UPSC Civil Services Examination is considered among the top competitive exams of India. Hence, it is very important that the UPSC Civil Services Exam pattern is well known to all its aspirants. Commonly known as the IAS exam, UPSC Civil Services Exam syllabus is a must known thing if you really consider yourself as an aspirant.
The UPSC Civil Services Examination (UPSC CSE) is a nationwide competitive conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) among many others.
For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.For other services, a candidate must be either:—(a) a citizen of India, or(b) a subject of Nepal, or(c) a subject of Bhutan, or(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or(e) 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 (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
Candidate applying for civil service exams is required to fulfill the following criteria:
A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination.
The Civil Service Examination pattern can be segregated into three stages:Stage I: A Preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II also popularly known as Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT)Stage II: After that, Mains examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) typeStage III: And a personality test (interview).
The preliminary examination, now popularly known as the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) (officially it is still called General Studies Paper-1 and Paper-2), intends to focus on analytical abilities and understanding rather than the ability to memorize.
*The total marks shown here are considered for merit ranking purposes.
The written examination consists of nine papers, two qualifyings, and seven rankings in nature. The range of questions may vary from just one mark to sixty marks, twenty words to 600 words answers. Candidates who pass qualifying papers are ranked according to marks and a selected number of candidates are called for an interview or a personality test at the Commission’s discretion.
One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate from the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
To be written in the medium or language of the candidate’s choice. The candidate is required to write an essay on a specific topic.
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations
Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of optional subjects.
Officially called the “Personality Test“, the objective 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 evaluate the mental caliber of a candidate.
The subjects available for Mains Papers VI and VII are:
There is no specific syllabus for IAS interview. In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only a candidate’s intellectual qualities but also social traits and interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, the balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, the ability for social cohesion, LEADERSHIP, and intellectual and moral integrity.