Over View of Civil Services Exam

Civil Services Examination, 2010 , Last Date : 01.02.2010, Preliminary Exam on 23rd May 2010

Plan of Examination

1.The competitive examination comprises two successive stages :

(i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and

(ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various services and posts.

2. The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 450 marks in the subjects s.This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies . Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in a year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination

3. The Main Examination will consist of a written examination and an interview test. The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type in the subjects set out in sub-section (B) of Section II.

4. Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview for a Personality Test vide sub-section ‘C’ of Section II. However, the papers on Indian Languages and English will be of qualifying nature.The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. The number of candidates to be summoned for interview will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview will carry 300 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main Examination (written part as well as interview) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and posts.

Services/posts to which recruitment is to be made through the Examination are :

(i) Indian Administrative Service.,(ii) Indian Foreign Service.,(iii) Indian Police Service.,(iv) Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’.,(v) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.,(vi) Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) Group 'A',(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.,(viii) Indian Revenue Service, Group ‘A’.,(ix) Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group 'A' (Assistant Works Manager, Administration),(x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’.,(xi) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’., (xii) Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’.,(xiii) Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.,(xiv) Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’.,(xv) Post of Assistant Security Officer, Group 'A' in Railway Protection Force.,(xvi) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’.,(xvii) Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’.,(xviii) Indian Trade Service, Group "A" (GR.III), (xix) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group "A", (xx) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade), (xxi) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'., (xxii) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group 'B'., (xxiii) Pondicherry Civil Service, Group 'B',(xxiv) Pondicherry Police Service, Group 'B'

The number of vacancies to be filled on the results of the examination is expected to be approximately 965. The number of vacancies is liable to alteration.

Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Physically disabled categories in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

Centre of Examination : The examination will be held at the following centres :

AGARTALA, GANGTOK , PATNA , AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD , PUDUCHERRY, AIZWAL , IMPHAL, PORT BLAIR , ALIGARH, ITANAGAR , RAIPUR , ALLAHABAD , JAIPUR , RANCHI , AURANGABAD , JAMMU , SAMBALPUR , BANGALORE, JODHPUR , SHILLONG , BAREILLY , JORHAT, SHIMLA , BHOPAL, KOCHI, SRINAGAR , CHANDIGARH, KOHIMA, THIRUVANATHAPURAM, CHENNAI, KOLKATA , TIRUPATI , CUTTACK , LUCKNOW , UDAIPUR, DEHRADUN , MADURAI, VISHAKHAPATNAM , DELHI , MUMBAI, DHARWAD , NAGPUR, DISPUR, PANAJI (GOA)

The centres and the dates of holding the examination as mentioned above are liable to be changed at the discretion of the commission. Candidates admitted to the Examination will be informed of the time table and place or places of examination.

Age Limits :

(a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years .The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable:

(i) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.

(ii) upto a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

(iii) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989.

(iv) upto a maximum of 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:

(v) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2010 and have been released (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2010) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment.

(vi) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2010 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three month's notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.

(vii) upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons.

The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University, which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate.

These certificates are required to be submitted only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, service records and the like will be accepted.

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Minimum Qualifications :

The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University Under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s examination but have not been informed of the results as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite examination with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. The applications for the main examination will be called sometime in the month of July/August, 2010.

In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who has not any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his admission to the examination.

Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the examination.

Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S. or any other Medical Examination but have not completed their internship by the time of submission of their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Examination provided they submit along with their application a copy of certificate from the concerned authority of the University/Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional medical examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview original Degree or a certificate from the concerned competent authority of the University/Institution that they had completed all requirements (including completion of internship) for the award of the Degree.

Number of attempts :

Every candidate appearing at the Civil Services Examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted four attempts at the examination.

Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply in the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates who are otherwise eligible.

Provided further that the number of attempts permissible to candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes, who are otherwise eligible, shall be seven. This relaxation will be available to the candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

Provided further that a Physically handicapped will get as many attempts as are available to other non-physically handicapped candidates of his or her community, subject to the General Category shall be eligible for seven attempts. The relaxation will be available to the physically handicapped candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

A. Preliminary Examination

The examination will consist of two papers.

Paper I General Studies	150 marks
Paper II One subject to be selected from the list of optional subjects set out in Para 2 below	300 marks
Total :	450 marks

2. List of optional subjects for Preliminary Examination.

Agriculture
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
Botany
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Commerce
Economics
Electrical Engineering
Geography
Geology
Indian History
Law

Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Public Administration
Sociology
Statistics
Zoology

Note (i) Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions).

(ii) The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

(iii) The course content of the syllabi for the optional subjects will be of the degree level. Details of the syllabi are indicated in Part A of Section III.

(iv) Each paper will be of two hours duration. Blind candidates will, however, be allowed an extra time of twenty minutes at each paper.

B. Main Examination

The written examination will consist of the following papers :

Paper I	One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Scheduled to the Constitution.	300 marks
Paper II	English	300 marks
Paper III	Essay	200 marks
Papers IV and V	General Studies	300 marks for each paper
Papers VI, VII, VIII and IX	Any two subjects to be selected from the list of the optional subjects set out in para 2 below. Each subject will have two papers.	300 marks for each paper

Interview Test will carry 300 marks.

