UPSC Civil Services Exam
The Indian Civil Service was the elite higher Civil Service of the British Empire in India between 1858 and 1947. Lord Warren Hastings laid the foundation of Civil Service and Charles Cornwallis reformed, modernised and rationalised it. Hence, Charles Cornwallis is known as the ‘Father of Civil Service in India’. Its members ruled more than 300 million Indians and were ultimately responsible for overseeing all government activities in the 250 districts that comprised British India in 1947. It was Sardar patel’s vision that the Civil Service should strengthen cohesion and national unity.
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).
This year, as per the official UPSC Exam Calendar, Civil Services Preliminary Exam was conducted on June 02, 2019. The Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2019 will be conducted from September 09, 2019 for five days.
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.
Plan of Examination
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.
Marks distribution counted for final merit
Paper-1- Essay – 250 Marks
Paper-2 - General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) – 250 Marks
Paper-3 - General Studies–II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) – 250 Marks
Paper-4 - General Studies–III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) – 250 Marks
Paper-5 - General Studies–IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) – 250 Marks
Paper-6 - Optional Subject – Paper 1 – 250 Marks
Paper-7 - Optional Subject – Paper 2 – 250 Marks
Sub Total (Written test) – 1750 Marks
Personality Test – 275 Marks
Grand Total – 2025 Marks
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
Eligibility Criteria
For the IAS and the IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India. For other services, a candidate must be either a citizen of India or a citizen of some other country (eligible after meeting with some special conditions).
A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August of examination year. The upper age-limit is relaxable, maximum of 5 years for SC/STs candidates and 3 years for OBC candidates. Age relaxation is also applicable for Ex-Defense personnel and candidates with certain disability.
A candidate must hold a Universities degree, or possess an equivalent qualification for appearing in Civil Services Examination. Candidates who have appeared in the final year of degree examination and also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. But such candidates have to produce proof of passing the requisite examination before appearing in Civil Services (Main) Examination.
*A candidate who got appointed as an IAS or IFS officer in earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination. Moreover, a candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service will not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service in the next exam.
Other 'Group A' Services
Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service
Indian Audit and Accounts Service
Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
Indian Defence Accounts Service
Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
Indian Postal Service
Indian Civil Accounts Service
Indian Railway Traffic Service
Indian Railway Accounts Service
Indian Railway Personnel Service
Indian Railway Protection Force (Assistant Security Commissioner)
Indian Defence Estates Service
Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)
Indian Trade Service, Group 'A' (Gr. III)
Indian Corporate Law Service
'Group B' Services
Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer's Grade)
Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS)
Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS)
Pondicherry Civil Service
Pondicherry Police Service
List of optional subjects for Main Examination:
(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
(xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.