Career in Civil Services- A Service to the Nation
Civil Service is the permanent structure responsible for carrying out the administration of the country. In India, the civil service system is an executive branch of the Republic of India and functions as the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. The Civil Services Examination is one of the topmost competitive examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Over 5 lakh students apply for the UPSC civil services exam every year. Among these only 10-15 thousand qualify for the mains. About 1000-2500 people get the opportunity to attend the interview. From this, about 180 IAS officers are selected, once again based on vacancies. The rest are allotted other civil services as per their rank and choice.
Career in Civil Services – The list of 24 civil services for which UPSC exam is conducted:-
1. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), IRS 2. Indian Foreign Service (IFS) 3. Indian Police Service (IPS) 4. Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’ 5. Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ 6. Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’ 7. Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ 8. Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’ 9. Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
10. Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’ 11. Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ 12. Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’ 13. Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ 14. Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’ 15. Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Grp ‘A’
16. Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’ 17. Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’ 18. Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III) 19. Indian Corporate Law Service, Group “A” 20. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade) 21. Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group ‘B’ 22. Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group ‘B’ 23. Pondicherry Civil Service, Group ‘B’ 24. Pondicherry Police Service, Group ‘B’
The greatest thing about Civil Service is job security. Special facilities include subsidized accommodation, telephone, and transport facilities, medical benefits, leave travel concession, etc. Post-retirement, they get very good social welfare facilities. And also one feels privileged for being able to participate in the development process of the country. Wondering how to start on this amazing journey, Lets dive in together!
Career in Civil Services
1) Application process
Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in.
Please keep a watch on the deadline for the application process. Make sure you don’t miss the deadline.
2) Age Limit and number of attempts
Category Lower age limit Upper age limit Maximum Attempts
General 21 years 32 years 6
SC/ST 21 years 37 years Unlimited
OBC 21 years 35 years 9
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3 ) Preparation:-
The Civil Services Examination is one of the topmost competitive examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to various Civil Services for the government of India. It is considered as one of the toughest exams in our country.
Career in Civil Services: UPSC Civil Services exam is conducted in 3 phases: 1) Prelims 2) Mains 3) Interview
1) Prelims exam:- 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. Both the exams, paper1 and conducted on the same day.
Paper 1 (200 marks, 2hours):- This includes areas like; Indian National Movement, Indian Polity, Basic Economic Understanding, Geography. While these are static parts of the syllabus, the dynamic part includes current affairs, General Knowledge. The cutoff mark is generally around 120 marks.
Paper 2(CSAT) (200 marks, 2 hours):- Paper II is dynamic in nature and includes mathematics, reasoning, analytical ability, and interpersonal skills. All these areas require spot mental ability. It is mandatory for the candidate to score a minimum of 33 percent in this paper to qualify the Prelims exam.
Negative marking:- For every wrong answer, 1/3rd of marks allotted for every question will be reduced from the correct tally of the score. So extra care is to be taken if you are trying to guess an answer.
Career in Civil Services – The syllabus for the Preliminary Exams for Paper-I:
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
General Science
The syllabus for the Preliminary Exams for Paper-II:
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)
Career in Civil Services – Mains Exam:-
Candidates can register for IAS Main Exam at the official website – www.upsc.gov.in
Category IAS Main Exam Fee
General/ EWS/ OBC Candidates (Male) INR 200
Female candidates (All Categories) Exempted from fee payment
SC / ST / PH candidates Exempted from fee payment
There are 9 papers that an aspirant will have to attempt under the mains exam.
1) Paper A – Modern Indian language 300 Marks.The marks not counted for the final ranking. It will suffice if the aspirant just qualifies the exam.
(i) Comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precise Writing
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
(iv) Short Essay
(v) Translation from English to the Indian language and vice-versa.
2) Paper B – English – 300 marks The marks not counted for the final ranking. It will
suffice if the aspirant just qualifies the exam.
The aim of the paper is to test the candidates’ ability to read and understand
serious discursive prose, and to express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English
and Indian Language concerned.
The pattern of questions would be broad as follows:-
(i) Comprehension of given passages
(ii) Precise Writing
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary
(iv) Short Essay.
2) Paper 1:- Essay – 250 Marks
The candidate is required to write an essay on a specific topic in the language of their choice. Credit will be given to effective and coherent expression.
3) Paper 2:- General Studies-I 250 Marks (Indian Heritage and Culture, History
and Geography of the World and Society).
4) Paper 3:- General Studies -II: 250 Marks (Governance, Constitution, Polity,
Social Justice and International relations)
5) Paper 4:- General Studies -III 250 Marks (Technology, Economic
Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security, and Disaster
Management)
6) Paper 5:- General Studies -IV 250 Marks (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)
7) Paper 6:- Optional Subject – Paper I -250 Marks
8) Paper7:- Optional Subject – Paper II -250 Marks
Sub Total (Written test) 1750 Marks
Marks of English and Language will not be counted in the total tally of marks for the written exam. So the total of the Mains exam will be 1750 Marks Only.
