UPSC Exam Calendar 2017-18

Important Dates For UPSC Exam

Combined Defence Services

Registration Date:

C.D.S. EXAM (II), 2017: 08 Sep, 2017 
C.D.S. EXAM (I), 2018: 04 Dec, 2017 
C.D.S. EXAM (II), 2018: 03 Sep, 2018

Exam Dates:

C.D.S. EXAM (II), 2017: 19 Nov, 2017 
C.D.S. EXAM (I), 2018: 04 Feb, 2018 
C.D.S. EXAM (II), 2018: 18 Nov, 2018

National Defence Academy

Registration Date:

N.D.A. EXAM (II), 2017: 30 Jun, 2017 
N.D.A. EXAM (I), 2018: 05 Feb, 2018 
N.D.A. EXAM (II), 2018: 02 Jul, 2018

Exam Dates:

N.D.A. EXAM (II), 2017: 10 Sep, 2017 
N.D.A. EXAM (I), 2018: 22 Apr, 2018 
N.D.A. EXAM (II), 2018: 09 Sep, 2018

Central Armed Police Forces

Registration Date:

ACS Exam,2017: 05 May, 2017 
ACS Exam,2018: 21 May, 2018

Exam Dates:

ACS Exam,2017: 23 Jul, 2017 
ACS Exam,2018: 12 Aug, 2018

Combined Medical Services

Registration Date:

Combined Medical Services Exam, 2017: 
19 May, 2017 
Combined Medical Services Exam, 2018: 
07 May, 2018

Exam Dates:

Combined Medical Services Exam, 2017: 
13 Aug, 2017 
Combined Medical Services Exam, 2018: 
22 Jul, 2018

Engineering Services

Registration Date:

Engineering Services (Preliminary) Exam, 2018: 
23 Oct, 2017 
Engineering Services (Main) Exam, 2018: 
Apr, 2018

Exam Dates:

Engineering Services (Preliminary) Exam, 2018: 
07 Jan, 2018 
Engineering Services (Main) Exam, 2018: 
01 Jul, 2018

IAS

Registration Date:

Civil Services (Preliminary), 2018: 
06 Mar, 2018 
Indian Forest Service (Preliminary), 2018: 
06 Mar, 2018

Exam Dates:

Civil Services (Preliminary), 2018: 
03 Jun, 2018 
Civil Services (Main), 2018: 
01 Oct, 2018 
Indian Forest Service (Preliminary), 2018: 
03 Jun, 2018 
Indian Forest Service (Main), 2018: 
02 Dec, 2018

Read More

IAS 2016-17 Mains Result Declared

UPSC has declared final result of IAS 2016-17 mains. Successful candidates can check their result at-

Download UPSC IAS Mains Result 2016-17

A total number of 1099 candidates have been recommended for appointment as per following break-up:

GENERAL  500 ( incl. 19 PH-1, 04 PH-2 & 12 PH-3 )
OBC 347 ( incl. 03 PH-1, 03 PH-2 & 03 PH-3)
SC 163
ST 89
TOTAL 1099 (incl. 22 PH-1, 07 PH-2 & 15 PH-3)

Read More

All About IAS Exam 2017-18

All that you need to know about the UPSC Civil services examination

What is UPSC Civil Service Examination?

· The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is an all India level open competitive examination.

· It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India.

· It includes the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among more than 20 highly cherished civil services.

What are the examination dates?

· For this year Exam, Notification for Preliminary Test – 24 th Apr 2016, Date of Preliminary Test – 7 th Aug 2016

· Expected preliminary results- End of Sep 2016

· UPSC Main Examination starts on 3rd Dec 2016

· Expected Mains results- end of Feb/March 2017

· Tentative Personality Test dates- Mar/Apr/May 2017 

· Tentative Final Results- End of May 2017.

Who can appear for the civil services? The eligibility norms for the examination are as follows

· For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service, and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.

· For the Indian Revenue Service, a candidate must be one of the following:

o A citizen of India

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

· For other services, a candidate must be one of the following:

o A citizen of India

o 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.

How do I apply for the examination?

