of marks, and system of evaluation, so as to arrive at an Examination pattern that is holistic and does not exhibit any bias for or against candidates from any particular stream, subject area, language, or region.
3. To examine the time-frame in which the Examination is conducted and suggest suitable changes to reduce the time taken for selection of candidates by utilizing information and communication technologies, as well as by making changes to the various procedures mandated by the Examination Rules, including the methodology for operating reserve lists / waiting lists (if any).
4. To suggest the timeframe for implementation of the revised pattern of Examination.
5. To suggest suitable eligibility criteria for candidates appearing at the Examination, with particular reference to minimum and maximum age limits and number of attempts; to review the eligibility criteria for candidates, who have already been selected to different services, and who desire to reappear for selection to some other Service.
6. To suggest a mechanism for designing and periodically updating the syllabus for each of the papers in the two stages, including unitization of syllabus, proper coverage of content, and balance across subject papers, such that the syllabi are comprehensive, up-to- date, and suitable for a competitive evaluation of the merit of the candidates appearing at the Examination.
7. To review the logistical requirements and constraints of conducting the Examination in view of the increasing number of candidates taking the Preliminary Examination and suggest improvements, given that almost half the number of candidates who apply do not appear at the Preliminary Examination.
8. To examine any other item that the Expert Committee feels is relevant to the process of selection or which may be referred to the Expert Committee by the Commission/ Government.

Note: The Expert Committee may devise its own procedures and may take the assistance of such experts and institutions, and interact with such academic and professional _ institutions as it may consider necessary, in consultation with the Commission.

Note: The Expert Committee will submit its report within six months of its constitution.

About the survey questionnaire

Union Public Service Commission has not commissioned this survey and it is only an information gathering exercise being undertaken by the Expert Committee. Aspirants can take the survey on UPSC CSE Exam Pattern after entering the name and email id.

Update:

UPSC have agreed to extend the time given for Baswan Committee by 6 months. Expert committee will accordingly submit the report by 11th August, 2016.