All you need to know
About UPSC
The UPSC Exam
IAS as a Career
The IAS (Indian Administrative Service) is considered as one of the most prestigious job profile in the country. There are 24 services offered through the Civil Services Exam, such as IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IPS (Indian Police Service), IFS (Indian Foreign Service), IRS (Indian Revenue Service), among others.
What is the UPSC?
Eligibility for UPSC CSE
The educational qualification needed to appear in UPSC Civil Services Exam is a Graduation Degree in any subject from any University recognized by UGC.
Age Limit for UPSC CSE
The Minimum Age to appear in UPSC Civil Services Exam is 21 years as on 1st August of that year. Upper Age limit for General Category is 32 Years, for OBC it is 35 Years while for SC/ST it is 37 years.
It’s essential for aspirants to carefully check the official UPSC notification for the specific age criteria and relaxations applicable for the year they plan to appear for the examination.
UPSC Exam Pattern
The UPSC exam is divided into 3 stages – Prelims, Mains Examination & Personality Test (Interview).
UPSC Exam Scheme
Preliminary Examination
| Compulsory | Topic/Subjects | No. of Questions | Duration of the Test | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Studies | Geography, Polity, Economy, History, Environmental Ecology, General Science and Current Affairs | 100 | 2 Hrs | 200 |
| CSAT* | Comprehension, Logical Reasoning and General Mental Ability | 80 | 2 Hrs | 200 |
* This exam is of qualifying nature.
Mains Examination
| Paper | Title of the Paper | Duration of the Test | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I | Essay Writing | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper II | General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies –III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio- diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies –IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude) | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper VI | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper VII | Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 3Hrs | 250 |
| Paper VIII | English (Qualifying) | 3Hrs | 300 |
| Paper IX | Scheduled Language (Qualifying) | 3Hrs | 300 |
Personality Test
| Personality Test | 275 |
|---|---|
Note:
- 25 Subjects and 23 languages are offered by UPSC as Optional Subjects.
- Final Selection is done on the basis of merit list calculated out of 2025 Marks from Mains + Personality Test.
- Marks of Qualifying Papers are not counted for final selection.
Rank List of UPSC
The final rank list is prepared by adding the marks obtained in the Main Examination (1,750 marks) to the marks obtained in the Personality Test (275 marks), resulting in a total of 2,025 marks. The candidates are then ranked based on their total marks in descending order to determine their position in the final list.
Attempts
Number of attempts permissible for a General Category candidate in UPSC Civil Services Exam is 6, for OBC candidates the number of attempts permitted is 9, SC/ST category will have unlimited attempts till they attain the upper age limit to appear for UPSC Civil Service Exam.
Important Dates for UPSC Exam
| Date of Prelims Exam - May/June | Declaration of Mains Results - January/February |
| Result of Prelims Exam - August/September | Personality Test - March/April |
| Commencement of Mains Exam - October | Final Result - May/June |
List of Services - UPSC Posts
The 3 Types of Civil Services
The UPSC CSE Exam is considered as the most prestigious exam in India.
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
- India Police Service (IPS)
- Indian Forest Service (IFoS)
- Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
- Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
- Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
- Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
- Indian Information Service (IIS)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
- Indian Communication Finance Services (ICFS)
- Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
- Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
- Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
- Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
- Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
- Indian Trade Service (ITS)
- Railway Protection Force (RPF)
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
- DANICS
- DANIPS
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service
Centres for UPSC Exam
Centres for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination:
| Agartala | Gorakhpur | Patna |
| Agra | Gurugram | Port Blair |
| Ajmer | Gwalior | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| Ahmedabad | Hyderabad | Puducherry |
| Aizawal | Imphal | Pune |
| Aligarh | Indore | Raipur |
| Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) | Itanagar | Rajkot |
| Aurangabad | Jabalpur | Ranchi |
| Bengaluru | Jaipur | Sambalpur |
| Barelly | Jammu | Shillong |
| Bhopal | Jodhpur | Shimpla |
| Bilaspur | Jorhat | Siligudi |
| Chandigarh | Kochi | Srinagar |
| Chennai | Kohima | Thane |
| Coimnbatore | Kolkata | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Cuttack | Kozhikode (Calicut) | Tiruchirapalli |
| Dehradun | Leh | Tirupati |
| Delhi | Lucknow | Udaipur |
| Dharwad | Ludhiana | Varanasi |
| Dispur | Madurai | Vellore |
| Faridabad | Mumbai | Vijayavada |
| Gangtok | Mysore | Vishakhapatnam |
| Gaya | Nagpur | Warangal |
| Gautam Buddh Nagar | Navi Mumbai | |
| Ghazibad | Panaji (Goa) |
Centres for Civil Services (Mains) Examination:
| Ahmedabad | Delhi | Patna |
| Aizawal | Dispur (Guwahati) | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| Bengaluru | Hyderabad | Raipur |
| Bhopal | Jaipur | Ranchi |
| Chandigarh | Jammu | Shillong |
| Chennai | Kolkata | Shimla |
| Cuttack | Lucknow | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dehradun | Mumbai | Vijayawada |
