IAS Exam
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Eligibility Criteria
- The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification
- For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
- For other services, a candidate must be either:
- A citizen of India,
- A subject of Nepal,
- A subject of Bhutan,
- a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India.
- A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Srilanka, 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.
- If a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favor a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
- The candidate must be completed 21 years on 1st August of the year, which a candidate is appearing. Maximum 30 for general category, 33 for OBCs and 35 for SCs/STs. Ex-servicemen will get 5 more years exemption from the prescribed age limit.
Mode of Entrance Exam
The IAS exam is a two-stage exam consisting of Preliminary Examination and Main Examination. The prelims are objective type while the mains are written exams followed by interview.
Prelims are held around the months of May-June and the main examination is held in the months of October and November. The preparations for the mains should be started along with the prelims, as one does not get much time after the prelims to prepare for the mains.
Four attempts are allowed to sit for the examination. A candidate appearing for the prelims or even in a single paper, it is considered as an attempt.
The preliminary exam has two papers. The first paper is of General Studies consisting of 150 marks. The second paper on the other hand is of an optional subject and is of 300 marks. Students can select from the subjects for paper two are as follows of which one is to be selected: Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Agriculture, Indian History, Law, Botany, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Geology, Indian History, Medical Science, Philosophy, Law, Mathematics, Political Science, Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, Statistics, Zoology, Public Administration, Sociology.
The papers are objective type with the questions set in both English and Hindi. The optional subjects have the level of degree courses. The duration is two hours. Extra 20 minutes are given to the blind candidates for each of the papers.
Application procedure
The UPSC have developed an application form common for all their examinations, which will be processed on computerized machines. This application form along with an Information Brochure containing general instructions for filling up the form, an acknowledgement card and an envelope for sending the application is obtainable from the designated Head Post Offices/Post Offices throughout the country as against cash payment of Rs. 20/- (Rupees twenty only). Form should be purchased from the designated Post Offices only and not from any other agency. This form can be used only once and for only one examination.
