HOW TO APPLY FOR CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION


Civil Services Examination is the most prestigious examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various All India Services including I.A.S., I.P.S., I.F.S.,I.R.S., and various Group A Services and Group B Services.

(1) Plan of Examination

Normally notifications are invited in leading News Papers during December every year.

The Civil Services Examination consists of three stages.

  1. Civil Services Preliminary Examination ( Objective Type) (Usually conducted in May)
  2. Civil Services Main Examination (Written) (Conducted during October/November)
  3. Interview and final Selection (During April/May)


A. Preliminary Examination:             It has two papers.
Paper I -General Studies 150 Marks Questions are               Objective Type
Paper II -Optional Subject 300 Marks
  (Out of 23 Optional Subjects )  
B. Scheme of Main Examination

Normally 2.5 to 3 Lakh candidates take the Preliminary Examination. From among them 6000 are selected to write Main Examination.

Written - 2000 Marks (Descriptive Type Question)

Paper I One Indian Language 300 Marks- Matriculation School

Do not count for Ranking

PaperII   English 300 Marks – (Qualifying Nature)
Paper III Essay 200 Marks

=2000 Marks

Paper IV & V General Studies 300 Marks for each Paper
Paper VI & VII Optional Subject I 300 Marks for each Paper
Paper VIII & IX    Optional Subject II 300 Marks for each Paper
Interview 300 Marks

= 300 Marks

TOTAL               =    2300 Marks

Note: 

  1. Ranking is done on the basis of marks scored for a total of 2300 Marks
  2. In main, all the above (except English) may be written in Tamil also.
But the medium should be the same for all the subjects. 
2. Minimum Educational Qualification:

Degree of any recognized university. However candidates studying in final year examination may apply for Preliminary. When he applies for Main Examination, he shall be a Graduate.
3. Age Limit:

Minimum Age: 21 as on 1st August during which they will write Exam.

Maximum Age: 30 for OC, 33 for OBC and 35 for SC.
4. Number of attempts:

General Candidates 4

OBC 7

SC/ST No Limit
5. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
List of Optional Subjects for Preliminary
Agriculture, Animal Husbandary & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law,Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology.
6. MAIN EXAMINATION
a) List of Optional Subjects for Main:
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Adminstration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology.

 literature of one of the following languages:
Arabic, Assamese, Bodo,Bengali, Chinesse,Dogri, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani,Maithili,Malayalam, Manipuri,Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit,Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
b) Candidates will not be allowed to offer the following combinations of subjects:
i) Political Science & International Relations and Public Administration
ii) Commerce & Accountancy and Management
iii) Anthropology and Sociology
iv) Mathematics and Statistics
v) Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science.
vi) Management and Public Administration.
vii) Of the Engineering subjects, viz., Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering - not more than one subject.
viii) Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science and Medical Science.
  1. All the question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type.
  2. Each paper will be of three hours duration.
7. Interview Test:
The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his career. He will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the Interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership intellectual and moral integrity.
8. Reservation

Scheduled Caste (SC) - 15.00%

Scheduled Tribe (ST) - 7.50%

Other Backward Community - 27.00%
Among OBC, those coming under 'Creamy Layer' are not eligible for reservation.
Persons having gross annual income of Rs. 1 lakh or above or possessing, wealth above the exemption limit as prescribed in the Wealth Tax Act for a period of three consecutive years; ( income from salaries or Agricultural Land shall not be clubbed) come under Creamy Layer.