The Central Government had introduced a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section among General Category candidates with respect to government jobs. The Union Public Service Commission has also accommodated this change and has notified applicable rules with respect to the new category. These details are clearly notified by the Commission in their annual release of notification/advertisement for the exam. Therefore, the UPSC aspirants who fall under the EWS category can read the whole official notification to clearly understand this reservation and apply to claim the reservation.
The Commission releases vacancies yearly for various categories, such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability, fixed by the government. The criteria and rules vary from one category to another, and therefore, the candidates have to be particularly specific and accurate while selecting the category to which they belong while filling out the application every single time. Also, in order to know all the reservations and relaxations applicable to various categories regarding the number of attempts, age limit, the number of available vacancies etc., the candidates can read the notification in detail.
In this article, the candidates can learn more about the EWS reservation subject to the UPSC exam. If the candidate belongs to the economically weaker section, they are required to be ready with EWS Certificate to avail of the benefits and can read more about this from the linked article. Even though many of them know the 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section, many are not clear about the eligibility criteria and other rules related to EWS. This article aims to explain the relaxations/concessions given for the EWS category and the details related to Income & Assets Certificate.
Things to Know about EWS Reservation in UPSC Exam
The Commission has announced a few relaxations in many matters for Economically Weaker Sections, and in a few matters, they have the same criteria similar to the General category. Therefore, those who are claiming any concessions/relaxations applicable to the EWS category have to ensure that they fulfil the eligibility criteria mentioned in the rules notified by the Government/Examination Notice issued by the UPSC.
Let’s discuss the EWS Reservation related to UPSC Civil Services Exam in detail below:
- The candidates who fall under this category can attempt the Civil Services Examination only six times, similar to the general category, unlike the other categories which are given nine (Other Backward Class) or more attempts (SC/STs). However, it is to be noted that the candidates who belong to the EWS category and also PwBD can attempt this exam nine times.
- The change of category from unreserved to reserved category after submitting the application is not entertained by the Commission. Likewise, change from one reserved category to another category shall also not be permitted. Further, no candidate belonging to any sub-category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) shall be allowed to change the sub-category of disability.
- The EWS candidates are not eligible for any fee exemption while applying for the UPSC exam. Fee exemption is provided to Female, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates. Other candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs 100/- to complete the application form for the Preliminary Examination.
- In addition to this, the candidates should also know that no age relaxation could be allowed for the candidates of EWS categories, and it is similar to the conditions of the General category. Meanwhile, age relaxation is given to other categories such as Other Backward Castes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
- The candidates who are claiming any relaxation as economically weaker sections have to submit their certificates only at the time of the Main examination and not before that.
- The candidates must produce the Income & Assets Certificate (I&AC) to claim reservation under the Economically Weaker Section Quota. It should also be noted that the certificate issued by any other authority will not be accepted. However, I&AC should be issued by any of the following authorities:
- District Magistrate/Additional District Magistrate/Collector/Deputy Commissioner/Additional’ Deputy Commissioner/1st Class Stipendiary Magistrate/Sub-Divisional Magistrate/ Taluka Magistrate/ Executive Magistrate/ Extra Assistant Commissioner
- Chief Presidency Magistrate/Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate/ Presidency Magistrate
- Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tehsildar and
- Sub-Divisional Officer of the area where the candidate and/or their family normally resides
- Administrator/Secretary to the Administrator/Development Officer (Lakshadweep)
- The original copy of I&AC has to be produced by the candidates who get qualified for the Interview at the time of the Personality Test. However, the details of the certificate have to be indicated, and while filling out the Detailed Application Form for Mains, the candidates have to upload a copy of the certificate.
- The I&AC should be dated prior to the closing date of application or the cut-off date, as may be prescribed in the Notification for the Examination concerned. Only then it is considered a valid certificate.
- An EWS candidate has to ensure that they fulfil all the criteria before applying for the examination. Any mismatch or non-fulfilment of the criteria will result in the cancellation of the candidature. In case the candidate has selected the wrong category and has submitted the form without editing, they are advised to fill another form with correct details and submit the application form if the application submission window is still open. The request for a change of category is not entertained by the Commission.
- The candidates who have secured employment based on false claims of the reservation will be disqualified and dismissed from the appointment immediately when it is found out. Therefore, the candidates have to be careful while filling out the application form and claiming any relaxation/ concession.
Apart from having the required documents for the exam, the candidates must also concentrate on knowing more about the UPSC from the linked article where the syllabus of the exam of various levels has been discussed. Knowing the syllabus and exam pattern is considered to be one of the foremost steps in the preparation.