36,000 students appear for civil services exam in Patna

PATNA: Altogether 36,277 candidates appeared for the civil services (preliminary) test conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at 75 examination centres here on Sunday. The examination passed off peacefully.
After coming out of the examination centres, students gave mixed reactions to difficulty level of the exam. While some were satisfied, others termed the papers as difficult.
Daraksha, a student pursuing BEd from St Xavier’s College of Education, said, “The questions were moderate to tough.Paper I consisting of questions from general studies was good, but Paper II, which tested the aptitude of the candidate, was a bit difficult. The questions this year were a little tricky. However, the best part was that the questions covered all the areas.”
Shumaila, another civil services aspirant from Patna, said paper II was a bit tough for her.
Prateek Mahanta, who appeared for UPSC examination for the first time, said, “The paper was difficult. There was no change in the pattern, but some surprising elements were there in the paper like there were fewer questions from economics and polity,”
“It was my first attempt. I found the paper it a bit difficult. The general knowledge paper section was quite tough,” said Shilpi Shaw, another aspirant who completed her masters from Patna University.
Experts said the cut-off would drop by few points this year. Last year, the general category cut-off was 105.3.
A R Khan, director of a private coaching institute, said, “This year, Paper I covered all the major areas in a balanced manner. There were 17 questions from economy, 14 from polity, 19 from history, art and culture, 14 from ecology, 12 from geography and 24 from current activities.”
Krishna Singh, centre head of another coaching institute, said, “Compared to previous year’s examination, questions on current affairs were less this year. The focus was on conceptual questions. For a general category student, 55-60 marks will be sufficient to crack the examination.”
The successful candidates will qualify for the mains examination. After clearing mains, they will have to appear for personality test.