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Question 20 of 23 · Committees & Commissions
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In July 2000, the UPSC set up a committee to review the Civil Services Examination. It was headed by:

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Answer: Option D — Professor Yoginder K. Alagh

Detailed Solution

Alagh. In July 2000, the Union Public Service Commission constituted a committee under Professor Yoginder K. Alagh, an economist and former Union Minister, to review the scheme of the Civil Services Examination.

About Professor Alagh:

  • He is a well-known economist and planner.
  • He served as a member of the Planning Commission and as Union Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology.
  • He was also Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Purpose of the review:

  • To examine whether the examination was selecting candidates with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes for modern administration.
  • To consider changes in the syllabus, the optional subjects and the interview.

Main recommendations:

  • The examination should test a candidate's general awareness, aptitude and values rather than only subject knowledge.
  • The number of optional subjects should be reduced over time.
  • The preliminary examination should include a test of aptitude.
  • The upper age limit and the number of attempts should be reviewed.
  • Candidates should be trained in subjects such as sustainable development, governance and ethics.

Earlier committees on the examination:

  • The Kothari Committee (1976) recommended the three-stage system of preliminary, main and interview, which began in 1979.
  • The Satish Chandra Committee (1989) recommended an essay paper in the main examination.

Later committees:

  • The Nigavekar Committee (2012) and the Baswan Committee (2016) also reviewed the examination.
  • The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) was introduced in the preliminary examination in 2011.

Role of the UPSC:

  • The UPSC is a constitutional body under Articles 315 to 323.
  • It conducts examinations for the All India Services and the central services.
  • It advises the government on recruitment rules, promotions and disciplinary matters.

Why not the other options?

Professor D.S. Kothari and Dr. Satish Chandra headed earlier review committees.

Professor Nigavekar headed a later committee.

Quick tip

Remember: Alagh Committee (2000) = review of the Civil Services Examination; Kothari Committee (1976) = three-stage pattern.

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Committees & Commissions — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Committees & Commissions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the important committees and commissions set up in India, both before and after independence, on subjects such as administration, elections, Centre-state relations, local government, education, banking and the economy, along with their chairpersons and key recommendations. Questions usually name a committee and ask what it dealt with, or name a subject and ask which committee examined it. Examples include the Dhar and JVP committees on the linguistic reorganisation of states, the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-state relations, and the Narasimham Committee on banking reforms. A table of committee, chairperson and subject is the best way to revise. Practise the committees and commissions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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