UPSC CSAT: Parliamentary panel to review aptitude test component today

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will meet today to review the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) section of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Preliminary Examination, according to ANI .

The meeting will be held at the Parliament House Annexe Extension (PHAE) Building. According to a notice from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the committee will hear from the DoPT secretary and the UPSC secretary about filling vacancies in the Central government and the impact of the CSAT section in the civil services preliminary exam.

The parliamentary committee is headed by BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) Brij Lal.

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Panel raised concerns over CSAT

According to ANI , the committee had earlier asked the UPSC to review the CSAT paper, saying its heavy focus on maths and analytical skills may make it harder for candidates from humanities backgrounds, rural areas, and underprivileged communities.

CSAT was introduced in 2011 to test candidates' aptitude, logical reasoning, and analytical skills along with the General Studies paper in the preliminary exam.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha in April, Brij Lal highlighted concerns regarding the current CSAT pattern.

"The General Studies (GS) paper decides the merit, while the 200-mark CSAT is only a qualifying paper. CSAT has 80 questions and includes negative marking of 0.68 marks for each wrong answer. If a candidate does not pass CSAT, their GS Paper 1 is not evaluated. CSAT puts candidates from humanities and arts backgrounds at a disadvantage. As a result, about 65% of those joining the civil services are engineers. Earlier, candidates from all academic backgrounds were selected. I want the CSAT to be removed or changed so that it is fair for everyone," he said.

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Panel recommendations on vacancies

In a report submitted in March, the committee asked the Ministry of Law and Justice to work with the UPSC, SSC, and DoPT to quickly complete recruitment and promotion processes and fill all vacant posts in the Central government as soon as possible.

The panel also asked the government to quickly finalise and notify the Recruitment Rules for the Indian Legal Service (ILS). This will help the UPSC recruit qualified legal professionals on time and improve the functioning of the department and the Law Commission of India, ANI reported.