UPSC COMEPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS
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UPSC COMEPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS
Civil Services is your ticket to top roles in All India and Central Civil Services via the UPSC exam. As a Civil Servant, you’re the frontline in solving society’s issues across diverse fields. Master the essentials to serve the nation with impact. Civil Services isn’t just a job; it’s a calling to become the cutting edge of societal change. As Civil Servants, individuals handle a diverse arsenal of skills across Historical, Social, Economic, Political, Geophysical, Environmental, Scientific, Technological and Cultural dimensions, shaping a better tomorrow for our nation.
Spectrum of UPSC Civil Services Exams – 24 Services
| All India Civil Services | Group ‘A’ Civil Services |
| 1. Indian Administrative Service (IAS) 2. Indian Police Service (IPS) 3. Indian Forest Service (IFoS) | 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) |
| Group ‘B’ Civil Services | |
| 1. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service 2. DANICS 3. DANIPS 4. Pondicherry Civil Service 5. Pondicherry Police Service |
Eligibility Criteria
Nationality:
- For top services like IAS, IFS and IPS you need to be an Indian citizen.
- For other services, you can be:
- Indian citizen
- Nepali citizen
- Bhutanese citizen
- Tibetan refugee in India before Jan 1, 1962
- Person of Indian origin from specific countries.
Educational Qualifications: You need to have a degree from:
- Any recognized Indian university,
- Institutions approved by Parliamentor
- Institutions declared as equivalent by law.
Civil Services Examination Schedule
Notification : Released in February.
Preliminary Exam : Held on the last Sunday of May
Mains Exam : Conducted in August or September
Age Criteria
| S. No | Category | Min. Age (Years) | Age Relaxation | Max. Age | No. of Attempts |
| 1 | General | 21 | 0 | 32 | 6 |
| 2 | OBC | 21 | 3 | 35 | 9 |
| 3 | SC/ST | 21 | 5 | 37 | No Limit |
| 4 | Defence Services Personnel | 21 | 3 | 35 | Same as 1, 2 & 3 |
| 5 | Ex-servicemen | 21 | 5 | 37 | Same as 1, 2 & 3 |
| 6 | PH 1 or 2 or 3 | 21 | 10 | 42 | Same as 1, 2 & 3 |
UPSC Exam Pattern : Prelims, Mains & Interview at a Glance
| Parameters | Stage I | Stage II |
| UPSC Prelims | UPSC Mains | |
| No of Papers | 2 | 9 |
| Number of Questions | CSAT : 80 questions GS : 100 questions |
Usually, 20 questions per paper |
| 2 Qualifying Papers (to score min 75 marks) | ||
| * Eng Paper – 300 Marks | ||
| * Any Indian language Paper – 300 Marks | ||
| * One Essay Paper – 250 Marks | ||
| * 4 GS Papers: 4 x 250 = 1000 Marks | ||
| * Two Optional Subject Papers: 2 x 250 = 500 Marks | ||
| Total Marks | 400 | 1750 |
| Medium of Exam | English & Hindi | English & Hindi (Except for language) |
| Type of Questions | MCQs (Objective), OMR Based | Descriptive |
| Mode of Exam | Offline | Offline |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours for each paper | 3 hours for each paper |
| Negative Marking | 1/3rd of 2 marks | No negative marking |
| Stage – 3 | Personality Test – Interview – 275 Marks | |
| Note | Prelims marks are not counted for final merit Marks considered for Merit – Mains 1750 + Personality Test – 275 = 2025 |
|
| Parameters | Stage I | Stage II |
| UPSC Prelims | UPSC Mains | |
| No of Papers | 2 | 9 |
| Number of Questions | CSAT : 80 questions GS : 100 questions |
Usually, 20 questions per paper |
| 2 Qualifying Papers (to score min 75 marks) | ||
| * Eng Paper – 300 Marks | ||
| * Any Indian language Paper – 300 Marks | ||
| * One Essay Paper – 250 Marks | ||
| * 4 GS Papers: 4 x 250 = 1000 Marks | ||
| * Two Optional Subject Papers: 2 x 250 = 500 Marks | ||
| Total Marks | 400 | 1750 |
| Medium of Exam | English & Hindi | English & Hindi (Except for language) |
| Type of Questions | MCQs (Objective), OMR Based | Descriptive |
| Mode of Exam | Offline | Offline |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours for each paper | 3 hours for each paper |
| Negative Marking | 1/3rd of 2 marks | No negative marking |
| Stage – 3 | Personality Test – Interview – 275 Marks | |
| Note | Prelims marks are not counted for final merit Marks considered for Merit – Mains 1750 + Personality Test – 275 = 2025 |
|
