NAGPUR: The
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) prelims were conducted on Sunday at 46 centres across the city. Total 16,857 candidates had applied for the exam from Nagpur and of these 7,728 appeared for Paper-1 while 7,665 appeared for Paper-2.
While overall the candidates had no problem with the question papers, the change in pattern did create some hurdles. “From last year, the papers are being set in a different manner and this time it got really tough. Also, competition has increased as few years ago there were 1,300 seats available and now they have slipped down to 782. So, this year is proving to be more challenging for all the UPSC aspirants,” said a candidate
Sandip Datta.
Another student Vibhor Shete said, “As the paper pattern changed last year, it has got a bit dicey. There were more questions that required application of concepts and direct questions were not many. Thus, it definitely consumed more time.”
Many candidates agreed that the paper was indeed lengthy. Student Prasanna Saole said, “Paper-1 was somewhat time consuming because a number of lengthy questions got me tensed. Overall, I believe the time limit was sufficient, but it is UPSC, you can never tell what may come in your way.”
Another candidate
Prajwal Gulhane said, “The prelims exam was a bit tough, especially the history and currents affair questions. I also think that if I had more time, it would have been great. Aptitude exam was easier but only if you knew how to manage time.”
Some candidates like Pranita Lingayat were using today’s paper as a foundation for next time. “It was my first attempt and it went well. CSAT was good, but Paper-1 was all about preparation, the more you prepare, the more you score and my preparation is for the next year.”
Indrapal Maheskar, another candidate, said, “Paper-2 was difficult because it was based on the passages and the passages contained some tricky questions. Last year’s paper was much simpler than this one.”
Dinesh Rajput, a candidate said, “History was tough and the rest of the paper was fine. It took more time than required but overall the paper was good and was set in a very clever way.”
