UPSC INFO

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About Exam

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a constitutional body in India that is responsible for recruiting candidates for various civil services and central government jobs. The UPSC conducts a comprehensive examination known as the Civil Services Examination (CSE) to select candidates for a range of prestigious services.

Here are some key points about the UPSC exam and the services it encompasses:

Civil Services Examination (CSE): The CSE is an annual competitive examination conducted by the UPSC to recruit candidates for various civil services in the Indian government. It consists of three stages – Preliminary Examination (objective type), Main Examination (descriptive type), and Personality Test (interview).

Services under UPSC: The successful candidates of the CSE are appointed to various services based on their preferences and merit.

Some of the prominent services include:

Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
Indian Police Service (IPS)
Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
Indian Forest Service (IFoS)
Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
Indian Economic Service (IES)
Indian Statistical Service (ISS)
and more.

Exam Stages

There are 3 stages in the UPSC Civil Services Exam:

  • Preliminary Exam (Objective Test)
  • Main Exam (Written Test)
  • Personality Test (Interview)

The marks of the Preliminary Exam are not counted for the final ranking. Prelims is a screening test to select the candidates for the Main Exam. A candidate’s final rank in the civil services exam depends only on the mark scored in the Main exam and Interview.

Exam Pattern

Sr No

Name of Paper

No. of Questions

Marks

Duration

1.

General Studies – I

100

200

2 Hours

2.

General Studies – II (CSAT)

80

200

2 Hours

  • The negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
  • The GS Paper II (CSAT) in IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33% in this paper to qualify to the next stage
    of the IAS exam i.e. the Mains.
  • The marks scored by the candidates in the preliminary examination are not counted for the final score. It is only a screening test where candidates not securing the
    cut-off marks are eliminated.

NOTE:

  • General Studies-I consist: (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
  • General Studies-II consist: (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)
  • General Studies-III consist: (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
  • General Studies-IV consist: (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
  • The candidates can select their medium of writing the UPSC Civil Services IAS Mains Exam as Hindi or English or any other
    language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
  • The candidates who score above the prescribed cut-off marks in the IAS exam (Mains) will get the summons for the Personality Test (last stage of the IAS exam).
  • The final ranking of the candidates is on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Main Examination and Personality Test/Interview Round of the IAS exam.

Optional Paper List:
Public Administration Sociology Anthropology Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Geography
Civil Engineering Commerce and Accountancy Economics Electrical Engineering Chemistry
Geology History Law Management Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering Medical Science Philosophy Physics Botany
Psychology Agriculture Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Statistics Zoology
The 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.

Candidates who clear the Mains stage of the IAS exam with the required cut-off marks qualify for the final stage of the IAS exam i.e., the Personality Test or Interview round with the UPSC Board Members. The candidates who qualify to the final stage will be sent an e-summon by the Commission for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members. In this round, the board assesses the personality traits of the candidates and questions will be asked on their hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions, etc. to evaluate if they are fit for a career in the civil services or not. The UPSC personality test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Education Qualification for IAS exam: Candidate must hold a Graduate Degree from a recognized University.

Sr. No

Category

Age

No of Attempt

1

General & EWS

32 Years

6 Attempts

2

OBC

35 Years

9 Attempts

3

SC/ST

37 Years

Unlimited

4

Physically Disabled

42 Years

SC/ST- Unlimited & Others – 9 Attempts

5

Jammu & Kashmir Domicile

37 Years + (3 years, if OBC OR 5 Years, if SC/ST)

Number of attempts depends on the reserved category.

Syllabus

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Exam Calendar-2024

Exam Calendar-2024

1

IAS-2024 (Prelims)

Sunday – 26th May 2024

2

IAS-2024 (Mains)

20th September 2024 onwards

Books

Apart from NCERT Books (Class 6-12), 10-15 standard reference textbooks are recommended for UPSC preparation.
Some of the best-selling books are:

  • Indian Polity – by M. Laxmikanth & DD Basu
  • Important Acts that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George
  • Important Judgments that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George
  • Indian Art and Culture – by Nitin Singhania
  • Ancient and Medieval India – by RS Sharma
  • Modern Indian History – by Bipin Chandra and Rajeev Ahir
  • Certificate Physical And Human Geography – by Goh Cheng Leong
  • Geography of India – by Majid Husain
  • Oxford Student Atlas for India
  • Indian Economy – by Ramesh Singh
  • Indian Economy – by Nitin Singhania
  • Science and Technology – by Ravi P. Agrahari
  • Environment and Ecology –by Vaishali Anand
  • International Relations – by Pavneet Singh
  • Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude – by Niraj Kumar
Get In Touch

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