About UPSC Exam

In India, The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Hindi: संघ लोक सेवा आयोग is India’s central agency authorised to conduct the Civil Services Examination(CSE), Indian Forest Service (IFS) examination, Indian Economic Service(IES) exam, Indian Statistical Service(ISS) exam, Engineering Services Exam, Combined Medical Services Exam, Combined Defence Services Exam, National Defence Academy(NDA) Exams, Naval Academy Exam, Special Class Railway Apprentice(SCRA), Combined Geoscientist and Geologist Exam, and Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandant) exam.

UPSC Full Form is The Union Public Service Commission 

UPSC Exam Eligibility

• For the IAS, IFS & IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
• For the IRS and other services, a candidate must be one of the following:
  • A citizen of India
  • A subject of Bhutan
  • A subject of Nepal
  • Refugee of Tibet who came in India before 1^st Jan 1962 to permanently settle in India.
  • a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Educational Qualification for UPSC

All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications to appear in UPSC Exam.

• There is no minimum Pass percentage but must be a graduate.
• A degree from a Central, State or Deemed university
• A degree received through correspondence or distance education is valid
• A degree from an open university is also valid
• A qualification recognized by the Govt. of India as being equivalent to one of the above
• Candidates who are in last Semester or in Last year of any degree.

UPSC Exam Dates 2022

The following are the dates of various exams of UPSC :

UPSC Exam Age Limit

• A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years(Twenty-one) and must not have attained the age of 32 years on August 1st of the year of exam.
• For OBC  the upper age limit is 35, and for SC and ST the limit is (37) thirty-seven years.
• The minimum age limit for candidates is 21 years
• The maximum age limit is 32 years.
• The upper age limit is further relaxed by (5) Five years and 3 years for candidates belonging to SC/ST and OBC categories respectively.
• up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically
  handicapped persons.

• maximum of (5) five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State
  of Jammu and Kashmir during the period from the 1 st Jan, 1980 to the 31st day of
  Dec, 1989;
• maximum of (3) three years in the case of Defence Services Personnel, disabled in
  operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof;
• maximum of (5) five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned
  Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least (5) five years Military Service and have been released;
  (a) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be
  completed within 1 year otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency; or
  (b) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or
  (c) on invalidment

Numbers of attempts for UPSC Exam

The maximum number of attempts permitted is six for open category candidates, and nine for OBC candidates. There is no limit on the number of attempts for SC, ST candidates.

• General category candidates: 6
• OBC category candidates = 7
• Physically Handicaped = 9
• SC/ST Candidates = unlimited

Proof of Date of Birth to attempt UPSC Exam

UPSC will accept the date of birth which would be entered in the 10+2 class (Matriculation or Secondary School) Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University or an equivalent exam certificate.

You have to submit proof of birth at the time of applying Civil Service Mains.

Document which will not be accepted by UPSC as Date of Birth Certificate (birth Proof)

1. Affidavits
2. Horoscopes
3. Birth extracts from Municipal Corporation etc.

Important Note: Please be careful while filling your DOB on UPSC Application. Once you have entered your date of birth while filling UPSC Online application and it would enter in the record of Union Public Service Commission, no change will be allowed subsequently (or at any other exam of the Commission) on any grounds whatsoever.

UPSC Exam Fees

• For Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) Exam Fee is Zero. (No Fee. Its Free)
• For Female or Physically Handicapped (PH) candidates UPSC Exam Fees is free
• If you do not belong to any of the above category then you have to pay the sum of Rs. 100 as UPSC Exam Fees.

Payment mode of UPSC Exam Fees

• You can either pay it by cash in any branch of SBI.
• You can also pay it by using internet banking or by using Visa/Master Credit/Debit Card.
• Once you pay your fees, It will not be refunded in any case.
• If you are qualified for UPSC CSE Main than you have to pay the fee of Rs. 200/- (Rupees Two hundred only) as an examination fee.

UPSC Exam Pattern

Union Public Service Commission CSE exam is administered in (3) three stages namely Preliminary (Prelims), Mains and Interview. UPSC Civil Services aspirants can check here UPSC exam pattern and syllabus for each of the examination stages.

UPSC Civil Services Exam Pattern & Syllabus for Preliminary Exam 2024

UPSC Prelims Exam

Mode – The Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Prelims 2022 will be administered offline in the month of June of every year.

Number of Papers – UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2021 will have (2) two papers. The Paper (one) 1 will be General Studies I (GS I) comprising many sections including Geography, Economics, Political Science, and Science, and the Paper two (2) is known as General Studies II (GS II) which will test the aptitude of UPSC IAS aspirants for Civil Services exam. The GS II paper is also called as CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test).

Number of Questions – Each of the papers will comprise 200 questions each.

Total Marks – The UPSC Civil Services Prelims exam will carry total marks of 400, where each paper will carry 200 marks. So Total marks for Prelims exam is 200+200=400 marks.

Prelims Exam Duration – The candidates will be allowed to attempt each of the papers-General Studies I and General Studies II (Civil Services Aptitude Test/ CSAT) in a time duration of (2 hrs.) two hours each. Moreover, candidates will be given 3 hrs. (three hours) break in between each of the papers.

Marking Scheme – UPSC follows a negative marking policy. Following the marking scheme of UPSC Civil Services Prelims exam, candidates will be awarded one mark if attempting a question correctly and 1/3rd (one-third) of the marks allotted to the question will be deducted from the total scored marks if the attempt for that question is wrong. No marks will be deducted for any question left un-attempted.

UPSC Civil Services Syllabus for Preliminary Exam 2022

Check UPSC Civil Services Prelims Syllabus & Topics for 2022 in detail. 

UPSC Civil Services Paper I – General Studies

• 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

UPSC Civil Services Paper-II – General Studies

• 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)

UPSC Civil Services Exam Pattern & Syllabus for Mains 2024

Check UPSC Civil Services Mains Syllabus & Topics for 2022 in detail. 

Paper A and Paper B of UPSC Civil Services Mains 2022 are qualifying in nature papers and the score secured in these papers are not considered while counting the candidates’ ranking. However, only those aspirants, who obtain at least 25% twenty-five per cent in Paper A and 25% in Paper B, will be taken into consideration while making of rank list on the basis of General Studies and Optional Subjects papers.

Papers qualifying in nature:

• Paper A – An Indian language selected by the candidates
• Paper B – English

Papers to be counted for merit:

• Essay (Paper I)
• General Studies (Paper II-V)
• Optional Subjects (Paper VI-VII)

Candidates appearing in the UPSC Civil Services 2021 Mains must check the detailed exam pattern & syllabus given below.

Papers qualifying in nature

UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam Pattern

Candidates are required to check the following link for previous years’ papers and other FAQ’s http://www.upsc.gov.in/

List of Posts which can be taken after giving UPSC civil services exam