With the onset of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India this year, various education boards, recruitment agencies and other conducting bodies are in the process of postponing active and upcoming examinations. A number of important exams including Board exams of CBSE & CISCE have already been postponed or cancelled. Similar response is also evident with various state public service commissions who were set to conduct Civil Services recruitment exam in 2021.
The Union Public Service Commission postponed the final interviews of the Civil Services exam 2021 recently. The interviews were earlier scheduled to be held from April 26 to June 18, 2021. The schedule has been deferred indefinitely owing to the COVID-19 emergency and the UPSC is expected to announce revised date as and when situations are conducive.
The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) was all set to conduct the Preliminary stage Haryana Civil Services 2021 exam on May 30, 2021 until it was postponed recently. The West Bengal Civil Service 2021 Prelims exam was also scheduled to be held on May 30, 2021 although now it has been postponed by the WBPSC. Simultaneously, WBPSC has also deferred the Civil Service 2020 Main examination which was scheduled to be held this year on May 17, 18, 19 and 21, 2021.
Earlier, the Prelims of the Madhya Pradesh State Service Exam 2021 was also postponed by the MP Public Service Commission. The exam was earlier scheduled to be held on April 11, 2021. The exam date has now been deferred to June 20, 2021. Odisha has also deferred the state Civil Service exam due to the pandemic related lockdown. The Odisha Civil Service Prelims 2021 was scheduled to be held on May 23, 2021. Similarly, Jharkhand Public Service Commission has also postponed the Prelims of the Jharkhand Civil Service Exam 2021 which was earlier scheduled to be held on May 02, 2021.
A detailed list of the state Civil Services recruitment exams which have been postponed this year owing to the pandemic is given here along with the indicative dates.
| State | Actual Exam Date | Revised Exam Date |
| UPSC CSE 2020 (Interview) | 26 Apr – 18 Jun | To be announced |
| HPSC HCS 2021 (Prelims) | 30 May | To be announced |
| WBPSC CSE 2020 (Main) | 17, 18, 19, 21 May | To be announced |
| WBPSC CSE 2021 (Prelims) | 30 May | To be announced |
| MPPSC SSE 2921 (Prelims) | 11 Apr 2021 | 20 Jun 2021 |
| OPSC CSE 2021 (Prelims) | 23 May 2021 | To be announced |
| JPSC CSE 2021 (Prelims) | 02 May 2021 | To be announced |
Candidates may note that the state civil service recruitment examinations of 2021 of certain other states are scheduled to be held in the month of July, 2021. Although official postponement notices are due for such examinations, it is highly unlikely that such examinations can be conducted as per schedule unless the pandemic can be controlled by the end of the first half of this year.
