Low turnout for civil service prelims

Thiruvananthapuram: Only 40 per cent candidates turned up for the IAS preliminary examinations in the State on Sunday following the confusion over postponement of the examinations. However, this was only a marginal decrease as 60 per cent appeared for the examinations. This was confirmed by observers of the UPSC who supervised the conduct of examinations.

Of the over 7,200 students who had applied for the examinations in 18 centres in Thiruvananthapuram, only 2,800 appeared. Normally, around 8,000 to 9,000 candidates apply for the examinations, sources said.

Professor Shyama Prasad who has been in the field of  civil service training for many years said last year only three lakh candidates had appeared for the examinations in the country.