What is UPSC?
The Union Public Service Commission also simply referred to as the UPSC is India’s central recruiting agency. Civil Services Examination (UPSC) is one of the most competitive and prestigious exams, popularly known as IAS is conducted by UPSC to recruit candidates for Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, and several other Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Central Services/ Posts.
UPSC is a Constitutional Body under Article 315-323 Part XIV Chapter II of the Constitution of India to discharge their duties, functions and obligations assigned under Article 320. The UPSC conducts various examinations in accordance with the Rules of examination as notified by the Government of India in a just, fair and impartial manner for making a merit based selection and recommendation of candidates for various Group A and Group B Services of the Govt. of India.
Civil Services offers premier job opportunities and a challenging career. The selected candidates play a major role in managing the bureaucracy of both the central and the state governments, holding strategic posts across the country.
These candidates recruited as officers are involved in various responsibilities like the framing of the policies, implementation, law, and order, general administration, development of new projects, etc. These officers will get a chance to work as authoritative posts like Sub-Divisional Magistrate, District Magistrate, Divisional Commissioner, Principal Secretaries/Financial Commissioners, Chief Secretary of state or central government.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, is the cadre controlling authority.
Full form of UPSC
The full form of UPSC is Union Public Service Commission.
UPSC CSE Full Form
The full form of UPSC CSE is UPSC Civil Services Examination where UPSC is the conducting body.
UPSC: History
The British East India Company introduced the concept of a Civil Service exam in 1854. Initially, the examinations for the Indian Civil Service were conducted only in London. In 1864, the first Indian, Shri Satyendranath Tagore brother of Shri Rabindranath Tagore succeeded in this exam. It was only after the Montagu Chelmsford reforms that Indian civil service exams began to be held in India.
The Public Service Commission was set up in India for the first time on October 1, 1926. Sir Ross Barker, member of the Home Civil Service, United Kingdom was the first Chairman of the Commission. With the introduction of the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission came to be recognized as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Hence, UPSC was formed as the central commission for conducting government job examinations.
What are the Functions of UPSC?
The functions of the UPSC under Article 320 of the Constitution include the following:
- Framing and amendment of the Recruitment Rules for services and posts under the Government.
- Managing disciplinary cases related to different Civil Services or officers.
- Conduct the recruitment examinations for appointment to the services of the Union.
- Direct recruitment of aspirants by selection through interviews.
- Appointment of officers in the cadre on promotion/deputation/ absorption.
- Advising the Government on any matter assigned to the Commission by the President of India.
What are the exams conducted by UPSC for selection into civil services?
- Civil Services Examination (CSE)
- Engineering Services Examination (ESE).
- Indian Forestry Services Examination (IFoS).
- Central Armed Police Forces Examination (CAPF).
- Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS).
- Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist Examination.
- Combined Medical Services (CMS).
- Special Class Railway Apprentices Exam (SCRA).
- Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for selection of Assistant Commandant. (Executive) in CISF.
What are the exams conducted by UPSC for selection into defence services?
- National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination – NDA & NA (I).
- National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination – NDA & NA (II).
- Combined Defense Services Exam – CDS (I).
- Combined Defense Services Exam – CDS (II).
Why to Choose Civil Services as a Career?
Civil Services work as the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) are three of the most preferable services under this. IAS is most sought after among these services as IAS officers get the opportunity to serve on higher strategic positions in the Union Government and State Governments.
About the (UPSC CSE) Examination Process
In order to get selected into these coveted services, candidates have to appear in the Civil Services Exam (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and should pass a three-phase selection process. The three phases are the
- Civil Services Preliminary Exam (Prelims),
- Civil Services (Main) Examination (Mains),
- and the Personality Test (Interview).
How to Apply
- Candidates are required to apply Online using the official website of UPSC that is www.upsconline.nic.in.
- Candidates need to complete the Online Application Form containing two stages viz. Part-I and Part-II as per the instructions available in the above mentioned website.
- The candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs.100/- Rupees One Hundred only) [excepting SC/ST/ Female/Persons with Benchmark Disability candidates who are exempted from payment of fee] either by depositing the money in any branch of State Bank of India by cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India or by using any Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/ Debit Card.
- Before start filling up Online Application form, a candidate must have his/her photograph and signature duly scanned in the jpg format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 40 KB and must not be less than 3 KB in size for the photograph and 1 KB for the signature.
- Applicants should avoid submitting multiple applications. In case of multiple applications, the applications with higher Registration ID will be considered by the Commission.
- The applicants must ensure that while filling their Application Form, they are providing their valid and active E-Mail IDs as the Commission may use electronic mode of communication while contacting them at different stages of examination process.
Plan of Examination
The Civil Services Examination consists of two successive stages:
- Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
- Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts.
*Candidates who are declared qualified for Civil Services (Main) Examination; have to submit a Detailed Application Form (DAF).
First Stage Details
- The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination comprises two papers of 200 marks each i.e. General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper-II.
- GS Paper-II (also known as CSAT i.e. Civil Service Aptitude Test) is of qualifying in nature and in which a candidate has to secure 33% marks only.
- Objective type (Multiple Choice Questions) is asked in this stage. Marks obtained in this stage are counted only to decide merit in the preliminary examination, not for final selection. Clearing the Prelims makes one eligible for the next stage of the exam.
Second Stage Details
- Civil Services (Main) Examination is the ‘written stage’ of the examination. It consists of nine papers of which, marks of only seven papers are counted in deciding the final merit list. In the remaining two papers, a candidate has to secure the minimum qualifying marks decided by UPSC each year. The question papers for the Mains examination are of conventional (essay) type.
- The Civil Services Personality Test consists of a board of members for assessing the candidate’s personality. A candidate is 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 caliber of a candidate.
*Final rank of a candidate in merit list depends upon the marks scored in the second stage only i.e. written and Interview.
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper-1 | Essay | 250 |
| Paper-2 | General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 |
| Paper-3 | General Studies–II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International relations) | 250 |
| Paper-4 | General Studies–III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper-5 | General Studies–IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper-6 | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 250 |
| Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 250 | |
| Paper-7 | Sub Total (Written test) Personality Test Grand Total | 1750 275 2025 |
Two Qualifying Papers are:
- Paper-A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution): 300 Marks
- Paper-B (English): 300 Marks
Eligibility Criteria
- For the IAS and the IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India. For other services, a candidate must be either a citizen of India or a citizen of some other country (eligible after meeting with some special conditions).
- A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August of examination year. The upper age limit is relaxable, maximum of 5 years for SC/STs candidates and 3 years for OBC candidates. Age relaxation is also applicable for Ex-Defense personnel and candidates with certain disability.
- A candidate must hold a Universities degree, or possess an equivalent qualification for appearing in Civil Services Examination. Candidates who have appeared in the final year of the degree examination and also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. But such candidates have to produce proof of passing the requisite examination before appearing in the Civil Services (Main) Examination.
*A candidate who got appointed as an IAS or IFS officer in an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination. Moreover, a candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service will not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service in the next exam.
Other ‘Group A’ Services
- Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
- Indian Postal Service
- Indian Civil Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Traffic Service
- Indian Railway Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Personnel Service
- Indian Railway Protection Force (Assistant Security Commissioner)
- Indian Defence Estates Service
- Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)
- Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III)
- Indian Corporate Law Service
‘Group B’ Services
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer’s Grade)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS)
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service