Civil Services Aptitude Test

Since 2011, the UPSC's (Union Public Service Commission) new recruitment process for the Civil Services Exam is known as the CSAT or the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test under the structure of the Civil Services Examination will not be modified at this time (CSE).

Plan for the Civil Services Exam

The Civil Services Examination consists of two stages: the written examination and the oral interview.

I Civil Services Preliminary Examination (Objective) to select candidates for the Main Examination; and

(ii) Civil Services Main Examination (Written and Interview) to select candidates for the aforementioned Services and positions.

The Preliminary Examination consists of two objective papers (questions with multiple-choice answers) and is worth a maximum of 400 points. There are two mandatory exams, each worth 200 points. The examinations are conducted in both Hindi and English. However,

comprehension of the English language is assessed only via sections written in English, with no Hindi translation provided. Each paper takes two hours to complete. Candidates who are blind are granted an additional twenty minutes every exam.

Exam Schedule for CS (Preliminary)

This examination is intended to function as a screening test only; applicants who are pronounced competent for admission to the Main Examination will not have their Preliminary Examination scores included in their final order of merit. Only those candidates who are deemed by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in that year shall be admissible to the Main Examination of that year if they are otherwise admissible to the Main Examination. Thus briefly -

The subsequent examination phases are:

(1) Preliminary Examination for Candidate Selection for the Main Examination
(2) Main Examination (Written) to select applicants for the Personality Test Interview.
(3) Interview (Personality Test)

How can I apply?

Candidates must submit their applications only online; no other submission methods are permitted. On the UPSC's website, detailed instructions for completing online applications are accessible.

The e-Admission Certificate will be made accessible for applicants to download from the UPSC website. The Admission Certificate will not be sent.

Academic Qualification for the IAS Exams

(1) A degree from an accredited university or an equivalent certification.
(2) Candidates awaiting results of qualifying examinations are also permitted to take the Preliminary Examination. All such candidates who are eligible to sit for the Civil Services Main Examination must provide evidence of having passed the aforementioned examination along with their Main Examination application.
(3) Candidates having professional and technical credentials deemed equal to professional and technical degrees by the government.
(4) Candidates who have passed the last year of their MBBS program or other medical examination but have not yet completed their internship may also sit for the Main Examination. In addition, students must include with their application for the Main Examination a certificate from the University/Institution certifying that they have passed the final professional medical examination. At the Interview stage, they must show a document from a competent body stating that they have met all conditions for the granting of the Medical Degree, including the internship.

Other IAS Exam Eligibility Conditions:

I Nationality - Candidates for the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service must be Indian citizens.
A candidate for other services must be either -
an Indian national or
b. a citizen of Nepal or
c. citizen of Bhutan or
d. Tibetan refugee who came to India before January 1, 1962, with the intention of permanently settling there, or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

A candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d), and (e) must be a person in whose favor the Government of India has issued a certificate of eligibility.

Candidates from categories (b), (c), and (d) are ineligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.

An applicant for whom a certificate of eligibility is required may be accepted to the examination, but an offer of employment cannot be made until the Government of India has provided the required eligibility certificate.

(ii) Age Limits:
(a) Minimum age of 21 and maximum age of 30.
(a) The specified maximum age restriction will be flexible.
I up to five years maximum for SC/ST
(ii) for OBC, up to a maximum of three years.
(iii) up to a maximum of five years if the candidate was habitually domiciled in the State of Jammu and Kashmir between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1989.
(iv) up to a maximum of three years for Defense Services personnel incapacitated in operations during hostilities with any foreign nation or in a troubled region and therefore freed.
(v) up to a maximum of 10 years for the blind, deaf-mute, and orthopedically disabled individuals.

Attempts for the IAS

Each applicant is granted a maximum of four tries, but those belonging to Other Backward Classes are permitted seven. There is no limit on the number of tries SC/ST applicants may make. All of this, given that you are below the age restriction. A physically challenged candidate will get the same number of tries as non-disabled candidates in his or her neighborhood, but if they are in a general category, they will receive seven attempts.

NOTE

(i) A Preliminary Examination attempt is considered an Examination attempt.

(ii) A candidate is considered to have attempted the Examination if he or she appears in at least one paper of the Preliminary Examination.

(iii) Regardless of the candidate's disqualification or cancellation, the candidate's presence at the examination shall count as an attempt.

The list and descriptions of services offered via civil service tests are shown below.

All India Services are outlined below:

  • Administrative Service of India
  • India Foreign Service
  • Indian Police Service

The Group A Services are as follows:

  • Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service
  • Audit and Accounts Service of India
  • Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
  • Indian Defense Accounts Service
  • Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
  • Service of the Indian Ordnance Factories (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
  • Indian Postal Service
  • Indian Civil Accounts Service
  • Railway Traffic Service in India
  • Indian Railway Accounts Service
  • Indian Railway Personnel Service
  • Assistant Security Commissioner position in the Railway Protection Force
  • Defense Estates Service of India
  • Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)
  • Group A Indian Trade Service (Gr. III)
  • Indian Corporate Law Service

Group - B Services

  • Civil Service of the Armed Forces Headquarters (Grade of Section Officer)
  • Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Civil Service of Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
  • Podicherry Police Service

As it is difficult to pass the Civil Services Exams on the first try, it is prudent to be psychologically prepared for several tries. If you do qualify, you may want to retake the exam to better your ranking and, therefore, your service allotment.