The cost for verification of marks has been reduced from Rs 500 to Rs 100 per answer book, and the cost for re-evaluation has been reduced from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question.
The move, announced earlier this year by the UPSC is being regarded as a ‘new beginning’ by UPSC Chairman Dr Ajay Kumar as it comes after long-standing demands from aspirants and observations made during proceedings before the Supreme Court. The Commission said the reform is aimed at improving transparency, responsiveness, and timely communication with candidates.Here are the key details UPSC aspirants should know: What is the big change announced by UPSC? For the first time, UPSC will publish a provisional answer key shortly after the preliminary examination, instead of waiting until the entire Civil Services Examination process is completed. Until now, the Commission released answer keys, marks, and cut-offs only after the final results of the examination cycle were declared, often many months later. The Commission said the new system is intended to: Enhance transparency in the examination process Allow candidates to assess their performance earlier Give aspirants an opportunity to raise objections before the final key is prepared Strengthen confidence in the examination system What did UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar say? UPSC Chairman Dr. Ajay Kumar termed the decision “a new beginning”. According to the press note issued by the Commission, he said the initiative reflects UPSC’s effort to bring “greater transparency, responsiveness, and timely communication with candidates”.Story continues below this ad He further stated that the policy aims to make the examination process “more participative” while preserving its “sanctity, integrity, and merit-based framework”. When will the provisional answer key be released? The Commission has not specified an exact date, but said the provisional answer key will be released soon after the conduct of the examination. The move aligns with recommendations discussed during proceedings in the Supreme Court, where an amicus curiae had suggested publishing the answer key a day after the exam. How can candidates raise objections to the answer key? Candidates who appear for the prelims examination will be able to submit representations through the dedicated online portal: UPSC Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep) As per the Commission’s announcement: -Objections can be submitted till May 31, 2026, 6 PM -Candidates must indicate the answer they believe is correct -A brief explanation has to be provided -Supporting documents from three authentic sources must be uploadedStory continues below this ad What kind of supporting documents are required? UPSC has said that objections must be backed by material from “three authentic sources”. In earlier submissions before the Supreme Court, the Commission clarified that objections unsupported by authoritative references could be rejected at the threshold itself. The UPSC also stated that it would determine whether the submitted references qualify as authoritative sources. Who will review the objections? The Commission said all objections and representations received from candidates will be examined by teams of subject experts. According to the press note:Story continues below this ad Experts with domain knowledge will review each objection. Supporting documents submitted by candidates will be examined carefully. Experts will then record their views on the correctness of disputed answers. Subsequently, the final answer key will be prepared only after considering all valid representations The finalised answer key will form the basis for preparation of the UPSC prelims result. Will the final answer key also be released? Yes. UPSC has clarified that the final answer key will be published after the declaration of the final results of the Civil Services Examination cycle. This means the provisional key will be available immediately after prelims, while the final validated key will continue to be released later in the process.Story continues below this ad Why the change, and why now? The decision to publish provisional answer keys is being seen as a signi
The cost for verification of marks has been reduced from Rs 500 to Rs 100 per answer book, and the cost for re-evaluation has been reduced from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question. (Representational /Express Photo)The Education Ministry on Sunday dismissed concerns over the On-Screen Marking (OSM) affecting students’ scores in the CBSE Class 12 exams, saying it’s a system followed internationally to conduct transparent evaluation. School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said to address concerns among students, the CBSE has reduced the cost to obtain a copy of the answer book to Rs 100 from the earlier amount of Rs 700. The cost for verification of marks has been reduced from Rs 500 to Rs 100 per answer book, and the cost for re-evaluation has been reduced from Rs 100 to Rs 25 per question.If the re-evaluation results in an increase in marks, the amount will be refunded, Kumar said. According to officials, the decision has been taken to ease the anxiety of students. They, however, maintained that the OSM is a foolproof, standardised and transparent marking process. This year, the CBSE pass percentage has dropped by about three percentage points from 88.39% last year to 85.29%. The number of students scoring 90% and above has also fallen to its lowest since at least 2019. In the on-screen marking system, answer books are scanned and evaluated on computers; the Board introduced this system of marking for the Class 12 exams this year. Kumar said the CBSE wanted to introduce OSM in 2014 itself, but it didn’t seem feasible with available technology then. “There are several institutions in the world and in the country that do this (OSM)…Mumbai University, Visvesvaraya University…,” he said.
ExplainedInternationally accepted systemOn-screen marking is being used by many institutions internationally as well as at the national level. According to officials, in schools it is used by the International Baccalaureate and Cambridge boards as well. In fact, it has become a norm internationally because through technology, it enables evaluators to conduct the entire system in a more transparent manner, the officials said.
This year, a total of 98 lakh answer books were scanned and PDFs made, ensuring the order of the pages, Kumar said, adding that OSM brought in a flexibility into the evaluation process — earlier, marking was done in the geographical area of CBSE’s regional offices, but with OSM, the papers could be sent outside the vicinity of regional offices, “bringing in more objectivity and transparency”. He said totaling mistakes can be avoided with OSM as it is a digital process, with a record of marks given for the answers.Story continues below this ad A total of 13,000 answer books were found to be illegible, the ink in some cases were far too light to be fully legible after scanning. These answer sheets were checked manually, said Kumar. On the drop in pass percentage, the School Education Secretary said: “There is a variation in the pass percentage…in the Covid years, it had spiked. The system is also stabilising. What may have been, I can’t answer with absolute certainty. Now the marking process has become more objective and standardised.” CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh acknowledged that the on-screen marking system did face glitches when evaluation of major subjects began on March 17. “When teachers logged in initially, there were glitches… Systems were hanging when they were first operationalised. There were downloading issues, but they were resolved in quick time, and by March 18, the system was working flawlessly…across multiple subjects, evaluations went on simultaneously,” he said.Story continues below this ad Singh said when OSM was attempted in 2014, the scanning infrastructure available was such that answer books could not be scanned without cutting open the books, resulting in answer sheets getting mixed up. “Now we have a technology where the entire answer book can be scanned in one go without cutting it open at the spine…We were a
Discussion (0)