Civil Service Examinations (IAS/IPS)
About IAS/IPS
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) are the elite civil services of India. IFS is, however, not an All India Service, but a central service. These are one of the toughest exams with a passing percentage being around 0.1.
Who conducts the test?
The Indian Civil Services Examination is an all-India examination, and is conducted every year by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India for the administrative services of the Government of India.
Who can take the exam?
Nationality
Candidates aspiring to appear for IAS/IPS have to necessarily be Indians.
Age
Candidates have to be in the age group of 21 to 30 years as on August 1 of the year of exam. There is a relaxation in the upper age limit for specified groups:
Maximum of five years for the Schedule Cast/Schedule Tribes (SC/ST)
Maximum of three years for Other Backward Classes (OBC)
Maximum of five years if the candidate was residing in Jammu and Kashmir during the period of January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989
Maximum of three years for candidate, who have been in the defense services and have been disabled during warfare or were in a disturbed area and consequently released.
A relaxation of maximum of five years for ex-servicemen
Maximum of five years for ECOs / SSCOs, who have completed the first five-years assignment in the military service as on August 1 of the year of examination. Candidates, whose assignment has been extended beyond five years can also avail this benefit by submitting a document from the Ministry of Defense, confirming that they can apply for civil employment and will be released on a notice of three month. This will be calculated from the date of receipt of appointment offer.
Maximum of 10 years for blind, deaf / mute and orthopaedically handicapped candidates.
Education
Candidates applying for the IAS/IPShave to be a graduate from a recognized university.
Candidates awaiting the results of the qualifying exams are also eligible.
Candidates, who possess a professional and technical qualification that is recognised as equivalent to any professional and technical degrees by the government may also apply.
Physical fitness
Candidates must be physically fit according to the standards for admission to Civil Services Examination as per the guidelines in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination, Gazette of India Extraordinary dated December 4th, 2004.
When is the exam held?
IAS and IPS exams are conducted every year. The preliminary round is conducted in May or June, and the main round is conducted in October-November.
How to apply? / Fees
UPSC have developed a common application form that is electronically scannable that can be processed on computerised machines. The forms are available in certain head post offices/ post offices on payment of Rs. 20. The kit has an Information Brochure with details on how to fill the form, the application form, an acknowledgement card and an envelope for sending the application. The forms have to be purchased from the designated post offices only. Photocopy or reproduction of the forms in any manner will not be accepted.
Candidates must pay Rs. 40 as exam fees to UPSC. There is no fee applicable to the SC/ST group. The payment must be done by pasting the CentralRecruitment
The notification and application forms are also released in all dailies and the Rozgar Samachar / Employment News around December. The duly filled application form and the acknowledgement card should then be sent in the special envelope supplied with the Information Brochure to:
Secretary,
Union Public Service Commission,
Dholpur House,
Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110 011
On receiving the application, a registration number is issued as a token of receipt. In case the number is not received within 30 days, it is advisable to contact the UPSC.
How is it structured?
The civil service exam comprises three rounds: the preliminary round, main exam and interview. Candidates have to clear each of the three rounds to be qualified to appear for the next round.
Preliminary Round
Candidates must be physically fit according to the standards for admission to Civil Services Examination as per the guidelines in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination, Gazette of India Extraordinary dated December 4th, 2004.
When is the exam held?
IAS and IPS exams are conducted every year. The preliminary round is conducted in May or June, and the main round is conducted in October-November.
How to apply? / Fees
UPSC have developed a common application form that is electronically scannable that can be processed on computerised machines. The forms are available in certain head post offices/ post offices on payment of Rs. 20. The kit has an Information Brochure with details on how to fill the form, the application form, an acknowledgement card and an envelope for sending the application. The forms have to be purchased from the designated post offices only. Photocopy or reproduction of the forms in any manner will not be accepted.
