UPSC CSE (Civil Services Examination) which is also famously known as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam, is a nationwide competitive exam in India which is conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) for the recruitment to various Civil Services posts. Civil...

UPSC CSE (Civil Services Examination) which is also famously known as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam, is a nationwide competitive exam in India which is conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) for the recruitment to various Civil Services posts. Civil Services are considered as the backbone of the Governing Structure of India. Civil Service officers are the All India Service Officers or Central Government Class 1 gazetted officers who are recruited for the coveted positions under various departments of the Government. 

Civil Services Types:

Civil services are categorized into three types-

1. All India Services
2. Group A Services
3. Group B Services

All India Services-

All India Services are the cadre based services which include IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IPS (Indian Police Service) and IFoS (Indian Forest Services). Only IAS and IPS All India Services are allocated to the candidates selected in the final merit list while IFoS is conducted separately under UPSC except for its preliminary paper which is merged with Civil Services Prelims paper.

Group A Services-

Group A services are the elite services of the Government of India which includes Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Postal Service (IPoS), Indian Audits & Accounts Service (IA&AS) and others.

Group B Services-

Group B Services includes some central services like Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services, Defence Secretariat Services and other as well as some state services like District Employment Officer, Excise and Taxation Officer, Block Development Officer and others.

The allotment of the services is based on the merit and choice of service opted by the selected candidate.

Roles and Responsibilities of Civil servants:

UPSC Civil Services Applicants Details (Annual)-

• UPSC has not officially released the number of applicants for this exam.
• Last year, over 15 lakh candidates had applied for the exam but only around 5 lakh attempted the preliminary examination.
• Only 15,000 of these qualified for the mains examination out of which 2000 were shortlisted for the interview.

Here are the IAS Selection procedure details-

• Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of their score in the Preliminary exam for the Main examination. Candidates are then again shortlisted on the basis of their score in the Main examination for the Personal Interview session.
• IAS Prelims comprises of two papers which are of 400 marks in total i.e 200 marks each. The first paper is GS-1 in which questions asked from General Studies subjects and current affairs while second paper CSAT-2 consists of Aptitude and Reading Comprehension. CSAT Paper-2 of the preliminary exam is purely qualifying in nature.
• The final section of a candidate is based on the candidate's score of the Main examination (Comprising 9 papers), and the Personal Interview combined together.
• The Main exam is subjective in nature and comprises of total 1750 marks. The interview is of 275 marks which are added to the total scores.
•  Marks obtained by the candidate in the written exam as well as the personal interview would determine their ranks and preferences given for various services and posts.

Here are some basic tips that can help the candidates in their approach to the exam-

• The First and foremost thing that needs to be kept in mind is that, do not prepare for this exam because of pressure from Parents or anyone else. The IAS Exam process takes one whole year, so start preparing only if you are passionate about joining the services. 
• Start with going through the Civil Services Syllabus Carefully. Try to understand each and every topic of the syllabus.
• Go through the Previous year Question Papers and analyze the nature of the questions asked in both Prelims and Mains. 
• Select the source of preparation topic wise.
• Do not consult multiple sources for one topic. Choose one or two sources and revise it multiple times.
• Subscribe Newspaper and Magazines to get updated for Current Affairs. It is recommended to consider The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper. 
• Start studying with NCERTs. Direct Questions are asked from NCERTs so do not avoid it.
• Writing Practice is a must for mains exams. Practice writing answers on a regular basis.

Documents required for the UPSC counselling-

• Original counselling letter along with a photocopy of counselling letter.
• Original Admit card along with a photocopy of admit card
• Bank draft has to be made as per the guidelines mentioned in the prospectus
• All the original and at least 2 photocopies of certificates of 10th & 12th class
• Rank Card / Hall Ticket
• Scorecard (if applicable)
• Original degree/provisional certificate if the candidate is appearing
• Community certificate(SC/ST/OBC/Other) signed by the authorized authority
• Medical documents mentioned on UPSC application form

UPSC Prelims Exam Centers are as follows:

There are only seven centers for blind candidates- Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Dispur and Mumbai

Reservations in UPSC Civil Services:

• The Upper Age Limit for Other Backward Castes (OBC) is 35 years.
• The Upper Age Limit for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) is 37 years.
• The Upper Age Limit for Physically Handicapped (PH) candidates for Gen, OBC and SC/ST category is 42, 45 and 47 respectively.
• The number of attempts for OBC candidates is 9.
• There is relaxation in the number of attempts for SC/ST candidates.
• There is a difference in the cut-off for general, OBC and SC/ST category candidates.

The number of seats for the top service varies every year.

The vacancies in 2017 were around 980 which includes 27 vacancies reserved for P.H. Category, i.e. 07 vacancies for LDCP, 08 Vacancies for B/LV and 12 Vacancies for H.I.

The civil services topper Nandhini KR, a civil engineer by profession topped by 2016 exam with 55.3% marks.She scored 1,120 marks out of 2,025.

The second rank achiever has scored 55.56% marks with a score of 1,105.

She had already attempted the exam thrice before this and had achieved an AIR 642 last year.She was already working as a revenue officer but had her eyes set on the post of IAS.

The number of vacancies varies each year.

There were a total of 980 vacancies last year out of which 27 had been reserved for the physically handicapped. 

Check the Civil Services Prelims Results 2017 here:

The IAS Prelims Results 2017 has been announced by the UPSC. To check the roll number in the list, Click Here.