UPSC vs IIT JEE: Business tycoon Anand Mahindra (chairman of Mahindra Group) garnered online attention by sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter) on the difficulty level of two major entrance exams in the country, i.e., the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the Union Public Service Commission Civil Service Exam (UPSC CSE). He shared this post after watching the Bollywood movie ‘12th Fail’, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, based on the life story and struggles of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma.
Mr. Mahindra reposted the tweet, “After seeing #12thFail I checked around and spoke to a number of young people about the relative difficulty of our entrance exams. One of them was a graduate of IIT who is involved in a business startup but who has also taken the UPSC exam. He stated EMPHATICALLY that UPSC is much tougher than the IIT JEE. I wonder if this is a commonly held perception, in which case this ranking needs to change!”. The post that was shared by him contained a ranking of the world's toughest exams. The UPSC exam came in third place, after IIT JEE in second place.
After seeing #12thFail I checked around and spoke to a number of young people about the relative difficulty of our entrance exams.
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 4, 2024
One of them was a graduate of IIT who is involved in a business startup but who has also taken the UPSC exam.
He stated EMPHATICALLY that UPSC is… https://t.co/NvGTIHWkrz
The World Ranking (whose tweet was retweeted) frequently publishes and compares different rankings of nations, businesses, and people. Listed below, according to them, are the top ten most difficult exams in the world
- China - Gaokao Exam
- India - IIT JEE Exam
- India - UPSC Exam
- England - Mensa
- US/Canada - GRE
- US/Canada - CFA
- US - CCIE
- India - GATE
- US - USMLE
- US - California Bar Exam
What is UPSC?
The UPSC CSE is one of India's most prestigious and competitive exams, as almost 8 - 9 Lakhs of forms are filled for approximately 1000 - 1200 vacancies. A success ratio of 0.5% to 1% makes it one of the toughest competitive exams in India, as it requires thorough preparation, a well-defined strategy to get a comprehensive understanding of various subjects and a strategic approach to tackle the vast syllabus. The selection procedure for UPSC is divided into three stages, i.e., preliminary, mains and interview.
UPSC CSE Preliminary Examination (Prelims)
The prelims consist of two objective-type papers, i.e., General Studies Paper I (GS Paper I) and General Studies Paper II (GS Paper II or CSAT). GS Paper I consists of questions from history, geography, polity, economics, science, and current affairs, whereas GS Paper II, or CSAT, consists of reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and quantitative aptitude. CSAT is qualifying in nature, where candidates need to score only 33% of the marks.
UPSC CSE Mains Examination (Mains)
If candidates clear the preliminary examination, then they will be eligible to appear for the mains examination. The mains exam is a written examination that consists of nine papers; out of them, seven are considered for preparing the final list. These papers include essay writing, general studies, and optional subjects. The essay paper tests analytical and writing skills, while the general studies papers assess your understanding of various subjects such as history, geography, economics, polity, current affairs, science and technology, etc.
Personality Test (Interview)
The final stage of the UPSC CSE is the Interview. This stage evaluates a candidate's personality, communication skills, confidence and overall suitability for a career in civil services.
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