UPSC Civil Services Exam

Indian Civil Services which includes the top services i.e. the IAS, IPS and IFS, is the dream career for millions of aspirants from all over the country.

Over 10 lakh students apply for the UPSC civil services exam every year, of which only about 5 lakhs appear for the prelims exam. So drop out is about 50% even before writing the exam. Among these 5 lakh candidates only 10-15 thousand qualify for the mains. Only about 2500 or less candidates qualify for the mains depending upon the vacancies. After that based on teh combined marks of mains and interview only about 1,000 selections happen every year. From this, about 180 IAS officers are selected, once again based on vacancies. The rest are alloted other civil services as per their rank and choice.

Why to Choose Civil Services as a Career?

Civil Services work as the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) are three of the most preferable services under this. IAS is most sought after among these services as IAS officers get the opportunity to serve on higher strategic positions in the Union Government and State Governments.

About the Examination Process

In order to get selected into these coveted services, candidates have to appear in the Civil Services Exam (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and should pass a three-phase selection process. The three phases are the Civil Services Preliminary Exam (Prelims), Civil Services (Main) Examination (Mains) and The Personality Test (Interview).

How to Apply?

  • Candidates are required to apply Online using the official website of UPSC that is www.upsconline.nic.in.
  • Candidates need to complete the Online Application Form containing two stages viz. Part-I and Part-II as per the instructions available in the above mentioned website.
  • The candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs.100/- Rupees One Hundred only) [excepting SC/ST/ Female/Persons with Benchmark Disability candidates who are exempted from payment of fee] either by depositing the money in any branch of State Bank of India by cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India or by using any Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/ Debit Card.
  • Before start filling up Online Application form, a candidate must have his/her photograph and signature duly scanned in the jpg format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 40 KB and must not be less than 3 KB in size for the photograph and 1 KB for the signature.
  • Applicants should avoid submitting multiple applications. In case of multiple applications, the applications with higher Registration ID will be considered by the Commission.
  • The applicants must ensure that while filling their Application Form, they are providing their valid and active E-Mail IDs as the Commission may use electronic mode of communication while contacting them at different stages of examination process.

How to Apply?

  • The Civil Services Examination consist of two successive stages

    1. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
    2. Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts.

    *Candidates who are declared qualified for Civil Services (Main) Examination; have to submit Detailed Application Form (DAF).

First Stage Details

  • The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination comprises of two papers of 200 marks each i.e. General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II.
  • GS Paper-II (also known as CSAT i.e. Civil Service Aptitude Test) is of qualifying in nature and in which a candidate has to secure 33% marks only.
  • Objective type (Multiple Choice Questions) is asked in this stage. Marks obtained in this stage are counted only to decide merit in preliminary examination, not for final selection. Clearing the Prelims makes one eligible for the next stage of the exam.

Second Stage Details

  • Civil Services (Main) Examination is the ‘written stage’ of the examination. It consists of nine papers of which, marks of only seven papers are counted in deciding the final merit list. In the remaining two papers, a candidate has to secure the minimum qualifying marks decided by UPSC each year. The question papers for the Mains examination are of conventional (essay) type.
  • The Civil Services Personality Test consists of a board of members for assessing the candidate’s personality. A candidate is 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.

*Final rank of a candidate in merit list is depends upon the marks scored in second stage only i.e. written and Interview.

Table shows the Marks distribution counted for final merit
PaperSubjectMarks
Paper-1Essay250
Paper-2General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)250
Paper-3General Studies–II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)250
Paper-4General Studies–III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)250
Paper-5General Studies–IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)250
Paper-6Optional Subject – Paper 1250
Paper-7

Optional Subject – Paper 2

Sub Total (Written test)

Personality Test

Grand Total

250

1750

275

2025

Two Qualifying Papers are:

  • Paper-A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution): 300 Marks
  • Paper-B (English): 300 Marks