UPSC Prelims 2024 Exam Date: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the date for the Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, which will take place on June 8. The Engineering Services Exam (ESE) is conducted to select officers for various central services.
The exam will be held in two shifts: Paper I from 9:30 am to 11:30 am and Paper II from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Last month, UPSC postponed the ESE preliminary and main exams to allow aspirants more time to prepare, following changes in the recruitment scheme for the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). This decision aligns with the government’s plan to recruit IRMS officers through both the Civil Services Examination and the ESE.
The UPSC had initially scheduled the Engineering Services (ESE) Preliminary Examination (Stage I) for February 9, 2025, but according to the updated examination timetable, it will now be held on June 8, 2025.
The government has decided that recruitment for the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) will be conducted through both the Civil Services Examination—for the Traffic, Accounts, and Personnel sub-cadres—and the ESE, covering the Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Signal & Telecommunication, and Stores sub-cadres.
On October 9, 2024, the Ministry of Railways published the Indian Railway Management Service (Amendment) Rules, 2024. This follows the 2019 decision by the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to unify eight Group A railway services into the central IRMS cadre.
The unified services included the Indian Railway Traffic Service, Indian Railway Accounts Service, Indian Railway Personnel Service, Indian Railway Service of Engineers, Indian Railway Stores Service, Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers, and Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers.