What is a Civil Services Exam?
Indian Administrative Services acronym as IAS or Indian Civil Services acronym as ICS is rightly known as the mother of all the competitive exams in Indian context. It is the most prestigious exam even more then CAT or IIT-JEE exam as this exam will take you to the apex of any administrative ladder in India. That is why even those who have cracked IIT-JEE or have already bell the CAT wants to over come this last hurdle to show that they are the best out of best among their contemporary. Young graduates who want to prove themselves and who wants to be a part of the Government machinery in real sense has to crack this exam. But it is easier said then done. This is one such exam in which one has to be brilliant not only in one field or other infact the aspirant has to be an all-rounder. If one consider oneself a step ahead then the masses if one think that he can and he has to be on the other side of the table then he should take this test conducted by central body UPSC every year in the month of May to fill nearly 400 vacancies of the top notch posts in the Central government and its various departments.

What is the eligibility for taking Civil Services Exam?
The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility condition for admission to examination.

Educational Qualifications:
Graduates in any discipline from a recognised university. Candidates having professional and technical qualifications recognised by the government are also eligible. Those who have appeared in the final year but do not have the result can also apply but they would have to produce proof of passing the exam with their application for the Main Exam.

Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical  degree Examination but are yet to complete the internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However they must submit along with their Main Examination application, a certificate from the concerned authority of the University / Institution that they have passed the final professional medical examination. At the  time of Interview  they  are supposed to produce a certificate from a competent authority that they have completed (including internship) all the requirements for the award of the Medical Degree.

Nationality:
For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India
For other services, a candidate must be either :
(i) a citizen of India, or
(ii) a subject of Nepal, or
(iii) a subject of Bhutan, or
(iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India with the intention of permanently settling in India. or
(v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Srilanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. These candidates will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.

Age Limits:
Candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on the 1st August of the year in which examination is being held. The upper age limit may be relaxed in respect of the SC/ST and other backward classes.

Number of attempts:

Maximum number of attempts permissible to different categories of aspirants, who are otherwise eligible, will be as given below:-

• For general category - 4
• For physically handicapped belonging to general category - 7
• For other backward classes - 7
• For SC/ST candidates - Unlimited.

Some Prerequisites.
The aspiring candidates are expected to have keen interest in the General Studies and are supposed to have a good amount of interest in current affairs
Regular and detailed reading of a good national newspaper, a standard competition magazine and a basic book on general knowledge is the essential pre-requisite. Another important point is efficient time planning.

Physical Standards:
Candidates must be physically fit according to the regulations given in the rules for Civil Services Examination - 2010 published in the Gazette of the Indian Extraordinary dated 2nd Jan, 2010.

When this exam is normally held?
IAS exam is normally held in the month of August.

What is the pattern and the contents of the exam?
This exam is normally held in three parts:-

i. Preliminary Exam taken by nearly 2,50,000-3,00,000 candidates every year
ii. Mains exam taken nearly 10,000 selected candidates at preliminary level
iii. Interview, the last part of the exam is taken by number of candidates nearly three times of the vacant seats.

Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 450.

Paper I is of general studies and
Paper II is from a selected list of optional subjects for preliminary examinations.

The question papers are set in Hindi as well as in English. The course content for the optional subjects will be of the degree level. Each paper is of two hours duration. Blind candidates are allowed an extra time of 20 minutes for each paper.

Preliminary Examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in a year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.

Subjects for Paper II (one subject to be selected): Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology
.
Main Examination is taken to assess the overall intellectual qualities and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. It will consist of a written examination and an interview test.

The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type in the selected subjects for main examination. Each paper is of 3 hours duration.

Papers for main examination : 
Paper I - One Indian language (selected by the candidate) 300 marks
Paper II - English 300 marks
Paper III - Essay 200 marks
Paper IV&V - General Studies 300 marks each
Paper VI-IX - Any two subjects (optional papers to be selected by the candidate) with two papers each 300 marks for each

Optional Papers: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology

Interview: Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination shall be summoned for an interview. It is usually conducted in the month of April/May every year. Candidate will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability and judge the mental caliber of the candidate. The interview will carry 300 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main Examination (written part as well as interview) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and posts.

There is also a medical test, especially rigid for IPS. Out of the final candidates selected top rankers  approximately upto 80-100 are appointed as Indian Administrative  Services (IAS) officers. 

What are major Civil Services Posts  that are filled through Civil Services Exam?
Major Civil Services posts that are filled through Civil Services Exam are:-

1.Indian Administrative Service - IAS
2.India Foreign Service - IFS
3.Indian Police Service - IPS

Group - A

• Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service
• Indian Audit and Accounts Service
• Indian Customs and Central Excise Service
• Indian Defence Accounts Service
• Indian Revenue Service
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, non-technical)
• Indian Postal Service
• Indian Civil Accounts Service
• Indian Railway Traffic Service
• Indian Railway Accounts Service
• Indian Railway Personnel Service
• Posts of Assistant Security Officer in Railway Protection Force (RPF)
• Indian Defence Estates Service
• Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)

Group - B

• Railway Board Secretariat Service (Section Officer's Grade)
• Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer's Grade)
• Customs Appraisers' Service
• Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service and Police Service
• Pondicherry Civil Service

What is the examination fee for taking the exam?
A candidate can buy an application form with information brochure from the General Post office by paying Rs. 50/- .The duly filled in application form and the acknowledgement card should then be mailed in the special envelope supplied with the Information Brochure to : Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110

Application Form

The aspirants must apply in the Common Application Form devised by UPSC for its examinations, which can be purchased from the Head Post Offices throughout the country on payment of Rs 20/- only. Each such form can be used only for one examination once only. In case of non availability of the form from the designated PO immediately contact UPSC ”Form Supply Monitoring Cell” over Phone No. 011-23389366.

Address for Receipt of the Application

Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
Dholpur House
Shahjahan Road
New Delhi-110069

What are the major test centers for taking the exam?
IAS exam is conducted in all major cities in the country and in leading cities abroad.

For details regarding the Syllabus and Scheme of the Examination, Centre of Examination, Guidelines of filling up the application form etc. visit website : http://upsc.gov.in