Civil Service Exam

general studies

CSAT

main exam

Civil Service EXAMINATION

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to the various Civil Services of the Government of India, including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among others. The examination is conducted in two phases - the Preliminary examination, consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies and Aptitude Test), and the Main examination, consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type followed by the Personality Test (Interview). The entire process from the notification of the Preliminary examination to declaration of the final results takes roughly one and a half year.

Recruitment Process

The Civil Services Examination of India is considered to be amongst of the most difficult competitive examinations in the world. On an average, 10 to 15 lakh candidates appear for the examination. Aspirants must compete a three-stage process, with a final success rate of about 0.3 % of the total applicants.

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Stage I: Preliminary Examination - This is qualifying test held in May every year. Notification for this is published in December/January. Results are published in the first half of August. Only those who pass this exam can appear for the next level
Stage II: Main examination - This is the main test, held in October/November every year. Results are usually published in the second week of March.
Stage III: Personality Test (Interview) - It is the final test and is held in April/May every year. Final results are usually announced a few days before the next preliminary examination.

The training program for the selected candidates usually commences in August every year.

Eligibility

The eligibility norms for the examination are as follows:

Nationality

For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
For the Indian Foreign Service, a candidate must be one of the following:
For other services, a candidate must be one of the following:
- A citizen of India
- A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan
- o a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

Education

All candidates must have a minimum of any of the following educational qualifications:

A degree from a Central, State or Deemed university
A degree received through Correspondence Education or Distance Education
A degree from an Open University
A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to either of the above

The following candidates are also eligible, but have to submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam.

Candidates who have appeared in an examination, the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy any of the above points
Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed their internship

Age

Prescribed age limits are minimum 21 years and maximum of 30 years as on 1 August of the year of Examination. A candidate who turns 21 on 1 August is eligible whereas a candidate who turns 30 is not.

Upper age limit relaxation is provided to candidates as follows:

A maximum of three years for OBC candidates [Non Creamy Layer only]

A maximum of three years in 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
A maximum of five years for candidates belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
A maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1989
A maximum of five years in case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1 August and have been released on either of the following basis:
- on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1 August) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency
- on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service
- o on invalidment
A maximum of five years in case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1 August 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 months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
A maximum of ten years in case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons

The age relaxation will not be admissible to Ex-Servicemen and Commissioned Officers including ECOs/SSCOs who are released on own request.

Numbers of attempts

The number of attempts a candidate can give the exam is limited as follows:

Four attempts for General category candidates and OBC category candidates under the Creamy layer
Seven attempts for OBC category candidates
To SCs/STs, there is no limit on the number of attempts.

However these candidates are requested to bear in mind:

An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.
If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination.
Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.
Candidates just applied but not appeared at the exam is not an attempt.

Vacancies and Selection

Generally the number of vacancies varies every year. In the preliminary examination, the number of candidate selected for the mains is 11 or 12 times the number of vacancies and in case of the main examination, the number of candidates selected for the interview is twice the number of vacancies. As per existing policies, reservation for SC/ST/OBC is applied to each level of the selection process. For example, if the number of vacancies in a given year is 1000, and 100,000 candidates appear for the preliminary examination; the top 11,000 or 12,000 scorers will be selected for the mains and similarly, out of those 12,000 only the top 2,000 scorers will be called for the interview subject to their respective reservation quota.

In 2006, around 400,000 candidates applied for fewer than 500 vacancies and around 7,500 got through the preliminary and appeared in the Mains exam. In 2010, 5,47,698 candidates appeared for the preliminary exam.

To secure a place in the highly sought after Indian Administrative Service (IAS), a candidate must secure a rank in the top 80, a success rate of around 0.025 percent!

The number of vacancies in 2011 was approximately 880.

Preliminary

The pattern of the Preliminary examination up to 2010 was based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1979). It included two examinations, one on general studies worth 150 marks, and the second on one of 23 optional subjects worth 300 marks. Until 2011, when it was revamped,the preliminary pattern was sustained with only minor changes once every ten to fifteen years. It is possible that in the coming years there can be some more changes in the format.

From 2011 onwards, the Preliminary examination, now known as the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), intends to focus on analytical abilities and understanding rather than the ability to memorize. The new pattern includes two papers of two hours duration and 200 marks each. Both papers have multiple choice objective type questions only. They are as under:

Paper l tests the candidate's knowledge on current events, history of India and Indian national movement, Indian and World Geography, Indian Polity and governance, Economic and social development, environmental ecology, biodiversity, climate change and general science.
Paper II tests the candidates' skills in comprehension, interpersonal skills, communication, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision making, problem solving, basic numeracy, data interpretation, English language comprehension skills and mental ability.

