There are total nine descriptive papers in UPSC Civil Services mains examination. Candidates can choose either English or any one of the Indian languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India. A lot of candidates who are not comfortable in English opt to take Hindi or any other regional language as their medium of exam for the IAS mains. Some candidates, though, are apprehensive about taking a language other than English as the medium because of many preconceived notions like low success rate, lack of material availability, etc. But if we consider the truth, there are not many candidates who go for an Indian language in mains because the sheer numbers of candidates who opt for a non-English language are on the lower side. This article gives a few interesting statistics regarding the candidates’ medium of exam for the UPSC civil services mains exam. A good majority of candidates opt for English as their medium of mains exam.
In this article, we have discussed the figures from the annual report of the UPSC for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and compiled them for the reference of candidates.
Statistics on Candidates Medium of Examination:-Download PDF Here
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Year-wise Statistics on Candidates ‘ Medium of Examination
YEAR 2021
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 8388 | 8362 | 8348 | 8329 | 8318 |
| Assamese | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bengali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gujarati | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Hindi | 470 | 470 | 470 | 469 | 468 |
| Kannada | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Kashmiri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malayalam | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Marathi | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Oriya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Punjabi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanskrit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sindhi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tamil | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Telugu | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Urdu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Konkani | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manipuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nepali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bodo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dogri | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Santhali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maithili | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
YEAR 2020
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2020:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 9720 | 9711 | 9694 | 9680 | 9677 |
| Assamese | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bengali | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gujarati | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 |
| Hindi | 486 | 484 | 483 | 483 | 482 |
| Kannada | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Kashmiri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malayalam | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Marathi | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 |
| Oriya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Punjabi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanskrit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sindhi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tamil | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Telugu | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Urdu | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Konkani | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manipuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nepali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bodo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dogri | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Santhali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maithili | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
YEAR 2019
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2019:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 10723 | 10705 | 10694 | 10681 | 10677 |
| Assamese | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bengali | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gujarati | 67 | 67 | 65 | 66 | 65 |
| Hindi | 571 | 570 | 565 | 563 | 562 |
| Kannada | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Kashmiri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Malayalam | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Marathi | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 |
| Oriya | – | – | – | – | – |
| Punjabi | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sanskrit | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sindhi | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tamil | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Telugu | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Urdu | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Konkani | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manipuri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nepali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bodo | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dogri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Santhali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maithili | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2018:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 9122 | 9109 | 9097 | 9088 | 9082 |
| Assamese | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bengali | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gujarati | 89 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 88 |
| Hindi | 889 | 888 | 888 | 886 | 887 |
| Kannada | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Kashmiri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Malayalam | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Marathi | 75 | 75 | 75 | 73 | 72 |
| Oriya | – | – | – | – | – |
| Punjabi | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Sanskrit | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sindhi | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tamil | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Telugu | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Urdu | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Konkani | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manipuri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nepali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bodo | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dogri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Santhali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maithili | – | – | – | – | – |
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2017:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 11740 | 11719 | 11707 | 11691 | 11692 |
| Assamese | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bengali | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Gujarati | 92 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
| Hindi | 1066 | 1065 | 1065 | 1068 | 1061 |
| Kannada | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Kashmiri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Malayalam | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Marathi | 85 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 86 |
| Oriya | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Punjabi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Sanskrit | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sindhi | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tamil | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Telugu | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Urdu | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Konkani | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manipuri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nepali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bodo | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dogri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Santhali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maithili | – | – | – | – | – |
Comparative statement showing the medium of examination (Indian languages/English) of candidates who appeared in Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2016:
| Language | Essay | GS 1 | GS 2 | GS 3 | GS 4 |
| English | 13490 | 13457 | 13443 | 13429 | 13419 |
| Assamese | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bengali | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Gujarati | 135 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 135 |
| Hindi | 1320 | 1318 | 1317 | 1317 | 1318 |
| Kannada | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Kashmiri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Malayalam | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Marathi | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 |
| Oriya | – | – | – | – | – |
| Punjabi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Sanskrit | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sindhi | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tamil | 35 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 34 |
| Telugu | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Urdu | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Konkani | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manipuri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nepali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bodo | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dogri | – | – | – | – | – |
| Santhali | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maithili | – | – | – | – | – |
To check the statistics for the 2015 and 2014 UPSC CSE, candidates can download the PDF given below:
Statistics on Candidates Medium of Examination 2014 & 2015:-Download PDF Here
The above tables show that the dominating language in UPSC Mains exam is English. Hindi comes second in the list although it is way behind. There are also a few takers for Marathi and Gujarati languages, followed by Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Other languages figure only in single digits or none.
Also See | Pros and Cons of taking Literature Optionals in UPSC Mains Exam
Sir/Mam my question is—-
Can I write my optional Paper (Agriculture) in English language and GS paper1,2,3,4 & Essay in Hindi language in upsc mains exam???????
No, you have to stick to one medium of answering. You can opt either English or Hindi.
My question is
Is it possible to write MAINS exam in English and give the interview in Hindi?
Yes. While filling Mains DAF, you will be given an option to select your language.