'Reduce age, limit attempts, allow 40-plus into IAS': Ex-RBI Governor's reform call for UPSC

Duvvuri Subbarao, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has called for a major overhaul of the country's civil services recruitment system. He has recommended two key reforms — reducing the maximum age and number of attempts for the UPSC Civil Services Examination and introducing a structured, mid-career entry path into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for professionals in their 40s.

“The civil service results for 2024 are out. Congratulations to the thousand-odd candidates who have got through what is arguably one of the most competitive exams in the world," he wrote in an opinion piece in The Times of India, highlighting the years of effort and repeated attempts many aspirants invest in the process. “For every successful candidate, there are at least ten others who too have invested years in preparation but have failed to make the grade. They are back at square one. An abysmal waste of productive years?”

Subbarao criticised the current eligibility structure, under which aspirants can take the exam up to six times between the ages of 21 and 32. He pointed to the psychological burden many aspirants face after repeated failures. He argued that it's unrealistic to expect young candidates to voluntarily walk away after two or three unsuccessful attempts, even if they aren't suited for the civil services. 

"After all, they are susceptible to the 'sunk cost fallacy' — 'I’ve invested so much time, money and effort. All that will go waste if I give up now. Maybe I will succeed this time round,’” he wrote. By continuing despite long odds, many end up wasting their most productive years chasing a near-impossible goal, he warned, adding weight to his call for the government to reduce both the age range and number of allowed attempts.

Citing his own experience from the 1970s, when only two attempts were permitted within a tighter age band of 21–24 years, he argued that "this levelling has gone too far." He suggested that a maximum of three attempts and an upper age limit of 27 years would strike a more reasonable balance. 

"There is another argument in favour of curtailing the number of allowed attempts. Any examination that allows as many as six chances is likely to privilege mastery of the exam technique over inherent merit," he stated, adding that the selection process is prone to "type I and type II errors."

To complement this change, Subbarao proposed a second, annual recruitment channel targeting experienced professionals in the 40–42 age range. This would differ from ad-hoc lateral entries and instead function as a permanent, competitive entry tier conducted by the UPSC. "They can pursue other careers and take another shot at the exam mid-career,” he wrote.

Arguing that younger recruits lack real-world experience and exposure to governance from the outside, he said, "Tier 2 recruits will make up for these lacunae and make the civil service collectively more relevant and useful, and maybe even more caring."

However, Subbarao warned against phasing out the existing entry route for young candidates. "There is a lot to be said for continuing to recruit young people into the IAS. They bring in youthful spirit, raw enthusiasm and unspoilt enterprise into administration."

Concluding his note, he stated, “The civil service exam has vastly improved from the time I took it over 50 years ago. But there is still a need to push the envelope."