Mains Examination UPSC Syllabus – Optional Subjects
General Studies
Essay
English Qualifying
Indian Languages
Agriculture Main Syllabus
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary
Science
Botany Mains UPSC Syllabus
Bodo Mains Syllabus
Chemistry Main Syllabus
Civil Engineering Main Syllabus
Commerce Main Syllabus
Economics Main Syllabus
Electrical Engineering Main Syllabus
Statistics Main Syllabus
Zoology Main Syllabus
Anthropology Main Syllabus
Assamese Main Syllabus
Bengali Main Syllabus
Dogri Main Syllabus
English Main Syllabus
Gujarati Main Syllabus
Hindi Main Syllabus
Kannada Main Syllabus
Kashmiri Main Syllabus
Konkani Main Syllabus
Maithili Main Syllabus
Malayalam Main Syllabus
Geography Main Syllabus
Geology Main Syllabus
Indian History Main Syllabus
Law Mains UPSC Syllabus
Mathematics Main Syllabus
Mechanical Engineering Main Syllabus
Medical Science Main Syllabus
Philosophy Main Syllabus
Physics Main Syllabus
Political Science Main Syllabus
Psychology Main Syllabus
Public Administration Main Syllabus
Sociology Main Syllabus
Manipuri Main Syllabus
Marathi Main Syllabus
Nepali Main Syllabus
Oriya Mains UPSC Syllabus
Punjabi Main Syllabus
Sanskrit Main Syllabus
Santali Main Syllabus
Sindhi Main Syllabus
Tamil Main Syllabus
Telugu Main Syllabus
Urdu Mains UPSC Syllabus
Management Main Syllabus
Career in Civil Services – Personal Interview:-
To begin with, the interview panel will have 5 members in total, who will
spend approximately 5 minutes each on you, asking around 30-40
questions in total. The questions will be primarily DAF based – on your education, work, hobbies etc. and a little bit on Current Affairs and international relations. The process of UPSC Interview lasts for about 30
minutes and carries 275 marks out of the total 2025. The interview is a test of your innate personality.
Some tips to prepare for an interview:-
UPSC Interview panel generally dwells a candidate on the content written in the DAF, as this form contains the detailed information about a candidate such as his/her Birth Place, Subjects in graduation,
optional subject, details of the college, professional experience, the topic of interests, hobbies, etc. So spend some quality time reading working around your DAF.
Make sure to choose a hobby that reflects the trait of your personality. For instance, motivating others as a hobby reflect your personality.
Prepare well about college/University where you had undertaken your graduation or masters.
Be well prepared with a good amount of knowledge related to your
last degree that you have completed. Questions such as why this stream of undergraduate, current news related to your domain of study is expected.
Sound knowledge of the organization in which a candidate is/was working, their role there, application of their work knowledge in civil services, etc is appreciated.
A sure shot question that one can expect is why civil services? So ensure you have an answer that connects all the dots of your life and justifies the reason behind your burning ambition for civil services.
3) Best books to ace your preparation:-
1. Indian Polity 5th Edition by M. Laxmikanth
2. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra
3. Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
4. Manorama Yearbook
5. 23 Years CSAT General Studies IAS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers
6. Economic Survey (Volume 1 and Volume 2) by Government of India The
Ministry of Finance
7. Physical Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
8. Indian Economy
9. Governance in India by M. Laxmikanth
10. India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra
4) Best online resources to take tits-bits for your preparation:-
Unacademy
https://unacademy.com/goal/upsc-civil-services-examination-iaspreparation/KSCGY
Mrunal https://mrunal.org/upsc
Vision IAS http://visionias.in/
BYJU https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/
ClearIAS https://www.clearias.com/
IAS Baba https://iasbaba.com/
Insights https://www.insightsonindia.com/
Poor man friend https://www.pmfias.com/
5) You can find all the previous year question papers here:-
https://www.pmfias.com/
6) If you need guidance and want someone to help you with a direction and
structure to your preparation, list of some best
Rau’s IAS Study Circle
Vajiram and Ravi
Chanakya IAS Academy
Sriram IAS Academy
Vision IAS – Coaching Institute for Civil Services
Sathya IAS Academy
Brilliant Tutorials Private. Limited
7) Last but not the least, Never Give UP if you really want to pursue a career in civil services
Preparation for UPSC is a very long journey. Many obstacles will come your way. No matter what, a serious UPSC aspirant is not allowed to quit. If you cannot run, keep jogging… if you cannot jog, keep walking… if you cannot walk, keep crawling. But daily keep progressing towards your dream goal! Never ever give up your preparation.
Hope this article has triggered a fire in you to crack the UPSC exam. So what are you waiting for? Start your preparation journey today!
Feel free to connect with us for free guidance if you are planning to pursue a Career in Civil Services!
