Examination Scheme

Exam Pattern UPSC Civil service Examination

The Indian Civil Services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year. The Civil Services examination schedule is announced from January - to February after which the selection is done in 3 stages. Candidates are filtered at every stage through a process of elimination.

Part A—Preliminary Examination

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Part B—Main Examination

Interview / Personality Test

• The interview will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).
• Marks thus obtained by the candidates (in the Main Examination as well as interview) would determine their final ranking.
• Candidates will be posted to various services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and Posts.

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Educational Background For IAS Exam

• The candidate must hold a bachelor 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 for the Prelims examination must produce 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 has 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 degrees from any reputed foreign university for example Oxford, Cambridge, 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.
• Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS but are yet to complete the internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However, they must submit a certificate from the concerned authority of the University / Institution that they have passed the final professional medical examination along with their Main Examination application. At the Interview stage, they must produce a certificate from a competent authority that they have completed (including internship) and all the requirements for the award of the Medical Degree.

Age limit For IAS Exam

A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on 1st August of the year of examination if he is a general category student/aspirant. The upper age limit for IAS as well as all services prescribed above is relaxed for OBC, SC, ST and other categories of aspirants.

Age limit relaxation for OBC SC/ST In IAS Exam

• Up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste (SC) or a Scheduled Tribe (ST).
• Up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.
• Up to a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January 1980 to the 31st December 1989.
• Up to a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof.
• Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August and must have been released.
• On completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or on invalid.
• Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
• Up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopedically handicapped persons.

Cumulative Age-relaxation For IAS Exam

• Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(ii) (b) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen, persons domiciled in the State of J & K, blind, deaf-mute and orthopedically handicapped etc. will be eligible for grant of cumulative age relaxation under both the categories.
• The term ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.
• The age concession under para 3(ii) (b) (v) and (vi) will not be admissible to Ex-Servicemen and Commissioned Officers including ECOs/SSCOs who are released on their own request.
• Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under para 3 (ii) (b) (vii) above, a physically disabled candidate will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if he/she (after such physical examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/posts to be allocated to the physically disabled candidates by the Government.

Attempts In IAS Exam

The UPSC has raised the upper age limit and a number of attempts of applicants for the Civil Service Examination with effect from 2015. The upper age limit will be 32 years for the unreserved (general) category with 6 attempts. It will be 35 years for OBC candidates with 9 attempts; and will be 37 years for SC/ST candidates with an unlimited number of attempts. For physically handicapped candidates the age limit is 42, 45, and 47 years for the General, OBC, and SC/ST category respectively while the number of attempts is 9 for General and OBC and unlimited for SC/SC category.

Restrictions on applying for IAS exam given by UPSC:

A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on the results of an earlier examination is NOT eligible to take this examination again. In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS/IFS after the Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Examination, is over and he/she continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall NOT be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Mains) Examination, notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination. Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination but before the result thereof and continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall NOT be considered for appointment to any service/post on the basis of the result of this examination viz. Civil Services Examination.

Restrictions Relaxed on applying for the IAS exam:

The candidates who are appointed to other services barring the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on the results of an earlier examination are eligible to take this examination again.

Other Criteria For IAS Exam:

Nationality For IAS Exam:

• The candidate must be a citizen of India to be eligible for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), 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 before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India,
• or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, 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 (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be a person in whose favor a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
  Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (c), (d) (e) and (f) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service

Note: A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary is eligible to take the examination but the offer of appointment may be given to only those candidates who have submitted the necessary eligibility certificate issued to him/her by the Government of India.

Note: The Candidates applying for the Civil Service Examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions and criteria for admission to the examination. Their admission to all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. The mere issue of the admission certificate to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the UPSC. UPSC takes up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for the Interview/ Personality Test.

Quick Links

Check IAS Exam Pattern |  IAS Exam Prelims Syllabus

Marking Scheme Of IAS Examination

The Indian Civil Services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year. The Civil Services examination schedule is announced from January - to February after which the selection is done in 3 stages. Candidates are filtered at every stage through a process of elimination.

The civil services examination comprises of three successive stages :

1) Prelims - Objective Type (Qualifier)
2) Mains - Written Test
3) Interview.
One can take one step at a time and go on to the next only if you clear the previous. The UPSC conducts the Civil Services examination in the above 3 stages selecting and dropping candidates as they go from stage to stage.

The Civil Services examination's Prelims are held in May-June and the results are announced in July-August. The Main Examination of the IAS Exam is held in October-November and the candidates who qualify at this stage are invited to the interview in March-April next. The final recruitment and posting of candidates depend on their ranking and the available vacancies for different posts to be filled during that particular year.

Students need to first apply for the Prelims of Civil Services examination only. Candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified for admission to the Main Examination will have to apply again, in the Detailed Application Form which would be supplied to them.

