New Delhi: The number of candidates who wrote the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) Main in Hindi or Maithili and were finally recommended for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) fell sharply to just five in 2024, according to data shared by the government in the Rajya Sabha.
The number stood at 10 candidates in 2021, rose significantly to 27 in 2022, before declining to 14 in 2023 and further to just five in 2024.
The government also provided year-wise data on candidates from Bihar who were recommended in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. The number of recommended candidates from Bihar increased from 54 in 2021 to 63 in 2022 and 82 in 2023, before falling to 72 in 2024.
Data Provided in Rajya Sabha Reply
The data was provided by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by MP Sanjay Yadav on candidates appearing for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in Hindi and other regional languages.
According to the reply, the government provided figures for candidates who wrote the CSE Main examination in Hindi and other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and were finally recommended for the IAS and IPS.
The figures show a significant fluctuation in the number of Hindi/Maithili-medium candidates recommended for the two services over the four-year period.
Hindi/Maithili-Medium Candidates Recommended for IAS, IPS
The year-wise figures for candidates who wrote the UPSC CSE Main examination in Hindi or Maithili and were finally recommended for IAS and IPS are:
- 2021: 10 candidates recommended for IAS/IPS
- 2022: 27 candidates recommended for IAS/IPS
- 2023: 14 candidates recommended for IAS/IPS
- 2024: 5 candidates recommended for IAS/IPS
The number increased from 10 in 2021 to 27 in 2022, marking a substantial rise in the second year. However, the figure fell to 14 in 2023 and declined further to five in 2024.
The 2024 figure was therefore less than half of the number recorded in 2021 and significantly below the peak of 27 candidates recorded in 2022.
Candidates Writing CSE Mains in Hindi and Other Eighth Schedule Languages
The minister’s reply also included data on candidates who appeared in and qualified in the CSE Main examination while writing it in Hindi and other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
The figures provided by the government were:
- 2021: 538 candidates wrote the examination; 26 qualified
- 2022: 587 candidates wrote the examination; 71 qualified
- 2023: 599 candidates wrote the examination; 57 qualified
- 2024: 1,133 candidates wrote the examination; 50 qualified
The government reported that 538 candidates wrote the CSE Main examination in Hindi and other Eighth Schedule languages in 2021. This increased to 587 in 2022 and 599 in 2023.
The number then saw a sharp jump in 2024, when 1,133 candidates wrote the Main examination using Hindi and other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
However, the number of candidates who qualified did not follow the same upward trend. Twenty-six candidates qualified in 2021, while the figure rose to 71 in 2022. It subsequently declined to 57 in 2023 and 50 in 2024.
Sharp Rise in Regional-Language Mains Candidates in 2024
One of the notable aspects of the data is the sharp increase in the number of candidates writing the CSE Main examination in Hindi and other Eighth Schedule languages in 2024.
The number increased from 599 candidates in 2023 to 1,133 in 2024, representing a substantial rise in participation at the Mains stage.
However, despite more candidates opting for these languages, the number qualifying stood at 50 in 2024, compared with 57 in 2023 and 71 in 2022.
The data therefore shows a divergence between the number of candidates choosing Hindi and other Eighth Schedule languages for the Main examination and the number eventually qualifying at that stage.
Hindi/Maithili IAS, IPS Recommendations Show Different Trend
The separate figures for candidates finally recommended for IAS and IPS show another trend.
While the broader pool of candidates writing the Main examination in Hindi and other Eighth Schedule languages increased sharply in 2024, the number of candidates who wrote in Hindi or Maithili and were ultimately recommended for IAS and IPS fell to just five.
The number of such recommendations had reached 27 in 2022, before falling to 14 in 2023 and five in 2024.
The government data thus provides year-wise figures at different stages of the examination process, from candidates writing the Main examination in specified languages to those eventually recommended for the two premier services.
Centre Does Not Provide Language-Wise Breakup for CSE Prelims
The Centre, however, did not provide a language-wise breakup for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
In its response, the government said that the CSE Preliminary Examination is a medium-neutral examination.
The test booklet/question paper for the Preliminary Examination is provided bilingually in English and Hindi, while candidates mark their responses on an OMR sheet.
Therefore, the government did not provide the same type of language-wise participation data for the Preliminary Examination that is available for candidates choosing different languages for the Main examination.
Data Covers Hindi and Other Regional Languages
The figures were provided in response to questions on the number of candidates appearing in Hindi and other regional languages in the Civil Services Examination since 2021.
The government’s response specifically included data on candidates writing the CSE Main examination in Hindi and other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
The data also separately identified candidates who wrote the examination in Hindi or Maithili and were finally recommended for IAS and IPS.
This distinction is relevant because the two sets of figures cover different stages and categories of candidates.
Bihar Candidates Recommended in UPSC CSE
The government also provided year-wise data on candidates from Bihar who were recommended in the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
The number increased consistently from 2021 to 2023 before registering a decline in 2024.
The figures were:
- 2021: 54 candidates recommended
- 2022: 63 candidates recommended
- 2023: 82 candidates recommended
- 2024: 72 candidates recommended
The number of candidates from Bihar recommended through the UPSC Civil Services Examination rose from 54 in 2021 to 63 in 2022.
It increased further to 82 in 2023, marking the highest figure in the four-year period covered by the data.
In 2024, however, the number declined to 72 candidates.
Despite the fall from the previous year, the 2024 figure remained higher than the number of candidates recommended from Bihar in both 2021 and 2022.
What the Government Data Shows
The figures shared in Parliament provide a snapshot of participation and outcomes among candidates choosing Hindi and other regional-language mediums in the UPSC Civil Services Examination since 2021.
The data shows that the number of candidates writing the CSE Main examination in Hindi and other Eighth Schedule languages increased substantially, particularly in 2024, when the figure reached 1,133.
At the same time, the number of candidates who qualified from this broader language group stood at 50 in 2024, compared with 57 in 2023 and 71 in 2022.
For candidates writing the CSE Main examination in Hindi or Maithili and ultimately recommended for IAS and IPS, the figure declined from a high of 27 in 2022 to 14 in 2023 and five in 2024.
The government also reported that the number of candidates from Bihar recommended in the UPSC Civil Services Examination increased from 54 in 2021 to 82 in 2023, before falling to 72 in 2024.