· One can apply online for the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary exam once the notification is released by the UPSC.

· Upon clearing the Preliminary stage, candidates will be given a link for further application procedures.

What are the future prospects for the candidate who clear the examination?

· Depending upon his rank, a candidate is recruited to services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and other departments including Finance, Post and Telegraph, Revenue, Secretariat and so on.

· The appointment offers executive power.

· Promotions are time bound and increase in privileges are automatic.

· Selected candidates are first put through a training session for a short period.

· The greatest thing about civil service is the job security. Special facilities include subsidized accommodation, telephone, and transport facilities, medical benefits, leave travel concession, etc.

· After retirement, there are very good social welfare facilities.

· Most importantly it gives immense satisfaction as they will able participating directly in the development process of the country.

How has the exam pattern changed?

· In the past four years, the Exam pattern has undergone tremendous changes.

· Now General studies and current affairs have got more weightage.

· A new Ethics paper was brought in and even Essay paper pattern modified.

· However student has to choose one optional.

· For more details, please see below.

What is the restriction on a number of attempts in UPSC Civil Services Examination?

· As on Mar 2016, the number of attempts: - General-6, OBC-9, SC/ST- No restriction

· However the above is subject to the per age limit. General- 32 Years, OBC- 35 Years, SC/ST- 37 Years.

Can a candidate who has completed his education from an open school/ University apply for this exam?

Yes, provided it is a recognized University and he possesses the educational qualifications prescribed for the exam and is otherwise eligible.

Is there any relaxation in the number of attempts for physically handicapped? 

No. However physically handicapped candidates belonging to SC, ST and OBC categories will be eligible for relaxation in the number of attempts provided for such categories.

Whether a candidate belonging to a community included in the OBC list of states but not in the Central list of OBCs is eligible for age relaxation, reservation etc. for this exam? 

No. Only candidates belonging to communities which are included in the Central list of OBC's are eligible for such concessions. 

If a candidate has applied for the CS (P) Examination but has not appeared at any paper in the CS (P) Examination will it be counted as an attempt? 

No. An attempt is counted only if a candidate has appeared in at least one paper in CS (P) Examination.

Can a candidate choose an optional subject, which he has not studied at graduate/PG level? 

Yes.

Is a candidate who has done his graduation without passing class X and class XII eligible for Civil Service Examination? 

Yes.

Can a candidate write different papers of Civil Service (Main) Examination in different languages?

No, Candidates have the option to write their answers either in English or in any one of the Eighth schedule languages.

Can a candidate write the Civil Service (Main) Examination in English and take the interview in Hindi or any other Indian language? 

Yes, however, the candidates, who are exempted from the compulsory Indian Language Paper, will have to choose 3 either English or Hindi as medium of Interview of Personality Test.

I am a fresher, and soon I am planning to begin my UPSC Civil Services Exam preparation. How should I start?

Please refer to the section: ‘How to prepare’ at UPSC page on Exam Central.

What is the structure of UPSC Civil Service Prelims Exam? 

· Yes, UPSC Civil Services Preliminary exam is objective in nature. But it has 1/3 negative marking. 

· There will be two papers – 200 marks each. 

· Paper 1 is related to General Studies and Paper 2 is related to English Comprehension, Mental Ability, and Aptitude. 

· However, for selection to the main exam, only marks of Paper 1 will be counted, provided the candidate has 33 percent marks in Paper 2.

What is the cutoff in the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary exam? 

Cut off depends on multiple things like the number of Posts notified that year, the toughness of the question paper, students category etc. 

However to have a rough idea based on previous 7 years of UPSC preliminary exam analysis, if one can score a net of 60 questions, safely they can expect to clear the first stage.

How is the rank decided and what is the structure of UPSC Civil Service Mains Exam?

· The Main Examination will consist of written examination and an interview test. The written examination will consist of 9 papers of the conventional descriptive type. Two papers (out of 9) will be of qualifying in nature.

· Marks obtained for all the 7 papers (4 GS + 1- Essay + 2 papers optional) (Paper–I to Paper-VII) and Marks obtained in Personality Test (275) will be counted (total 2025 Marks) for ranking.

