Civil Services Exam: Your Key to Success!

The Civil Services Exam is a competitive exam that is held at a national level and is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as a recruitment prerequisite to a variety of Civil Services posts (24 in total) which include the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Revenue Service, Indian Foreign Service andIndian Police Service.

The UPSE Civil Services Exam is one of the toughest exam in the world to crack with a success rate of just 0.1%-0.3% as thousands of candidates appear for the exam.

There are various criteria a candidate must fulfil in order to be eligible for giving the Indian Civil Service Exams. These are as follows:

Nationality

When it comes to the Indian Administrative Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.

As for the Indian Foreign Service and other services including Indian Revenue Service, a candidate should fulfil one of the following criteria:

(i) An Indian Citizen

(ii) A refugee from Tibet who arrived in India before 01/01/1962 and permanently settled in India.

(iii) A citizen of either Nepal or Bhutan.

(iv) A person (Indian origin) who has migrated from other countries (Mynmar, Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Ethopia, Vietnam, Tanzania or Malawai with the intention of settling permanently in India.

Age

Minimum age is 21 years

Maximum Age varies for different categories

i. For General: maximum age 32 years

ii. For SC/ST: 37 years

iii.For OBC: 35 years

iv. For Physically Disabled: 42 years

Education

A graduate degree from any university recognised by state or central government.

An Open University degree.

Final year graduation students or students waiting for their final results can also apply. ( a proof confirming their passing degree before final selection)

A candidate who recieved degree through correspondence/distance education.

The selection process is a two part process which can be categorised as:

Prelims

The prelims comrpises of two objective type exams. Each exam carries 200 marks weightage but this is only a screening exam. This implies that the marks you score in this segment are not considered in the final merit list.

Paper 1- General Studies

Time: 2 Hours

Qualifying marks: 33%

Paper 2- Civil Services Aptitude Test

Time: 2 Hours

Qualifying marks: 33%

For both the exams, wrong answers carry a negative of 1/3rd the marks allotted to that question.

Mains

The MAIN examination comprises Written Test And Interview.

The Written test has a total of nine papers which are as follows:

(i) English -300 Marks

(ii) Essay - 250 marks

(iii) General Studies -1 [History and Geography of the world, Indian heritage and Culture] - 250 marks

(iv) General Studies -2 [Governance, Polity, Constitution, Social Justice, International Relations] - 250 marks

(v) General Studies -3 [Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security/Disaster Management, Technology] - 250 marks

(vi) General Studies -4 [Aptitude, Integrity and Ethics] - 250 marks

(vii) Optional Subject -1 - 250 marks

(viii) Optional Subject -2 - 250 marks

(ix) Language Paper- 300 marks

Interview

The personality test (interview) is then conducted for candidates who crack the Mains Exam. This comprises of 275 marks.

As per the official notification from UPSC, this year the vacancies that can be filled post the result declaration are around 1080 inclusive of reservations for the P.H. Category which is likely to be around 34. This number is subject to change as per Government norms.

Preliminary Exam: 7th August, 2016.

Mains Exam: Starts 3rd December onwards.

Visit the official UPSC page here.

The application needs to be submitted only and directly to the commission irrespective if the candidate is already a government official.

If you are a male candidate, you need to pay INR 100 for the application. There is no fees for female, SC/ST and physically handicapped applicants.

Amp your knowledge and practice real time exams to get a good grasp of the paper. Practice here.

Brush up topics on history, geography and Indian polity here thanks to TYC Online.

Get your daily doze of general knowledge and test your skills here.

Give yourself ample practice before the prelims and mains exam. Click here to take a mock test.

Purchase a package from Clear IAS Exam for thorough understanding of concepts and various topics before the exam. Click here.

Purchase a variety of UPSC practice exams to make sure your preparation is on point. Click here.

Register with Pre Exam to take a variety of mock exams and give yourself the preparation you deserve. Click here.

Thanks to Drishti, you can keep your focus on the IAS like an eagle and crack it thanks to a host of mock tests. Click here.

Super Profs helps you get coaching and guidance from IAS toppers and experts and makes sure your preparation is on point for crackign the exam.

To enroll with Super Profs, find out about them here.

Career Launcher has custom made test series designed especially for students to help them crack the exam be it the prelims, mains or helping candidates prepare for the interviews.

T.I.M.E. offers around 150 hours of classroom teaching along with exceptional study material. Apart from this T.I.M.E. also conducts a variety of revision and doubt clearing sessions making sure that concepts are driven home with clarity.

BYJU's has a team of excellent IAS trainers who are extremely suited for guiding and coaching students by providing valuable information, tips and study material required for cracking the UPSC CSAT. Learn shortcuts, strategies and attend workshops to give yourself thorough preparation with BYJU's.

ALS has achieved over 2200+ ranks in the IAS merit list in the past 15 years making them one of the leaders in IAS coaching. They not only give personalised attention to students but also assign academic mentors making sure students have their doubts cleared at all times.

Institute of Mathematics Sciences

Pragnya IAS Academy

Classic IAS Academy

Destination IAS Academy

IAS Vision

Chanakya IAS Academy

Lakshya IAS Academy

Academy of Competitive Examinations

Udaan Coaching Institute

Analogue IAS Institute

Mumbai Institute for IAS civil service examination preparation

Academy of Competitive Examinations

Chahal Academy

Chanakya IAS Academy

J.J. Tutorials

Lakshya Academy

Veer Academy

Aspirant's Group

Career Book Store

Yuva Upnishad Foundation

Achiever IAS Classes

Pragnya IAS Academy

National IAS Academy

Global IAS Academy

Discovery IAS Academy

Impact IAS Academy

Shankar IAS Academy

Pragnya IAS Academy

Officers IAS Academy

Vetrii IAS Study Circle

Eva Stalin IAS Academy

Indian IAS Academy

Time: The CSAT Exam is quite extensive which aims to test your knowledge on a variety of subjects which is why it is important you study well in advance for atleast 12 months to be able to cover a variety of topics and have indepth knowledge for the General papers as well as the CSAT exam.

