Extra Attempts for UPSC Exam

The civil services exam is one of the extremely competitive examinations conducted in the country, and cracking it is a challenge in itself. Just a single attempt to crack the exam is not sufficient, and thus, the conducting body has specified a certain fixed number of attempts for candidates belonging to different categories. 

Considering the comprehensiveness of the UPSC Syllabus, exhaustive exam pattern and prominence of the UPSC CSE, it is the pressure that candidate has to deal with to enter the Indian bureaucracy. 

Each attempt acts as a boon for the IAS Exam aspirants and in this article, we shall discuss the maximum number of attempts that are applicable for candidates. Also, the current pleas and campaigns asking for extra attempts for UPSC have been discussed further below. 

Apart from the chances that an aspirant gets to apply for the civil services exam, there is a set UPSC Eligibility Criteria that must also be fulfilled. Thus, only the candidates who satisfy all the eligibility criteria and have not exhausted their attempts are eligible to apply for the exam. 

IAS Attempts – How many UPSC attempts are allowed?

A lot of candidates tend to take the first attempt as an experience to understand the civil services exam better. However, this is not applicable to all the aspirants. Each individual sets a personalized strategy and plan to crack the exam within the specified number of attempts available. 

Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible shall be permitted six

(6) attempts at the CSE. However, relaxation in the number of attempts will be available to specific categories of candidates. 

Given below is the number of attempts available to such candidates as per relaxation:

To know about the other exemptions that are applicable for candidates as per the provisions under the Indian Constitution and as announced by the Government of India, candidates can visit the IAS Reservations page.

Also, refer to the links below:

UPSC Extra Attempt 2021 – Petition Due to the Pandemic

The country was severely affected by the storm of the Novel Coronavirus ever since its beginning in India. Its impact was not just limited to every citizen’s personal life but had also struck at the professional front.

Many government exams were rescheduled during this period, and the IAS exam was no exception. The UPSC prelims 2020, initially scheduled for May 31, 2020, was postponed to October 4, 2021. However, many aspirants were affected due to the pandemic and could not appear for the exam and demanded an extra attempt in UPSC 2021. 

Given below is the timeline of events that happened during the course of this petition to the Supreme Court:

• Two sections of candidates appealed for an extra attempt in UPSC 2021:
• • First, those who could not appear for the UPSC Prelims exam 2020 due to the lockdown and safety protocols. These were the candidates who either themselves or someone from their families were affected by the virus; or could not reach the exam venue due to the lockdown
  • Second, those who appeared for the exam but could not prepare themselves well enough due to the pandemic. Four of the many aspirants in this category were working as Covid Warriors and could not devote much time to IAS preparation
• Aspirants turned to the government and the honourable Supreme Court seeking a decision in their favour, but it was rejected at both ends. Also, read ⇒ 25 Important Supreme Court Judgement for UPSC
• In the last one year, multiple PILs have been filed by the candidates demanding an extra attempt for the civil services examination, and lately, many protests have also been conducted to demand a fair chance which was hammered due to the unprecedented circumstances

The Commission, government and the Supreme Court’s decision shall also affect the future recruitment processes and therefore, their decision came after analyzing the subsequent effect it may have in the coming years. 

Candidates who are eligible and looking forward to starting off their preparation for the upcoming IAS Exam 2022, can visit the BYJU’S Free IAS Prep page and get all the desired study material. Also, they can visit BYJU’S for more information about the extra attempts, latest exam updates and preparation tips.