How to select optional, what should be the criteria?

· Students should opt for one Optional subject, which will have two papers of 250 Marks each. So, in total Optional subject carries 500 Marks in Mains.

· Students should first go through the list of all the Optional Subjects(26 Literature +25 non-literature subjects)

· Your interest in the subject, availability of material are the key.

What are the factors to be kept in mind while filling the Detailed Application Form (DAF)

Some important aspects that you must keep in mind while filling up the application forms (online mode only)

Your cadre preferences

Opting for the right cadre is crucial, since, after your selection, you will have to live with the cadre of your choice for the rest of your career. Hence, cadre preferences have to be given due attention before filling up the forms. Generally, the home cadre would be the first choice for almost 99% of the aspirants. Before you make your second and third choice, try to get as much information as possible from various sources, including people already in the services, your senior and other knowledgeable people.

Service preferences 

There are 24 services on offer after you get selected in civil services. The important services are:

· IAS, IPS, IFS (Foreign Service)

· IRS (Income Tax) IRS (Customs and Excise)

· IAAS (Indian Audits and account) 4

· Indian Railway Services (Accounts, Traffic and Personnel), RPF

· Indian Accounts Services Civil and Defense

· Indian Information Service, Defense Estate

· Group B services like DANICS, DANIPS etc.

Choosing the right Services is also important while filling up the form. Service preferences are very personal; they depend on your choice and attitude towards the services. So you should carefully fill up the preferences as per your conviction and stick with it.

Filling the bio data and other personal information 

Fill this section in detail, and make a copy of it for your reference. These details are very much used in the interview process. Hence, while filling it, make sure you write bona-fide details, even related to your hobbies and other personal traits. 

Read More

IAS Exam Toppers Talk on Their Experince

Q. Hearty Congratulations on your success in the Civil Services Examination 2014. What is the secret of behind your success in this exam which is often termed as one of the world’s toughest exam?
A. Smart work, Right guidance, right selection of materials and self-belief, perseverance along with support from the family, teachers and friends are the secret of my success.


Q. It is said that Current affairs is very crucial in clearing the exam. How true is it? Which all newspapers and journals have you been reading for the General studies? 
A. Yes, current affairs is the key and it should be in tune with UPSC pattern which has undergone a lot of changes these days. I regularly read The Hindu News Paper, Yojana and also Current Affairs.


Q. How much time do you think one requires for serious preparations for this examination? 
A. I think that 10-15 months with around 6-8 hours a day before the Mains is enough time a candidate requires to clear this exam.


Q. What was your plan B, had you not been selected in the Civil Services Examination? 
A. No idea, I do not know. I have two more attempts left, I would have tried again.


Q. How should one view success? 
A. My achievement in this exam has changed a lot around me. But I feel, both success and failure are parts of life and one should learn from both.


Q. What was your Optional at the Civil Services Main Examination? 
A. Sociology.


Q. How many attempts had you made earlier before you got selected? 
A. This was my second attempt.


Q. What was your criterion for the selection of the Optional subject? 
A. Easy availability of material and guidance and my ability to analyze social issues.


Q. Did you prepare for your compulsory papers? 
A. No, For Language papers, I just went through the previous years’ question papers.


Q. What is your opinion about the Interview Board? 
A. My interview was scheduled in the Forenoon. The Board was extremely cordial and was one with a positive approach towards the candidates. It lasted for 25 minutes and I was not fully satisfied with my performance. But when I saw the marks I was happy that I got more than average from that board.


Q. To what extent, you think, model test papers can be useful for the aspirants of the Civil Services? 
A. Model test papers help in preventing mistakes in the prelims and Main Examination. They give you an opportunity to assess your performance and help in finding weak areas which can be worked upon to secure more marks. It helps in time management which is the key.


Q. What is your advice to the future aspirants? 
A. Friends, self-belief is the key to success, if you afford to get guidance from genuine coaching centers and don’t read a lot of material. I suggest you read the limited material but do revision number of times. Just do your work and leave the rest on die Almighty. Best of Luck! 