Candidates must pay Rs. 40 as exam fees to UPSC. There is no fee applicable to the SC/ST group. The payment must be done by pasting the CentralRecruitment
The notification and application forms are also released in all dailies and the Rozgar Samachar / Employment News around December. The duly filled application form and the acknowledgement card should then be sent in the special envelope supplied with the Information Brochure to:
Secretary,
Union Public Service Commission,
Dholpur House,
Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110 011
On receiving the application, a registration number is issued as a token of receipt. In case the number is not received within 30 days, it is advisable to contact the UPSC.
How is it structured?
The civil service exam comprises three rounds: the preliminary round, main exam and interview. Candidates have to clear each of the three rounds to be qualified to appear for the next round.
Preliminary Round
The Preliminary Round is more of a screening test.
PaperSubject TimeMarksType
I*General StudiesTwo hours150Objective type
II**Optional SubjectTwo hours300Objective type
* General science, current events of national and international importance, history of India and Indian national movement, India and world geography, Indian polity and economy and general mental ability.
** Agriculture, Public Administration, Political Science, Animal Husbandry& Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Sociology, Economics, Geography, Geology, Electrical Engineering, Indian History, Law, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics, Statistics and Zoology.
Main Examination
The Main Examination assesses the candidate’s intelligence and understanding. The written examination consists of nine papers. The structure is as follows:
PaperSubjectTimeMarksType
IOne Indian language from those included in the Eighth Schedule* of the ConstitutionThree hours300Essay Type
IIEnglishThree hours300Conventional Type
IIIEssayThree hours200Essay Type
IV&VGeneral StudiesThree hours300 eachEssay Type
VI,VII,VIII& IXTwo papers in each of two Optional ** SubjectsThree hours300 eachEssay Type
* Assamese, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu Kashmiri, Oriya, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Hindi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Konkani
** Agriculture, Law, Management, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce& Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Zoology, Geography, Psychology, Geology, History, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Public Administration, Animal Husbandry& Veterinary Science, Political Science& International Relations, Sociology, Statistics
Literature of one of the following languages: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Manipuri, Malayalam, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
Interview
PaperSubject TimeMarksType
I*General StudiesTwo hours150Objective type
II**Optional SubjectTwo hours300Objective type
* General science, current events of national and international importance, history of India and Indian national movement, India and world geography, Indian polity and economy and general mental ability.
** Agriculture, Public Administration, Political Science, Animal Husbandry& Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Sociology, Economics, Geography, Geology, Electrical Engineering, Indian History, Law, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics, Statistics and Zoology.
Main Examination
The Main Examination assesses the candidate’s intelligence and understanding. The written examination consists of nine papers. The structure is as follows:
PaperSubjectTimeMarksType
IOne Indian language from those included in the Eighth Schedule* of the ConstitutionThree hours300Essay Type
IIEnglishThree hours300Conventional Type
IIIEssayThree hours200Essay Type
IV&VGeneral StudiesThree hours300 eachEssay Type
VI,VII,VIII& IXTwo papers in each of two Optional ** SubjectsThree hours300 eachEssay Type
* Assamese, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu Kashmiri, Oriya, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Hindi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Konkani
** Agriculture, Law, Management, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce& Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Zoology, Geography, Psychology, Geology, History, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Public Administration, Animal Husbandry& Veterinary Science, Political Science& International Relations, Sociology, Statistics
Literature of one of the following languages: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Manipuri, Malayalam, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
Interview
The interview is assigned 300 marks. Interviews are usually conducted in April or May. It attempts at assessing the overall personality of the candidates and his suitability to the services. Therefore, it is essential that candidates present them in a way that is indeed appealing. There is no minimum qualifying score for the interview.
What is the preferred score by the universities?
The selection is done on the basis of merit. Total marks will include marks scored in the main examination and the interview. Candidates are allotted to the different services based on their merit and preferences put in by them.
Retaking the exam
Candidates can make a maximum of four attempts for the Civil Services Examination. Appearance of a candidate for even one paper of the preliminary round will be considered as an attempt.
This restriction on the number of attempts will not be applicable for the SC/ST candidates, who are otherwise eligible. The number of attempts for the OBC group, who are otherwise eligible, is seven.
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