Civil Services Exam Detail

Civil Services Exam

The most competitive exam that can change your life is civil services. No wonder it is the coveted exam desired by lakhs of students.  It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruiting Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). Every year lakhs of students appear for this exam but only a few qualify.

Age Limit

Minimum 21 years of age and maximum of 32 years

Number of Attempts

General/Economically Weaker Section(EWS)	6
Other Backward Classes	9
SC/ST	Till Age Limit
Person with Disabilities	Till Age Limit

Exam Pattern

It’s a three-stage exam, Prelims, Mains and Personality Test. 

Preliminary Examination:

Also known as Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), this exam consists of objective type questions in Hindi and English languages for 2 hours each. 

Mains Exam

After clearing the preliminary examination, candidates appear for the Mains exam. It consists of 9 papers that are conducted over a span of 5-7 days. The subjects are Compulsory Indian language, English, Essay, General Studies I, II, III, IV, Optional I & II. Every paper carries 250 marks apart from the first two, they carry 300 marks each.

General Studies

• Indian Heritage and Culture
• History and Geography of the World
• Society

General Studies II

• Constitution
• Polity
• Governance 
• Social Justice
• International Relations

General Studies III

• Economic Development
• Security and Disaster Management
• Environment 
• Technology

General Studies IV

• Ethics
• Integrity
• Aptitude

Optional Paper Subjects