संघ लोक सेवा  आयोग द्वारा सिविल सेवा की परीक्षा हर साल तीन चरणों में आयोजित की जाती है । तीनो चरणों ( प्रारंभिक परीक्षा , मुख्य परीक्षा और साक्षात्कार ) में सफल अभ्यर्थी की प्राथमिकता और वरीयता के हिसाब से आई.ए.एस. , आई.पी.एस. , आई.एफ.एस., आई.आर.एस. तथा अन्य केंद्रीय सेवाओं के लिए चुना जाता है । अंतिम चयन में स्थान बनाने के लिए अभ्यर्थी को कड़ी मेहनत और नियमित अध्ययन की आवश्यकता होती है । चूँकि चुने जाने के बाद प्रशासनिक अधिकारी के तौर पर काम करना होता है तो आयोग ऐसे अभ्यर्थी को चुनने का प्रयास करता है जो पद की चुनौती और गरिमा के अनुकूल हो । द्वितीये प्रशासनिक
आयोग के सिफारिश के बाद तो आयोग द्वारा पाठ्यक्रम में बड़ा बदलाव किया गया है ।आयोग ने यह बदलाव इस प्रकार से किया है
कि अभ्यर्थी की परीक्षा सिविल सेवा में आनेवाले चुनातियों के हिसाब से शुरुआती चरण से ली जा सके । सिविल सेवा परीक्षा की तैयारी के लिए सामान्यत: दो से तीन वर्ष का समय पर्याप्त माना जाता है, परन्तु यह भी आवश्यक है कि एक अभ्यर्थी अपने पठन/पाठन तथा उसकी विषयवस्तु की समझ व आधारभूत आवश्यताओं का पालन करें। यदि ऐसा हो तो इस परीक्षा में सफलता मिलने की संभावना और अधिक बढ़ जाती है, और यह योजना एक अभ्यार्थी अपनी स्नातक शिक्षा के साथ-साथ बना व समझ सकता है।
प्ररंभिक परीक्षा सिविल सेवा परीक्षा का पहला व एक महत्वपूर्ण चरण है। इस परीक्षा में प्रत्येक वर्ष तकरीबन चार से पांच लाख से अधिक अभ्यार्थी भाग लेते हैं, किन्तु कुल 15 से 20 हजार अभ्यार्थी ही मुख्य परीक्षा के लिए अर्हता प्राप्त कर पाते हैं।
यह परीक्षा वस्तुनिष्ठ होती है, जिसमें दो पेपर हुआ करते हैं।
 प्रथम प्रश्न पत्र : प्रश्न = 100, कुल अंक = 200, समय = 2 घंटे। (सामान्य अध्ययन – राजनीति विज्ञान, विज्ञान, इतिहास, भूगोल, सामयिक घटनायें इत्यादि।)
 द्वितीय प्रश्न पत्र : प्रश्न = 80, कुल अंक = 200, समय = 2 घंटे। (तार्किक क्षमता एवं योग्यता इत्यादि।)
सिविल सेवा की तैयारी कैसे ?
सिविल सेवा के कठिन परीक्षा को देखते हुए हर अभ्यर्थी के मन यह सवाल उठता है कि इस परीक्षा की तैयारी कैसे किया जाये ? यहाँ
कैरियर प्लस के अपने 21 बर्षो के अनुभव के आधार पर हम कुछ सलाह व सुझाव दे रहे है जो अभ्यर्थी को तैयारी में मदद कर सकता
है-
कैरियर प्लस की ओर से तैयारी शुरू कर रहे छात्रो को सलाह दी जाती है की सबसे पहले अपनी अवधारणा बनाने पर ध्यान देना चाहिए।  उम्मीदवारों को विषयागत तैयारी एनसीईआरटी की मूलभूत पाठ्यपुस्तकों के साथ शुरू करनी चाहिए। यूपीएससी के वर्तमान मामलों के हिस्से को कवर करने के लिए हर दिन अख़बार पढ़ना शुरू करें। उम्मीदवारों को यह नहीं भूलना चाहिए हर
दिन उन्हें रिवीजन (Revision)  करना है, जो भी अध्ययन किया है उसे संशोधित करना चाहिए और किसी भी कीमत पर इस कार्य को अनदेखा नहीं करना है। ।
बदले हुए पाठ्यक्रम में समसामयिक मुद्दो का महत्व बढ़ गया है इस तथ्य को ध्यान रखते हुए छात्र को नियमित रूप एक राष्ट्रीय अख़बार पढ़ना चाहिय , साथ ही  समाचार बुलेटिन सुनना लाभप्रद होगा ।
 प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के लिए पिछले साल के प्रश्नो का अभ्यास करना और मुख्य परीक्षा के लिए उत्तर लिखने का अभ्यास इस परीक्षा के लिए बेहतर रणनीति होगी ।


प्रारंभिक परीक्षा- सामान्य अधययन प्रथम प्रश्नपत्र
 सबसे पहले अभ्यर्थी को यह ध्यान देना चाहिए कि सामान्य अध्ययन प्रथम प्रश्न पत्र में अब प्रश्नो की संख्या घट कर 100 हो गयी है। जिसके लिए 200 अंक निर्धारित है।
 विगत तीन वर्ष से इस प्रश्न पत्र में सामान्य विज्ञान ,अर्थव्यवस्था ,पर्यावरण ,भूगोल ,राजनीतिक व्यवस्था आदि टॉपिक से ज्यादा प्रश्न पूछे जा रहे है ।
 अभ्यर्थी को सामान्य विज्ञान के लिए 6 ठी से 10वी तक की NCERT, अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए 11वी और 12वी की NCERT के साथ आर्थिक समीक्षा , पर्यावरण के लिए इग्नू के नोट्स,भूगोल के लिए NCERT के साथ महेश कुमार बर्णवाल की किताब ,भारतीय राजनीतिक व्यवस्था के लिए सुभाष कश्यप और एम लक्ष्मीकांत की किताबो का अध्ययन लाभदायक होगा। साथ ही अभ्यर्थी को पिछले वर्ष के प्रश्न पत्रो को हल करना चाहिए ।
 प्रारंभिक परीक्षा- सामान्य अधययन द्वितीय प्रश्नपत्र
 वर्ष 2011 मे सिविल सेवा (प्रारम्भिक) परीक्षा के पाठ्यक्रम में बदलाव किया गया । बदले हुए पाठ्यक्रम में वैकल्पिक विषयों को हटाकर CSAT को द्वितीय प्रश्न पत्र के रूप में लाया गया । अब प्रश्नो की संख्या घट कर 80 हो गयी है । जिसके लिए 200 अंक निर्धारित है। अब यह प्रश्नपत्र क्वालीफाइंग प्रकृति का हो गया है, अगर इसमें पास नहीं हुए तो प्रथम प्रश्नपत्र को जांचा नहीं जाएगा।यानि कि आप परीक्षा से बाहर हो जाएंगे।
 पिछले परीक्षा के प्रश्न पत्र का विश्लेषण करने के बाद जिस भाग से सबसे ज्यादा प्रश्न किए ये उनमें परिच्छेद, विश्लेषणात्मक तार्किक क्षमता, डाटा विश्लेषण, निर्णयन क्षमता, अंग्रेजी भाषा परिच्छेद हैं ।
 अभ्यर्थी यदि सामान्य अध्ययन के द्वितीय प्रश्न पत्र में बोधगम्यता, मानसिक योग्यता, डाटा विश्लेषण, अंग्रेजी बोधगम्यता, निर्णय क्षमता आदि टापिक में लगातार अभ्यास करे तो वह अच्छा प्रदर्शन कर सकता है और प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा में सफलता को प्राप्त कर सकता है |
 अभ्यर्थी को प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के पाठ्यक्रम के हर टॉपिक को रटने के बजाय समझने पर ध्यान देना चाहिए ।
 अभ्यर्थी को अपने तैयारी के दौरान सबसे पहले अपने कमजोर और मजबूत पक्ष को समझना चाहिए , फिर इसी के अनुसार अपनी तैयारी की रुपरेखा तैयार करनी चाहिए ।
 सी- सैट के प्रश्न पत्र में सबसे बड़ा फायदा है कि इसकी तैयारी पुरे वर्ष करने की आवश्यकता नहीं पड़ती । इसकी तैयारी ३ से ४ महीनों में की जा सकती है । सी- सैट के प्रश्न पत्र में अभ्यास के द्वारा बेहतर परिणाम हासिल किया जा सकता है ।
विषयों का चयन  
 कैरियर प्लस में आने वाले हर दूसरे अभ्यर्थी की समस्या वैकल्पिक बिषय के चयन की रहती है।याद रहे कि इस परीक्षा में विषयों का चयन एक अतिमहत्वपूर्ण चरण होता है और इसी पर आपकी तैयारी व सफलता निर्धारित होती है, अत: विषय
चुनते समय स्वयं ही निर्णय लें क्योंकि किसी भी विषय का अध्ययन असंभव नही है, अपितु अभ्यार्थी की उस विषय में रुचि ही सफलता पाने का प्रथम व मूलभूत आधार है।   आम तौर पर यह पाया गया है कई छात्र अपनी स्नातक शिक्षा में चयनित विषयों मे से ही एक विषय इस परीक्षा के मुख्य चरण के लिये चुनते है, और विषय निर्धारित करने के उपरांत अभ्यार्थी को अपनी स्नातक शिक्षा के चलते ही चयनित वैकल्पिक विषय का अध्ययन शुरू कर देना होता है।
इसके लिये छात्र उस विषय के अनुरूप किताबें व अध्ययन सामग्री का चयन कर सकते हैं।  सिविल सेवा परीक्षा का पाठ्यक्रम विशाल होने के कारण हमें वर्ष भर अध्ययन करना होगा, और इसलिए  आपको इस योजना को सफल बनाने के लिये कठिन प्रयास करने होंगे और इसीसे आप इस विशालकाय पाठ्यक्रम को सफलता पूर्वक पूरा कर सकेंगे। इसलिये
अध्ययन अवधि को धीरे-धीरे बढ़ाये और परीक्षापयोगी तथ्यों का रट्टा मारने के बजाय उसकी विषयवस्तु को समझें और अपनी अवधारणात्मक समझ को बढ़ायें तभी इस परीक्षा में सफलता पाना संभव हो सकता है।  वर्तमान में भूगोल, लोकप्रशासन, इतिहास, अर्थशास्त्र, राजनीतिक विज्ञान व भाषा साहित्य से संबंधित बिषय ज्यादा लोकप्रिय हो गए हैं
क्योंकि हर विधा के अभ्यर्थियों को यह सहज लगते हैं व सामान्य अध्ययन व निबंध की तैयारी मे में बहुत उपयोगी है।
 अनुज अग्रवाल,निदेशक, कैरियर प्लस