Note (i) The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature; the marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.

(ii) Evaluation of the papers, namely, 'Essay, General Studies' and 'Optional subjects' of all the candidates would be done simultaneously along with evaluation of their qualifying papers on 'Indian Languages' and 'English' but the papers on 'Essay', 'General Studies' and 'Optional Subjects' of only such candidates will be taken cognizance of as attain such minimum standard as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion for the qualifying papers on 'Indian Language' and 'English' and, therefore, the marks in 'Essay', 'General Studies' and 'Optional Subjects' will not be disclosed to those candidates who fail to obtain such minimum qualifying standard in 'Indian Language' and 'English'

(iii) The paper-I on Indian Languages will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the North-Eastern States of Arunachanl Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and also for candidates hailing from the State of Sikkim.

(iv) For the Language papers, the script to be used by the candidates will be as under :–

Language

Script

Assamese

Assamese

Bengali

Bengali

Bodo

Devanagari

Dogri

Devanagari

Gujarati

Gujarati

Hindi

Devanagari

Kannada

Kannada

Kashmiri

Persian

Konkani

Devanagari

Maithili

Devanagari

Malayam

Malayalam

Manipuri

Bengali

Marathi

Devanagari

Nepali

Devanagari

Oriya

Oriya

Punjabi

Gurmukhi

Sanskrit

Devanagari

Santhali

Devanagari or Olchiki

Sindhi

Devanagari or Arabic

Tamil

Tamil

Telugu

Telugu

Urdu

Persian

Note:- For Santhali language, question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.

2. List of optional subjects for Main Examination

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Anthropology

Botany

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Commerce and Accountancy

Economics

Electrical Engineering

Geography

Geology

History

Law

Management

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Medical Science

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science and International Relations

Psychology

Public Administration

Sociology

Statistics

Zoology

Literature of one of the following languages :

Arabic, Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Dogri, Chinese, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Note (i) Candidates will not be allowed to offer the following combinations of subjects :–

(a) Political Science & International Relations and Public Administration;

(b) Commerce & Accountancy and Management;

(c) Anthropology and Sociology;

(d) Mathematics and Statistics;

(e) Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science.

(f) Management and Public Administration;

(g) Of the Engineering subjects, viz., Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering–not more than one subject.

(h) Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science and Medical Science.

(ii) The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type.

(iii) Each paper will be of three hours duration. Blind candidates will, however be allowed an extra time of thirty minutes at each paper.

(iv) Candidates will have the option to answer all the question papers, except the language papers viz. Papers I and II above in any one of the languages in cluded in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution or in English.

(v) Candidates exercising the option to answer papers III to IX in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution may, if they so desire, give English version within brackets of only the description of the technical terms, if any, in addition to the version in the language opted by them.

Candidates should, however, note that if they misuse the above rule, a deduction will be made on this account from the total marks otherwise accruing to them and in extreme cases, their script(s) will not be valued for being in an unauthorised medium.

(vi) The question papers other than language papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

(vii) The details of the syllabi are set out in Part B of Section III

General Instructions (Preliminary as well as Main Examination) :

(i) Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances, will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the answers for them. However, blind candidates will be allowed to write the examination with the help of a scribe.

(ii) An extra time of twenty minutes per hour shall be permitted for the candidates with locomotors disability and cerebral palsy where dominant (writing) extremity is affected to the extent of slowing the performance of function (minimum of 40% impairment) in the Civil Services (Main) Examination only. However, no scribe shall be permitted to such candidates.

Note (1) : The eligibility conditions of a scribe, his/her conduct inside the examination hall and the manner in which and extent to which he/she can help the blind candidate in writing the Civil Services Examination shall be governed by the instructions issued by the UPSC in this regard. Violation of all or any of the said instructions shall entail the cancellation of the candidature of the blind candidate in addition to any other action that the UPSC may take against the scribe.

Note (2) : For purpose of these rules the candidate shall be deemed to be a blind candidate if the percentage of visual impairment is 40% or more.

Note (3) :For availing of the concession admissible to a blind candidate, the candidate concerned shall produce a certificate in the prescribed proforma from a Medical Board constituted by the Central/State Governments alongwith his application for the Main Examination.

Note (4) : The concession admissible to blind candidates shall not be admissible to those suffering from Myopia.

(ii) The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects of the examination.

(iii) If a candidate’s handwriting is not easily legible, a deduction will be made on this account from the total marks otherwise accruing to him.

(iv) Marks will not be allotted for mere superficial knowledge.

(v) Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined with due economy of words in all subjects of the examination.

(vi) In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used.

(vii) Candidates should use only international form of Indian numerals (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.) while answering question papers.

(viii) Candidates will be allowed the use of Scientific (Non-Programmable type) calculators at the conventional (Essay) type examination of UPSC. Programmable type calculators will however not be allowed and the use of such calculators shall tantamount to resorting to unfair means by the candidates. Loaning or interchanging of calculators in the Examination Hall is not permitted.

It is also important to note that candidates are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type papers (Test Booklets). They should not therefore bring the same inside the Examination Hall.

C. Interview test

The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his career. He will be 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 calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgment, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.

2. The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

3. The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated youth.

Details of Syllabus

Old Question Papers

For more details visit http://www.upsc.gov.in/