Mains

The Civil Services Mains Examination consists of a written examination and an interview.

Examination

The written examination consists of nine papers, two qualifying and seven ranking in nature.[1] The range of questions may vary from just one mark to sixty marks, twenty words to 600 words answers. Candidates who pass qualifying papers are ranked according to marks and a selected number of candidates are called for interview or a personality test at the Commission's discretion.

There are proposals to do away with the two optional subjects and introduce a standardized examination based on public administration, but these have not been implemented or confirmed yet.

Civil Services Mains Format
Type	Subject	Paper	Marks
Qualifying	English language	Single paper	300
Qualifying	Indian language	single paper	300
Ranking	Essay	single paper	200
	General studies	Paper I	300
	General studies	Paper II	300
	Optional Subject I	Paper I	300
	Optional Subject I	Paper II	300
	Optional Subject II	Paper I	300
	Optional Subject II	Paper II	300
Interview			300
Total Marks			2300

Note: These papers are qualifying in nature and are not used for ranking. Hence their marks are not added to the total. Candidates who fail these papers as per the Commission's standards are not eligible for the interview.

Note: The Indian language must be one specified under the eighth schedule of the constitution

Interview

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 judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.

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.
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.

List of Civil Services

All India Services

Group A Services

Group - B Services

Indian Administrative Service

The IAS (Indian Administrative Service) was formally constituted in 1947, and is the premier service in India. It offers an attractive and challenging career. Fame and glamour are also associated with this service. Even though most people tend to think being the DM or Collector is the most powerful and glamorous post, The IAS holds power at all levels. It is the service that is meant to place people straight at the top of any government organization and not the district alone. inspite of all the political interference if you are a determined person and diplomatic you can achieve anything for your country.

The IAS or the Indian Administrative Service, handles affairs of the government. At the central level, this involves the framing and implementation of policy. At the district level, it is concerned with district affairs, including development functions. At the divisional level, the IAS officers look after law and order, general administration and development work. Members of the Indian Administrative Service hold various administrative posts like District Collector, Heads of Departments, Heads of Public Enterprises at the state level etc. They can also be posted on deputation to the Central Government to various posts.
Being an 'All India Service', it follows the Cadre system. In this system officers are allotted to various state cadres and your service is allotted to that state. So for all practical purposes you belong to that state service and may be deputed elsewhere but you'll always be recognized by your parent cadre. These systems though very useful tend to positively and negatively affect careers. The cadre system is allotted on a basis of lottery and the toppers of each state may get a chance to get their home states if they have opted for such a preference.

India Foreign Service

The Indian Foreign Service [IFS] is a Central Service and the premier diplomatic service of our country. Members of the IFS, primarily represent the country in the international arena. The Indian Foreign Service deals with the country's external affairs, including diplomacy, trade and cultural relations. It is responsible for the administration and activities of Indian missions abroad, and for the framing and implementation of the Government's foreign policy.

The service offers immense exposure to different political, social, ethnic and cultural milieu. An I.F.S officer can be posted in 160 odd Indian Embassies and Missions abroad. They can also be deputed to institutions like United Nations, UNESCO, World Bank, SAARC, etc. Back home, they can be posted in various parts of the country as Passport Officers.

Even though many toppers at the civil services exams opt for the IAS, with limited vacancies the IFS is also a tough service to get. With India and Indians going global, this is the service which holds a lot of promise and glamour.

Indian Police Service

The Indian Police Service [IPS] is primarily concerned with maintenance of Law and Order in the country. This is the premier uniformed civil service in the country. An I.P.S officer works for both the Central and State Governments. He serves the State Government in various capacities ranging from Assistant Superintendent of Police at the beginning of his career to the Director General of Police (who is the head of the police force in his state) at the stage of retirement. He can also serve the Central Government in various organizations like the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) etc.

The IPS (Indian Police Service) is responsible for public safety and security. The IPS mainly takes care of law and order, which, at the district level, is a responsibility shared with the IAS ; crime prevention and detection ; and traffic control and accident prevention and management. In order to fulfil these functions with greater efficiency, this service is divided into various functional departments, including : " Crime Branch, " Criminal Investigation Department (CID), " Home Guards, " Traffic Bureau.

With changing times however, more and more IPS officers are serving in departments and areas that used to exclusively be the forte of IAS officers, just as the IAS officers now at times head departments like vigilance which were exclusively given to IPS officers. This widening of opportunities and exposure has made the IPS even more attractive.