UPSC Exam Performance Trends
| Year | Applied for Prelims (in Lakhs) |
Appeared for Prelims (in Lakhs) |
Selected for Mains | Selected for the Interview | Final Selection |
| 2013 | 7.76 | 3.24 | 14,800 | 3,001 | 1,122 |
| 2014 | 9.44 | 4.52 | 16,993 | 3,308 | 1,236 |
| 2015 | 9.45 | 4.65 | 15,008 | 2,797 | 1,078 |
| 2016 | 11.36 | 5.1 | 15,452 | 2,961 | 1,099 |
| 2017 | 10.2 | 5.2 | 13,366 | 2,568 | 990 |
| 2018 | 10.65 | 4.93 | 10,468 | 1,994 | 782 |
| 2019 | 9.2 | 4.6 | 11,845 | 1,792 | 896 |
| 2020 | 10.4 | 4.82 | 10,562 | 2,053 | 761 |
| 2021 | 10.93 | 5.08 | 9,214 | 1,823 | 712 |
| 2022 | 11.52 | 5.48 | 13,090 | 2,529 | 1,022 |
| 2023 | 13 | 5.66 | 14,624 | 2,916 | 1,105 |
Prelims Cut-off Marks Analysis
| Year | Gen | EBC | OBC | SC | ST | PH-1 | PH-2 | PH-3 |
2016 (Out of 200 Marks) |
116 | 110.66 | 99.34 | 96 | 75.34 | 72.66 | 40 | |
2017 (Out of 200 Marks) |
105.34 | 102.66 | 88.66 | 88.66 | 85.34 | 61.34 | 40 | |
2018 (Out of 200 Marks) |
98 | 96.66 | 83.34 | 83.34 | 73.34 | 53.34 | 40 | |
| 2019 | 98 | 90 | 95.34 | 82 | 77.34 | 55.34 | 44.66 | 40.66 |
| 2020 | 92.51 | 77.55 | 89.12 | 74.84 | 68.71 | 70.06 | 63.94 | 40.82 |
| 2021 | 87.54 | 80.14 | 84.85 | 75.41 | 70.71 | 68.02 | 67.33 | 43.09 |
| 2022 | 88.22 | 82.83 | 87.54 | 69.35 | 74.08 | 49.84 | 58.59 | 40.40 |
| 2023 | 74.41 | 68.02 | 74.75 | 59.25 | 47.82 | 40.40 | 47.13 | 40.40 |
Key Points for Civil Services Prelims Exam
- To qualify for the Civil Services Mains, you need to score at least 40 marks in Paper-I and 70 marks in Paper-II. Additionally, you must score at least 33% (66 marks) in Paper-II.
- Your scores from Paper-II are only for qualifying and do not count towards your final ranking.
- You must take both Paper I and Paper II during the Preliminary Exam for your papers to be evaluated, and your answers in Paper I will only be checked if you pass Paper II.
- To advance to the Mains examination, you need to exceed a certain cutoff mark, which is determined based on the number of exam takers, the number of job positions declared for the year, and the difficulty level of the exam.
MAINS EXAMINATION
It is the second stage of the Civil Services Exam, which is a descriptive type examination and comprises of 9 papers. These papers can be broadly divided into 2 Qualifying Papers, 5 General Studies Papers and 2 Optional Subject Papers.
| S.No | Paper | Paper Type | Subject | Marks | Duration (Hrs) |
| 1 | A | Qualifying | Indian Language | 300 | 3 |
| 2 | B | Qualifying | English | 300 | 3 |
| 3 | I | General Studies | Essay | 250 | 3 |
| 4 | II | General Studies | Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the world & Society | 250 | 3 |
| 5 | III | General Studies | Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & International Relations | 250 | 3 |
| 6 | IV | General Studies | Technology, Economic Development, Bio-Diversity, Environment, Security & Disaster Management | 250 | 3 |
| 7 | V | General Studies | Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude | 250 | 3 |
| 8 | 1 | Optional Subject | Science – Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Chemistry, Botany, Geology, Math, Medical Science, Physics, Statistics, Zoology Engineering – Civil, Mechanical & Electrical Humanities / Arts – Anthropology, Commerce & Accountancy, Economics, Geography, History, Law, Management, Philosophy, Political Science & International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Literature – Indian Languages |
250 | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Optional Subject | 250 | 3 |
Key Points for Civil Services Mains Exam
- The papers on Indian languages and English (Paper A and Paper B) are basic level exams similar to high school finals, and you just need to pass them. The scores from these papers won’t affect your overall ranking.
- All exam papers, including General Studies and the Optional Subject, are checked at the same time, but only the scores from candidates who get at least 25% in both the Indian Language and English papers will be considered for further evaluation.
- Candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim are not required to take the Indian Language paper (Paper A).
- For ranking purposes, only marks from Papers 3 to 9 are counted. The Commission has the authority to set the minimum passing marks for these papers.