UPSC Exam Reforms: D.Subbarao Urges Reduce age, limited attempts in Civil Services Examination

Former RBI Governor D. Subbarao in an opinion piece in the Times of India has written on the competitive exam conducted in India for the recruitment of IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officers, held by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In the article, he called for key UPSC exam reforms changes, including lowering the age limit and restricting the number of attempts for the Civil Services Examination. 

Expressing Concern Over Wasted Years of Aspirants

Former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao has raised concerns over the structure of India’s civil services recruitment, stating that the current system results in a significant “waste of productive years” for lakhs of aspirants. Writing an opinion piece in The Times of India, he pointed out that for every successful candidate, at least ten others fail despite years of preparation, often returning to their initial stages

Critiquing the Age Requirements and Number of Attempts 

Subbarao criticized the existing policy of recruiting the IAS officers who score well in the UPSC Examinations, one of the toughest exams in the world, which allows up to six attempts between the ages of 21 and 32. He emphasized the psychological burden caused by repeated failures, often driven by the “sunk cost fallacy,” where candidates feel compelled to continue because of their previous investments of time, money, and effort.

Recommendations for Reform

The former RBI governor D. Subbarao, on making the process more effective and realistic,  proposed reducing the maximum number of attempts to three and lowering the upper age limit to 27. He argued that too many chances reward exam coaching over true merit and skill, disregarding the true meaning of recruitment.

Introducing Mid-Career Entry Route for Professionals

Duvvuri Subbarao also suggested introducing an exam conducted by UPSC annually for the entry of experienced professionals aged between 40 to 42. Unlike the ad-hoc lateral entry, the newly introduced framework would bring in individuals having real-world experience, improving the government administrative work.

Importance of Hiring Young Talents

Subbarao also emphasised on the importance of the current process of recruitment of young individuals due to their enthusiasm. Although recognising and acknowledging the developments, he voiced for developments and upgrades to enhance the relevance and efficiency of the civil services.