Aspirants for the civil services are going to face a different pattern of examination from next year (2011) as the government has approved a proposal to introduce an aptitude test in place of the existing preliminary examination to shortlist candidates for the main exam. In such a case, the candidates will have to appear in two objective-type papers having special emphasis on testing their “aptitude for civil services” as well as on “ethical and moral dimension of decision-making” under a Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
Both these papers — having equal weightage — will be common to all candidates in place of the one common paper (general awareness) and one optional paper (any particular subject of choice) under the existing system which lays greater emphasis on subject knowledge.
CIVIL SERVICES APTITUDE TEST SYLLABUS