SERVICES IN THE UPSC EXAM

UPSC CSE exam is conducted each year to recruit officers for 24 different services. It can be classified into 3 types

All India Civil Services

1. Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

2. Indian Police Service (IPS)

3. Indian Forest Service (IFoS)

Group ‘B’ Civil Services

1. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
2. DANICS

3. DANIPS
4. Pondicherry Civil Service
5. Pondicherry Police Service

Group ‘A’ Civil Services

1. Indian Foreign Service (IFS)

2. Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)

3. Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)

4. Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)

5. Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)

6. Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)

7. Indian Information Service (IIS)

8. Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)

9. Indian Communication Finance Services (ICFS)

10. Indian Postal Service (IPoS)

11. Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)

12. Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)

13. Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)

14. Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

15. Indian Trade Service (ITS)

16. Railway Protection Force (RPF)

ELIGIBILITY

Minimum Age Limit

0

General Category

0

Other Backward Class (OBC)

0

Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes

Maximum Age Limit

0

General Category

0

Other Backward Class (OBC)

0

Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes

NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS

6

GENERAL CATEGORY

9

OTHER BACKWARD CLASS (OBC)

UNLIMITED

SCHEDULED CASTE & SCHEDULED TRIBES

NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS

6

GENERAL CATEGORY

9

OTHER BACKWARD CLASS (OBC)

UNLIMITED

SCHEDULED CASTE & SCHEDULED TRIBES

STAGES AND PATTERN OF THE EXAM

STAGE 1

Preliminary Examination

(Multiple Choice Question Type)

Paper 1 (General Studies)
No.of Questions= 100
Total Marks= 200
Duration 2 Hrs

Paper 2 (CSAT)- Qualifying Paper
Minimum Score= 33% (i.e) 66 out of 200 marks
No.of Questions= 80
Each Question carries= 2.5 Marks

TOTAL MARKS: 200

STAGE 2

Mains Examination

(Descriptive Type)

Total no.of Papers= 9

ESSAY[250 MARKS]
GS PAPERS[1 TO 4][EACH CARRIES 250 MARKS]
OPTIONAL PAPERS 1 AND 2[EACH CARRIES 250 MARKS]

GS Papers (1-4) and optional subjects are for 250 Marks

Total Marks: 1750

STAGE 3

Personality Round

(Interview)

To assess the candidates personality and suitability for a career in civil services

Total Marks: 275

STAGES AND PATTERN OF THE EXAM

STAGE 1

Preliminary Examination

(Multiple Choice Question Type)

Paper 1 (General Studies)
No.of Questions= 100
Total Marks= 200
Duration 2 Hrs

Paper 2 (CSAT)- Qualifying Paper
Minimum Score= 33% (i.e) 66 out of 200 marks
No.of Questions= 80
Each Question carries= 2.5 Marks

TOTAL MARKS: 200

STAGE 2

Mains Examination

(Descriptive Type)

Total no.of Papers= 9

ESSAY[250 MARKS]
GS PAPERS[1 TO 4][EACH CARRIES 250 MARKS]
OPTIONAL PAPERS 1 AND 2[EACH CARRIES 250 MARKS]

GS Papers (1-4) and optional subjects are for 250 Marks

Total Marks: 1750

STAGE 3

Personality Round

(Interview)

To assess the candidates personality and suitability for a career in civil services

Total Marks: 275

SYLLABUS OF THE EXAM

UPSC PRELIMS SYLLABUS

Syllabus for GS Paper (Prelims Paper I)

  • Current events of national and international importance.
  • History of India and Indian National Movement.
  • Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
  • Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
  • Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
  • General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.
  • General Science

Syllabus for CSAT Paper (Prelims Paper-II)

  • Comprehension
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  • Decision-making and problem solving
  • General mental ability
  • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level.

UPSC MAINS SYLLABUS

IAS Mains Exam Pattern

PAPER SUBJECT MARKS
PAPER-1[ESSAY] Essay (can be written in the medium of the candidate’s choice) 250
PAPER-2[GS-1] General Studies – I (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society) 250
PAPER-3[GS-2] General Studies – II (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society) 250
PAPER-4[GS-3] General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management) 250
PAPER-5[GS-4] General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) 250
PAPER-6 Optional Subject – Paper I 250
PAPER-7 Optional Subject – Paper II 250

The Mains examination constitutes the 2nd phase of the Civil Services Examination. Only after successfully qualifying in the prelims exam would the candidates be allowed to write the IAS Mains.

  • The Mains exam tests the candidate’s academic talent in depth and his/her ability to present his/her understanding according to the requirements of the question in a time-bound manner.
  • The UPSC Mains exam consists of 9 papers, out of which two are qualifying papers of 300 marks each.
  • The two qualifying papers are:
           Any Indian Language Paper
           English Language Paper
The papers on Essay, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates who attain 25% marks in both the language papers as a minimum qualifying standard in these qualifying papers, will be taken cognizance of, for evaluation.
In case a candidate does not qualify in these language papers, then the marks obtained by such candidates will not be considered or counted.

STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGE PAPERS

The types of questions asked are

1. Essay – 100 marks
2. Reading comprehension – 60 marks

3. Precis Writing – 60 marks
4.Translation:
    English to compulsory language (e.g. Hindi,Tamil,Telugu,Kannada) –20 marks
    Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
5. Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks

The rest of the seven papers can be written in any of the languages mentioned under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India or in English.

UPSC Syllabus for Interview

Known as Personality Test, UPSC Interview is the last stage of the examination. There is no defined UPSC syllabus for the interview. Questions are asked from wide-ranging issues.

  • Candidates who qualify the UPSC Mains Exam will be called for the ‘Personality Test/Interview’. These candidates will be interviewed by a Board appointed by the UPSC.
  • The objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in civil services by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
  • The interview is more of a purposive conversation intended to explore the mental qualities and analytical ability of the candidate.
  • The Interview test will be 275 marks and the total marks for the written examination is 1750. This sums up to a Grand Total of 2025 Marks, based on which the final merit list will be prepared.

UPSC Syllabus for Interview

Known as Personality Test, UPSC Interview is the last stage of the examination. There is no defined UPSC syllabus for the interview. Questions are asked from wide-ranging issues.

  • Candidates who qualify the UPSC Mains Exam will be called for the ‘Personality Test/Interview’. These candidates will be interviewed by a Board appointed by the UPSC.
  • The objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in civil services by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
  • The interview is more of a purposive conversation intended to explore the mental qualities and analytical ability of the candidate.
  • The Interview test will be 275 marks and the total marks for the written examination is 1750. This sums up to a Grand Total of 2025 Marks, based on which the final merit list will be prepared.