Before starting your actual preparation you should have some adequate time in hand to cover the syllabus that is why you should start at least 10 to 12 month in advance.
Some students ask that they can prepare for prelims in just 3 or 4 months time. Well, you can only prepare for the prelims in 3 or 4 months. But only if you have prior experience or gotten through the prelims before and covered the entire syllabus once. Then you can obviously prepare in just 3 month depending on your preparation level or caliber. But, if you are new or fresher in this entire civil services examination process. Then you should start preparing for the prelims ideally before 10 to 12 months in advance. In that first 3 to 4 months self study and after that you may join a coaching institute for prelims cum mains preparation. In Career Plus we start with Mains cum Prelims preparation of GS along with Optional subject preparation and cover-up all syllabuses in seven to eight months. After prelims exam we focus only on revision part and practice session. We also provide special tips for General Hindi/Indian language and General English papers including Essay.
Before joining coaching institute Next step is to go through the entire prelims Syllabus of General Studies Paper – 1 & Paper 2 and syllabus of mains G.S., just to get the overview of whole prelims syllabus. So, assess the syllabus and If you don’t want to get the book. But it’s always better to have a book in hand. There is always better you can readily refer to it. You cannot login to your computer every time or internet while preparing, that is a distraction in itself. So handy books will always help you.
Next step included to know your comfort level with the exam. If you are a complete beginner to the entire IAS exam then you might be wondering; Am I capable of clearing this exam? Of course, you are very much capable even if you don’t have any basic knowledge. But having some basic knowledge will help you.
Another point in the Planning Process. After gone through the complete syllabus is to get right Books, Magazines & Newspaper for your prelim preparation. As well as the Newspaper is concerned, I always suggest any reputed English/Hindi national newspaper. News papers. As far as magazines are concerned, read one good Current Affairs magazine, like Civil Services Chronicle, Just one is enough. But, along with the current affairs magazine also read any political magazine too, questions are asked in mains particularly. You can skip the political and ideological part of it and concentrate on the Environment, Science & Technology part.
UPSC Prelims 2019 – Exam Pattern
The UPSC Prelims comprises of two objective type papers (General Studies I and General Studies II or CSAT) for a total of 400 marks. Both papers are usually held on the same day in two sessions via offline mode (pen-paper).
The UPSC Prelims date for Admit Card was announced on the official website of UPSC 2-3 weeks before the date of the exam.
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern General Studies I General Studies II or CSAT
Number of questions 100 80
Negative Marking Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)
-0.66 marks for every incorrect answer Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)
-0.83 marks for every incorrect answer
Duration of exam 2 hours 2 hours
UPSC Prelims 2019 Date of exam June 2, 2019 June 2, 2019
Language of exam English/Hindi English/Hindi
Maximum marks 200 200
Cut Off marks Counted for Merit. Cutoff varies every year. 33% qualifying criteria (66 marks)

IMPLEMENTATION is the second part of prelims preparation. Now you have got the syllabus, right books, subscribed to the newspaper and magazines. So, once you start preparing for the prelims, How you should? You should not try to cover entire syllabus at once or all the topics like, trying to read History, Geography, Polity, General Mental Ability everything at once. You know, this is not a right approach.
The right approach is to pick one topic in Paper – 1 and pick 1 topic from Paper – 2 and you can divide it accordingly or may be study Paper – 1 in the morning and Paper – 2 by afternoon or in the evening. But don’t go more that 2 topics. Let’s say you pick Modern India History from Paper – 1 & General Mental Ability from Paper – 2 and prepare this simultaneously. Apart from these you should develop a habit of reading newspapers from at least minimum one hour everyday without fail and this is more than adequate.
Focus on the particular topics like:
• Editorials
• News articles of National interest
• Sports news
• Business news
• And Science & Technology, these are the important topics.
Whenever you start with a topic, you should complete it before starting a new one and it is very important. This will help you in the third step of preparation.
Importance of Testing – Many people actually leave the Testing part, but testing part of your preparation is basically like taking MOCK Test, attempting the previous year’s questions and that is the part of testing right till the end. But by that time, it is very very late to attempt course corrections because if you identified your weakness or you found that you are not prepared well for the particular part of the subject. Then in the date when you actually prepare a new topic. Once you have covered a topic, refer the past Ten Years question papers on that topic. In Career Plus we always use this strategy. Joining a coaching will help you in this. And if you find that you have left certain topics and not covered very well, again you can go in through that, so you can attempt Course Correction right at that time itself. This is very good instead of leaving it. Getting passed in very easy, just have to do these basics in the right way. Obviously Hard work is involved but that Smart Work, If you can do that you will surely succeed in prelims.
BOX
Ranking 5th in the index of Toughest Exams in the World, the Civil Service Examination, conducted by UPSC is the dream of about half the youth of our nation. This fact is established with these figures:
 Registration: More than 10 lakh aspirants/year;
 Preliminary Exam Takers: Around 4.5 Lakhs/year;
 Those who pass Prelim: Around 15000/year;
 Those who pass mains: 3000/year;
 Those who find mention in rank list after interview: 1000/year.
 Note: As 49.5% seats are reserved, if you are from general category, you may need to be in the top 50% to ensure a place in the final rank list.