Read More

Best ways to start preparing for UPSC Exam

UPSC Prelims Exam is scheduled to be conducted on 18th June 2017. So aspiring candidates need to jump-start their UPSC Preparation without further thinking. The exam is held in 3 stages i.e. preliminary, mains and interview. The syllabus for UPSC is very vast and candidates may be very good in the optional subjects that they have chosen for the mains exam but clearing the prelims can be a challenging task for them.

Looking at the vast syllabus of the exam candidates can fell a little uneasy on how to cover the entire syllabus on time. Here are some strategies for the UPSC aspirants on how to approach the exam.

UPSC Syllabus

The first and the most important thing before preparing for UPSC is to be well versed with the syllabus. It will be easier for candidates who are well accustomed with the UPSC Syllabus and they can prepare in a systematic way. Candidates will find vast resource and information while preparing for the exam so knowing the exam syllabus can be very useful for them.

Depending on reading speed and retention capacity, candidates should gauge the full syllabus and time that would require covering each topic. Dividing the topics among the number of days the aspirants have can also be a very useful strategy for them. Candidates should make sure that their daily target set for them are ambitious as well as realistic. This will give the candidates confidence which can help them by boosting their preparation.

 Current Affairs

Current Affairs has always been one of the most important topics in UPSC Exam. Looking at the previous year's question papers of UPSC Exam candidates can see that neglecting current affairs section can be a huge mistake for them. Aspirants should make it a habit to read newspapers and magazines for two to three hours on a daily basis. Newspapers like ‘The Hindu’, ‘The Indian Express’ etc. can be followed. Candidates should not spend hours reading the entire newspaper and the news that are not relevant to UPSC preparation. Watching good news channel is also be a very useful strategy to prepare for the exam. But aspirants should not waste time and make optimum use of the time they have in their hand.

Reference Books

Instead of reading from too many books aspirants should have a good selective book which they will follow throughout. Candidates should ideally be able to revise all the important topics at least three times before the day of UPSC Exam. The basics of all candidates should be cleared and this can be done by reading NCERTs. Candidates should make proper notes of important topics while going through the NCERTs. These notes can be later used for revision and once candidates clear all their concepts they can move to advanced level books. Candidates should not waste time on reading all the topics. They should analyze the syllabus, exam pattern and previous year’s question and understand that from which topic questions come regularly in the exam. Candidates should avoid lengthy books with too many details as it will consume a lot of time and candidates will not be able to cover the whole syllabus on time.

Group Study

Studying with the right set of friends can give candidates confidence and positive energy to prepare for the exam. Group study for the exam can also be very useful for the candidates as they can aid their preparation with healthy debates and discussions. Candidates should detach themselves from any other person who tries to discourage them. Aspirants should have faith in themselves and prepare hard as it is the only way to excel in the exam.

Candidates preparing for UPSC Exam 2017 should not waste any more time and start preparing hard for the examination. The above-mentioned points should be followed by aspiring candidates who want to crack the exam. Candidates should analyze the syllabus and exam pattern and should focus more on the sections they are weak in. This can be done by practicing mock papers and the previous year’s question papers. Candidates should always be confident and practice hard and they can surely excel in the examination.

About the author:

With a degree in Engineering, Shankha Samanta is a content writer by profession. He is a vehement reader apart from writing and blogging along with part-time teaching. He is presently exploring all about the digital education with Byju’s-the Learning App.

Read More

Subject Wise Preparation Tricks for IAS Exam

How to Prepare for IAS exam? 

Preparation of General Studies

IAS Exam General Studies comprises a vast ocean of subjects and this paper needs to be mastered in order to reach the Mains examination. Since the official syllabus does not give much detail of the topics to be studied under each subject it is expected to gain knowledge of them that should be slightly below the graduation level but definitely above the high school level.

There are 100 questions to be answered in two hours, each question carries two marks. It means there will be around 80 seconds to answer each question. So speed and accuracy are essential to tackle this examination. While the correct answer will fetch 2 marks, a wrong answer means a loss of 0.66 marks.

