About the Exam

FACTS

  • Examination conducted by: Union Public Service Commission
  • Date of Examinations: Varies (Usually Prelims in June)
  • Attempts:
    • General Category: 6 Attempts
    • OBC: 9 Attempts
    • SC/ST: No limit
  • Age: 
    • General Category: 32 years
    • OBC: 35 years
    • SC/ST-37 years
    • PH:  Additional 10 years
    • exMP: 5years
  • Education Qualification: Any Recognised Degree
  • Number of post: Varies ( 900-1000)
  • How to apply: upsconline.nic.in
  • Posts:
    • Indian Administrative Service
    • Indian Foreign Service
    • Indian Police Service
    • Indian Revenue Service
    • Indian Postal Service
    • Indian Railway Personnel Service
    • Indian Railway Traffic Service
    • Indian Trade Service
    • Railway Protection Force
    • Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service
    • Pondicherry Civil Service etc….

STAGES OF EXAMINATION

Stage 1: Prelimimary Examinations- Objective type

Stage 2: Mains written Examinations- Descriptive type

Stage 3: Personality Test- Interview type

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS (OBJECTIVE TYPE)

  • Date of examination: Notified by UPSC (Usually in June)
  • Number of papers: 2
  • Type of examination: Objective type (MCQs)
  • Duration of each paper: 2 hours
  • Each paper shall be of a maximum of 200 marks (100 questions- 2 marks each)
  • The General Studies Paper-II- Only qualifying in nature (minimum qualifying marks- 33%)
  • There are four alternatives for the answers to every question.
  • There will be negative marking for incorrect answers (one-third-0.66)
  • Language of examination: English and Hindi
  • How many will clear Prelims?12-13 times the vacancies notified for recruitment will be selected to write Mains examination
  • Cut off marks: Varies.
Category Cutoff (2017)
General 105.34
OBC 88.66
SC/ST 88.66
PH1 88.88
PH2 61.34
PH3 40

 

Syllabus Prelims

Paper 1 – General Studies – 100 questions X 2Marks = 200 Marks

  • History: Acient, Medieval and Modern Indian History
  • Geography- Physical and Indian Geography
  • Indian Constitution
  • Ecology & Biodiversity
  • Indian Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Current Affairs

Paper 2 – CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) – 80 Questions X 2.5Marks = 200Marks

Only Qualifying

  • Quantitative Aptitude
  • Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability
  • Data Interpretation
  • General English
  • Problem Solving
  • Decision Making

* There will be negative marking for incorrect answers (one-third-0.66 allocated for each question will be deducted)

MAINS Examinations (Descriptive Type)

  • Date of examination: Notified by UPSC
  • Number of papers: The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay typeout of which two papers will be of qualifying in nature.
Category Mains Cutoff Final Score
General 809 1006
OBC 770 968
SC 756 944
ST 749 939
PH1 734 923
PH2 745 948
PH3 578 830
  • Duration of each paper: 3 hours
  • Each paper shall be of a maximum of 250 marks
  • Type of examination: Descriptive type (Essay type)
  • Language of examination: English and regional language
  • How many will clear Mains?3 times the vacancies notified for recruitment will be selected to write Mains examination
  • Cut off marks: Varies. – 2017
Subject Papers Marks
Qualifying paper 2 paper (Regional language + English) 300 Marks  each ( Only for qualification)
Essay 1 paper (2 essay) 250 Marks
Genral studies 4 Papers 250 Marks each
Optional Paper- any 1 2 Papers 250 Marks each
Total Written 7 papers 1750 Marks
Personality Test – 275 Marks
Total Marks – 2025 Marks

Mains Optionals

  1. Agriculture
  2. Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
  3. Anthropology
  4. Botany
  5. Chemistry
  6. Civil Engineering
  7. Commerce & Accountancy
  8. Economics
  9. Electrical Engineering
  10. Geography
  11. Geology
  12. History
  13. Law
  14. Management
  15. Mathematics
  16. Mechanical Engineering
  17. Medical Science
  18. Philosophy
  19. Physics
  20. Political Science and International Relations
  21. Psychology
  22. Public Administration
  23. Sociology
  24. Statistics
  25. Zoology
  26. Literature of any one of the following languages:

Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English

Syllabus for Mains 

  1. Essays:
    1. Topic of International /National Importance
    2. Social Issues
    3. Quote Based
  2. General studies 1
    1. Cultural Heritage(India)
    2. History- World, Modern Indian History, Post Independent History
    3. Society and social issues.
    4. Geography- Physical, Human and Indian
  3. General Studies 2.
    1. Overview of Indian
    2. Governance
    3. International Relations.
  4. General Studies 3
    1. Economy
    2. Science andTechnology
    3. Security issues
    4. Environment and Ecology.
  5. General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
  6. Optional subject:Any 1

Personality test

  • Marks: 275 Marks.
  • This will be added to written marks
  • Ranking based on = Written Marks (1750) + Personality test (275)
  • Interview will be conducted by a board ( 1 chairman and 4 expert members)
  • Questions will be based on matters  of  general  interest.
  • Objective of the interview: To assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public services and to judge the mental caliber of a candidate.
  • What is expected from the candidate:
  1. Mental  alertness
  2. Critical  powers  of  assimilations
  3. Clear  and  logical  exposition
  4. Balance  of  judgement
  5. Variety  and  depth  of  interest
  6. Ability  for  social  cohesion  and  leadership
  7. Intellectual  and  moral integrity.
  • How many will be called for interview: 3 times the vacancies
  • Duration of Interview: 20-30 minutes