The Civil
Services Examination (CSE)
is a nationwide competitive
examination in India conducted
by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services
of the Government of India,
including the Indian
Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign
Service (IFS), and Indian Police
Service (IPS).
Also simply referred to as
the UPSC examination, it is conducted in three phases - a preliminary examination
consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper I and General
Studies Paper II also popularly known as Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT),
and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type,
in which two papers are qualifying and only marks of seven are counted followed
by a personality test (interview)
Process
The Civil Services Examination is based on the British Raj-era Imperial Civil Service tests, as well as
the civil service tests conducted by old Indian empires such as in the Mauryan Empire and Mughal Empire.
It is considered to be one of the most difficult competitive examinations in
India. On average, 900,000 to 1,000,000 candidates apply every year and the
number of candidates sitting in the preliminary examination is approximately
500,000. Results for the Prelims are published in
mid-August, while the final result is published in May of the next year.
·
Stage I: Preliminary
Examination - Held in June every year. Results are announced in August.
·
Stage II: Mains
1.
Examination - Held in
October every year. Results are announced in January.
2.
Personality Test
(interview) - Held in March. Final results are usually announced in May.
The training program for the selected candidates usually
commences the following September.
Eligibility
Eligibility for the examination is as follows:
Nationality
·
For the Indian
Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, the candidate must be a
citizen of India.
·
For other services,
the candidate must be one of the following:
1.
A citizen of India
3.
A Tibetan refugee
who settled permanently in India before January 1, 1962.
4.
A person of Indian
origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently
settling in India
Educational
Qualification
All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following
educational qualifications:
·
A degree from a
Central, State or a Deemed university
·
A degree received
through correspondence or distance education
·
A degree from an open
university
·
A qualification
recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above
The following candidates are also eligible, but must submit
proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their
institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they
will not be allowed to attend the exam.
·
Candidates who have
appeared in an examination the passing of which would render them educationally
qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points.
·
Candidates who have
passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not
yet completed an internship.
·
Candidates who have
passed the final exam of ICAI, ICSI and ICWAI.
·
A degree from a
private university.
·
A degree from any
foreign university recognized by the Association
of Indian Universities.
Age
The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must
not have attained the age of 32 years (for the General category candidate) on
August 1 of the year of examination. Prescribed age limits vary with respect to
caste reservations.
·
For Other Backward Castes (OBC)
the upper age limit is 35 years.
·
For Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the limit is 37
years.
·
For Defence Services
Personnel disabled in operations during hostilities, the limit is 40 years.
·
For Candidates
belonging to ex- servicemen including Commissioned officers and
ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered Military services for at least five years
as on August 1, of the year and have been released
1.
on completion of
assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one
year from August 1 of the year otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge
on account of misconduct or inefficiency or
2.
on account of physical
disability attributable to Military Service or
3.
on invalidment or
o Relaxation of up to a maximum of five years
will be given in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of
assignment of five years of Military Service as on August 1 of the year and
whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the
Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil
employment and that they will be released on three months’ notice on selection
from the date of receipt of offer of appointment, the limit is 32 years.
·
For ECOs/SSCOs who
have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military
Service, the limit is 32 years.
·
For PwD candidates,
the limit is 37 years.
·
For Domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir from January 1, 1980 to
December 31, 1989, the limit is 32 years.
Number of attempts
The number of times a candidate can appear for the exam are
given below.
·
General category
candidates = 6.
·
OBC category
candidates = 9.
·
SC/ST candidates =
unlimited attempts till 32 years of age.
Appearing to attempt one of the papers in the preliminary
examination is counted as an attempt, including disqualification/ cancellation
of candidature. However, applying to sit the exam but failing to attend is not
counted as an attempt.
Vacancies and Selection
Generally the number of vacancies varies every year. The number
of candidates that pass the preliminary examination is generally 11 or 12 times
the number of vacancies, and the number of candidates selected for the final
interview is twice the number of vacancies. As per existing policies,
reservation for SC/ST/OBC is applied to each level of the selection process.
