No change in UPSC exam dates: Govt.

Facing flak from the Opposition on the UPSC row, the government on Wednesday decided to convene an all-party meeting on the issue even as it ruled out postponement of the examinations slated for next month.

Responding to a discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar, said the all-party meeting would be convened for wider consultations on UPSC reforms after the scheduled civil services preliminary examinations on August 24.

“Over nine lakh students are appearing [this year]. Our friends and relatives may also be amongst them. Let us not confuse them,’’ he appealed to members.

He said the status quo remained on the government’s view for exclusion from gradation or merit the English comprehension skills component of the Civil Services Aptitude Test in the preliminary examination and for an additional attempt in 2015 for those who took CSAT in 2011.