IAS Exam Written Test Pattern

Paper-I One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18 languages included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution (Qualifying Paper) English (Qualifying Paper) Essay 300 Marks

Paper-II Paper-III Papers IV & V

300 Marks 200 Marks

General Studies (300 Marks for each paper)

600 Marks

Papers VI, Any two subjects (each having 2 papers) to be selected from VII, VIII & IX the prescribed optional subjects (300 marks for each paper) Total Marks for Written Examination Interview Test Grand Total

1200 Marks

2000 Marks 300 Marks 2300 Marks

List of Optional Subjects - IAS (Main)

12Civil Engineering Public Administration

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICES : SCHEME OF EXAMINATION

The Civil Services Examination is conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) every year. The examination has three stages i.e., (1) Civil Services Preliminary Examinations (CSP) - normally conducted during the second half of May. (2) Civil Services (Main) Examinations conducted during the month of October/November. Here, those who are selected in the preliminary examination only are eligible to appear. (3) Those who are selected in the main examination will be eligible to appear before the Interview Board at New Delhi.

Preliminary Examination (CSP)

CSP consists of two papers Which is common for all candidates from 2011 i.e., No optional paper is there in CSP form 2011.This is the first stage of Civil Services Examination. This is an Objective type examination consisting of Two Papers that is common to all candidates from 2011 having special emphasis on testing their aptitude for civil services as well as on ethical and moral dimension of decision making. Normally, there are about 3 lakh applications for the preliminary examination. From this, the UPSC selects 10 to 12 folds of vacancies for the main examinations. This is only for the selection and not to be taken into consideration in the main ranking.

Subjects for Preliminary Examination:

As per the decision of Government of India, there shall be change in the syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination from 2011 in the scheme of the Civil Services Examination. The Preliminary Examination shall now comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours duration each. Detailed below is the new syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination, which is brought to the notice of the prospective candidates intending to appear at the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2011 onwards:

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours Current events of national and international importance History of India and Indian National Movement Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World. Indian Polity and Governance Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization General Science.

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours Comprehension Interpersonal skills including communication skills; Logical reasoning and analytical ability Decision making and problem solving General mental ability Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level) English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level). Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper. The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

Main Examination
NOTE:The prospective candidates are advised to note that no changes are being introduced at this stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE) for 2011 Onwards. Only those who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in a year, are eligible for the Main examination of that year, provided they are otherwise eligible for the Main Examination. Civil Services Main examination has two optional subjects (two papers each carries 300 marks), one General Studies (two papers each carries 300 marks), one essay (carries 200 marks) - total 2000 marks. Other than this, there are two language papers one in Indian language and one in General English at the level of 10th standard. This is to test the ability of the candidate's proficiency in his mother tongue / Indian language and English. Total nine papers. These two papers carry 300 marks each but it will not be considered for the ranking. It is must to clear these two papers. If a candidate fails to clear these papers, his other papers will not be evaluated. The Main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and the depth of understanding of the candidates, rather than merely the range of their information and memory. Sufficient choice of questions is allowed in the question papers.

Optional Subjects for the Main Examination:

Optional subjects: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology. Each paper is of 3 hours duration. Literatures: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

The following combinations not allowed are:

Political Science & International Relations and Public Administration Commerce and Management Anthropology and Sociology Maths and Statistics Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Management and Public Administration Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science and Medical Science Any two branches of engineering. Combination of two literatures in the above list.

Interview:
At interview stage, two-fold vacancies are called to appear before the UPSC Board. Interview carries 300 marks. Interview calls are sent on the basis of minimum marks fixed by the UPSC at its discretion. The overall ranking is done based on the Mains performance (i.e., 2000 marks) and interview. Therefore, the total marks involved in the ranking are 2300. Candidates are allotted various services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and preferences given by them in their main application form.

Age limit:
21 years must be completed on 1st August of the year, which a candidate is appearing. Maximum 30 for general category, 33 for OBCs and 35 for SCs/STs. Ex-servicemen will get 5 more years exemption from the prescribed age limit. (The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University, which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate).

Number of Attempts:
Four attempts for open, seven for OBCs and no limit for SCs/STs. If a person appears in the Preliminary Examination or even one paper is counted as an attempt.