Year
|
No. of candidates applying for Prelims
|
No. of candidates that appeared for
|
No. of candidates
appearing for interviews |
No. of candidates selected
|
Final
vacancies |
||
Prelims
|
Mains
|
||||||
2010
|
5,47,698
|
2,69,036
|
11,865
|
2,589
|
965
|
1,043
|
|
2011
|
4,99,120
|
2,43,236
|
11,237
|
2,415
|
999
|
1,001
|
|
2012
|
5,50,080
|
2,71,442
|
12,190
|
2,674
|
998
|
1,091
|
|
2013
|
7,76,604
|
3,23,949
|
14,178
|
3,003
|
1,122
|
1,228
|
|
2014
|
9,47,428
|
4,51,602
|
16,286
|
3,308
|
1,236
|
1,364
|
|
2015
|
9,45,908
|
4,65,882
|
15,008
|
2,797
|
1,078
|
1,164
|
|
2016
|
11,36,000
|
5,00,000
|
15,452
|
2,961
|
1,099
|
1,209
|
|
2017
|
10,00,000 (Approx.)
|
5,00,000 (Approx.)
|
13,366
|
2,568
|
1,960 (Approx.)
|
980
|
|
Cut-Off]
The cut-off marks of the examination of the previous years' are
given below:
Cut-off marks in different years hide
|
|||||||||
Year
|
Prelims
|
Main
(out of 1750)
|
Total
(out of 2025)
|
Ref.
|
|||||
Category
|
Marks
|
Total Marks
|
Category
|
Marks
|
Category
|
Marks
|
|||
2013
|
General
|
241
|
400
|
General
|
564
|
General
|
775
|
||
OBC
|
222
|
OBC
|
534
|
OBC
|
742
|
||||
SC
|
207
|
SC
|
518
|
SC
|
719
|
||||
ST
|
201
|
ST
|
510
|
ST
|
707
|
||||
PH-1
|
199
|
H-1
|
510
|
PH-1
|
725
|
||||
PH-2
|
184
|
PH-2
|
502
|
PH-2
|
718
|
||||
PH-3
|
163
|
PH-3
|
410
|
PH-3
|
613
|
||||
2014
|
General
|
205
|
385
|
General
|
678
|
General
|
889
|
||
OBC
|
204
|
OBC
|
631
|
OBC
|
844
|
||||
SC
|
182
|
SC
|
631
|
SC
|
830
|
||||
ST
|
174
|
ST
|
619
|
ST
|
811
|
||||
PH-1
|
167
|
PH-1
|
609
|
PH-1
|
816
|
||||
PH-2
|
113
|
PH-2
|
575
|
PH-2
|
778
|
||||
PH-3
|
115
|
PH-3
|
449
|
PH-3
|
713
|
||||
2015
|
General
|
107.34
|
200
|
General
|
676
|
General
|
877
|
||
OBC
|
106
|
OBC
|
630
|
OBC
|
834
|
||||
SC
|
94
|
SC
|
622
|
SC
|
810
|
||||
ST
|
91.34
|
ST
|
617
|
ST
|
801
|
||||
PH-1
|
90.66
|
PH-1
|
580
|
PH-1
|
802
|
||||
PH-2
|
76.66
|
PH-2
|
627
|
PH-2
|
830
|
||||
PH-3
|
40.00
|
PH-3
|
504
|
PH-3
|
697
|
||||
2016
|
General
|
116
|
200
|
General
|
787
|
General
|
988
|
||
OBC
|
110.66
|
OBC
|
745
|
OBC
|
951
|
||||
SC
|
99.34
|
SC
|
739
|
SC
|
937
|
||||
ST
|
96
|
ST
|
730
|
ST
|
920
|
||||
PH-1
|
75.34
|
PH-1
|
713
|
PH-1
|
927
|
||||
PH-2
|
72.66
|
PH-2
|
740
|
PH-2
|
951
|
||||
PH-3
|
40
|
PH-3
|
545
|
PH-3
|
817
|
||||
2017
|
General
|
105.34
|
200
|
General
|
809
|
General
|
1006
|
||
OBC
|
102.66
|
OBC
|
770
|
OBC
|
968
|
||||
SC
|
88.66
|
SC
|
756
|
SC
|
944
|
||||
ST
|
88.66
|
ST
|
749
|
ST
|
939
|
||||
PH-1
|
88.88
|
PH-1
|
734
|
PH-1
|
923
|
||||
PH-2
|
61.34
|
PH-2
|
745
|
PH-2
|
948
|
||||
PH-3
|
40
|
PH-3
|
578
|
PH-3
|
830
|
||||
List of Services
All India Services
·
Indian
Administrative Service (IAS)
·
Indian Police Service(IPS)
Central Services (Group A)
·
Indian Foreign
Service (IFS)
·
Indian
P&T Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)
·
Indian
Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS)
·
Indian Civil
Accounts Service (ICAS)
·
Indian
Corporate Law Service (ICLS)
·
Indian
Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
·
Indian
Defence Estates Service (IDES)
·
Indian
Information Service (IIS)
·
Indian
Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
·
Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
·
Indian
Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
·
Indian
Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
·
Indian
Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
·
Indian Revenue
Service (IRS-IT)
·
Indian Revenue
Service (IRS-C&CE)
·
Indian Trade Service (ITrS)
·
Railway Protection
Force (RPF)
Group B Services
·
Armed
Forces Headquarters Civil Services (AFHCS)
·
Pondicherry Civil Service (PCS)
·
Pondicherry Police Service (PPS)
Preliminary
The pattern of the Preliminary examination up to 2010 was based
on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1979). It included two
examinations, one on general studies worth 150 marks, and the second on one of
23 optional subjects worth 300 marks. Until 2011, when it was revamped,the preliminary pattern was sustained with only minor
changes once every ten to fifteen years.
From 2011 onwards, the preliminary examination intends to focus
on analytical abilities and understanding rather than the ability to memorize.
The new pattern includes two papers of two hours duration and 200 marks each.Both papers have multiple choice objective type questions
only. They are as follows:
·
Paper I tests the
candidate's knowledge on current events, history of India and Indian national
movement, Indian and world geography, Indian polity panchayti Raj system and
governance, economic and social development, environmental ecology,
biodiversity, climate change and general science, Art and culture.[14]
·
Paper II (also called
CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test), tests the candidate's skills in
comprehension, interpersonal skills, communication, logical reasoning,
analytical ability, decision making, problem solving, basic numeracy, data
interpretation, English language comprehension skills and mental ability. It is qualifying in nature and the marks obtained in this
paper are not counted for merit. However, it is mandatory for the candidate to
score a minimum of 33 per cent in this paper to qualify the Prelims exam.
In August 2014, the Centre announced that English marks in CSAT
will not be included for gradation or merit and 2011 candidates may get a
second chance to appear for the test next year.
In May 2015, the Government of India announced that Paper II of
the preliminary examination will be qualifying in nature i.e. it will not be
graded for eligibility in Mains Examination and a candidate will need to score
at least 33% to be eligible for grading on the basis of marks of Paper I of the
Preliminary Examination. Those who qualify in the Prelims become eligible for the
Mains.
Mains
The Civil Services Mains Examination consists of a written
examination and an interview.
Examination
The Civil Services Main written examination consists of nine
papers, two qualifying and seven ranking in nature. The range of questions may
vary from just one mark to sixty marks, twenty words to 600 words answers. Each
paper is of a duration of 3 hours. Candidates who pass qualifying papers are
ranked according to marks and a selected number of candidates are called for
interview or a personality test at the Commission's discretion.
According to the new marks allocations in Civil Service
Examination 2013 there are some changes made in the examination according to
the suggestion of the Prof. Arun. S. Nigavekar Committee. However, after some controversy, the qualifying papers for
Indian languages and English were restored.