Again being an 'All India Service', it follows the Cadre system. In this system officers are allotted to various state cadres and your service is allotted to that state. So for all practical purposes you belong to that state service and may be deputed elsewhere but you'll always be recognized by your parent cadre. These systems though very usefull tends to positively and negatively affect careers. The cadre system is allotted on a basis of lottery and the toppers of each state may get a chance to get their home states if they have opted for such a preference.
the IPS is also filled through teh civilservices exam conducted by UPSC.

Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service

Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service is a group A service. The senior most person of this service is the Deputy Director General who heads this organisation.

The hierarchy:
Assistant Chief Controllers of Imports and Exports > Deputy Chief Controller of Imports and Exports > Joint Chief Controller Imports and Exports or Chairman of a Public Sector unit.

Indian Audit and Accounts Service

The Indian Audit and Accounts service is under the Control of the CAG. The Controller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is one of the Constitutional authorities, like the Chairman of UPSC or the Election Commissioner. He/she is responsible for maintenance of accounts in the states as well as Audit of Accounts of the Union as well as the State Governments. The post of Controller and Auditor General is not, reserved exclusively for officers of the IA&AS. Even officer of the IAS of sufficient experience and seniority may be appointed as the Controller and Auditor General.

The services of officers of the IAAS are lent to State Government for functioning as Financial Advisers Chief Accounts Officers, Chief Internal Audit Officers and so on.

The hierarchy:
During the course of their probation, direct recruits to this service work as Assistant Accountant General. The heirarchy after that is: Deputy Accountant General > Senior Deputy Accountant General > Accountant General > Director of Audits > Additional CAG > Dy. CAG (equivalent in rank to a secretary to the Government of India).

Indian Revenue Service( Customs and Central Excise Service)

The Indian Revenue Service has two wings, one being Income Tax and the other Customs and Central Exercise. The Indian Customs and Central Excise Service (IC&CES) is basically concerned with two main aspects, mainly Customs and Excise. While Customs is concerned with the checking and levy of duty on taxable goods brought into the country, the Excise department is involved with the taxation of goods manufactured within the country. The members of this service begin their Career as Assistant Collectors of Customs/Central Excise and may rise up in the hierarchy to the level of Chief Collector of Customs.

The hierarchy:
Pprobationers > Assistant Commissioners (Customs) > Deputy Commissioners (customs) > Additional Commissioners (Customs )> Commissioners (Customs) > member (Central Board of Excise and Customs) > Chairman (Central Board of Excise and Customs).

The Central Excise Officers start as Assistant Commissioner (Central Excise). After that, the heriarchy follows as: Deputy Commissioners (Central Excise) > Additional Commissioner (Central Excise) > Commissioners (central Excise) > Member (Central Board of Excise and Customs) > Chairman (Central Board of Excise & Customs).

Probationers to the customs service begin their field training at Madras while the excise officers may start service in any metropolitan town. Custom officers are posted at international airports and ports like, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Goa, etc. They could be posted at other border and coastal towns. Their principal duty is to levy customs' duty on goods, which are brought to the country. Customs & excise cadres are not watertight compartments. Officers are liable to transfer from one to another, depending upon their experience and the exigencies of the work.

Chief Commissioner of Customs and Excise, with the pay of an Additional Secretary holds technical and administrative charges in all the regions, exercising overall supervision on the technical and administration work.

The head of the administration is the Chairman Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Indian Defence Accounts Service

The Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) is responsible for maintaining the complete accounts of the Defence Services. The first position to be placed in after appointment is that of Assistant Controller of Defence Accounts. The defence accounts offices in cantonment, states and defence command headquarters are under the jurisdiction of the IDAS.

Indian Revenue Service (IT)

This service deals with the matters concerning Income Tax. The members of this service, begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.
With changing times however, more and more IRS officers are serving in departments and areas that used to exclusively be the forte of IAS officers. This widening of opportunities and exposure has made the IRS more attractive.
Since there is no cadre system in this service you can expect to be posted anywhere in India nad even your home state, which becomes a problem for many in the IAS or IPS. The tenures are also more stable with an average of 3 years unlike the other two services where one may not even complete a month and the average tenure is around a year or so.
Officers of Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax) enter training at their academy at Nagpur. After training, they are posted as Assistant Commissioners either on assessment or other work.
While the main work of the department is assessment and recovery of direct taxes, the department has specialised branches dealing with investigation of tax evasion, statistics, and so on with the help of Assistant Directors (of the same rank as Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax). The Assistant Commissioners/ Deputy Directors, Communication Chief Commissioners become members of Central Board of Direct Taxes. The head of the department is the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, who is invariably a member of the Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax).

