What is the rationale behind the change in the IAS prelims pattern 2011?

Introduction of the Aptitude paper (CSAT) in the UPSC PT is the major change after the introduction of Negative marking in the PT. The rational behind the suggestions for a change is that, a specialist or an expert in any particular subject might not necessarily be a good civil servant. A good Civil Servant is judged on the basis of the candidate’s overall ability in the Social and Mental decision making.

Moreover, the Traditional UPSC Preliminary Exam did not used to disclose the scores earned by the candidates. Cut off to select the candidates for main exams or the method which they use to compare various optional subjects is extremely unpleasant to the Right to Information Act 2005. The scaling of PT by the UPSC was also confusing.

Thus it is criticized vehemently that there were a number of drawbacks and there was no transparency in the traditional format of the preliminary exam. To overhaul these problems and to create more transparency in the UPSC selection process, the General Aptitude paper is introduced in the place of the traditional optional paper, which is now known as Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).