Preliminary Examination of Civil Services examination

The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only.

• Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.
• The marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
• The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total an approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year for various Services and Posts.

Main Examination of Civil Services examination

The Main Examination will consist of 9 papers in total comprising of conventional essay-type questions.

• Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks in the Main Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview / for a Personality Test.
• The number of candidates to be summoned for interviews will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled.

Interview of Civil Services examination

• The interview will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).
• Marks thus obtained by the candidates (in the Main Examination as well as interview) would determine their final ranking.
• Candidates will be posted to various services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and Posts.

Generally the number of vacancies varies every year. The number of candidates that pass the preliminary examination is generally 11 or 12 times the number of vacancies, and the number of candidates selected for the final interview is twice the number of vacancies. As per existing policies, reservation for SC/ST/OBC is applied to each level of the selection process of Civil Services examination.

Vacancies And Selection In Different Years

Choose an examination center for Civil Services Examination

Candidates should note that the Examination Centres (Preliminary and Mains) and the date of the civil services examination as mentioned are liable to be changed. They should be aware of the fact that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the Centres in civil services examination. But allotment is not applicable to centres like Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. For each Centres, allotments will be on the 'first apply first serve' basis, and once the capacity of a Centre is full, further allotment will be stopped in civil services examination. civil services examination Applicants, who were not eligible to get a seat in the Centre of their choice, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones. So, civil services examination applicants are advised that they may apply early so that they could get a Centre of their choice.

The UPSC has issued a list of exam centres from where candidates can take their Prelims and Mains exams of civil services examination. Most of the state capitals have a centre for taking the Civil Service exam. Candidates can choose a centre that is near them, from the list provided here.

Centre Code For Civil Services Examination:

• The Examination Centres for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination as well as Civil Services (Main) Examination are listed below.
• The Centres and the Date of holding the civil services examination as mentioned above are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission.
• While every effort will be made to allot the candidates to the Centre of their choice for civil services examination, the Commission may, at their discretion allot a different centre to a candidate, when circumstances so warrant.
• Blind candidates will, however, be required to take the civil services examination at any one of the Seven Centres, viz. Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Dispur and Mumbai.
• Candidates admitted to the civil services examination will be informed of the time table and place or places of examination.
• The candidates should note that no request for change of the civil services examination centre will normally be granted.

Prelims exam centres

The IAS Prelims Examination Centres are mentioned below:

Mains Examination Centres

The IAS Mains Examination Centres are mentioned below:

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) who qualify the civil services examination has to be cleared by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for suitable services.

In 2012 and 2013, out of 67 such candidates who got selected in civil services examination, few to have to wait for service allocation.

Many selected PWDs are allocated lower services than their ranking in the merit lists on the ground that the nature of their disability prevents them doing the job in most services.

The allocations of services is decided on the basis of the "list of services identified suitable for physically disabled category. This is based on the physical requirements and functional classification" published in the gazette about the service a successful candidate with disability can get.

For instance, under the category of locomotor disability, if the disability affects both hands or arms, you can get into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) but not any of the other 23 services.

Similarly, the Delhi Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS) is open to those with one leg affected or whose hearing is impaired.

However, they are not eligible for either the Pondicherry Police Service or the Indian Police Service (IPS).

All accounts services, the Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service, Gr.A, Indian Civil Accounts Service, Gr. A and Indian Railway Accounts Service are open someone with one arm (OA) or one leg (OL) affected or with one arm and one leg affected (OAL) and to those with both legs affected (BL). The Indian Audit & Accounts Service Gr. A alone is not open to persons with both legs affected.

There has been a lot of protests due to these perceived discrepancies. A group dedicated to the cause of PWDs is formed. It is called the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). With much activism they have been able to now get a 3% quota in all services for PWDs mandated by the Disability Act 1995.

Civil Services Examination - Preliminary Examination Syllabus 

The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only.

• Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.
• The marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
• The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total an approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year for various Services and Posts.

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Civil Services Examination - Preliminary Examination Syllabus

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: 2 Hours

• Current Events of National and International Importance.
• History of India and Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity, and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.
• General Science.

Paper-II - (200 marks) Duration: 2 Hours

• Comprehension; Interpersonal Skills including Communication Skills.
• Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability.
• Decision Making and Problem Solving.
• General Mental Ability.
• Basic Numeracy (Numbers and their Relations, Orders of Magnitude, etc.) (Class X level).
• Data Interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. — Class X level).

Note 1: Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
Note 2: The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type.
Note3: Candidates are advised to go through the Syllabus published in this Section for the Preliminary Examination and the Main Examination, as a periodic revision of the syllabus has been done in several subjects.

