Manipur: Candidates opting for Imphal in civil services prelims exam now have option to select other venues

Candidates who selected Imphal centre in Manipur for this year's civil services preliminary examination can now opt for alternative venues, announced the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

The civil services exam, comprising three stages - preliminary, main, and interview, is conducted yearly by the UPSC to appoint officers for prestigious services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The UPSC announced that the civil services preliminary examination for 2024 will take place on June 16. In response to a directive from the Delhi High Court, the UPSC stated that candidates who initially selected the Imphal centre can now opt for any of the 80 notified centers for the exam. This decision follows a petition filed by the Zomi Students Federation.

Candidates who initially selected Imphal as their examination centre can now change their center choice. This option will be available on the UPSC website from April 8 to April 19. Additionally, candidates can also request a change by calling the toll-free helpline number (1800118711) during working hours from April 8 to 19, between 10 am and 5 pm. Another option is to send their change requests via email to uscsp-upsc@nic.in.

"On receipt of centre change options from the willing candidates through any of the above modes, they will be allocated to the venues of their chosen centres and accordingly, a message confirming the change of centres shall be sent to each such candidate on his/her registered mobile number," it added.

The UPSC mentioned that e-admit cards for candidates, including those who changed their center from Imphal, will be available for download from the UPSC website approximately a week before the exam date.

In other news, ethnic violence in Manipur has claimed the lives of at least 219 people since May last year. The conflict began on May 3 following a 'Tribal Solidarity March' held in the hill districts in opposition to the Meitei community's request for Scheduled Tribe status.