Civil Services Examination

Authoritative handbook detailing the stages of selection, official syllabi, textbook readings, subject approaches, and administrative rank matrices of the UPSC CSE.

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Official Notification & DirectorySource: www.upsc.gov.in

About the Civil Services Examination (CSE)

Conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Civil Services Examination selects candidates for prestigious administrative, foreign policy, and security leadership roles in the Government of India.

1. Recruiting Services & Posts Directory

All India Services & Group 'A' Services

(i) Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
(ii) Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
(iii) Indian Police Service (IPS)
(iv) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group 'A'
(v) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group 'A'
(vi) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group 'A'
(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group 'A'
(viii) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group 'A'
(ix) Indian Information Service, Group 'A'
(x) Indian Postal Service, Group 'A'
(xi) Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Group 'A'
(xii) Indian Railway Management Service (Traffic), Group 'A'
(xiii) Indian Railway Management Service (Personnel), Group 'A'
(xiv) Indian Railway Management Service (Accounts), Group 'A'
(xv) Indian Railway Protection Force Service, Group 'A'
(xvi) Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes), Group 'A'
(xvii) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), Group 'A'
(xviii) Indian Trade Service, Group 'A' (Grade III)

Group 'B' Services

(xix) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group 'B' (Section Officer’s Grade)
(xx) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS), Group 'B'
(xxi) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS), Group 'B'
(xxii) Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group 'B'
(xxiii) Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS), Group 'B'

2. Eligibility, Vacancies & Reservation Policy

Academic Base

Educational Qualification

A candidate must hold a Graduate degree in any stream or discipline from a university recognized by the Government of India.

Age Limits

21 to 32 Years

Must have attained 21 years and not attained 32 years on the 1st of August of the examination year.

Scale

~ 1,000 Vacancies

The total number of administrative vacancies filled annually through the Civil Services Examination is approximately 1,000.

Relaxations & Attempt Limits

Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST)Age relaxable up to a maximum of 5 years. Candidates have unlimited attempts.

Other Backward Classes (OBC)Age relaxable up to a maximum of 3 years. Candidates have a limit of 9 attempts.

General / EWS CategoryAllowed a maximum of 6 attempts.

* Note: If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, it is deemed that they have made a full attempt at the Civil Services Examination.

Reservation Policy

Other Backward Classes (OBC)25%

Scheduled Castes (SC)15%

Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)10%

Scheduled Tribes (ST)7.5%

Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD)4%

Mains Admission Scale: The number of candidates admitted to the Main Examination is about 12 to 13 times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in that year.

3. Plan of Examination (Compulsory Stages)

Stage I

Preliminary Examination (Screening Only)

• Comprises two compulsory objective papers of 200 marks each (Total 400 Marks, 2 hours duration each, set in Hindi & English).
• General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) is qualifying in nature with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
• Marks obtained in Prelims act as screening and are not counted for final order of merit ranking.
Negative Marking: One-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question is deducted as penalty for wrong answers. Leaving a question blank has no penalty.

Stage II

Main Written Examination (Descriptive)

• Intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding rather than mere memory. Marks will not be allotted for superficial knowledge.
• Comprises 7 compulsory papers for merit (1750 Marks) and 2 qualifying conventional language papers (300 Marks each).
• **Qualifying standard** for Paper-A (Indian Language) and Paper-B (English) is fixed at 25% marks.
• Candidates who clear the written cutoff (summoned at twice the number of vacancies) move to the Personality Test.

Stage III

Interview & Personality Test (275 Marks)

• Purpose is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent, unbiased observers.
• Evaluates mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, logical exposition, balance of judgment, social cohesion, and moral integrity.
• It is a natural, directed, and purposive conversation rather than a strict cross-examination. No minimum qualifying marks are fixed.