The 100 questions can be broadly divided into three categories:

1. Multiple Choice Questions – single response correct
2. Multiple Choice Questions – multiple response correct
3. Multiple Choice Questions – Matching type

History/Indian Culture

A considerable share of the total questions asked in General Studies for IAS, comes from Indian History.

The syllabus for history can be divided into 3 parts – Ancient Indian History, Medieval Indian History and Modern Indian History.

Most of the History questions asked in IAS Preliminary Test usually come from Modern India & Art and Culture. It has been seen that Medieval Indian History & Ancient Indian History don’t constitute a major part in terms of the number of questions asked.

So if one has to prioritize the topics for Indian History, Modern India (especially the Struggle for Independence) & Art & Culture should be given preference vis-a-vis Medieval Indian History & Ancient Indian History. Having said that never leave out the low priority topics altogether. Remember, UPSC loves to give it’s aspirants surprises.

One common mistake that most IAS aspirants make while preparing history is that in search of relevant books & study materials, they end up with a multitude of resources. Having too many books & study resources for one particular subject can do more harm than good when it comes to quick revision later.

Geography

Geography is divided into two parts – Indian Geography and World Geography

It has been seen that Indian Geography is given more weightage in the Preliminary Examination. The following are the broad topics that you MUST cover before the exam.

Indian Geography

1. Physiography of India
2. River Systems of India
3. Climate
4. Mineral Wealth of India
5. Soil & Soil Types in India
6. Agriculture
7. Forests
8. Wildlife & Conservation
9. Human Geography

While you prepare for Geography of India, keep in mind that mere cramming up information would be no use. Before you take up Physical Geography of India, have a clear understanding of fundamentals of Geography first. After you are thorough with the concepts involving Geography, you are fit to proceed towards Geography of India. Here, understand each section, sub-section in great details.

For example, if you have to understand Physiography of India, look for critical pieces of information around the same. This would include Characteristics of each region, the process behind their formation, its mineral wealth, the climate of that region and why that is the way it is, Vegetation in that region and its direct/indirect relation to Climate & Human activities etc.

World Geography

The following are the broad topics that you MUST cover before the exam:

1. The Earth & the Universe
2. Land forms and their formation
3. Atmosphere
4. Wind System
5. Clouds & Precipitation
6. Hydrosphere
7. Different Types of Climate & Climatic Regions of the World

Numerous concepts and phenomena related to Physical Geography are a part of World Geography. It is extremely important to highlight here that your understanding of World Geography would make Indian Physical Geography and a few other topics like Environment very easy for you.

Polity

There is a significant number of questions that are asked from polity and over the years they have been found to be direct and ranging from Easy to Moderate on the difficulty scale.

For polity, start with topics that are of keen interest to you. One does not necessarily have to begin in the same sequence as the Table of Contents. For instance, you may start with the chapter on Fundamental Rights & Duties much before you read the Process of the making of Indian Constitution. However, as you progress you would see that there are some chapters which are best read in the form of sets.

For example, it should only be natural to read up State Government and its Functioning after you read Union Government & its functioning.

The questions asked from the polity section are both static and dynamic in nature. Both these type of questions can be related to events and issues that passed by or are being debated. Current events related to new Bills, Acts, Policies and related provisions should be persistently followed and related topics looked up in your reference books.

For example, if there is a landmark judgment passed by the Supreme Court around Freedom of Speech, it should automatically ring a bell in your head that you need to look at relevant chapters around Fundamental Rights and Judiciary in your course book.

Economy

A lot of aspirants get scared on hearing the name of economics. But there is nothing to worry. Let me clarify right in the beginning that you do not need to have prior knowledge of economics to crack the questions based on it. You will understand concepts as you keep reading. In fact, economics might become your favorite section from the syllabus.The good thing about Indian Economy is that it is one section of Civil Services Exam where you can avoid a lot of cramming.

To understand Indian Economy better, you need to have the right resources. There are no better books than NCERTs that would build your fundamental understanding of the subject.

