New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has rejected a request to make Civil Services Preliminary Examination question papers available in Marathi and other Eighth Schedule languages, citing administrative protocols, confidentiality requirements and concerns over maintaining uniform standards in the examination process.
The demand was raised by UPSC aspirants from Nashik, Maharashtra, through a formal representation seeking equal language access to the national-level examination.
At present, the question papers for General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II (CSAT) in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination are provided only in English and Hindi.
Aspirants Highlight Language Barrier
Aspirants from Marathi-medium and other regional-language backgrounds have argued that the absence of question papers in Eighth Schedule languages creates an additional challenge at the preliminary stage.
According to one UPSC aspirant, candidates who have studied in Marathi and other regional languages may possess the required subject knowledge but struggle with complex terminology and lengthy comprehension passages when attempting papers in English or Hindi.
The aspirant said this becomes particularly significant in CSAT, where candidates have to manage lengthy passages and solve questions within a limited time.
“This language barrier leads to serious time-management problems — especially in the CSAT — lowering their qualifying scores and contributing to a higher dropout rate among non-Hindi and non-English candidates,” the aspirant said.
The aspirants therefore requested the UPSC to provide Preliminary Examination question papers in all 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
“In our country, language varies distinctly from region to region, let alone states,” the aspirant said.
UPSC Cites Confidentiality, Expert Panel Concerns
In its official response, the UPSC Examination Division said that extending question papers to all 22 Eighth Schedule languages would require the Commission to engage a large number of domain experts for translation and verification.
The Commission said expanding the panel of experts to such an extent could create challenges related to the confidentiality and integrity of the examination, besides affecting uniformity in the question-paper creation process.
According to the UPSC’s response, the process of question-paper creation therefore needs to remain restricted to a minimal expert panel.
The Commission maintained that translating and verifying questions across 22 languages would require extensive involvement of subject specialists, which it believes could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the examination process.
Main Examination Already Allows Regional Languages
The UPSC also pointed out that candidates already have the option to write their Civil Services Main Examination answers in any of the Eighth Schedule languages, including Marathi.
Candidates can also take the Civil Services Examination personality test/interview in an Eighth Schedule language, subject to the applicable provisions.
However, aspirants seeking the change argue that the language issue at the Preliminary Examination stage remains significant because it is the first screening stage of the Civil Services Examination.
They contend that providing regional-language question papers could help ensure a more level playing field for candidates from rural areas and vernacular-medium educational backgrounds, particularly those who may otherwise face a language disadvantage despite having adequate knowledge of the subjects.
Demand for Equal Access at Screening Stage
The representation from Nashik has brought renewed attention to the long-standing debate over language accessibility in India’s most competitive public examination.
Experts and aspirant groups supporting the demand believe that the absence of regional-language options at the preliminary screening stage can disproportionately affect candidates who have received their education in regional languages.
The UPSC, however, has maintained that the existing system is necessary to protect the confidentiality, integrity and uniform evaluation standards of the examination.
The issue is likely to remain a point of discussion among civil services aspirants, particularly those preparing for the examination primarily through regional-language resources.
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