The All India Services (AIS) comprises Civil Services of India, namely the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Forest Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS). A common unique feature of the All India Services is that the members of these services are recruited by the centre (Union government in federal polity), but their services are placed under various State cadres, and they have the liability to serve both under the State and under the centre. Due to the federal polity of the country, this is considered one of the tools that make union government stronger than state governments. Officers of these three services comply with the All India Services Rules relating to pay, conduct, leave, various allowances etc.
The Central Civil Services (CCS) is concerned directly with the union non-political executive administration and is the permanent bureaucracy of the federal Government of India.
Most of the specialized fields in civil services in India belong to the central services. The Central Civil Services are classified into Group A and Group B, both of which are gazette.
In 2015, the Government of India approved the formation of Indian Skill Development Service. Further, in 2016, the Government of India approved the formation of Indian Enterprise Development Service.
The recruitment of the CCS (Group A) is made through :

Civil Services Examination,
Engineering Services Examination,
Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist Examination,
I.E.S. /I.S.S. Examination

Combined Medical Services Examination,

Central Armed Police Forces of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

All promotions or empanelment in the CCS are either by Civil Services Board or by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

In the Civil Services Examination , the minimum qualifying standards/marks secured by the last recommended candidate in various categories at various stages are as under:-

Exam                  General    EWS         OBC        SC           ST          PwBD-1     PwBD-2    PwBD-3    PwBD-5
CS(Prelim)**    98.00          90.00         95.34       82.00       77.34       53.34           44.66          40.66          61.34
CS(Main)#         751           696          718           706          699           663               698            374            561
CS(Final)           961           909          925           898         893             861              890            653             708

* Cut-off marks are subject to changes, as may be necessitated by the orders that may be passed by the Hon’ble Courts in matters pending before them. Category-wise recommendations details shall also be uploaded after conclusion of pending court cases.
**Cut off marks on the basis of GS Paper-I only. GS Paper-II was of qualifying nature with 33% marks as per Rule-15 of Civil Services Examination.
#
Subject to 10% marks in each of the seven competitive papers i.e. Essay, GS-I, GS-II, GS-III, GS-IV, Optional-I and Optional-II.

Click here to see the data

Cadre Allocation Policy – Five Zones

There are five zones in which state cadres/joint cadres have been divided:

State Cadres/ Joint Cadres for UPSC – All India Services
Zones	State Cadres
Zone-I	AGMUT, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana
Zone-II	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha
Zone-III	Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh
Zone-IV	West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura
Zone-V	Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Aims of the New UPSC Cadre Policy

The New Cadre Allocation Policy aims to fulfill three main goals of the Government of India and the State Governments:

1. Increase national integration
2. Rationalise vacancies according to IAS cadre strength
3. Increase efficiency of administration by redistributing officers from surplus states to deficit states.

UPSC Cadre Allocation Policy Simplified

The UPSC allots IAS cadres based on the following procedure:

1. The cadre controlling authorities for IAS (Department of Personnel and Training, IPS(Ministry of Home Affairs) and IFoS(Ministry of Environment, Forests Climate Change) should determine their respective vacancies, including unreserved and reserved categories based on procedures established by them.
2. The IAS Cadres are now grouped into five zones which are mentioned above in the article.

The candidates should indicate their UPSC Cadre preference in the following order:

1. Preference for Zone
2. Preference for cadre
3. The process should be repeated for each Zone and Cadre in the order of preference.
4. If the UPSC Candidate fails to indicate their preference for one or more cadre of UPSC, it is presumed that they have no particular preference for that specific Zone or UPSC Cadre and the following may happen:
   1. The candidate may be allotted a zone and cadre which has been indicated by them based on their merit rank if enough vacancies are available.
   2. If the candidates have not been allotted any cadre for which they have indicated their preference, they will be allotted cadres with other such candidates in the following way:a) The cadre will be allotted based on merit ranking of the remaining candidates on vacancies remaining after cadres have been allocated to other candidates who have indicated their preference.b) The cadres will be arranged in alphabetical order for the purposes of allotment.

For example, if candidate X and candidate Y have not indicated their preference, cadre A and cadre B have vacancies remaining and their order of merit is:

Rank 1: Y

Rank 2: X

The candidate Y will be allotted cadre A and candidate X will be allotted cadre B.

1. Physically disabled candidates have an additional option of indicating their UPSC Cadre preference from any one state/cadre (apart from home cadre) from his first preferred zone.
2. Home Cadre in UPSC will be allotted on merit, preference and availability of vacancies. For this candidates should indicate their home zone and home cadre for IAS Cadre Allocation or they would not be considered for home cadre at all.
3. Cadre allocation has three steps:

1. 1. Insider vacancies are filled first based on category.
   2. Candidates eligible for home cadre are allotted UPSC cadre after insider vacancies are filled.
   3. Outsider vacancies will be filled next.

1. A reserved category candidate who gets selected on general merit is eligible to be allocated an unreserved vacancy based on his merit and preference. If an unreserved vacancy is not available for their first preference, they will be allotted a UPSC Cadre from reserved vacancies based on availability, merit and preference.
2. UPSC Cadre Allocation is done before commencement of training for IAS officers proceeding for the Foundation Course at LBSNAA and for IPS and IFoS as soon as the appointments have been made.

UPSC Cadre Allocation Policy seems very complicated, but the only stage where candidates get involved is when they indicate their preference. Preference for an IAS cadre and zone should be indicated carefully as the UPSC cadre controlling authorities do not entertain any change in preference after application. Also, if one forgets to indicate even one preference, their cadre allocation is done as the last priority, which means that the candidate may not get the preferred cadre even after securing a high merit ranking. Preparing for the Civil Services Exam well and being attentive during the UPSC Online Application process will get candidates the posting of their choice.

STATE CIVIL SERVICES

The ‘State Civil Services’, also known as ‘Provincial Civil Services’ provide a lucrative alternative to the All India Services like the IAS, IPS and IFS.

Every State has a separate ‘Public Service Commission’ which is responsible for conducting competitive examinations to recruit new candidates into a particular State’s Civil Service.

Get an Overview of the Government Jobs in India.

Through a State Civil Service Examination, the different categories in which you get jobs initially are mentioned below:

State Civil Services, Class-I (SCS)

State Police Service, Class-I (SPS)

Block Development Officer

Tehsildar/Talukadar/Asstt. Collector

Excise and Taxation Officer

Distt. Employment Officer

Distt. Treasury Officer

Distt. Welfare Officer

Asstt Registrar Cooperative Societies

Distt. Food and Supplies Controller/Officer

Any other Class-I/Class-II service notified as per rules by the concerned State.

A majority of these jobs are executive in nature and you will directly be responsible for implementing the State Government’s plans, schemes and programs.

Initially, the kind of jobs you get in the State Civil Services range from Sub-Divisional Magistrates/Deputy Collectors, Land Acquisition Collectors, Additional District Magistrates, Municipal Administrators, Under/Deputy Joint Secretaries, Deputy/Joint /Additional Directors or Assistant Commissioners in the State administration. In case of State Police Services, recruits generally get the job of a Deputy/Additional Superintendent of Police.

All India Services

All appointments to All India Civil Services are made by the President of India.

• Indian Administrative Service(IAS)
• Indian Forest Service(IFS)
• Indian Police Service(IPS)

Central Services

Group A

The Central Civil Services (Group A) are concerned with the administration of the Union Government.[24]All appointments to Central Civil Services (Group A) are made by the President of India.

