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India’s and China’s civil-service exams are notoriously difficult
They impose big costs on both societies.
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A local government official helping students to prepare for competitive exams for government jobs, at the community library in Charghara village in Jamtara.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
The Economist
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Cigarette butts, spectacle lenses and car tyres. Which of those items contain plastic? Papaya, pineapple, guava. How many of those fruits were brought to India by the Portuguese? Last month around half a million Indians sat down to answer such questions, which were eclectic, but high-stakes. They were part of the exam to join India’s civil service.
For those who passed by correctly answering questions like those above (all three items contain plastic, and all three fruits were brought over by the Portuguese), it is merely the first and easiest step in a long and arduous process.
