A total of 16,626 candidates appeared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Preliminary Examination at the examination centres in Chennai district on Sunday.

Of the 23,120 candidates, who had been allocated examination centres in Chennai by the UPSC this year, 6,494 candidates did not appear for the examination. According to officials, the number of examination centres in Chennai saw an increase from 65 last year to 82 this year.

T. Sankara Saravanan, Additional Director, Competitive Exams, All India Civil Services Coaching Centre of the Tamil Nadu government, said the cut-off was expected to reduce this year. “Last year, the cut-off for the general category was 92.6, while the OBC candidates’ cut-off was around 91. The prelims in 2023 was the toughest paper, when the cut-off was reduced to 75. This year, the cut-off is expected to be in the range of 75-85. The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) paper was also tough this year. It demands extensive reading to clear the examination. Over 50% of the questions were related to current affairs. Newspaper reading is crucial to answer the questions. Candidates have stopped reading the India Year Book for the past 10 years. Those who had read the India Year Book have been able to answer several questions this year,” he said.

“The question paper was 51 pages this year. Last year, it was only 40 pages. This year, the UPSC has introduced a new format of questions. For example, they have asked the candidate to match three columns of 12 different facts. Questions on ethics were included for the prelims examination this year. Those who had prepared for the mains ethics paper were able to answer these questions,” Mr. Saravanan added.