·         Archaeological Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Border Roads Engineering Services ·         Botanical Survey of India, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Architects Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Engineering (Civil), Group ‘A’ ·         Central Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical), Group ‘A’ ·         Central Health Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Revenues Chemical Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Secretariat Service o    (a) Selection Grade o    (b) Grade I ·         General Central Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Geological Survey of India, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Corporate Law Service ·         Indian Defence Accounts Service ·         Indian Foreign Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Meteorological Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Naval Material Management Service ·         Indian Posts and Telegraphs Traffic Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Revenue Service – o    (a) Customs Branch (Indian Customs Service, Group ‘A’) o    (b) Central Excise Branch (Central Excise Service, Group ‘A’) o    (c) Income Tax Branch (Income Tax Service, Group ‘A’) ·         Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Salt Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Mercantile Marine Training Ship Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Directorate General of Mines Safety, Group ‘A’ ·         Overseas Communications Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Survey of India, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Telecommunication Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Zoological Survey of India, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) ·         Indian Ordnance Factories Heath Service (IOFHS) ·         Indian Frontier Administrative Service, Group ‘A’ (a) Railways, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Railway Accounts Service

·         Indian Railway Personnel Service ·         Indian Railway Service of Engineers ·         Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers ·         Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers ·         Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers ·         Indian Railway Stores Service ·         Indian Railway Traffic Service ·         Indian Railway Medical Services ·         Railway Protection Force o    (a) Grade I o    (b) Grade II ·         Central Legal Service (Grades I, II, III and IV) ·         Railway Inspectorate Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Foreign Service, Branch (B) (erstwhile)- o    (a) General Cadre, Grade I o    (b) General Cadre, Grade II ·         Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service, Grade I. ·         Indian Inspection Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Supply Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Information Service – o    (a) Selection Grade o    (b) Senior Administrative Grade o    (c) Junior Administrative Grade o    (d) Grade I o    (e) Grade II ·         Indian Statistical Service ·         Indian Economic Service ·         Telegraph Traffic Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Water Engineering Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Power Engineering Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Civil Accounts Service ·         Labour Officers of the Central Pool, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Posts and Telegraphs Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’ ·         Indian Broadcasting (Engineers) Service ·         Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services, Group ‘A’ ·         Central Secretariat Official Language Service, Group ‘A’

 

Group B

For Group B posts, the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). All appointments to Group B are made by the authorities specified by a general or special order of the President.

• Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services
• Botanical Survey of India, Group ‘B’
• Central Electrical Engineering Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Engineering Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Excise Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Health Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Power Engineering Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Secretariat Official Language Service, Group ‘B’
• Central Secretariat Service, Group ‘B’ (Section and Assistant Section Grade officers only)
• Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service, (Grade I, Grade II and Selection Grade officers only)
• Customs Appraisers Service, Group ‘B’- (Principal Appraisers and Head Appraisers)
• Customs Preventive Service, Group ‘B’ – (Chief Inspectors)
• Defense Secretariat Service
• DANICS, Grade II
• DANIPS, Grade II
• Geological Survey of India, Group ‘B’
• Indian Foreign Service, Group ‘B’ – (General Cadre, Grade I and General Cadre, Grade II only)
• Indian Posts and Telegraphs Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘B’ Telecommunication Wing.
• Indian Posts & Telegraphs Accounts & Finance Service, Postal Wing, Group ‘B’
• Income Tax Service, Group ‘B’
• Indian Salt Service, Group ‘B’
• India Meteorological Service, Group ‘B’
• Survey of India, Group ‘B’
• Postal Superintendents’ Service, Group ‘B’
• Postmasters’ Service, Group ‘B’
• Railway Board Secretariat Service, Group ‘B’
• Telecommunication Engineering Service, Group ‘B’
• Telegraphs Traffic Service, Group ‘B
• Zoological Survey of India, Group ‘B’

How to become an IAS officer?

Even though the exam to be undertaken is popularly known as the IAS exam, it is officially called UPSC Civil Services Exam. The UPSC CSE consists of 3 stages – Prelims, Mains, and Interview.

Getting into Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is not easy considering the competition involved, but not impossible for a candidate with the right attitude and approach.”

Civil Services Examination (CSE)

UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is the government agency responsible for selecting the right candidates for this service. Every year only around 1000 candidates are selected for all the 24 services combined

The number of candidates who applied for UPSC Civil Service Exam each year is approximately about 10 lakh, out of which around 5 lakh candidates appear on the exam day (prelims).

UPSC Civil Services Examination is widely considered as the toughest exam in the world, considering the exam duration (extends 1 year), depth of the syllabus and the competition involved.

The exam has 3 stages:

• The first stage of the exam – Preliminary (objective) – is usually conducted around June.
• The second stage, Mains (written), is conducted around September-October.
• Those who clear Mains will have to face an interview/personality test during the March-May period.

The final result usually comes in May end.

How to Clear Civil Services

To clear the IAS Exam, aspirants are advised to have a long-term strategy. Though most of the serious candidates start preparation 9-12 months before the exam date, there are candidates who successfully achieve top ranks with only a few months of dedicated study.

What matters in the UPSC Civil Services Exam is not the duration of the preparation, but the quality of the same.

A disciplined and focused mind with a passion for learning and reading is the basic trait of all successful candidates. The UPSC Civil Services exam is more a test of the analytic and presentation skills along with knowledge gained by the candidate rather than a test which checks a candidate’s mathematical or verbal skills.

To clear IAS, we feel two entities as essential:

1. Right guidance– for prelims and mains.
2. Right study materials and books.

IAS Salary – IAS Officer Salary Structure

In this article, we have discussed in-depth the IAS salary in India, and also the pay scale/salary structure of IAS officers after the 7th Pay Commission recommendation.

The basic per month salary of an IAS officer starts at Rs.56,100(TA, DA, and HRA are extra) and can go on to reach Rs.2,500,00 for a Cabinet Secretary.

A career in the Indian Administrative Service is one of the most sought-after professions in India. Every year, lakhs of people take the UPSC Civil Services Exam but only a handful clear the exam and an even smaller number make the cut as Indian Administrative Service officers.

There are a lot of things that attract youngsters in the country towards a life in the civil service. Apart from the pride and honour that comes with being a career civil servant or diplomat, the IAS salary and benefits that come along with the responsibilities and powers are also a factor.

IAS Exam Eligibility Criteria

The educational qualification needed to appear in UPSC CSE is a degree (graduation) in any subject. Final year students can also apply. Aspirants may go through the article to the eligibility criteria for writing UPSC CSE exam.

IAS Exam Number of attempts permitted

The number of attempts permissible for a general category candidate in UPSC CSE is 6. For OBC candidates the number of attempts permitted it 9. SC/ST category candidates will have unlimited attempts till they attain the upper age limit to appear for UPSC CSE.

IAS Exam Age Limits

The minimum age to appear for UPSC Civil Services Exam is 21 years. Upper age limit for General category is 32 years, for OBC it is 35 years while for SC/ST it is 37 years.

IAS syllabus

A good understanding of UPSC syllabus and exam pattern is the first step for all fresher.

The Civil Services Preliminary exam comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper-II). The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type. The marks in prelims will not be counted for final ranking, but just for qualification for the main exam.

A candidate’s rank in UPSC Civil Service Exam depends only on the mark scored in Main and Interview.

The written examination (main) will consist of the following nine papers, but only 7 papers will be counted for final merit ranking. For the rest two papers, the candidate should secure minimum marks prescribed by UPSC each year. The main exam has 1750 marks while interview has 275 marks.

Career Path of an IAS Officer

The career path of an IAS officer can be very interesting. Serving in the IAS, or Indian Administrative Service, is a job that offers lofty positions of power and status. No job is comparable to it. Even people with both IIT and IIM degrees fight hard to get selected for the merit list of the UPSC.

An IAS officer may get the chance to work for people at the subdivision and district levels during the earlier part of his career. Such an officer sees the implementation of the government policies at the grass-root level.

With seniority however, the officer will become more and more involved in policy framing. He goes from the districts to the capitals. He may go to the national capital. Read more to learn more about the career progression of a typical IAS officer.

The first thing one may wonder is what an IAS officer’s actual duties are. There is no specific duty for the IAS. It is a pure generalist service. The IAS should have multiple talents. He will have to do administrative jobs and development jobs during field postings. The IAS also maintains law and order as a SDO or DM.

During secretarial postings, the officer should learn how to be more diplomatic. A Secretary or Add /Jt. Sec oversees the functioning of a department of a state or the Central Government. These officers are expert in policy framing and implementations.

