Gujarat: 40 Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration students clear UPSC mains exam

Forty candidates of the state government-run Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) are among the 1,994 candidates nationally who have cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) mains exam.

SPIPA said that 131 of its candidates had appeared in the mains exam in September-October, of whom 40 have cleared it. However, the number of passing candidates is slightly lower than last year, when it stood at 43. A official said these candidates would appear for the personality test (interview), which will be held in February, for selection to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, and other Central Services.

As many as 3 lakh candidates had appeared for 780 vacancies, of whom 10,468 were selected for the mains. Of these 146 were from Gujarat, including 131 from SPIPA.

SPIPA said in a release that it would soon start training classes, including group discussion as well as mock interviews, to help the candidates prepare for the interview, the last stage of selection to the services.