The Indian Civil Service serves as the backbone of India and carries great respect and responsibilities. India's best brains vie far entry into the Indian Civil Services as officers. Even though corporate jobs may offer the best of salaries and perks, a majority of youngsters and their parents still crave entry to the prestigious Indian Civil Services held by the UPSC. The very fact that a big share of every year's top posts in the civil services exams are bagged by professionals from various streams, shows that the IAS is still the dream job for many.

The Civil Services Examinations conducted by the UPSC is one of the toughest in the world with only about 450 candidates selected out of more than 200,000 that appear ever year.

The examination is of two levels, Preliminary Screening Test & the Main Examination. Preliminary Screening test is of Objective Type and the Main examination has two parts namely Written Examination and the Personality test (Interview). Preliminary Screening test is only of qualifying nature and the marks scored in Preliminary Examination will not be taken for ranking.

The Preliminary Screening test comprises an Optional Subject paper and a compulsory General Studies paper. The optional subject has to chosen by the candidate from among the list of subjects prescribed by the UPSC.

The optional subject paper consists of 120 questions, each carrying 2.5 marks and the General Studies paper consists of 150 questions each carrying 1 Mark respectively. Therefore the preliminary exam is held for a total of 450 marks.

Yes. There will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by the candidate in the Preliminary Examination. There will be four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a candidate marks a wrong answer, "one third" (0.33%) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty. However, there will be no penalty for the questions which the candidate has left unanswered.

Every year the Preliminary Examination will usually held on the Third Sunday of May

Usually the results of the Preliminary Examination are published during the first week of August

If the candidate qualifies in the Preliminary exam, he is called for appearing in the Main examination.

Usually the Main Written Examinations are held during October/November every year. The exam usually begins on the last Friday of October & lasts for about 21 days

The Main examination comprises Nine Papers namely Two Papers in General Studies, Two Papers in the Two Optional Subjects you have chosen, one General Essay Paper, Two Language Papers, English & a language paper (the language given in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution, to be chosen by the candidate). These two papers are of qualifying nature, i.e_ the score in these papers will not be taken for ranking purpose but you have to qualify in these papers for other papers to be evaluated

These papers will be of Matriculation Standard that is equivalent to State Board Tenth Standard, level only.

In the main examination the candidate writes conventional, descriptive, essay type answers. In the optional papers, the question paper contains two sections A & B, consisting of four questions each. The candidate has to answer five questions out of the eight questions asked by choosing at least one question from each section.

The main (written) examination is held for a maximum of 2000 marks.

Each paper, Optional and General studies paper carries 300 marks and the essay paper carries 200 marks.

Optional Subjects (two papers each=4 papers) 4 x 300 = 1200.

General Studies two papers 2 x 300 = 600 Essay paper 1 x 200 = 200 Total 2000

No, the following combinations of subjects are not permitted.

1. Commerce and Accountancy and Management

2. Anthropology and Sociology

3. Mathematics and Statistics

4. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science.

5. Management and Public Administration.

6. Of the Engineering subjects - Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering - not more than one subject.

7. Political Science and International Relations and Public Administration

8. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science and Medical Science.

No. It is not necessary. If the candidate wants to choose a different subject, he is free to choose one

Yes, The Main Examination can be written in Tamil Medium also. How ever, the questions will be only in English and Hindi

The results are normally published in Mid April every year. And the (Interview) Test will be held in the First week of May.

1. Mental alertness

2. Critical powers of assimilation

3. Clear and logical exposition

4. Balance of judgment

5. Variety and depth of interest

6. Ability for social cohesion

7. Leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.

1.Your birth-date, birth place, home town and state.

2.Your educational and professional background. Your hobbies and extracurricular activities.

3.Your optional subjects in the main examination and reasons for opting for those subjects.

4. Applicability of your subjects of specialization as well as optional subjects.

5. Major current national and international events or any other burning topics.

6. Social, cultural, political and economics problems relating to India, their reasons and solutions.

7.Problems of various states in the country with special emphasis on your home state.

Every year the UPSC calls for the application during December. You can apply by December through the specified application prescribed by the UPSC.

The application can be got from the designated Post Offices. In Tamil Nadu, you get it from all the 92 Head Post Offices. The cost of the application now is Rs. 20 /-

To appear in the examination you must be a graduate in any discipline from a recognized university. Even if you are doing the final year of your graduation you are eligible. But you have to qualify yourself by the time you apply for the main examination in case you qualify in the Preliminary examination.

No, A Candidate who has done his graduation through open university without passing 10th and 12th is not eligible. You should have completed the graduation under 10+2+3 scheme

To appear in the exam the minimum age is 21 years. The upper age limit depends upon the category to which you belong. If you belong to,

1. General Category, the upper age limit is 30 years

2. Other Backward Classes, it is 33 years

3. SC/ST category, upper age limit is 35

Generally, any one below the age of 30 years can attempt 4 times. If you belong to

1. Other Backward Classes, you get 3 more attempts

2. SC/ST category, there is no limit in the number of attempts you can make.

No. An attempt is counted only if a candidate has appeared in at least one paper in Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination.

Usually, the optional subjects like Public Administration, History, Literature (Eg Tamil), Geography, Psychology, Sociology etc, are popular.

These are popular because majority of the candidates opt for these subjects.

The Reason for majority of them choosing these subjects are,

1.These subjects do not need any academic background to learn.

2.These subjects are simple to understand.

3.The requirements for the examination with these subjects are also simple and developable.

4.The books and materials in these subjects are also abundantly available.

It is generally not advisable to opt for a science subject in a competitive exam like Civil Services Exam. This is because you will encounter certain practical problems in the preparation. Such problems are like

1. There may not be adequate materials in such subjects.

2. You may not get multiple choice questions to work out which is very vital for the preparation. You may not find any guide/teacher to assist you in case of any doubts you may encounter. You may not be able to form a group to discuss since the number of candidates opting for these subjects will be very less. Only a candidate who has a background can only opt this.

While choosing the optional subject, you have to analyze the following,

a. Your interest in the subject

b. Availability of guidance, coaching, material and opportunity to form group

c. Abilities needed for learning the subject and your abilities d. Skill sets- Writing and presentation- needed for taking the exam with the subject

The Course of the syllabi for optional subject will be of Degree level

While choosing a coach/institute you check for the following.

(a) Their experience and the strengths

(b) Their performance and the results in the past

(c) Whether they conduct tests? If so, how many tests?

(d) Whether they discuss the test papers and also the previous UPSC questions?

No, If you do not attempt is if you absent yourself in the exam, it will not be counted as an attempt.

Any service is considered better based on the certain reasons. Among them some are as follows

1. The diversity of opportunities it can provide to the incumbent

2. The scope and breadth of decision making in the service

3. Facilities that go with the service as perks

4. Chances for interacting with other departments than the parent dept

 5. Stability of career