After training, the IAS officers are sent to their cadre regions on probation for a couple of years. IAS cadres are the regions where an officer is allocated. There are total of 24 cadres, like AGMUT, West Bengal, UP, Rajasthan, etc.

During the probation period, the officer will be attached to various government departments to learn how the government machinery works. The officer will have to keep a probationer’s diary to record what he/she has learned. The probation period ends with an examination.

SDM or SDO is the 1st posting of an IAS after probation period.

• Junior Time Scale— The newly recruited IAS officer starts at the Junior Time Scale salary. This is in the range of 15600 with Grade Pay 5400. The starting basic is 21000. There is also DA (Dearness Allowance) above the Basic Pay which is now 107% of the basic. The officer stays in the JTS for four years. After completion of the probation period, the junior officer is posted as a SDO / SDM (Sub-divisional Officer / Magistrate) at the Sub-division level of a district. The SDM is the administrative head of a sub-division containing 7/8 blocks.
• Senior Time Scale— After four years of service, the IAS officer is promoted to Senior Time Scale with Grade Pay of 6600. The officer gets two extra increments during this scale up gradation. He is given various types of posts like that of the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), CEO, Zilla Parishad or Chief Development Officer at this stage.
• Junior Administrative Grade—JAG officers get Rs 7600 as grade pay in the scale of Rs 15,600-Rs 39,100. An IAS is promoted to this scale after 9 years of service. He also gets two additional increments.After serving 2/3 years as the ADM, the officer is selected as the District Magistrate / Collector of a district. The collector looks after the development and law and order of the district. The post has wide visibility, power and status.Some of the officers are posted as a Joint Secretary of a ministry of the state. The Joint Secretary is a very important position to hold. If an officer goes to central deputation then he is given director post of a department.
• Selection Grade—The officer again gets two extra increments before being promoted to the next higher scale of pay, Selection Grade (Rs. 37,400-67,000 with GP 8700) after 12 years of service. He or She may remain a DM in the district or can become a Special Secretary of a Government department.
• Selection Grade—The officer again gets two extra increments before being promoted to the next higher scale of pay, Selection Grade (Rs. 37,400-67,000 with GP 8700) after 12 years of service. He or She may remain a DM in the district or can become a Special Secretary of a Government department.
• Super Time Scale—An IAS gets Super Time Scale (Rs. 37,400-67,000 with GP 10000) after 16 years of service. He /She will get the post of an Additional Secretary or Secretary of a department of a State Government. He may also become a divisional commissioner in field posting. In the Central Government, an officer of that seniority can get the post of the Joint Secretary of a ministry of the Government of India.
• Higher Administrative Grade—With the selection in Higher Administrative Grade or HAG, an officer is entitled to officer to draw a basic in the scale of Rs.67000 to 79000. An officer should have an experience of 25 years to go to this position.In states, an IAS of this grade can become a Principle Secretary of a department. If the officer works in the Government of India, then the rank will be of an Additional Secretary.
• Apex Scale—An officer with a minimum experience of 30 years can get the Apex scale i.e. the fixed basic salary of Rs. 80,000. The Secretaries of various departments of the Central Government gets this scale. The Chief Secretary of a state also gets this scale.
• Cabinet Secretary Scale—The Cabinet Secretary is the highest position of a government employee in India. There is always only one Cabinet Secretary in the Central Government. There is state equivalent of this post. He draws a fixed basic pay of Rs. 90,000.

Deputation

An IAS officer can go to the Central Government from the states on deputation. There are also many PSU and autonomous bodies where many IAS officers get deputation postings. These PSU postings can be immensely satisfying as the IAS officer gets the chance of running a professional company from the high managerial positions. There has been constant battle between IAS and other Group A services regarding share of such postings.

Some foreign deputations are also available for the IAS officers. There are various United Nations organizations, financial organizations like World Bank, IMF, ADB who offers deputation vacancies to IAS officers for foreign postings. He or she can also get the chance of working in the multilateral organizations like the Commonwealth, SAARC, WTO, International Court of Justice etc. Even NGOs with worldwide reputations like Red Cross or Ford Foundation also seeks the expertise of the IAS officers. The foreign postings are lucrative due to high salaries.

The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honors degree level i.e. a level higher than graduation and lower than PG.

Strategy for Fresher’s

At one or another instance everyone has to be fresher. As a fresher one first of all go through the notification of the exam but must not be panic by seeing the columns and columns of syllabus. Here coaching centre or your seniors or any portal like us will help you out. They could show you the right path. However there will be instances when you will feel that you know nothing other knowing a lot it is the sign to get into the preparation as soon as possible otherwise you might be lead in the another path, a path of frustration. Trust me it is not matter of intellectual but just time, you might be fresher they might have background. During initial phase just concentrate in your self-study and make your concept clear.

There are several myths about the Civil Services Exam it is some sort of hype around the examination. But as a fresher try to ignore such type of myths. It is commonly seen that a fresher always starts with some “Suggested Reading” here we should take care about who has suggested you, it really matters a lot because the whole examination preparation will depend on it. The real foundation will build here. At many instances he starts his preparation on a high note and works hard in the beginning but gradually he feels exhausted and the momentum slows down. Here is the real problem one need to stop here and is to keep going. Aspirants should be result oriented rather than exam oriented. In some disciplines selective study is helpful but it has its limitation. Try not to take attempt as to check the pattern of examination as it won’t help you in anyways. It may keep you chasing the Civil   service exam at your last attempt. Some aspirants have a funny idea that Civil Services can be cleared only in multiple attempts. Ignore all and take many examples that have cleared the exam in the very first attempt. Here are some suggestions for the freshers, firstly try to understand the whole exam and the very nature of the exam, keep yourself ready the preparation, believe strongly in yourself that you will clear the exam in the first attempt itself and never will compromise at any stage and if required at any time will work harder than ever before, the preparation should be started at least one year ahead of your first attempt, do not take your attempt unless you are confident of qualifying for the it all the way. Make your first attempt as your best one.

UPSC Prelims Preparation Books to Refer

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Important Sources (Follow any one newspaper for news items (preferably The Hindu); one for editorial (best Indian Express); and one Business newspaper – only editorials (best is Live mint).

• The Hindu
• The Indian Express
• Press Information Bureau (keep checking the Features section for imp articles and our weekly PIB Gist)
• PRS (only for recent Bills and articles related to them)
• IDSA: Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis (keep checking every 2-3 days for in-depth IR articles)
• Yojana and Kurukshetra (no need to read all articles – read selectively)
• LokSabha and RajyaSabha Debates
• Web Portal dialogueindia.in

OR

Yojana, RSTV and PIB Gist (If you refer to this alone, you will only need to read a daily newspaper)

 

2. HISTORY

Modern India

• NCERT – Class 8th (New) – ‘Our Pasts – III’
• NCERT-Class 12th ‘Modern India’ (OLD)
• Tamil Nadu Edition- Class 12th

OR

• Spectrum Modern India – Rajiv Ahir

Reference Book: India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra; Plassey to Partition by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay

Medieval India

• NCERT– Class 7th (New) –‘Our Pasts –II’
• NCERT– Class 11th ‘Medieval India’ (OLD)- Satish Chandra
• Tamil NaduEdition-Class 11th

Ancient and Medieval India –  Poonam Dalal Dahiya

 

Ancient India

• NCERT– Class 11th ‘Ancient India’ (OLD)- R.S. Sharma
• NCERT– Class 12th ‘Themes in Indian History- Part I’ (NEW)- Chapters 1 to 6
• Tamil NaduEdition – Class 11th
• Ancient and Medieval India–  Poonam Dalal Dahiya

NOTE: Most part of ‘Culture’ section overlaps with Ancient and Medieval History. Apart from the above mentioned books, you can refer the below link for more information on Culture.

