The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has issued the notification for Civil Services Examination (CSE), held annually to fill vacancies arising in 21 different Civil Services like the IFS (Indian Forest Service), IAS (Indian Administrative Service), and IPS (Indian Police Service).
Interested candidates who want to appear in the Preliminary Examination, the first stage of the UPSC Civil Services Exam, should submit the online application via the website www.upsconline.nic.in before 6 pm on February 21.
There are a total of 1105 vacancies this time, out of which 37 are reserved for Physically Disabled candidates. The Preliminary examination is scheduled on May 28 and the Mains from September 15 onwards.
The guidelines as to how to apply are given on the website. For details, including the notification, log on to www.upsc.gov.in and check the Examination link.
The candidates can pay the application fee of Rs 100 online or remit the money to any branch of the State Bank of India. Those belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Physically Handicapped, and Women categories are exempted from the fee payment. Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode are included in the Prelims Exam centers, which will be allotted on a first come first serve basis. However, for the Mains, Thiruvananthapuram is the only exam center in the state.
Eligibility Criteria
The candidates must hold a Graduate Degree from a recognized University or an equivalent qualification. There is no minimum mark requirement. Final-year degree students too can sit for the Preliminary examination.
They have to submit the documents of obtaining the Degree while applying for the Mains. The Medical degree students need to produce documents of their successfully completing the internship at the time of the interview. Those having an equivalent qualification to the Technical graduation courses too can apply.
Those in the age group of 21 to 32 can apply. However, the upper age limit in the case of Scheduled Caste/Tribe and Other Backward Classes is 37 and 35, respectively. The same for the Physically Handicapped candidates meeting specified requirements is 42 years. Ex-servicemen too enjoy relaxation in the upper age limit.
An eligible candidate is allowed to have up to six attempts at the CSE. Appearing for even one paper at the Prelims will be considered an attempt. The candidates belonging to the backward classes and those falling under the General/Financially backward category can write the examination up to nine times. There is no limit to the attempts by candidates belonging to the Scheduled categories. The only thing is that they shouldn’t cross the prescribed age limit. However, it’s always advisable that candidates should try to pass the examination on the first chance itself.
Preliminary Exam
There are three stages for Civil Services Examination – Preliminary, Mains, and Interview/Personality Tests. The Prelims can be considered as a screening test or an elimination round. Only if a candidate performs well at this stage can he/she qualify for Main Examination. However, the Prelims scores won’t be considered in the preparation of the final rank list. That will be solely on the basis of the marks obtained in the Mains and interview. The maximum mark is 2025.
The Prelims consists of two objective-type papers, two hours long for a total of 400 marks. The Negative Marking system, under which marks will be deducted for wrong answers, is being followed. Since the optional subjects are excluded from the exam topics, none will enjoy any advantage. The ranking for the Main examination will be done on the basis of the scores obtained in the preliminary paper-1 (total of 200 marks). The Prelims Paper 2 is a qualifying paper and a candidate should obtain at least 33 percent marks.
Prelims syllabus draft
Paper 1: Current events, History of India & Indian national movement, Indian & World Geography, Indian Polity & governance – constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.; Economic & social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives, etc.; Environmental ecology, biodiversity & climate change (no subject specialization required), General Science.
Paper 2: Comprehension, Interpersonal skills, Logical reasoning & analytical ability, Decision making & problem-solving, General Mental Ability, Basic numeracy (numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude, etc); Data Interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc., -Class X level).
Main Examination syllabus
Nine descriptive-type papers, each extending three hours.
• Paper A: Languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, including Malayalam.
• Paper B: English.
A candidate needs to obtain only 25 % marks in these papers to qualify. The scores won’t be considered for ranking purposes. Then, there are seven papers carrying 250 marks each-
• Paper 1: Essay
• Paper 2: General Studies One (Indian Heritage and Culture, World History, & World Geography)
• Paper 3: General Studies Two (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations)
• Paper 4: General Studies Three (Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
• Paper 5: General Studies Four (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)
• Paper 6 & 7: Optional Subject paper 1 & paper 2. (Candidates can choose one out of the 25 subjects and a language literature, including Malayalam, out of the 23 languages.
For the ranking purpose, the maximum mark in the written examination is 1750 marks (250*7), and that for Interview (Personality Test) is 275 marks. Hence, the total marks is 2025.
Preparedness
The syllabus of all the subjects are given in the notification. Candidates can also get last year’s question papers from the UPSC website. The previous years’ question papers and the guidance of experts will help immensely in the Civil Services preparation.
Questions can come from the fundamental theories in social psychology and management, general administration practices, economic activities, law and order, IT’s advantages, security architecture, and international relations. It will test a candidate’s decision-making ability, values, good manners, dispute-resolution styles, effective communication and motivational habits.
This means the decisions should not be taken mechanically but by considering values, too. The exam syllabus seeks to select not bookworms but the best persons who travel on the path of virtue, making the best use of their intelligence and logic.
By assessing the performance in the preliminary exam, almost 12 to 13 fold candidates will be selected for the main exam. The best-performing candidates in the main exam will be invited for an interview. The number called will be double the number of vacancies. For any further doubts, pls call: 01123385271.
Same preliminary for forest service too
Those trying for the Indian Forest Service have to clear the Civil Services preliminary. In the online application, the candidates can indicate whether they are interested in both. But for applying for Forest Service, a candidate should be a graduate in veterinary or, botany or chemistry or geology or maths or physics or statistics or zoology or agriculture or forestry, or engineering or should have an equivalent qualification. Those who excel in the preliminary exam will be called for the Forest Service Main exam. The structure of the main service exam is on the website www.upsc.gov.in.
Advantage of preparing for Civil Service
Though it’s stipulated that any graduate can apply for the Civil Service Exam, persons with excellent general knowledge, language skill, and analytical skill, who devote a year exclusively to focused preparation will be able to able to cross this highly competitive exam. Those who have the ability and patience in this regard will be the winners in the end.
There is another side to the picture. Though only a limited percentage of people are selected through this exam, the disciplined preparation that goes into attempting this exam will increase the chances of your clearing some other competitive exam. This is no simple achievement. The preparation for Civil Services is never a waste of time.
Questions can come from the fundamental theories in social psychology and management, general administration practices, economic activities, law and order, IT’s advantages, security architecture and international relations. The decisions should not be taken mechanically but by considering values too. This means that the exam syllabus seeks to select not bookworms but the best persons who travel on the path of virtue, making the best use of their intelligence and logic.
By assessing the performance in the preliminary exam, almost 12/13 fold candidates will be selected for the main exam. The best-performing candidates in the main exam will be invited for the interview. The number called will be double the number of vacancies. For clearing doubts, please call: 01123385271.
Poor performance in interview not the end
There is a provision intended to help the aspirants who stumble on the last hurdle. The marks scored by those who qualified for the interview after clearing the Prelims and the Mains but then falling short will be published on the website along with the marks they got in the written examination. This will enable prospective employers in the public and private sectors to hire them based on their performance.
Those making it to the top 2000 from the over five lakhs aspirants competing on a national level are sure to possess talents. It is also worth remembering that the interview opportunity is limited to twice the number of vacancies. Only those giving their consent will have their marks published.