Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman Dr Ajay Kumar said interview boards are advised to assess candidates' commitment to serving the nation and its people, along with other assessment parameters. Speaking to DD News, he said this has been a continuous approach of the commission, with interview boards specifically advised to consider whether candidates have the mindset to enter public service.
"I feel this is a very important topic. This has been our continuous approach. We advise our interview boards in this regard: among the assessment parameters, one parameter should be to see whether that young candidate has the mindset to serve the country and engage in public service," he said.
"Our experts have been doing this remarkably well. And I feel we must continuously give importance to this, because it is not necessary that every highly qualified person also wants to do public service; some might not want to. So we need to select people who are prepared to come into public service and dedicate their entire life's time to it. We must continuously keep this in mind," he added.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stressed the need to select candidates not for "public office" but for "public service", highlighting the importance of serving the nation and its people.
UPSC On Technology And Examinations
Responding to a question on technological evolution, changing skill requirements, and the need for civil servants to adapt to new technologies, Dr Kumar said technology has affected everyone, including the UPSC.
"In today's era, the impact of technology is on everyone. Absolutely no one is untouched. And UPSC is not untouched either," he said.
He said the commission uses technology in several ways to make its systems more efficient, reduce the time taken for various processes and improve security.
"We have made this system further... like deduplication, so that two admit cards are not issued to the same person. We have tried to make this process safer and more secure. We are doing face authentication so that we can prevent people from making any kind of fake attempt," he added.
Dr Kumar said the UPSC also performs several functions beyond conducting examinations, including matters related to civil servants' promotions, deputations, and disciplinary proceedings.
He said technology is being used in these areas as well to reduce the time taken and improve efficiency.
'Technology Has Changed Social Dynamics'
The UPSC chairman said the biggest change brought about by technology is in social dynamics and that it has had both positive and negative effects.
He said digital technology has increased access to information for candidates preparing for competitive examinations, including those in remote and rural areas.
"Today, due to digital technology, when a candidate in remote areas or rural regions prepares, they have access to information, which was not possible before. Information can be shared in minutes. You can gain knowledge through many things on the internet," he said.
However, he said the rapid spread of information through social media also means that misinformation can spread quickly.
"Social media has increased so much, because of which many, many things spread very rapidly. Information spreads rapidly, and misinformation spreads rapidly as well. We have to make adjustments from time to time according to every kind of impact," he said.
UPSC On Transparency And Confidentiality
Dr Kumar said transparency remains a key objective of the UPSC and referred to the commission's recent initiative of releasing provisional answer keys immediately after examinations.
"Transparency is a main objective of ours. Recently, we started releasing the provisional answer key immediately after the exam. Our digital process is toward transparency," he said.
At the same time, he stressed that information that needs to remain confidential must continue to be protected.
"Because in UPSC, the most important thing is that we have maintained our confidentiality, due to which today there is people's trust in UPSC. No other external people can exert any influence over UPSC," he said.
He said the commission needs to maintain transparency where required while preserving confidentiality where necessary.
"To maintain that, where transparency is required, transparency, so that people's trust remains, and where confidentiality is required, confidentiality," he added.