Read the following right at the onset of your preparation:

• Principles of Macroeconomics – Std XII
• Principles of Microeconomics – Std XII
• Indian Economic Development – Std XI
• March of the Indian economy by I.C dhingra- heed publications

Having an understanding of certain important concepts of Microeconomics, e.g. Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, Elasticity of Demands etc would certainly go a long way towards building your basics. Now you may take up any book that takes up the case of Indian Economy in detail.

Never Forget The Budget & Economic Survey of India:

Collect the Economic Times or Business Standard, that gets published the very next day when the Budget is discussed in the Parliament. Jot down all important policy decisions of the Government of India. The Economic Survey of India is the finest and the most comprehensive document about the state of Indian Economy. It gives you the rationale behind every policy decision, comparative analyses, Important Welfare Schemes and the road map for the future of Indian Economy.

Science & Technology

There are mostly analytical questions that show up in this section. For scoring well in Science and Technology section, you would first need to analyze the kind of questions that UPSC asks. Mostly, all of the questions from Science and Technology section are analytical/conceptual in nature. A lot of them hold relevance because of the events going on around us. So, current affairs across the world go in-sync with your conceptual knowledge. All you need here is the right approach.

I suggest you strengthen your basics first.

• Start reading from ICSE Books(Classes 7-10) and go through them. Focus on the science behind the various natural phenomenon. This would make your learning more fun as well.
• Go through previously asked questions from the Science & Technology section and understand which topics are more relevant and frequently asked.
• While you are preparing, make sure you stick to the basics only. If you don’t understand concepts well enough from ICSE books, browse the internet.
• But do not spend too much time understanding the concepts in great details. Remember, you don’t need to hold a doctorate before writing the exam. You have various other sections to cover as well. So, do NOT waste your time.

If you analyze previous years’ question papers thoroughly, you will realize that most questions were asked simply because they were in news in the last 10-12 months before the exam. Focus on what is happening in India that is relevant to the field of Science and Technology. Follow ISRO, DRDO, Ministry of Science & Technology and what they do. The best way to do that is to religiously follow Science & Technology section of The Hindu.

Thanks to Arman Sethi for such a beautiful reply on quora.

Read More

Second Step for IAS Preparation

What should be your 2nd step to prepare for IAS exam?

Before reading this post we would suggest you read our previous post First Step to Start IAS Preparation.

Know the Exam Syllabus

Paper I Syllabus (General Studies)

1. Current Affairs: Events of national and international importance
2. History of India and Indian National Movement
3. Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
4. Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
5. Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
6. General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change (no subject specialization required)
7. General Science

Paper II Syllabus

1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data Interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level)
7. English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
8. Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level. (will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation)

Thanks to Arman Sethi for such a beautiful reply on quora.

Read More

First Step to Start IAS Preparation

What should be your first step to start preparation for IAS exam?

Every year lakhs of aspirants prepare and take the exam to secure a job by IAS exam, but as we all know just one or two thousand candidates were selected from them. So it is important to make a proper strategy for the exam to succeed in the exam.

Step 1: Know the Exam Pattern

The first step towards Civil Services is to familiarize yourself with the pattern of the examination.

The Civil Services Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) each year. It is conducted in 3 stages:

Stage 1: Preliminary Examination (Popularly known as CSAT)

There are two papers in Prelims exams – namely Paper I and Paper II.

Paper I tests you on General Studies and Paper II tests you on Aptitude. Qualifying Paper I lets you appear for the Mains examination. 

Paper II is only to analyze you i.e it is only of qualifying nature.The marks scored in Paper II are NOT added for the overall merit of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

Paper I (General Studies)

200 Marks

Duration: Two Hours

Number of Questions: 100

Paper II (Aptitude)

200 Marks

Duration: Two Hours

Number of Questions: 80

Stage 2: Main Examination (Also known as Mains)

The Main Examination will consist of written examination. The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type i.e descriptive in nature.

Stage 3: Personal Interview

Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks in 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.

If you find this helpful, you can also learn the second step towards IAS preparation.

Thanks to Arman Sethi for such a beautiful reply on quora.

Read More