Civil Service Examination:
The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive exam conducted by the union public service commission for recruitment into various departments of government of India,including the INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE (IAS), INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE (IFS), INDIAN POLICE SERVICE (IPS) among others. It is conducted in three phases – a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II) and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type, followed by a personality test (interview).
Academic Eligibility
- The candidate must hold a PASS BACHELOR’S degree from any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University, under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
- Candidates who have appeared or intend to appear for the final examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to apply for the Preliminary Examination.
- All such candidates who qualify the Prelims examination must produce a proof of Pass Bachelor Degree to appear for the Civil Services Main Examination. This Degree has to be attached with their application for the Main Examinations.
- The UPSC may in exceptional cases treat a candidate without the foregoing requisite qualification as an eligible candidate if he / she have passed an examination conducted by other institutions, the standard of which justifies his / her admission in the opinion of the Commission. The criteria may apply to candidates having bachelor’s degree from any reputed foreign university for example Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard etc.
- Candidates with professional and technical bachelor’s degrees that are recognized by the Government are also eligible to apply example MBBS, BE etc.
Exam Pattern
a) Preliminary Exam:
Paper |
Subjects |
Total Marks |
Duration |
I |
General Studies |
200 marks (100 questions) |
2 hours |
II |
CSAT |
200 marks (80 questions)
It is of qualifying nature(have to get 33% of total marks for qualification) |
2 hours |
b) Main Exam:
Papers |
Topics |
Total Marks |
PAPER A |
One Of The Indian Languages Chosen From The Prescribed List |
300 |
PAPER B |
English |
300 |
|
Essay |
250 |
|
General Studies I-IV (250 Marks For Each Paper) |
1000 |
|
Optional Subject I & II |
500 |
Total Marks For Written Examination |
1750 |
c) Interview Test: Aspirants who will qualify both Preliminary and Main exam will be called for Interview. Interview test will be of 275 marks.