The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday postponed the civil services preliminary examination to June 16 from May 26 due to the Lok Sabha elections.
The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.
"Due to the schedule of the impending general election, the commission has decided to postpone the civil services (preliminary) examination-2024 which also serves as screening test for Indian Forest Service examination, 2024, from 26-05-2024 to 16-06-2024," it said.
The number of vacancies to be filled through this year's examination is expected to be approximately 1,056, according to a UPSC notification issued last month.
The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Counting of votes will be on June 4.