Paper
|
Subject
|
Marks
|
Paper A
|
(One of the Indian languages listed below, to be selected by
the candidate (from the languages listed in the Eighth
Schedule to the Constitution of India) (Qualifying)
|
300
|
Paper B
|
English (Qualifying)
|
300
|
Paper I
|
Essay
|
250
|
Paper II
|
General Studies I (Indian heritage and culture, history and
geography of the world and society)
|
250
|
Paper III
|
General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social
justice and international relations)
|
250
|
Paper IV
|
General Studies III (Technology, economic development,
bio-diversity, environment, security and disaster management)
|
250
|
Paper V
|
General Studies IV(ethics, integrity and aptitude)
|
250
|
Papers VI, VII
|
Two papers on one subject to be selected by the candidate from
the list of optional subjects below (250 marks for each paper)
|
500
|
Sub Total (Written Test)
|
1750
|
|
Personality Test (Interview)
|
275
|
|
Total Marks
|
2025
|
|
List of Language
The examination is more than the following languages, with the
name of the script in brackets:
·
Bodo (Devanagari)
·
Dogri (Devanagari)
·
Hindi (Devanagari)
·
Konkani (Devanagari)
·
Maithili (Devanagari)
·
Manipuri (Bengali)
·
Marathi (Devanagari)
·
Nepali (Devanagari)
·
Sanskrit (Devanagari)
·
Urdu (Persian)
Optional subjects
The subjects available for Papers VI and VII are:
·
Botany
·
Commerce and Accountancy
·
Geology
·
History
·
Law
·
Literature of any one of the languages
listed above
·
Physics
·
Zoology
Public administration is one of the most sought after optional
subjects in the Mains examination as it has overlapping content with other
subjects like Current Affairs, History, Polity. The standards of Optional
papers is of honours level. Paper I is theoretical but Paper II is often
dominated by Current Affairs and Application based questions.
Interview
Officially called the "Personality Test", the
objective 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 evaluate the mental calibre of a candidate.
In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only a candidate's
intellectual qualities, but also social traits and 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, and intellectual
and moral integrity.
The technique of the interview is not that of a strict
cross-examination, but of a natural, though directed and purposeful
conversation that is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.
The interview is not intended to be a test either of the
specialised or general knowledge of the candidate, which has been already
tested through written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an
intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study, but
also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside
their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new
discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of all well-educated youth. The
interview standards are very high and require thorough preparation as well as
commitment.
Know the details accurately from
https://www.upsc.gov.in/ https://www.upsc.gov.in/examinations/exam-calendar
How to Crack Civils?
The Civil
Services Preliminary examination to be conducted by the Union Public Services
Examination is believed to be the toughest stage in the whole process of an IAS
selection. Out of 100 candidates, who write the Prelims, 97 may not clear
prelims owing to two main reasons:
·
Only a few vacancies
·
Lack of right approach
The exam is scheduled to be held on August 7. The total number of
applicants is about 10 lakh out of which the number of candidates who qualify
for second stage (mains) will be only around 15,000. Around a million
applicants fight to find a place in the top 15000 positions which makes prelims
stage certainly not a cake-walk. But, if you are a serious candidate, embrace
right strategies, guidance and study material, self-study is enough.
Out of about 10 lakh
applicants, only half sit for Prelims!
Out of the 9.5 lakh candidates, who register for Civil Services Prelims Exam, usually, only half of them take the Preliminary exam on D-day. This is still a bigger number considering the number of vacancies. Around 15,000-16,000 candidates (12-13 times the number of vacancies) will be selected for next round, i.e. Civil services Mains exam. This means only the top 3 per cent of candidates will get through the exam.
Out of the 9.5 lakh candidates, who register for Civil Services Prelims Exam, usually, only half of them take the Preliminary exam on D-day. This is still a bigger number considering the number of vacancies. Around 15,000-16,000 candidates (12-13 times the number of vacancies) will be selected for next round, i.e. Civil services Mains exam. This means only the top 3 per cent of candidates will get through the exam.
How to Prepare for Civil Services Preliminary Examination?
So, it's important to map out a potent strategy so that you clear the IAS prelims and be in top 15000. Clearing prelims will turn out to be a cakewalk if the aspirant gets proper guidance and orientation.
So, it's important to map out a potent strategy so that you clear the IAS prelims and be in top 15000. Clearing prelims will turn out to be a cakewalk if the aspirant gets proper guidance and orientation.
1. GS
Paper 1 is the key now: Revise every subject!