You need to study CCRT Website –  CCRT ; Performing Arts and Literary Arts

3. GEOGRAPHY

• NCERT Social Science, Class 6th (New) ‘The Earth Our Habitat’
• NCERT Social Science, Class 7th (New) ‘Our Environment’
• NCERT Social Science, Class 8th (New) ‘ Resource and Development’
• NCERT Social Science, Class 9th (New) ‘Contemporary India’
• NCERT Social Science, Class 10th (New) ‘Contemporary India-Part II’
• NCERT – Class 11th (New)
  • Fundamentals of Physical Geography
  • India physical environment
• NCERT – Class 12th (New)
  • Fundamentals of Human Geography
  • India – People and Economy
• Atlas:Orient BlackSwan School Atlas (or) Oxford School Atlas

Reference Book: Certificate Physical and Indian Geography – Goh Cheng Leong; OLD NCERT Geography – Class 11th and 12th (if you can find them  )

4. POLITY

• NCERT – 6th to 8th (for basic understanding)
• NCERT- Class 9th to 12th (for understanding more on democracy and federalism)
• Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth

Reference Book: Introduction to Indian Constitution – D.D.Basu

5. ECONOMICS

• Macroeconomics- Class 12th , NCERT
• NCERT 11th – Indian Economic Development
• NCERT- Class 9thand 10th (for basics)
• Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh-Selective (Chapters on)

Introduction  (GDP, GNP, growth etc.)

• Evolution of the Indian economy
• Banking
• Inflation & Business Cycle
• Agriculture
• India and the Global Economy (include chapters relating to it)
• Human development
• Technology and environment

 

6. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The Hindu-Monday Edition (not technical news, only application based science & Tech)
• NCERT- Class 6th to 10th
• NCERT – Biology – 11th (Unit IV & V only – read basic concepts not technical details)
• NCERT Biology – 12th (Chapters 4, 5 and rest from 7 to 16 – all important – read line by line except technical details)
• NCERT – Biology – 12th (OLD) – Chapter 9 onwards
• NCERT – Physics – 11th (Chap 1,5 & 8) and 12th (Chap 15 only)
• NCERT – Chemistry – 11th (Chap 1 & 14 only) and 12th (Chap 14 & 16 only)
• Science reporter- Selectively

7. ENVIRONMENT

• ICSE Board- Environmental studies- Class 10th and 11th
• NCERT- Geography Books (in 6th to 12th there are lot of chapters on Environment)
• Science NCERT books mentioned above
• Shankar IAS Notes
• Current affairs
• downtoearth.in

8. SOCIAL ISSUES & NEW POLICIES/SCHEMES

• in(lists all schemes Ministry and sector wise with details)
• India yearbook
• NCERT books mentioned above
• Current affairs (also keep checking our weekly PIB Gists – very important)

Ending notes:

We will never make you restrict your choices. But the above is essential for a solid preparation.

There are people who qualify without even reading NCERTs or any most followed resources. The key to their success is smart study. They spend more time in chalking out what not to study than what to study.

If they follow one source, they keep on revising from the same along with complementing it with dynamic updates.

If you trust your resource, please stick to it. Never rush to fascinating books or suggested resources that are never ending. You are bound to fall. Because you are running behind them.

While NCERT books may sound deceptively simple, trust us, they are not!

Yes. There are many instances of candidates who cracked IAS without going any coaching – without spending sleepless nights and truckload of money at any coaching institutes

1. Best IAS Websites for UPSC Civil Services Exam Online Preparation
   1. clearias.com
   2. cleariasexam.com
   3. insightsonindia.com
   4. iasbaba.com
   5. careerplusonline.com
   6. civilsdaily.com
   7. gktoday.in
   8. byjus.com
   9. unacademy.com
   10. neostencil.com
   11. iasparliament.com
   12. visionias.in
   13. iasscore.in
   14. drishtiias.com
   15. pmfias.com
   16. afeias.com
   17. dhyeyaias.com
   18. studyiq.com
   19. IASexamportal.com
   20. civilserviceindia.com
   21. iaspassion.com
   22. iaskracker.com
   23. jagranjosh.com
   24. iastoday.in
   25. iassquad.in

There is a web of upsc that is http://www.upsc.nic.in go and have papers.

IAS Preliminary Exam: It has two papers of objective type and carries a maximum of 400 marks. There are two papers in the preliminary exam. Paper-II (CSAT) in the IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33% in this paper to qualify for the next stage of the IAS exam i.e. the Mains.

IAS Exam Pattern for Prelims

• The Prelims stage of IAS consists of 2 compulsory papers- General Ability Test (GAT) and the Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT). This will test the analytical skills of the candidates.
• All questions are objective in nature. Candidates are required to choose any one of the 4 answer choices given for each question.
• Questions are set in both English and Hindi Languages. However, questions relating to the English Language Comprehension skills of the class 10th level are tested through a passage from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
• IAS Prelims is a qualifying exam. Candidates have to get a minimum of 33 % to be qualified for the Mains.
• The number of candidates to be admitted to Mains is about twelve to thirteen times the total an approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.

Here are the highlights of IAS Exam Pattern for Prelims:

IAS Exam Pattern for Prelims
Exam Mode	Offline
Number of Papers	2- General Studies and Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT)
Number of Questions	Paper 1- 100; Paper 2- 80
Question Paper Type	Multiple Choice Questions
IAS Prelims Total Marks	400
Nature of Exam	Qualifying
Exam Duration	2 hours each, +20 minutes for blind students
Exam Language	English and Hindi

IAS Marking Scheme for Prelims

• Each question in the General Studies paper carries 2 marks.
• Each question in the Civil Service Aptitude Test paper carries 5 marks.
• For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (0.33)of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.
• If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happens to be correct and the penalty will be the same as mentioned above for that question.
• If a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is given by the candidate; there will be no penalty for that question.
• Paper-II (CSAT) in the IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33 percent in this paper to qualify for the next stage of the IAS exam i.e. the Mains.

Negative Marking

The aspirants may get negative marks in the IAS Prelims Exam. More specifically, in the case of three incorrect answers, the aspirants will get a deduction of 1 mark. That is, the aspirants will get 1/3 mark deduction for every incorrect answer. On the other hand, there will be no deduction if the candidates will leave blank any of the answers.

Top 10 optional subjects for UPSC

Considering various data given above, latest UPSC syllabus and recent IAS results, the top 10 optional subjects for UPSC can be listed as follows:

1. Sociology
2. Agriculture
3. Medical Science
4. Literature Subject (Any)
5. Anthropology
6. Public Administration
7. Psychology
8. Law
9. Geography
10. History

However, these are still broad indicators and IAS aspirants should consider the data with a grain of salt. The best optional subject for candidate A is not necessarily the same for candidate B. So, the question “Which Subject is best for IAS Mains Optional” has to be answered from an individual’s perspective.

How to choose an optional subject?

This is very important decision. Fortunately in the new format General Studies (GS) is much more important. So don’t take this decision at the beginning. First start preparing for GS and then after some time take this decision. Because in four GS papers you will be introduced to variety of optional subjects like History, Geography, Public Administration, Political Science and Sociology. This will help you to determine your inclination to a particular subject. Every subject has its own demand (i.e. thinking pattern, writing style, presentation techniques etc). Your personality should suit to it.

Following are some basic criteria’s

• Interest and understanding in the subject (about which you will come to know when you study for GS Mains)
• Analysis of the syllabus and previous years’ question papers of the shortlisted subjects
• Writing style and presentation techniques suitable for that particular optional (about which you will know once you start writing for GS and essay)
• Thinking Pattern expected for a particular optional (you will come to know about yours after you prepare for GS.)
• Availability of study material
• Availability of guidance
• Weightage of optional in GS
• Graduation background
• Apart from this, some give importance to the length of the syllabus.

The new shift in Civil Services Main examination has not resolved the dilemma of choosing the optional subject. The candidates keep on asking what subject they may take as optional to score high marks.

The popular choices among candidates are; Public Administration, Sociology, Geography, History, Political Science and Philosophy. More than 80% of the test-takers opt for these subjects. This is because all these subjects overlap with general studies. Among them Public Administration is the most popular choice. However, question remains do they fetch high marks?

