Editor,
Vide the Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet decisions on 17 September, 2019, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil service examination pattern was adopted by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) for its combined competitive examination (CCE). This move was aimed at creating a level playing field for all the aspirants and making this prestigious examination more relevant to present day administrative needs, moving away from the previous patterns that faced multiple controversies of being outdated and irrelevant.
Thus, it was a much welcomed decision for the aspirants from Arunachal. Since then, the commission successfully conducted two APPSCCE in keeping with the new UPSC pattern.
Coming to the present day, much to the candidates’ relief (who have been patiently waiting for months since filing the RTI), the APPSC on 21.11.2025 released the mark sheets of the APPSCCE 2024-25. However, the recent mark statements, especially regarding the optional paper are being perceived as being favourable for a few specific optional subjects. How do you validly justify the paradox of two candidates with an almost equivalent total score in their general studies paper securing 200+ marks difference in context of their differing optional papers? Had it occurred once? Twice? It could be counted as being mere luck or an exception, but the instances are much more than that and it deepens the perceived perception. If the perception is rendered true, this matter itself dilutes the essence of what an all-rounder, competitive and celebrated exam like APPSCCE demands. The civil service exam is not a specific departmental recruitment. If the trend continues, choosing optional paper will look more like a gamble, rather than a choice of a person’s interest or aptitude.
The two optional papers carry 500 marks (which is nearly one-third of the total in the mains) and the consequences of the marks scored in these papers contribute significantly to the final merit list. Hence, the gravity of the issue here brings in the question of ‘moderation in mains’, which is being used by the UPSC to account for differences in difficulty level of paper, examiner subjectivity/marking styles and to bring reasonable uniformity across different subjects.
In the Prasant Ramesh Chakkarwar vs UPSC & Ors judgement (5 October, 2010), the court recognised that such moderation is “perfectly justified in a competitive exam with many different optional subjects.” The court further emphasised its significance as a need for “uniformity inter se the examiners and inter se subjects” due to a large number of optionals.
Hence, pertaining to the issue cited above, a very apt and loud question arises: Is the APPSC adhering to any such moderation algorithm while evaluating the answer sheets of one of the most prominent and reputed examination of the state? And have in the course of successfully adopting the complete pattern of the UPSC, the APPSC has been only following just selective practices? The questions remain unanswered and the answers remain opaque as of now. As the saying goes, transparency does not weaken the exam; it strengthens faith in it, The commission is a highly esteemed body, endowed with the authority to recruit the best talents of the state. It should be answerable to the greater public regarding the procedure it has established to ensure fair assessment for all candidates. And for that reason, the pressing priority of today is that, the unswerving aspirants, for whom the chapters are endless and the revisions never feel enough – deserve lucid clarity about the terms and rules of their playing ground, not a silent disparity hidden behind sealed envelopes and confidential arithmetic.
An aspirant