Exams conducted by UPSC

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a premier central recruiting agency in India, responsible for conducting various competitive exams to recruit candidates for administrative posts in the government of India. The most sought-after exam conducted by the UPSC is the Civil Services Examination (CSE), also known as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam. The CSE is conducted annually and provides a wide range of opportunities for aspirants to serve the nation in various administrative positions.

UPSC conducts the following exams

• Civil Services Examination (CSE)
• Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS)
• Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS)
• National Defence Academy (NDA) & Naval Academy Examination (NA)
• Engineering Services Examination (ESE)
• Combined Medical Services Examination (CMS)
• Central Armed Police Forces Examination (CAPF)
• Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA)
• Indian Economic Service (IES) & Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Examination
• Combined Geo-Scientist & Geologist Examination
• Indian Naval Academy Examination (INA)
• SO/Steno (GD-B/GD-I) LDCE
• Section Officer (Commercial Audit) Examination

UPSC also conducts various recruitment exams for various departments, organizations and services in the central government of India. Some of these exams include

• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
• Indian Police Service (IPS)
• Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
• Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
• Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS)
• Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
• Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
• Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
• Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
• Indian Railway Protection Force (RPF)
• Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
• Indian Information Service (IIS)
• Indian Trade Service (ITrS)
• Indian Defence Stores Service (IDSS)
• Central Engineering Service Examination
• Central Water Engineering Service Examination
• Junior Time Scale of Indian Information Service Examination
• Junior Engineer (Quality Assurance) Examination
• Junior Translator Examination
• Assistant Director Examination
• Assistant Director (Cost) Examination
• Junior Hindi Translator Examination
• Senior Hindi Translator Examination
• Hindi Pradhyapak Examination
• Assistant Security Commissioner Examination
• Assistant Enforcement Officer Examination
• Assistant Audit Officer Examination
• Assistant Accounts Officer Examination

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) pattern can be broadly divided into three stages,

• Preliminary Exam: Comprises two goal-type papers – General Examinations Paper-I and General Examinations Paper-II. Each paper is of 200 marks and the duration is 2 hours. The marks obtained in the preliminary exam are not counted for the final ranking but only serve as a screening test for the main examination.

• Main Exam: Consists of nine papers, including the four compulsory subjects (English, General Studies Paper-I, General Studies Paper-II, General Studies Paper-III and General Studies Paper-IV) and two optional subjects chosen by the candidate. Each paper is 250 marks and the duration is 3 hours.

• Personality Test (Interview): The final stage of the examination, where a candidate has to appear for a personality test (interview) of 275 marks. The interview is designed to assess the candidate’s personality, leadership qualities, communication skills, and general knowledge.

The subjects for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) Preliminary exam are,

• General Studies Paper-I (GS-I)
• General Studies Paper-II (GS-II)

GS-I covers topics such as Indian history, geography, politics, economy, and environment and ecology.

GS-II covers topics such as governance, international relations, constitution and polity, social justice and international relations.

Both papers are of objective type and consist of multiple-choice questions. Each paper is of 200 marks and the duration is 2 hours. The marks obtained in the preliminary exam are not counted for the final ranking but only serve as a screening test for the main examination.

The compulsory subjects for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) are,

• English
• General Studies Paper-I
• General Studies Paper-II
• General Studies Paper-III
• General Studies Paper-IV

For the main exam, each paper is 250 marks and the duration is 3 hours. The General Studies papers cover topics such as Indian history, geography, politics, economy, environmental science, ethics, integrity, and aptitude.

In the final stage, a candidate has to appear for a personality test (interview) of 275 marks. The interview is designed to assess the candidate’s personality, leadership qualities, communication skills, and general knowledge.

The subjects for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) are divided into two parts:

Compulsory subjects

Optional subjects

English

General Studies Paper-I

General Studies Paper-II

General Studies Paper-III

General Studies Paper-IV

Candidates have to choose two subjects from the list of subjects offered by the Commission. Some of the popular optional subjects are:

• Agriculture
• Animal Husbandry and 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

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is conducted to recruit candidates for various posts in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and other Central Civil Services.

Some of the popular posts and their approximate salary (in Indian Rupees) are:

• Indian Administrative Service (IAS) – Around 1,44,000 per month
• Indian Foreign Service (IFS) – Around 1,44,000 per month
• Indian Police Service (IPS) – Around 1,44,000 per month
• Indian Revenue Service (IRS) – Around 80,000 – 90,000 per month
• Indian Audits and Accounts Service (IAAS) – Around 80,000 – 90,000 per month
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) – Around 80,000 – 90,000 per month

Some other posts that can be obtained through the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) are,

• Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
• Indian Revenue Service
• Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)
• Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
• Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
• Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
• Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
• Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
• Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)