UPSC Civil Services 2018: Read The Exam Analysis

One of the most-awaited examinations in a rolling year, the civil services preliminary exam, took place yesterday, i.e., June 3, 2018. Over three lakh candidates appeared for the examination for approximately 790 vacancies. Annually, the civil services exam is conducted for shortlisting candidates to the All India Services and Central Services. The exam will be conducted in three stages, namely preliminary, main and an interview.

The civil services preliminary exam consists of two paper, namely General Studies and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT). The General Studies paper was conducted during the first-half of the exam. The CSAT paper took place between 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm. Most of us know that the CSAT paper is the qualifying one and only marks secured in the General Studies paper is considered for shortlisting candidates for the main examination, which will take place in the month of October.

Top 5 Toughest Entrance Examinations For Government Jobs In India

Analysis On Civil Services Preliminary

Compared to 2017's civil services preliminary exam, the 2018 paper was a bit difficult. Aspirants witnessed in-depth questions in both the papers. In the CSAT paper, aspirants experienced questions from dependency ratio and inflation, which are not aptitude questions. Paper-II was lengthy and time consuming. A few questions came from the unexpected areas such as Lok Sabha in the Indian Polity. As the question paper was difficult compared to the last year's, the cut-off could fall this year.

Paper-I General Studies

As expected, many questions were based on economy and current affairs. The number of questions on science was decreased. Though the paper was moderate, aspirants found it a bit difficult to answer all the questions because of the facts and statistics questions. Candidates who cracked more than 70 questions can start their preparation for the main examination. Over 15 questions were asked from every section. Around 19 questions were asked from history besides 17 direct questions in Indian economy.

Paper-II CSAT

The CSAT paper was a bit lengthy and time consuming. Aspirants witnessed many questions in the quantitative section. As expected, there was no change in the weightage of the reading comprehension passages. Around 20 questions were asked in the quantitative section. Over 15 analytical reasoning questions were asked and they were moderate to average.

Aspirants' Reaction To The Preliminary Exam

Though the General Studies paper was moderate, aspirants found the economy section difficult because of the statistics and figures. Aspirants were also surprised by the question based on cyber attack. The science section got very less weightage. In the CSAT paper, aspirants took a lot of time to solve the maths questions. The questions related to environmental science were based on the recent happenings. Many test-takers felt that the General Studies paper was moderate compared to the CSAT paper.

Expected Cutoffs

As the aspirants found the exam a bit tough, the expected cut-off for the General Studies paper will be somewhere between 110 and 120 for the general category. For OBC and SC categories, we expect the score to be 100. The preliminary results are expected during the last week of July or the first week of August.

How SWOT Analysis Will Help You Succeed In The Civil Services Exam?