UPSC CSE 2024 - UPSC Civil Services Exam : Application Form, Exam Date, Eligibility, Syllabus and Exam Pattern

ICS Exam 2024 - Civil Services Exam also known as India Civil Services Exam and acronym as ICS Exam is rightly known as the mother of all the competitive exams in India. It is one of the most prestigious exams even more than CAT or IIT-JEE exam as this exam will take you to the apex of any administrative ladder in India's administrative system. That is why even those who have cracked IIT-JEE or have already bell the CAT wants to overcome this last hurdle to show that they are the best out of the best among their contemporaries.

Young graduates who want to be a part of the Government machinery in the real sense have to crack Civil Services Exam. But it is easier said than done. Civil Services Exam is one such exam in which one has to be best in all walks of life. If one considers oneself a step ahead then the masses if one thinks that he can and he has to be on the other side of the table then he should take this test conducted by the 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.

UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024 Important Dates

Date of Notification and Start of Online Registration

• 14th February 2024

Last Date of Submission of Application Form

• 5th March 2024

Date of Entrance Exam 

• 26th May 2024 - Prelims
• 20th September 2024 -  Mains

Date of Declaration of Result

• To be notified.

Civil Services Exam 2022 was held on-

• 28th May 2023 - Preliminary
• 15th-19th September 2024 - Mains

Civil Services Exam 2024 Eligibility

The Candidates applying for the Civil Services Exam should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to the examination.

Educational Qualifications

• One of the Civil Services exam eligibility is that a candidate should be a Graduate in any discipline from a recognized university. Candidates having professional and technical qualifications recognized 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 the 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.

Note: There is no minimum percentage of marks in the qualifying examination (Pass only) required to be eligible for taking the Civil Services Exam.

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:

• A citizen of India, or
• A subject of Nepal, or
• A subject of Bhutan, or
• A Tibetan refugee who came over to India with the intention of permanently settling in India. or
• 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 favor 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:

• Candidates must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August of the year in which the examination is being held.
• The upper age limit may be relaxed in respect of the SC / ST and other backward classes.
  

The number of attempts:

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

Some Prerequisites:

The aspiring candidates are expected to have a keen interest in 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 prerequisite. 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 - 2021 published in the Gazette.

Civil Services Exam 2024 Pattern

This exam is normally held in three parts:

• Preliminary Exam - Normally taken by nearly 3,50,000-4,00,000 candidates every year.
• The mains Exam -  Normally taken by nearly 10,000 selected candidates at the preliminary level.
• The Personal Interview - the last part of the exam is taken by the number of candidates nearly three times of the vacant seats.

Civil Services Exam 2024 Syllabus

Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers

• Paper-I  is of General Studies
• Paper-II is of CSAT  --- Which is of Qualifying Nature Only

The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under :

The 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 the main examination. Each paper is 3 hours in duration.

Papers for Main Exam

Important:  Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of subjects given below (Group 1).  However, a candidate can opt for the literature of a language, indicated in Group-2 below as an optional subject only if the candidate has graduated in the literature of that particular language as the main subject. 

Note: Marks obtained by the candidates for all papers (Paper I-VII) will be counted for merit ranking. However,  the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all papers of the examination. For the Santali language, the question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.

Optional Papers:

List of optional subjects for the Main Examination: 

Group-I

Group-2 

The literature of any one of the following languages: 

List of optional subjects for the Main Examination:

Group I

Group II

The literature of any one of the following languages:

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. The 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 80-100 are appointed as Indian Administrative  Services (IAS) officers. 

Civil Services Posts that are filled through Civil Services Exam 2024?

Major Civil Services posts that are filled through the Civil Services Exam are:

Group - A

Group - B

Civil Services Exam 2024 Dates

Civil Services Exam is normally held in the month of May (Prelims) and December (Mains).

Civil Services Exam 2024 Fees

A candidate can buy an application form with an information brochure from the General Post office by paying Rs. 100/- (No fee for women candidates).

The duly filled-in application form and the acknowledgment 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

How to apply for the Civil Services Exam 2024?

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

Civil Services Exam 2024 Test centers

Civil Servies 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 for filling up the application form, etc. visit the website: http://upsc.gov.in