India is 'losing talent to rote learning and repetition' in UPSC civil services exam system: Bengaluru tech founder
Ashish Singhal, founder of CoinSwitch, recently highlighted the staggering imbalance in India’s civil services landscape. With over 10 lakh aspirants registering for the UPSC exam each year and only around 1,000 ultimately securing positions, the rejection rate stands at a crushing 99.9%. While the competition is intense, the real concern, according to Singhal, lies not in failure, but in the systemic issues driving bright minds into repetitive cycles of exam attempts.
Many young Indians spend 4–5 years chasing government jobs, prioritizing stability over innovation, and choosing familiarity over ambition, he said. This behavior, Singhal suggests, isn’t due to a lack of capability but rather a system that discourages risk and creativity. The current setup reinforces rote learning, credential obsession, and fear of failure, while coaching centers flourish across the country, he added.
Singhal proposes a reimagined approach: diverting even a fraction of these aspirants toward entrepreneurship, technology, and product innovation. If just 10% were guided toward building solutions and taking calculated risks, the country could unlock massive untapped potential, he said. The core issue isn't the talent pool—India has that in abundance. The real challenge is redirecting those efforts toward diverse opportunities that allow young minds to create lasting impact beyond exams.
Earlier, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal had said that five to eight years of preparation for the civil services exam by lakhs of students is a "waste of youthful energy".
"As mentioned, it (is) perfectly fine to attempt the UPSC or other such exams, but only if the person wants to be an administrator. The problem is that lakhs of people are spending 5-8 years repeatedly doing this exam as a 'way of life'. This is such a waste of youthful energy," he said in a series of posts on social media platform X.
What netizens said
Netizens echoed Ashish Singhal’s concerns, agreeing that the UPSC cycle needs reform. Many felt the loop will eventually break as future generations—raised by educated parents in a more informed society—gain access to broader opportunities, not just elite ones. They emphasized the importance of universal access to education, food, and healthcare, alongside the freedom to explore diverse paths. Others noted that the issue isn't talent but persistence, with aspirations merely waiting for a second chance. Some stressed that UPSC should be a dream, not the only dream, and called for creating more ladders for India’s youth to climb.
Many young Indians spend 4–5 years chasing government jobs, prioritizing stability over innovation, and choosing familiarity over ambition, he said. This behavior, Singhal suggests, isn’t due to a lack of capability but rather a system that discourages risk and creativity. The current setup reinforces rote learning, credential obsession, and fear of failure, while coaching centers flourish across the country, he added.
Singhal proposes a reimagined approach: diverting even a fraction of these aspirants toward entrepreneurship, technology, and product innovation. If just 10% were guided toward building solutions and taking calculated risks, the country could unlock massive untapped potential, he said. The core issue isn't the talent pool—India has that in abundance. The real challenge is redirecting those efforts toward diverse opportunities that allow young minds to create lasting impact beyond exams.
Earlier, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal had said that five to eight years of preparation for the civil services exam by lakhs of students is a "waste of youthful energy".
"As mentioned, it (is) perfectly fine to attempt the UPSC or other such exams, but only if the person wants to be an administrator. The problem is that lakhs of people are spending 5-8 years repeatedly doing this exam as a 'way of life'. This is such a waste of youthful energy," he said in a series of posts on social media platform X.
What netizens said
Netizens echoed Ashish Singhal’s concerns, agreeing that the UPSC cycle needs reform. Many felt the loop will eventually break as future generations—raised by educated parents in a more informed society—gain access to broader opportunities, not just elite ones. They emphasized the importance of universal access to education, food, and healthcare, alongside the freedom to explore diverse paths. Others noted that the issue isn't talent but persistence, with aspirations merely waiting for a second chance. Some stressed that UPSC should be a dream, not the only dream, and called for creating more ladders for India’s youth to climb.
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