New Delhi

The civil services examination rules are part of a dynamic and evolving framework, and the government continuously undertakes reforms and remedial measures to ensure a level playing field for aspirants, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The Minister of State for Personnel was responding to a query on whether the government is considering exempting civil services aspirants from Ladakh from the qualifying Indian language paper in the civil services (main) examination.

In a written reply, Singh said the civil services examination is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in three stages — preliminary, main and interview — to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

He clarified that under the Civil Services Examination (CSE) Rules, 2025, the Indian language paper (Paper A) is not compulsory for candidates hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

The minister said the examination is conducted in accordance with the CSE rules notified by the Department of Personnel and Training.

On whether a similar exemption would be extended to candidates from Ladakh, Singh said the CSE rules are continuously reviewed.

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“To ensure a level playing field for aspirants nationwide, the government continuously undertakes reforms and remedial measures,” he added.