Indian Civil Services which includes the top services i.e. the IAS, IPS and IFS, is the dream career for millions of aspirants from all over the country.
Why to Choose Civil Services as a Career?
Civil Services work as the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) are three of the most preferable services under this. IAS is most sought after among these services as IAS officers get the opportunity to serve on higher strategic positions in the Union Government and State Governments.
About the Examination Process
In order to get selected into these coveted services, candidates have to appear in the Civil Services Exam (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and should pass a three-phase selection process. The three phases are the Civil Services Preliminary Exam (Prelims), Civil Services (Main) Examination (Mains) and The Personality Test (Interview).
How to Apply
- Candidates are required to apply Online using the official website of UPSC that is www.upsconline.nic.in.
- Candidates need to complete the Online Application Form containing two stages viz. Part-I and Part-II as per the instructions available in the above mentioned website.
- The candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs.100/- Rupees One Hundred only) [excepting SC/ST/ Female/Persons with Benchmark Disability candidates who are exempted from payment of fee] either by depositing the money in any branch of State Bank of India by cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India or by using any Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/ Debit Card.
- Before start filling up Online Application form, a candidate must have his/her photograph and signature duly scanned in the jpg format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 40 KB and must not be less than 3 KB in size for the photograph and 1 KB for the signature.
- Applicants should avoid submitting multiple applications. In case of multiple applications, the applications with higher Registration ID will be considered by the Commission.
- The applicants must ensure that while filling their Application Form, they are providing their valid and active E-Mail IDs as the Commission may use electronic mode of communication while contacting them at different stages of examination process.
Plan of Examination
The Civil Services Examination consist of two successive stages:
- Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
- Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts.
*Candidates who are declared qualified for Civil Services (Main) Examination; have to submit Detailed Application Form (DAF).
First Stage Details
- The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination comprises of two papers of 200 marks each i.e. General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II.
- GS Paper-II (also known as CSAT i.e. Civil Service Aptitude Test) is of qualifying in nature and in which a candidate has to secure 33% marks only.
- Objective type (Multiple Choice Questions) is asked in this stage. Marks obtained in this stage are counted only to decide merit in preliminary examination, not for final selection. Clearing the Prelims makes one eligible for the next stage of the exam.
Second Stage Details
- Civil Services (Main) Examination is the ‘written stage’ of the examination. It consists of nine papers of which, marks of only seven papers are counted in deciding the final merit list. In the remaining two papers, a candidate has to secure the minimum qualifying marks decided by UPSC each year. The question papers for the Mains examination are of conventional (essay) type.
- The Civil Services Personality Test consists of a board of members for assessing the candidate’s personality. A candidate is asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental caliber of a candidate.
*Final rank of a candidate in merit list is depends upon the marks scored in second stage only i.e. written and Interview.
| Table shows the Marks distribution counted for final merit | ||
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper-1 | Essay | 250 |
| Paper-2 | General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 |
| Paper-3 | General Studies–II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) | 250 |
| Paper-4 | General Studies–III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper-5 | General Studies–IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper-6 | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 250 |
| Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 250 | |
| Paper-7 | Sub Total (Written test) Personality Test Grand Total | 1750 275 2025 |
Two Qualifying Papers are:
- Paper-A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution): 300 Marks
- Paper-B (English): 300 Marks
Eligibility Criteria
- For the IAS and the IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India. For other services, a candidate must be either a citizen of India or a citizen of some other country (eligible after meeting with some special conditions).
- A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August of examination year. The upper age-limit is relaxable, maximum of 5 years for SC/STs candidates and 3 years for OBC candidates. Age relaxation is also applicable for Ex-Defense personnel and candidates with certain disability.
- A candidate must hold a Universities degree, or possess an equivalent qualification for appearing in Civil Services Examination. Candidates who have appeared in the final year of degree examination and also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. But such candidates have to produce proof of passing the requisite examination before appearing in Civil Services (Main) Examination.
*A candidate who got appointed as an IAS or IFS officer in earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination. Moreover, a candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service will not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service in the next exam.
