The Union Public Service Commission on Monday postponed the Civil Services (Preliminary) exams until further notice amid the coronavirus pandemic. The exam was earlier scheduled for May 31.

Every year, over 10 lakh candidates register for the civil services preliminary exam, and 1.6 lakh functionaries participate in conducting it across 2,500 centres, according to the Hindustan Times.

The commission, in a press release, said the situation will be reviewed again on May 20, and new dates will be announced on the UPSC website in due course. It added that candidates will be given a notice of at least 30 days once the dates are decided. Earlier in April, Union minister Jitendra Singh had said that future exams for Union Public Service Commission will be decided after the lockdown is lifted on May 3. Last week, the Centre extended the lockdown till May 17.

“UPSC has done what needed to be done,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “In the current scenario where Covid-19 is spreading, it is not feasible to hold such a large-scale exam.”

Another official told Hindustan Times that conducting the exam on May 31 would be very difficult. “From inaccessibility of exam venues during lockdown as schools had been turned into quarantine centres, to ensuring students had enough time to book tickets to reach the centres, the UPSC had to address a host of issues to be able to hold the exam on May 31,” said the official.

The commission has also decided to defer the process of issuing admit cards to students this week considering the current situation.

Many other exams such as the Haryana Civil Services that were to be held from June 5 have also been postponed. All the recruitment exams conducted by the UPSC have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed to combat its spread. Till now, UPSC has put on hold notification for Civil Services-2019 Personality Test, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) (ACs) 2019, Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2020, Combined Medical Services Examination, 2020, and National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination, 2020.