Indian Ordnance Factories Service

Ordinance factories manufacture equipment for the Defence Services. The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officers serve in these factories for a span of nearly 10 years. They may be asked to serve as commissioned officers of the Armed forces for 4 years. At the apex of the IOFS is the Chairman equivalent to a Secretary, followed by Members of the Ordinance Factories or Director General Ordinance Factories and then by General Manager. The senior and junior scale positions are like the other services.

Indian Postal Service

The Indian Postal Service also carries a lot of the aura of living in large bungalows etc. The only thing you miss sometimes is perhaps public exposure. This is however a service that gives you opportunities to do service to your nation by introducing newer and better schemes for the nation especially when communication is changing at a very fast pace.

The hierarchy:
Probationer > Senior Superintendent of Post Offices or Railway Mail in large district towns and Divisional Headquarters > Assistant Post Master General > Director > Post Master General of a 'Circle' > Senior Deputy Director Generals who are equivalent to Additional Secretary in a Ministry or member of Post and Telegraph Board (a total 8 in number) > Chairman of the Board.

Indian Civil Accounts Service

The separation of accounts from audit at the Union level has led to the creation of the new Indian Civil Accounts cadre. The Controller and Auditor General of India does not, however, control this cadre but the Secretary (Expenditure) in the Ministry of Finance (Government of India) exercises this function.

The hierarchy:
Assistant Controller of Accounts > Deputy Controller of Accounts > Controller of Accounts > Additional Controller General of Accounts > Controller General of Accounts (equivalent to Additional Secretary, to the Government of India.)

Indian Railway Traffic Service

The Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) has two functions:
(a) Commercial Transportation of objects by trains is the responsibility of the Commercial Division of the IRTS.
(b) Operations: The Operations Department is in charge of the movement of trains.

The hierarchy:

Assistant Superintendent(Commercial/Operations) at Divisional Headquarters and after 4 years of service at the senior scale > Commercial/Operations Superintendent at the Divisional Headquarters > Senior Divisional OS/CS > Chief Commercial Superintendent OS/CS > Additional Chief Commercial Superintendent OS/ CS > Deputy Chief Commercial Superintendent OS/CS.

Indian Railway Accounts Service

The Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) is in charge of all the accounts of the railways, i.e. income, expenditures, etc.

The hierarchy:
Financial Advisor cum Chief Accounts Officer of a zone > Senior Divisional Accounts Officers > Divisional Accounts Officers > Assistant Accounts Officers at Divisional Headquarters.

Indian Railway Personnel Service

Indian Railway Personnel Service involves tasks such as recruitment of all railway staff (inspectors, drivers, IRTS officers) and planning of recruitments, deciding promotions, postings, training, welfare, in fact all work concerning personnel.

The hierarchy:
Chief Personnel Officer > Chief Planning and Labour Officer > Additional Chief Planning Officer > Deputy Chief Planning Officer (Selection Grade) > Senior Divisional Personnel Officer > Divisional Personnel Officer > Assistant Personnel Officer >

Railway Protection Force (RPF)

The Railway Police Service (RPF) is responsible for the security of the railway tracks, personnel and equipment. The Director General is at the apex of the service. This post is equivalent to that of the Additional Secretary.

Indian Defence Estates Service

The management of cantonments is under the care of Defence Estate Service. The appointment on completion of probation is that of Executive Officer Class I or Class II of cantonments. The senior most position in this service is that of Director General Defence Estates.

Indian Information Service

The Indian Information Services (IIS) Officers are controlled by the Ministry of Defence (Directorate of Public Relations). The tasks

Managing government's print media, electronic media, advertising agency, Union Ministeries (news desk),act as press advisors
Constitute a press party
Organise press conferences
Control official media
Organise festivals (national and international), etc

The work is interesting as it uses the flare for journalism, public relations and administration all together. There is a special requirement to enter this service. The officer needs to have some previous experience of work in a newspaper or news agency or ad agency. The promotional channel is more or less the same as that of other Services.

Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service

Armed Forces Headquarters Civilian Staff is a group B service. The Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) Headquarters and other inter-service bodies under the defence ministry have civilian staff who are responsible for administration. Such staff is chosen from the civil service exams held by the UPSC.

UT Police Service

Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi Police Service are centrally administered. Selected officers are appointed to police departments of union territories and also to Pondicherry Civil Services.

Pondicherry police and Civil Service

Pondicherry, like Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi Police Service is also centrally administered. Selected officers are appointed to the Pondicherry Civil Services.