Royal Academy

ABC

IAS

About UPSC

  • The UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) is a prestigious examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)in India.
  • It consists of three stages: Preliminary Exam(MCQs), Main Exam (written), and Interview. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) are three of the most preferable services under this.
  • Apart from these Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS), Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES), Indian Information Service (IIS), Indian Postal Service (IPoS), Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS), Indian Railway Protection Force (IRPF), Indian Trade Service (ITrS), Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS), Indian Economic Service (IES), Indian Statistical Service (ISS), Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) and Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICAS) are the other Civil Services.
  • Application Form Availability: Mid- Feb to 1st week of March
  • Preliminary Exam Date: May
  • Main Exam Date: September
  • Personality Test: Typically conducted from February to April of the following year
  • Frequency: The UPSC CSE is held once a year.

 

Overview

The UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) consists of three stages:

1. Preliminary Exam (Objective Test)

Conducted on a single day, it includes two papers: General Studies I (with 100 questions) and General Studies II (CSAT, with 80 questions). Only candidates who clear the Prelims’ cut-offs in General Studies I and score at least 33% in General Studies II are eligible for the Mains.

2. Main Exam (Subjective Test)

 

 

·         It is the subjective stage of the UPSC Exam. It has nine theory papers.

·         4 General Studies Papers

·         2 Optional Papers

·         2 Language Papers

·         1 Essay Paper

·         Out of these nine papers, language papers are of qualifying nature. 

·         The candidate has to select one optional subject from the list of 48 subjects. 

·         One can select any one official language of India as the medium of writing this exam. 

3. Personality Test (Interview)

The final stage involves an interview to assess the candidate’s personality, communication skills, and suitability for administrative roles.

“Final rank of a candidate in merit list is depends upon the marks scored in second stage only i.e. written and Interview.” 

Eligibility Criteria and Age Limit

Minimum Age Requirements

21

 Maximum Age Limit

General – 32

OBC – 35

SC/ST – 37

 

Number of Attempts

 

General – 6

OBC – 9

SC/ST- Unlimited upto the age limit

Educational Qualification

Graduation

Nationality

Indian Citizen Only

 

Selection Process

The UPSC IAS Examination comprises two stages:

  • Stage-I Preliminary Examination (Prelims): 

This stage consists of two objective-type papers – General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (CSAT). The marks obtained in this stage are qualifying in nature and are not counted for the final merit.

 

  • Stage-II Main Examination (Written and Interview):

This stage is further divided into two stages, i.e., the written descriptive examination and the personality test.

The Written Exam consists of nine subjective papers, including a qualifying paper in any Indian language and English, followed by seven papers on various subjects. Marks obtained in the Mains and the Interview are considered for the final selection.

UPSC CSE Mains (Interview): Candidates who qualify for the Mains are called for an interview, which assesses the candidate’s personality, communication skills, and suitability for the civil service.

 

Exam Pattern

There will be a prelim examination to select the most qualified candidates for the main exam. Candidates who pass the preliminary examination will be considered for the main examination.

Preliminary Examination

  • Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions), and each will be of two hours duration. 
  • The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. 
  • The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.  
  • There will be a negative marking of ⅓ marks for each wrong answer.

Subject

No. of Questions

Marks

Exam Duration

Paper I – General Studies

100

200

2 Hours

Paper II – Aptitude Test (CSAT)

80

200

2 Hours

Total

180

200

 

Main Examination

  • The UPSC mains test will be of the descriptive variety.
  • Each paper will last three hours. Candidates applying for scribe will be allowed an additional 30 minutes.
  • The language papers (Mains Paper A and Paper B) are of the qualifying variety.
  • Candidates may select one optional subject from a list of 48 options provided by UPSC.

Paper

Subject

Marks

Exam Duration

Qualifying Papers

Paper-A

Compulsory Indian language

300

3 hours

Paper-B

English

300

3 hours

Papers to be counted for merit

Paper-I

Essay

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-II

General Studies-I

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-III

General Studies-II

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-IV

General Studies-III

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-V

General Studies-IV

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-VI

Optional Subject – Paper 1

250 Marks

3 hours

Paper-VII

Optional Subject – Paper 1I

250 Marks

3 hours

Total

1750

 

Optional Subjects

(i) Agriculture

(xiv) Management

(ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science

(xv) Mathematics

(iii) Anthropology

(xvi) Mechanical Engineering

(iv) Botany

(xvii) Medical Science

(v) Chemistry

(xviii) Philosophy

(vi) Civil Engineering

(xix) Physics

(vii) Commerce and Accountancy

(xx) Political Science and International Relations

(viii) Economics

(xxi) Psychology

(ix) Electrical Engineering

(xxii) Public Administration

(x) Geography

(xxiii) Sociology

(xi) Geology

(xxiv) Statistics

(xii) History

(xxv) Zoology

(xiii) Law

(xxvi) Literature in any one of the following languages:

Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.

 

Best Books

History

 

  • India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
  • Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
  • NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)
  • NCERT XII (Modern Indian History)
  • India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
  • India after Independence by Bipan Chandra

Geography

  • Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
  • NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
  • NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)
  • World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)

Indian Polity

  • Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
  • NCERT IX-XII

Economics

  • Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
  • Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
  • NCERT XI

Disaster Management

  • Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill

Security

  • Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar

International Relations

  • NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)
  • Current Affairs

Ethics

  • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary

Current Affairs

  • The Hindu or The Indian Express Newspaper
  • Yojana and Kurukshetra Magazine

CSAT

  • Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
  • Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

 

Why to join us?

  • Experienced Faculty: Teachers with in-depth knowledge and teaching experience.
  • Comprehensive Study Material: Well researched and regularly updated study resources.
  • Structured Course Plan: A well-planned curriculum covering all aspects of the syllabus.
  • Regular Classes: Consistent and punctual classes with sufficient time for doubt clearance.
  • Practice Tests and Mock Exams: Regular assessments to simulate the actual exam experience.
  • Personalized Attention: Small batch sizes or individual focus for better understanding.
  • Technology Integration: Utilization of digital tools and resources for enhanced learning.
  • Doubt Clearance Sessions: Separate sessions for clarifying doubts and reinforcing concepts.
  • Performance Tracking: Regular evaluation and feedback to monitor progress.
  • Results-Oriented Approach: A focus on achieving high scores and selection in top institutions of India.

Syllabus

Detailed UPSC Syllabus

Corresponding Links

Prelims Syllabus

 

Mains Syllabus

 

Optional Subject (List and Syllabus)

 

Updated Soon!

UPSC Civil Services Previous Year Question Papers

UPSC Prelims Question Papers

UPSC Mains Question Papers

UPSC Optional Subject Question Papers

UPSC CSAT Question Papers

₹ 86,000

 

Level         Basic To Advanced
Duration                    10 Months
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