There are some thumb rules for selecting the optional subject. First, you should not select the subject, if you are not comfortable with it. Normally one should select subject studied at the graduation level. The criteria of the choice of subject should be as per your interest, rather than having studied them at the graduation level.

Also keep in mind that you may have been proficient in a subject, but lack of touch may make it tougher to re grasp the same subject. This applies for technical subjects. In such case it is advisable to take a fresh subject. If you are engineering, medicine or science graduate and have been working for some time, you may have lost touch with your core subjects of graduation days. In such case it is advisable to take new subject which is easy to grasp.

The selection of a subject should be based on the availability of the study material. A huge study material is available for subjects such as History, Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Political Science, Psychology and Public Administration.

Remember, the competition is among the people who have opted for the same subject. The social sciences papers have huge number of takers and due to it scoring high marks in these subjects are extremely difficult. So if you are comfortable in a subject that has minimum rush, there are chances of scoring good marks is more.

However, it all depends on how much time you can spend every day on your optional subject. Even with the subjects of your liking some time is needed to prepare them. If you’re basic concepts of any science or technical subject is clear, then go for it, else opt for a social science subject. Many science, medicine and engineering students are opting for a social science subjects. They are easy to grasp provided you have a good memory.

The other rule of the selection of optional subjet is to analyze the syllabus thoroughly. After that look for the question papers of the previous years, and analyze its past trends. This has to be done at the very beginning and some time has to be spent on it to make a final call on it. Once you make up your mind selecting your optional subject, take a plunge into it and never regret of not choosing any other optional subject.

Last but not the least get some feedback/advice from those who have qualified examination on the subjects they had taken as optional to write their mains examination. You must ask them how much marks they scored in the two papers of the subject. Also take some tips on the study material and the way they went about its preparations. Sometimes, such views are printed in the competitive magazines, you have to go through them and develop your own ideas based on them in choosing an optional paper.

IAS Exam Pattern for Mains

• IAS Mains is also an offline exam. Each paper will carry 250 marks.
• Each paper is of 3 hours. 30 minutes are given extra to blind students.
• The exam will contain 9 papers. A candidate will be tested on the basis of their knowledge and understanding of the subject
• Questions will be subjective in nature. They will be given in both Hindi and English language.
• IAS Mains is further divided into two types – Qualifying Exam and Merit Exam. It is compulsory to appear in both.

Qualifying Papers- 

1. Paper A: (One of the Indian Languages to be selected from the ones included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution – 300 Marks)
2. Paper B: English – 300 Marks

Merit Exams- Candidates will have to score a minimum percentage in the qualifying exam to qualify for the exam. The question papers are prepared to test the intellectual and interpersonal skills of the candidate. The essay type questions will test the student’s understanding of the subject and the concept. The students will be tested on the strength of an Indian Language. There would be two optional papers that the candidates would have to select.

The following table will enrich the candidates for the compulsory papers, the marks allotted in which would be added to calculate Merit:

Paper	Title of the Paper	Marks Allotted
Paper 1	Essay writing	250 Marks
Paper 2	General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society)	250 Marks
Paper 3	General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)	250 Marks
Paper 4	General Studies –III  (Technology, Economic Development, Bio‐diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)	250 Marks
Paper 5	General Studies –IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)	250 Marks
Paper 6	Optional Subject – Paper 1	250 Marks
Paper 7	Optional Subject – Paper 2	250 Marks
–	Sub Total in the written Test	1750 Marks
–	Personal Interview	275 Marks
–	Grand Total ( for merit calculation)	2025 Marks

Check 

IAS Marking Scheme for Mains

• The total marks of the Mains Examination are 1750 marks.
• Candidates will be graded on the basis of opinion, Content flow, understanding the problems/ situation, offering feasible solutions/strategies, presentation, and language
• Candidates can choosetwo optional papers on which they will be questioned.

List of Optional Subjects

List of Optional Subjects in IAS Mains
Agriculture	Anthropology	Chemistry  /  Physics
Geography	History	Political Science & International Relations
Commerce & Accountancy	Economics	Management
Mathematics	Mechanical Engineering	Psychology
Public Administration	Sociology	Electrical Engineering
Law/ Philosophy	Zoology  /   Geology	Medical Science
Animal Husbandry& Veterinary Science	Botany	Civil Engineering

If you are a UPSC aspirant, you must have known that though the prelims questions are objective types, you have to answer the mains questions descriptively and the exam is taken in a pen-paper mode that means you need to answer using your handwriting. And you should keep it in your knowledge that though handwriting cannot fetch extra good marks still it is very crucial in mains examination along with your excellent writing skill.

• Though neat and clear handwriting cannot fetch extra marks but a poor and illegible writing would surely make you lose some marks. That’s why it is very important to have clear and readable handwriting to ensure good marks and to secure your seat for the interview call after the mains examination.
• If your poor handwriting makes your answer unreadable to the examiner, it might cause a problem. Because there is no point of causing strain to his or her eyes and making him annoyed. So, illegible handwriting can annoy the examiner and thus marks can be deducted.
• Since good handwriting with minimal scratches and cuts ensures the clarity of mind and thought of the candidates, this is always suggested to practice neat and clean handwriting.

How to improve your handwriting?

• Smaller handwriting causes strain to eyes while reading. So, keep the font sizes normal to avoid any trouble.
• The correct grip of pencil and pens is the key to having neat and clean handwriting. But as per our childhood practices, this is something that has been ingrained for so long years and it is difficult to change. But, when you are already on a journey of clearing the UPSC civil services examination which is happened to be one of the toughest all the time, you must be considering it to have a change that is needful to ensure your success.
• Pens causing blotches should be avoided and use the right kind of pen that is lightweight as well as produce neat and clean ink. You can even practice writing with the same pen that you will use on the examination to ensure smooth writing.
• When we start to write with more speed, we generally end up with illegible and unreadable handwriting. But the mains papers consist of descriptive questions and you have to write it down in a constrained time along with neat and clean handwriting, otherwise, it would not be decipherable to the examiner. So, keep practicing answer writing at home by ensuring a balance between speed and legibility. Otherwise, what is the point of writing a piece of good content when the answer is not even readable to the examiner?

As an adult, it is difficult to change your handwriting. But ample practice can do wonder. But always keep in mind that, the handwriting need not be aesthetically beautiful, but it is genuinely required to be readable and clean.

IAS interview is a half-an-hour exercise which can change your life. A high score in UPSC interview can sometimes create a difference of more than 100 marks with fellow candidates in just under 30 minutes. Being the last round, this would give one, an unassailable lead in India’s toughest competition – UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE).

Though the final rank list is prepared by taking the sum of UPSC mains marks and interview marks, very often we see that interview high-scorers top the final selection list too.

In this post, we present 25 golden tips for success in IAS interview.

1. Start early!

It is very important not to lose time. Start early. Don’t wait for the results of the UPSC Civil Services Main Exam. Start polishing your personality as early as possible.

2. Know your-self

The most crucial problem with us is that we don’t know ourselves fully. A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the hearts. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves. Try to know the different aspects of your personality, even hidden or unknown. If any of your personality traits do not suit an IAS officer, try to overcome that weakness.

3. Read your bio-data multiple times

Most of the questions in the UPSC interview will be based on the biodata of the candidate. Copies of the Detailed Application Form (DAF) will be shared with each of the board members. It is extremely important not to fumble on personal questions. Revise your bio-data many times and prepare well for questions from areas like hobbies, education, work experience, service-preference etc.

4. Develop a positive attitude

There are many myths and rumours about the IAS interview. You might have bad experiences from previous interviews as well. But don’t let negative thoughts to ruin your chances. Don’t worry about matters – interview board, position, questions etc. – which are beyond your control. Hope for the best.

5. Don’t take UPSC interview in a light spirit

Be serious about the process and questions. Give respect to the board members who take your personality test. Never underestimate the persons on the board. They have vast experience and knowledge. Don’t be too casual on serious questions.