Mental Preparation: The Civil Service Exams are no joke and if you are planning to sit for them, you must make sure you are absolutely certain and have a determined mind set to crack it. Taking it up as a hobby or just giving it a lousy shot isn't enough. The competition out there is quite stiff.

Topics of Focus: It is important to focus on topics like art, culture, ecology and the environment as the past trends have shown that a heavy number of questions appear from these topics.

Mock Exams:It is important to give yourself good practice before the prelims and mains and you can do that by taking atleast 1-2 mock tests a day in order to be thorough with different kind of questions and be able to strategise your strengths and weaknesses.

MBA Background:It is important to remember that the CSAT exam is quite different from the CAT exam and those with an MBA background should not take the exam too lightly.

Selection of Books:It is important to have the right study material in order to be able to crack the UPSC exam. Go through top books to give yourself a good headstart for the exam.

Make Notes:It is important to make your own notes while studying rather than borrowing them from friends or class mates as this not only helps you prepare better by writing things down, it also comes in handy during revision time.

Current Affairs:It is important to keep yourself updated everyday by reading the newspaper, journals and good magazines to know what is going on not only in India but also globally.

A student is always haunted and confused when it comes to deciding what subjects he or she should choose while sitting for the mains. Here are a few tips to help you make that choice:

(i) Interest: This goes without saying but it is important to take subjects that actually interest you even if they are more difficult. Chances are, you will score better in a subject you already enjoy than having forcefully taken subjects that might have been scoring for others.

(ii) Familiarity: It is important to have familiarity with the subject and try opting for papers you have studied atleast till a graduate level to be able to grasp concepts faster and better. Also, keep in mind that having lost touch with the subject matter might require you to spend more time and effort in mastering it again.

(iii) Play to your strengths: Every individual and candidate has a different set of skill sets. If you are good at remembering a huge amount of data, go in for subjects like History and if you have a good crack at business, statistics etc. you can opt for subjects like Economics. Play to your strengths and comfort.

(iv) Study Material: Before opting for a subject, make sure there is ample study material available for having a smooth experience rather than having to run around to get the books you need.

(v) Balance: Try opt for subjects that not many peopple are likely to opt for as the compeition level tends to remain pretty high. Balance it out by taking a few off the course subjects which you know can play to your strenghts.

With a huge emphasis being laid on the general studies paper, one must keep in mind the following tips to help ace it better:

Paper I-Indian culture and heritage, History, Geography and the World Society

(i) Be sure to cover the entire syllabus as almost every information is critical. Be sure to study past year papers to be able to judge a pattern and know what the focus points should be.

(ii) Indian Heritage and Culture will cover both ancient and modern times and hence relevant emphasis should be laid on both topics.

(iii)When it comes to World Society, it is important to lay stress on the economic aspect of the world as well as India. Questions could also be based on Human Development and UN reports on the same. Be sure to also go through World Bank Reports.

Paper II-Constitution, Government, Polity and Internation Relations

(i) Cover aspects of government work and policies that affect the day to day life of commoners as well as cover the topic from the aspect of social work.

(ii) One should be thorough with the budgetary and monetary support being provided by the government and what projects they are funding be it projects related to farmers or projects related to atomic energy.

(iii)Be sure to brush up on India's relations with major economies of the world be it USA, China, USSR or Europe. Study how world politics and economy affects India and what kind of treaties and alliances India has formed in the past.

Paper III-Technology, Bio-diversity, Environment, Economic Development, Security and Disaster Management.

(i)It is important to cover medical and scietific breakthroughs in the past one year especially on topics like stem cell research, water preservation and non renewable energy sources and other advancements.

(ii) Economics will heavily cover the tax laws, taxation policies and both the monetary and fiscal policies of the government to bring about economic change.

(iii)With a huge change in the environment and major catastrophes hitting the globe, valuable questions can come from this segment as well which is why it is important to study thoroughly on major disasters in and around India, what government spend has gone into handling the disaster and what other courses of action can be taken.

Paper IV-Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

(i)It is a generalised paper and a few basic concepts need to be cleared. Focus on topics revolving around black money, corruption, money laundering etc. to cover this segment.

(ii) The aptitude segment will need more hardwork as it revolves around understanding statistics, diagrams and graphs which will require good practice.

(iii)The ethics and integrity section is general but is designed to test you which is why you should be careful when answering questions.

Civil Service Exam:

General- 4

OBC-7

SC/ST-No Restriction

IFS Exam:

General- 4

OBC-7

SC/ST-No Restriction

There are no restrictions on any other exam conducted by the Commission.

Yes, provided the candidate passes out with the required educational qualification from a recognised university, he or she can apply.

Yes a candidate is free to choose the subject he or she wishes.

No, an attempt will only be counted when the candidate sits for at least one of the prelim examinations.

A candidate is given the choice to opt for an Indian Language and he may ask for the same language or English or Hindi for conducting the interview.

The page can take time due to internet issues or because a large number of applicants are trying to apply at the same time. If this issue occurs, refresh the page or try again later at an off peak hour for successful registration.

Click here to know the latest syllabus for the exam.

If the paper is not legible, there will be a deduction from the total marks.

Yes the candidate is eligible for giving the exam.

The fees can be deposited at any SBI branch.

Once the candidate successfully registers online, both Part-1 and Part-2 of the application are automatically registered with the Commission. He or she need not send a hard copy of the application.