Civil Services

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year in India for recruitment for the post of various Civil Services of the Government of India, like Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and many others. UPSC Civil Services Examination is one of the most difficult competitive exam which is conducted in three main phases:
i) Preliminary Examination
ii) Main Examination
iii) Personality Test (Interview)

Eligibility Required to apply for UPSC Civil Services Exam are as below:

Age-limits: Candidate must be between age of 21-30 years as on 1st August of the year of Examination.
Educational Qualifications: The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University or possess an equivalent qualification.
Number of attempts: Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted four attempts
at the examination.

NOTE :
(i) An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.
(ii) If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination.
(iii) Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.

UPSC Civil Services Exam Pattern: Civil Services competitive examination comprises two successive stages:
(i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and
(ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various services and posts.

1) UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam Pattern: This exam consists of Objective type questions (multiple choice questions) and it will comprise of two mandatory papers of 200 marks each. Candidates will be given two hours duration for the exam.

Paper Subject Sections Max. Marks Time Alloted
01General Studies
(GS)
– Environment (Environmental Ecology,
Bio-diversity, Climate Change)
– Geography
– General Science
– Economics
– Indian History / Politics

200

2 hours
02Civil Service
Aptitude Test
(CSAT)
– Comprehension
– English Language Comprehension
– Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability
– General Mental Ability & Basic Numeracy
– Decision Making & Interpersonal Skills

200

2 hours

NOTE: The question papers will be in both languages i.e. Hindi and English except English Language Comprehension section in Paper II.

2) UPSC Civil Services (Main) Exam Pattern: The written examination will consist of the following papers:

Paper Subject Sections Max. Marks Time Alloted
01Section 1
Section 2
– Essay
– English Comprehension & English Précis
(Of Matriculation/ Xth standard level)
200
100

2 hours
02General Studies–IIndian Heritage and Culture, History and
Geography of the World and Society

250

3 hours
03General Studies–IIGovernance, Constitution,Polity, Social Justice
and International relations

250

3 hours
04General Studies–IIITechnology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity,
Environment, Security and Disaster Management

250

3 hours
05General Studies–IVEthics, Integrity and Aptitude
250

3 hours
06Optional Subject – Paper 1
250

3 hours
07Optional Subject – Paper 1
250

3 hours

NOTE:– The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type.
– Marks obtained by the candidates for all papers (Paper I-VII) will be counted for merit ranking. However, the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all papers of the examination.

Candidates have to choose their optional subjects from the subjects listed below:

List of Optional Subjects (Group-1)
(i) Agriculture
(ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
(iii) Anthropology
(iv) Botany
(v) Chemistry
(vi) Civil Engineering
(vii) Commerce and Accountancy
(viii) Economics
(ix) Electrical Engineering
(x) Geography
(xi) Geology
(xii) History
(xiii) Law
(xiv) Management
(xv) Mathematics
(xvi) Mechanical Engineering
(xvii) Medical Science
(xviii) Philosophy
(xix) Physics
(xx) Political Science and International Relations
(xxi) Psychology
(xxii) Public Administration
(xxiii) Sociology
(xxiv) Statistics
(xxv) Zoology

Literature of any one of the following languages:

List of Literature Languages (Group-2)
Assamese
Bengali
Bodo
Dogri
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Manipuri
Marathi
Nepali
Oriya
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santhali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
English

UPSC Civil Services Interview Pattern: Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination will be called for Personality Test (Interview) which will be of 275 Marks. He/she will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental caliber of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his/her intellectual qualities but also social traits and his/her interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.

Some of the books which can help candidates to prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam or Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Exam or UPSC CSE Exam are suggested as below.

1) Books For UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam:

2) Books For UPSC Civil Services (Main) Exam:

Syllabus for UPSC Civil Services Exam: Candidates can download UPSC Civil Services Exam Syllabus from here.

We wish our candidates All The Best for the Upcoming Exams and wish them great future ahead!!

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