IAS Exam Mains Syllabus 2022

Paper - 1

Language -300 Marks

Candidates can take any Modern Indian language but this paper is of qualifying nature.

Paper - 2

English -300 Marks

This paper is of qualifying nature

Paper - 3

Essay - 250 Marks

Can be written in the medium or language of the candidate's choice

Paper - 4: General Studies-I

Culture of India

• Indian Culture - Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Modern India

• Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
• Post-independence Consolidation and Reorganization within the country.

World History

• History of the World will include events from the 18th century such as Industrial Revolution, world wars, Redrawal of National Boundaries, Colonization, Decolonization, political philosophies like Communism, Capitalism, Socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.

Indian Society ( Social Issues )

• Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
• Role of Women and Women’s Organization, Population and Associated Issues, Poverty and Developmental issues, Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
• Effects of Globalization on Indian society.
• Social Empowerment, Communalism, Regionalism & Secularism.

Geography

• Salient features of the World’s Physical Geography.
• Distribution of Key Natural Resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclones etc., geographical features and their location changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

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Paper - 5: General Studies-II

Indian Polity

• Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.
• Functions and Responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure, Devolution of Powers and Finances up to Local Levels and Challenges Therein.
• Separation of Powers between various organs Dispute Redressal Mechanisms and Institutions.
• Comparison of the Indian Constitutional Scheme with that of Other Countries.
• Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges and Issues Arising out of these.
• Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; Pressure Groups and Formal/Informal Associations and their Role in the Polity.

Governance

• Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.
• Appointment to various Constitutional Posts, Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
• Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies.
• Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency and Accountability, E-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; Citizens Charters, Transparency & Accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Role of Civil Services in a Democracy.

Development Processes

• Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.
  Development Processes and the Development Industry — the Role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes; Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the Protection and Betterment of these Vulnerable Sections.
• Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
• Issues relating to Poverty and Hunger.

India and The world

• India and its Neighborhood- Relations.
• Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
• Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India’s interests, Indian Diaspora.
• Important International Institutions, agencies and fora - their Structure, Mandate.

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Paper - 6: General Studies-III

Indian Economy

• Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
• Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.
• Government Budgeting.
• Major Crops - Cropping Patterns in various parts of the country, - Different Types of Irrigation and Irrigation Systems; Storage, Transport and Marketing of Agricultural Produce and Issues and Related Constraints; E-technology in the aid of farmers.
• Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies and Minimum Support Prices; Public Distribution System - Objectives, Functioning, Limitations, Revamping; Issues of Buffer Stocks and Food Security; Technology Missions; Economics of Animal-Rearing.
• Food Processing and Related Industries in India- Scope’ and Significance, Location, Upstream and Downstream Requirements, Supply Chain Management.
• Land Reforms in India.
• Effects of Liberalization on the Economy, Changes in Industrial Policy and their Effects on Industrial Growth.
• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
• Investment Models.
•  

Science and Technology

• Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.
• Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology.
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

Environment and ecology

• Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
• Disaster and Disaster Management.

Security Issues

• Linkages between Development and Spread of Extremism.
• Role of External State and Non-state Actors in creating challenges to Internal Security.
• Challenges to Internal Security through Communication Networks, Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges, Basics of Cyber Security; Money-Laundering and its prevention.
• Security Challenges and Their Management in Border Areas - Linkages of Organized Crime with Terrorism.
• Various Security Forces and Agencies and their Mandate.

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, Determinants and Consequences of Ethics in - Human Actions; Dimensions of Ethics; Ethics - in Private and Public Relationships. Human Values - Lessons from the Lives and Teachings of Great Leaders, Reformers and Administrators; Role of Family Society and Educational Institutions in Inculcating Values.
• Attitude: Content, Structure, Function; its Influence and Relation with Thought and Behaviour; Moral and Political Attitudes; Social Influence and Persuasion.
• Aptitude and Foundational Values for Civil Service, Integrity, Impartiality and Non-partisanship, Objectivity, Dedication to Public Service, Empathy, Tolerance and Compassion towards the weaker-sections.
• Emotional Intelligence-Concepts, and their Utilities and Application in Administration and Governance.
• Contributions of Moral Thinkers and Philosophers from India and World.
• Public/Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration: Status and Problems; Ethical Concerns and Dilemmas in Government and Private Institutions; Laws, Rules, Regulations and Conscience as Sources of Ethical Guidance; Accountability and Ethical Governance; Strengthening of Ethical and Moral Values in Governance; Ethical Issues in International Relations and Funding; Corporate Governance.
• Probity in Governance: Concept of Public Service; Philosophical Basis of Governance and Probity; Information Sharing and Transparency in Government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work Culture, Quality of Service Delivery, Utilization of Public Funds, Challenges of Corruption.
• Case Studies on the above issues.