UPSC aspirants protesting | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
UPSC Failing Aspirants: Systemic Flaws Crush Hopes
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), established under Article 315 of the Indian Constitution, is a cornerstone of India’s governance framework, entrusted with recruiting competent and dedicated civil servants for the All India Services and Central Civil Services. In 2023 alone, over 1.3 million candidates competed for just 1,105 positions. This highlights the UPSC’s critical role in selecting the nation’s administrative elite, including officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
The UPSC’s merit-based selection process, rooted in transparency and fairness, is designed to uphold the principles of integrity and efficiency, ensuring that only the most capable individuals manage critical sectors like public administration, law enforcement, and foreign affairs. If the UPSC falters—through lapses in impartiality, security, or accountability—the consequences are deep. A compromised recruitment process risks appointing underqualified or unethical officers, leading to inefficiencies, corruption, and eroded public trust in governance. In recent years, however, the UPSC’s reputation has been tarnished by a series of controversies, including allegations of paper leaks, fake certificate fraud, evaluation discrepancies and the likes. Public outcry and media scrutiny have fueled concerns that the UPSC is losing its sheen, casting doubt on its ability to uphold the high standards expected of India’s top recruiting agency.