Till 2014, scoring high in GS Paper 2 (popularly known as CSAT) was the easiest and fastest way to crack Civil Services Prelims. Putting less effort as compared to GS Paper 1, aspirants used to score high in this paper and cleared prelims. But, with changes in the UPSC pattern in 2015 this strategy won't work in the future.
Till 2014, scoring high in GS Paper 2 (popularly known as CSAT) was the easiest and fastest way to crack Civil Services Prelims. Putting less effort as compared to GS Paper 1, aspirants used to score high in this paper and cleared prelims. But, with changes in the UPSC pattern in 2015 this strategy won't work in the future.
On the basic level, covering every subject of civil services
preliminary exam is the best approach to clear prelims now. It's not
recommended to give priority to any particular book or area thinking that
questions will come from that source. Likewise, it's equally important not to
miss easy questions from traditional subjects like Economics, Geography,
History and Polity. At least, brushing up NCERT books and previous years'
question papers would be a good idea if you are time-crunched. Keeping an eye
on tight competition, areas like culture and environment should also be mugged
up. Current affairs preparation should be done considering the latest schemes
and bills launched by the government.
2. Take prelims mock exams:
This is one area which tells apart successful candidates from those who fail to crack prelims. Mock tests are integral part of regular preparations of successful candidates. By revising the attempted tests you get a chance to identify your mistakes. Writing mock tests arm you with confidence which is the key to success in any examination.
This is one area which tells apart successful candidates from those who fail to crack prelims. Mock tests are integral part of regular preparations of successful candidates. By revising the attempted tests you get a chance to identify your mistakes. Writing mock tests arm you with confidence which is the key to success in any examination.
3. Invest on the right books for UPSC Civil Service Preliminary
Exam:
Picking up recommended books and right study material e is of utmost importance. The NCERT books are thought to be must-read by experts as well as successful candidates, as they clear up doubts at fundamental level and help candidates in scoring higher marks at both stages of Civil Services Examination - Prelims and Mains.
Picking up recommended books and right study material e is of utmost importance. The NCERT books are thought to be must-read by experts as well as successful candidates, as they clear up doubts at fundamental level and help candidates in scoring higher marks at both stages of Civil Services Examination - Prelims and Mains.
4. Follow our Prelims cum Mains Approach:
For GS Paper 1, an ideal strategy would be to cover GS Mains and Prelims syllabus in detail first that would give the concept clarity about all major topics. The type of questions asked in Prelims and Mains are different, but there are many areas where there is overlap too. An integrated prelims-cum-mains approach is catching on among civil services aspirants which rely on clearing prelims and mains in a single attempt. Good knowledge of overlapping and non-overlapping areas in the UPSC GS syllabus for Prelims and Mains certainly gets you competitive mileage over your peers.
For GS Paper 1, an ideal strategy would be to cover GS Mains and Prelims syllabus in detail first that would give the concept clarity about all major topics. The type of questions asked in Prelims and Mains are different, but there are many areas where there is overlap too. An integrated prelims-cum-mains approach is catching on among civil services aspirants which rely on clearing prelims and mains in a single attempt. Good knowledge of overlapping and non-overlapping areas in the UPSC GS syllabus for Prelims and Mains certainly gets you competitive mileage over your peers.
5. Go with a relaxed mind on the exam day:
All your efforts will go in vain if you lose your cool on the exam day. It's pertinent to read questions carefully and make sure that you do not make silly mistakes. In a relaxed state of mind, you will be able to answer questions accurately and in less time. Count on your abilities and be confident that you can clear civil services preliminary exam, and you will.
All your efforts will go in vain if you lose your cool on the exam day. It's pertinent to read questions carefully and make sure that you do not make silly mistakes. In a relaxed state of mind, you will be able to answer questions accurately and in less time. Count on your abilities and be confident that you can clear civil services preliminary exam, and you will.
( Courtesy to Chanakya
Academy)
It is one of the toughest exams. Don’t get disappointed.
Stay cool. Have plan B if you are not
able to clear it . You can prove your mettle in some other career as the preparation
over the years would give him some impetus. If you use your knowledge aright,
you can have brighter chances to succeed!
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