CHENNAI: The number of UPSC candidates from Tamil Nadu who cleared the final round this year has dropped to 36 as compared to 42 the previous year. However, the ratio of vacancies available to candidates who have passed the interview round has seen a marginal increase. CA Rishab from Madurantakam who secured the All India Rank - 23 is the State topper and is followed by V Renjina Mary and V Abhishek who secured the 49th and 79th ranks respectively.
While a reduction in vacancies is one of the reasons attributed to the drop in successful candidates, civil services aspirants claim that stringent selection process and tougher tests have also rained on their hopes of the prestigious IAS tag. “This year even the prelims were tough and very few candidates were shortlisted for the main exams,” said Vijay Kumar, who attempted the civil services exam for the third time this year. Less than 90 students cleared the main exam this year. Candidates claim that this has been the trend since 2016 which witnessed a ‘substandard’ preliminary exam.
Coaching centres claimed that the last two UPSC examinations have been over compensations for the 2016 debacle which saw a huge number of candidates progressing to the main round because of simple current affair questions and lack of challenging logical reasoning questions. “We cannot pinpoint the reason for the reduced number of successful candidates this time from Tamil Nadu. Once the marks are released in the few days, we can see where the native candidates are lacking,” said Israel Jebasingh, director of Officers IAS Academy.
New Delhi has been synonymous with hordes of civil services aspirants spending sleepless nights in training centres, but the increased number of successful candidates from training centres in Chennai might rob New Delhi of its tag soon.
TK Rangashree, a resident of Bengaluru, who secured All India Rank - 55, is a perfect example. Despite having become a probationary officer after her last attempt, Rangashree chose Chennai based Shankar IAS Academy to prepare for civil services again. “I spent almost 15-16 hours studying at the academy and despite a stringent selection process, I came out on top,” she said.
Shankar IAS Academy had 11 of it students featuring in the top 100 ranks. However, more than half of them are non-natives. “There has been a blossoming of IAS academies in Chennai over the last few years and it is only a matter of time till it takes New Delhi’s place,” said T Srikanth, CEO of the Academy.