The Civil Services examination is conducted by the UPSC in three stages:-
1. Civil Services Preliminary Examination-CSP (Normally held in mid of August every year)
2. Civil Services MAIN Examination-CSM (held in December every year)
3. Personality Test (held in April-May every year)
*Candidates who have passed Civil Services Preliminary Examination will be Eligible to appear in Main Examination
1. Phase 1: UPSC Prelims Exam
The UPSC Civil Services Prelims Examination is composed of two components:
| PAPER | SUBJECTS | TOTAL MARKS | DURATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Studies I | 200 | 2 Hours (9:30 AM to 11:30 AM) |
| II | CSAT | 200 | 2 hours (2:30 PM to 4:30 PM) |
General Studies I
GS Paper I is the very first paper of the Civil Services Examination. This is to test the general awareness of a candidate in a wide range of subjects that include: Indian Polity, Geography, History, Indian Economy, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology, International Relations and associated.
Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)
The CSAT Paper is to assess the aptitude of the candidate in solving ‘Reasoning and Analytical’ questions. The ‘Decision Making’ based questions are generally exempt from negative marks. * This Round is only meant for screening a candidate for the subsequent stages of the exam. The marks obtained in the Prelims will not be added up while arriving at the final rank list.
2.UPSC Mains Exam
This Round is to test the candidate’s academic talent in depth and his/her ability to present his/her understanding according to the requirements of the question in a time-bound manner. The UPSC Mains exam consists of 9 papers, out of which two are qualifying papers of 300 marks each. Two qualifying papers are- . Any Indian Language Paper . English Language Paper
| PAPER | SUBJECTS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| Paper I | Essay | 250 |
| Paper II | General Studies – I (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society) | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies – II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & International Relations) | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper VI | Optional Subject – Paper I | 250 |
| Paper VII | Optional Subject – Paper II | 250 |