PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 13 -- More than half of the registered candidates skipped the preliminary examination of the combined state/upper subordinate services (PCS) and assistant conservator of forest (ACF)/range forest officer (RFO) services-2025 held on Sunday, raising concerns over the declining turnout in one of the state's most prestigious competitive exams. Out of the 6,26,387 candidates registered for the examination conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) across 1,435 centres in all 75 districts, only around 2,65,364 (42.50%) appeared, while a staggering 3,61,023 (57.50%) remained absent. This marks the second consecutive year when attendance in the PCS Preliminary Exam has dipped below 45%. In the 2024 edition of the preliminary exam held on December 22, only 41.89% of the 5,76,154 registered candidates had turned up. Experts believe the steep drop in turnout may be attributed to the Commission's tightened examination protocols introduced after the RO/ARO (preliminary) exam-2023 paper leak in February last year. Since PCS-2024, Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission has implemented stringent measures such as biometric verification, iris scanning, CCTV surveillance, and AI-based monitoring systems to curb malpractices - a move that appears to have deterred a large number of aspirants. htc...