6. Develop self-confidence

Everyone loves people with self-confidence. If you are sure about your beliefs, answers or solutions, express them confidently. But at the same time ensure that you don’t go overboard. Remember that the line between self-confidence and arrogance is very narrow.

7. Don’t lie

Don’t say lies to impress UPSC interview board. Never create fake facts in your bio-data. Very often they will catch you.

8. Improve your communication skills

Improve your command over the language for UPSC interview. If you search for words in the 25-30 minutes UPSC personality test, you may run short of time to express your ideas completely. Listening to debates and news on television channels is one practical way to improve communication skills. Also, start talking with your friends in the medium for UPSC interview.

9. Get straight to the point

Master the art of giving to-the-point answers. Very often, long answers can be condensed into crisp, but interesting statements. If you need more guidance on do’s and don’ts for IAS interview, read our article on civil services interview where we have mentioned about the books which help in UPSC interview preparation.

10. Don’t stop reading newspapers

Candidates often stop reading newspapers once the UPSC main exam is over. But, information about current happenings is very important for the IAS interview, just like the UPSC main exam. Have a general idea about the major happenings for last one year. Also, be familiar with the headlines and stories of the newspapers on the interview day.

11. Prepare well on your hobbies

Very often this is the first question UPSC interview board ask, many times in a light mood. Make sure you start well. Don’t give cliche answers. Hobbies help the interviewer to understand the personalities of candidates. Keep practising your hobbies till the last week before the UPSC interview.

12. Revise your optional subject

It is seen that many candidates tend to neglect their optional subject after UPSC CSE Mains. But UPSC interview panel may ask questions from your optional subject on the interview day. Brush up recent happenings related to your optional subject.

13. Go through your graduation textbooks

UPSC expects candidates to take their graduation seriously. As this is very important area, in which the interview panel perceives the candidates to have expertise with. So, more in-depth questions can come from this area.

14. Learn to give balanced answers

Your views should be balanced and impartial. This does not mean that you should not take a stand. Ideally, you should be without any political or social biases. Once you take a stand on controversial topics, be prepared with your justification for the same. Don’t give sweeping generalizations without a proper base.

15. Know your district and state

Questions may be asked about the district and state. Collect details about your birthplace. Know the problems in your village or city. Be prepared with solutions as well.

16. Keep calm

The questions may be from a wide area of topics/subject. You sometimes may not know answers of many. If you do not know anything about a topic you are asked, then admit that you do not have any idea. Don’t panic. Keep calm. Your emotional intelligence matters. Nobody knows about everything under the Sun. UPSC board obviously knows that.

17. Don’t compromise your moral integrity

UPSC not only measures one’s intellectual qualities but also social traits. Ensure that your moral integrity is sound.

18. Maintain a positive body language

Reinforce your spoken words through your body language. Avoid gestures which do not suit the occasion.

19. Understand the real ‘IAS interview questions’

Most of the questions forwarded as ‘IAS interview questions’ on the internet are not questions asked in UPSC interview.

UPSC says ‘The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers’.

Read Clear IAS UPSC toppers interview section to know about real UPSC interview experience.

20. Don’t be swayed by rumors

Many UPSC candidates are seen to be carried about by the rumors about the personality test. Certain boards are seen are tight in awarding marks while others are perceived as liberal. Though slight variations may come, in reality, all boards award high and low marks depending on the performance of the candidate on the date of UPSC interview.

21. Use common sense

Sometimes UPSC members ask questions which can be answered just by using common sense. But the stress on the interview day may hamper your thinking process. Realise that common sense is not common. Expect some puzzles which require on-the-spot critical or lateral thinking.

22. Dress neat

The first impression matters. But it is not necessary to wear expensive blazers or suits for UPSC interview. Be comfortable with what you wear. For gents, a light colored shirt and dark trousers should give a professional appearance. A simple churidar or saree is recommended for ladies. Whatever you wear, in that dress you should look confident and neat.

23. Re-check your documents

We advise to carefully verify the documents before-hand to avoid last-minute panic. Ensure that you have all the necessary documents ready. Read our article – checklist for UPSC interview – to know about the documents that should be brought in for IAS Interview.

24. Take mock IAS interviews

Rehearsals help to avoid common mistakes. Good mentors and friends can find your strengths and weakness and suggest necessary suggestions. IAS toppers like Gaurav Agarwal (2013 All-India Rank 1) has said that mock interviews help. They also help to improve your consistency. At the same time, care should be taken not to lose your genuine personality, because of the confusion created by different opinions from different people.

25. Be yourself

Don’t try to present before UPSC board a fake personality. Don’t mug up ready-made answers for UPSC interview. Be yourself and express your opinion.

Those candidates who successfully cleared UPSC Mains written exam will have to appear for UPSC Interview, also known as Personality Test. Unlike the Prelims (objective) and Mains (written exam), which is conducted at different centers across India, Personality Test is conducted only at the UPSC office in New Delhi (Dholpur House). As this will be a crucial day in the life of most of the candidates, its advisable to carefully verify the documents before-handover to avoid last minute panic. Ensure that you have all necessary documents ready.

Documents that should be brought in for IAS Interview

We have bullet pointed the documents needed for UPSC interview taking notes from the different PDFs in the official UPSC website (www.upsc.gov.in), as well as the previous year interview candidates. We advise all candidates to please re-check the same with official UPSC website each year.

Candidates are advised to bring the following documents for Civil Services Exam Interview to UPSC Dholpur House.

• Matriculation or equivalent certificate in original to verify the Name and Date of Birth.
• Self-attested photo-copy of Matriculation or equivalent certificate in original to verify the Name and Date of Birth.
• Degree certificate in original to prove education qualification (If original degree certificates are not issued, carry provisional certificates and/or mark-sheets).
• Self-attested photo-copy of Degree certificate in original to prove education qualification (If original degree certificates are not issued, carry provisional certificates and/or mark-sheets).
• Self-attested photo-copy of Degree in original.
• Mark-sheets of Degree in original (UPSC staff may not always ask, but carry along with you.)
• 2 passport size photographs that are taken recently. Self-attest one of them.
• E-summon letter print-out.

Additional documents (case by case basis)

• Caste/Tribe Certificate in original plus copy.
• Physical Disabilities Certificate in original plus copy. Also DWE certificate for PH-1(LDCP).
• Certificates in support of age relaxation for corresponding categories.
• PG degree/higher education certificates and mark-sheets.
• TA form – two copies plus proof of journey (for outstation candidates).
• Affidavit (in case of minor name discrepancies).

Documents needed for Medical Examination

• 8-10 passport size photos.
• Prescriptions or medical certificates if any (may turn helpful for eye check-up).

NB: After the medical exam, get the relieving letter from the concerned authorities.

Documents that need to be sent to DoPT

A copy of the attestation form duly filled plus six copies of the same, each signed in. Don’t forget to affix a signed passport size copy of a recent photograph on the same.

Extra Tips/Info regarding IAS/IPS/IFS

The below information is based on the experiences of past year interview candidates.

• Medical checkup normally happens on the next-working-day after the interview. But if your interview date is on Friday, the medical check-up may happen only on Monday (the next working day). Please be prepared for the stay.
• You cannot wear a watch inside UPSC interview hall.
• Better to keep mobile phones outside the UPSC premises.
• You will normally get newspapers inside UPSC hall.
• The office staff will verify your original documents and give it back on the same day itself, often before your interview starts.
• You don’t need to come up with certificates of extra-curricular achievements to UPSC hall. For last few years, candidates are allowed to enter UPSC interview room only free-hand.
• There are ample facilities for toilets and drinking water inside UPSC premises and there is no need to worry about those issues.

Experienced candidates who had attended UPSC interview are requested to bring in more insights if we missed any. Fresher’s who got calls for UPSC interview for the first time may ask the queries or concerns regarding UPSC interview in the comment section below

Not for UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam. But candidates will be allowed to use the Scientific (Non-Programmable type) Calculators at the subjective type examination of UPSC, i.e. Mains Exam.