UPSC conducts Civil Services Preliminary exam today; aspirants share their preparation and thoughts

NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is conducting the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination on Sunday. The exam marks the first stage of the selection process for India’s coveted civil services.

Aspirants reached exam centres across the national capital early in the morning, sharing their thoughts and experiences as they prepared to take the test.
An aspirant Sakshi Chaturvedi said, “It is a very big day for me. I have prepared well and worked very hard for the examination. This is my second attempt.”
Another aspirant, Deepak Singh, a candidate from Gorakhpur, said, “Today is the UPSC exam. We are getting ready to go. The preparation always feels incomplete; there’s always a thought that one more revision could have been done. Anyone who says they are 100 per cent ready is either a genius or not studying at all. That feeling of self-doubt never goes away.”

He added that this was his second attempt and emphasised that the journey of preparation often involves a constant cycle of anxiety and motivation. “There is always some fear. But ultimately, you have to trust your own preparation,” he said.

Meanwhile, another first-time aspirant from Gujarat, Ana James, shared her mix of hope and nervousness. She told, “This is my first attempt. I’ve been preparing for the past one and a half years, using various resources, including YouTube, and have studied independently.”

Best wishes to all UPSC aspirants for the CSE Prelims 2025. https://t.co/VhGrru8V7X

— Gaurav Agarwalla (@gauragarwalla) May 25, 2025

Sonali Moral, another first-time candidate, said that she had quit her job in the Ministry of Commerce to focus entirely on her preparation. “I’ve been preparing for the past two years. I don’t know what today will bring, but I’ll give it my best,” she said.

The UPSC Civil Services Examination is considered one of the toughest competitive exams in India. It consists of three stages: Preliminary, Mains, and the Personality Test (Interview). (ANI)