(UPSC) UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION : The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a national competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil Services of Government of india including the Indian Administrative services, Indian Foregin Services and Indian Police services. It is also colloquially referred to as the UPSC examination, and UPSC CSE. and is conducted in three phases: a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (Paper I consisting of General Studies and Paper II, referred to as the Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT), and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type, in which two papers are qualifying and only marks of seven are counted; finally followed by a personality test (interview). A successful candidate sits for 32 hours of examination during the complete process spanning around one year.
List of services
Those who pass the Civil Service Examination may be selected to join the following services:
- All Indian Services.
- Indian Administrative Services (IAS)
- Indian police Services (IPS)
Central Services group (A)
- Indian Foreign Services (IFS)
- Indian Audit and Accounts Services (IA&AS)
- Indian Civil Account Services (ICAS)
- Indian Corporate Law services (ICLS)
- Indian Defence Accounts Services (IDAS)
- Indian Defence Estates Services (IDES)
- Indian Information Services (IIS)
- Indian Postal Services (IPOS)
- Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Services (IP&TAFS)
- Indian Railway Protection Force Services (IRPFS)
- Indian Defence Accounts Services (IDAS)
- Indian Revenue Services (IRS – IT)
- Indian Revenue Services (IRS – C&CE)
- Indian Trade Services (ITS)
Central Services group (B)
- Armed Forces Headquartes Civil Services (AFHCS)
- Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS)
- Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANIPS)
- Pondicherry Civil Service (PCS)
- Pondicherry Police Service (PPS)
Process
The Civil Services Examination is based on the British era Impercial Civil Services tests, as well as the civil service tests conducted by old Indian empires such as the Mauryan Empire and Mughal Empire. It is one of the most difficult competitive examinations in India. A single attempt can take two complete years of preparation – one year before the prelims and one year from the prelims to the interview. On average, 900,000 to 1,000,000 candidates apply every year and the number of candidates sitting in the preliminary examination is approximately 550,000. Results for the Prelims are published in mid-August, while the final result is published in May of the next year.
- Stage I: Preliminary Examination – Held in June every year. Results are announced in August.
- Stage II: Mains
- Examination – Held in October every year. Results are announced in January.
- Personality Test (interview) – Held in March. Final results are usually announced in May.
After the completion of the Medical examination of the successful candidates and other necessary formalities, the training program for the selected candidates usually commences the following September.
Eligibility
Eligibility for the examination is as follows:
Nationality
- For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Foreign Service the candidate must be a citizen of India.
- For other services, the candidate must be one of the following:
- A citizen of India.
- A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
- A Tibetan refugee who settled permanently in India before 1 January 1962.
- A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myammer, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Educational qualification
All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications:[4]
- A degree from a Central, State or a Deemed university
- A degree received through correspondence or distance education
- A degree from an open university
- A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above
The following candidates are also eligible, but must submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam.
- Candidates who have appeared in an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed an internship.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of ICAI, ICSI and ICWAI.
- A degree from a private university.
- A degree from any foreign university recognized by the Association of Indian Universities.
Age
The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years (for the General category candidate) on 1 August of the year of examination. Prescribed age limits vary with respect to caste reservations.
- For Other Backward Castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35 years.
- For Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the limit is 37 years.
- For Defence Services Personnel disabled in operations during hostilities, the limit is 40 years.
- For Candidates belonging to ex-servicemen including Commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered military services for at least five years as of 1 August, of the year and have been released
- on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1 August of the year 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 invalidation or
- Relaxation of up to a maximum of five years will be given in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service as of 1 August of the year 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 an offer of appointment, the limit is 32 years.
- For ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service, the limit is 32 years.
- For PWD candidates, the limit is 37 years.
- For Domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1989, the limit is 32 years.
- For the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, the standard age limits apply.
Number of attempts
The number of times a candidate can appear for the exam are given below.[10]
- General category candidates – 6
- OBC category candidates – 9
- SC/ST candidates – unlimited attempts till 37 years of age.
Appearing to attempt one of the papers in the preliminary examination is counted as an attempt, including disqualification/ cancellation of candidature. However, applying to sit the exam but failing to attend is not counted as an attempt.
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