Other ‘Group A’ Services
- Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
- Indian Postal Service
- Indian Civil Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Traffic Service
- Indian Railway Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Personnel Service
- Indian Railway Protection Force (Assistant Security Commissioner)
- Indian Defence Estates Service
- Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)
- Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III)
- Indian Corporate Law Service
‘Group B’ Services
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer’s Grade)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS)
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service
List of optional subjects for Main Examination:
(i) Agriculture
(ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
(iii) Anthropology
(iv) Botany
(v) Chemistry
(vi) Civil Engineering
(vii) Commerce and Accountancy
(viii) Economics
(ix) Electrical Engineering
(x) Geography
(xi) Geology
(xii) History
(xiii) Law
(xiv) Management
(xv) Mathematics
(xvi) Mechanical Engineering
(xvii) Medical Science
(xviii) Philosophy
(xix) Physics
(xx) Political Science and International Relations
(xxi) Psychology
(xxii) Public Administration
(xxiii) Sociology
(xxiv) Statistics
(xxv) Zoology
(xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
Learning is an art.
Preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Exam is also no less an art. It takes months of perseverance, hard work and discipline to clear this exam. It also takes strength and courage to commit oneself solely to one goal. That is why support from family and friends during the time of preparation is very crucial. Though there cannot be a better support system than family and friends, we can still say that support from teachers, mentors and colleagues cannot be ignored.
We believe that every aspirant who will follow these 60 Steps will be able to walk with confidence into the exam hall on 31st May because they will have covered their bases and attempted the most UPSC relevant current affairs topics there is.
The 60 Steps To Prelims, combined with the interpersonal guidance that aspirants will receive, would be one of a kind program for Drishti IAS, and a very beneficial program for aspirants this year
Why follow our program?
- The program that we have developed has its genesis in our Current Affairs Books & Magazines, Prelims Test Series and the Drishti IAS Web portal. We have created strict mechanisms for maintaining quality over what we publish. Our aim is to pick only those topics from current affairs which have a high probability of appearing in the Prelims GS paper this year.
- We have worked thoroughly on which would work best – a 50 or a 60 or a 70 day programme, and based on opinions from many experts (and aspirants of course), we have decided on a two month program. This is the ideal, if not the best period of study required for the Prelims. During these two months the sole focus should be to clear the Prelims and nothing else.
- Our program also comes bundled with three free full-mock tests. These tests will help aspirants following our program, consolidate their preparation.
- Last but most importantly, we are also going to provide academic counselling and support to aspirants who sign up for this program via the comments section or via email & Social Media. One may ask any number of his or her doubts and we will do our best to address these within a very specific period of time.
How can 60 Steps To Prelims help?
- This program is meant to supplement an aspirant’s regular Prelims preparation and not replace it. Please keep this in mind.
- The program follows its own routine and it is advised that aspirants should devise their own routines in such a way that it becomes possible to follow both without much friction.
- The ratio for static topics to dynamic topics is 60:40 which means that out of every 100 questions, 40 will be from current affairs.
- In addition to the above list, it is advised that aspirants look up topics that appear in 60 Steps To Prelims. We will provide explanations and solutions to every question asked but it will greatly benefit aspirants if they do some extra reading on their own. The above mentioned book list will come in handy here.
Method for the program:
- We have identified static portions of the syllabus keeping in mind the previous year’s Prelims questions. Based on this, we have carefully selected static questions to cover not only probable questions but also basic questions that will help build a strong foundation.
- For questions from current affairs, we have consulted extensively with our own team of experts to come up with a pool of questions that can have a high probability of being asked by the UPSC.
- We believe that our method of selecting topics and picking questions is one among the best in India and we have great faith that every question you will attempt will be within the bracket of UPSC relevance.
Recommended Study Material Guide
- NCERT books are the foundation of Prelims preparation. These are easily available in the market, or downloadable from our website here:
- The NCERT books should be your first line of reference and should be consulted whenever you come across a difficult question in the 60 Steps program.
- You will also need a good atlas, preferably the latest. When needed, consult this atlas for any geography related questions.
- The book list for reference that we are providing has been meticulously selected. We do not want to overburden you with unnecessary books and therefore the list is short.
- All of the books mentioned in the reference list need not be read cover to cover – unless you already have – and can be kept solely for review and reference purposes.
- The exceptions to the above recommendation are – Indian Polity by Laxmikanth & Spectrum Brief History of Modern India – revising these books thoroughly can prove to be greatly beneficial for the Prelims.
- Where ever we are asking you to refer to websites for further reading, be assured that the content on these websites (including ours) is trustworthy and of high quality.
- In addition to the above, we are also referring our own publications for the 60 Steps program because we have great faith in the quality of our material. A lot of aspirants have benefited from our books and magazines and we are happy to recommend these whenever we can.