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UPSC IAS Prelims FAQs 

What is the exam for?

The Preliminary Examination of the Civil Services Examination for recruitment to the Services

and Posts is held by the Union Public Service Commission.

Who can appear for the exam?

The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or

State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or

declared to be deemed as a University under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission

Act, 1956 or possess an equivalent qualification.

What are the examination dates?

Union Public Service Commission will hold the Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2016 on 7th 

August 2016 (Sunday). The main examination is scheduled to be held on 3rd

December 2016.

What are the eligibility criteria?

The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not be above the age of 32 years

(Relaxation of a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a

Scheduled Tribe and a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other

Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates). The

candidate must be a citizen of India for the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police

Service. For other services, a candidate must be either : —  (a) a citizen of India, or (b) a subject

of Nepal, or (c) a subject of Bhutan, or (d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st

January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or (e) 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.

How do I apply for the examination?

Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. The

detailed instructions for filling up online applications are available on the website.

What is the exam pattern?Preliminary Examination –  

The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

(i) Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions). (ii) The

General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying

 paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33% (iii) The question papers will be set both in

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Hindi and English. (iv) Details of the syllabi are indicated in part A of Section III. (v) Each paper

will be of two hours duration.

Syllabus of Paper I -(200 marks) Duration : Two hours

  Current events of national and international importance.

  History of India and Indian National Movement.

  Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the

World.

  Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public

Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

  Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion,

Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.

  General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do

not require subject specialisation General Science.

Syllabus for Paper II-(200 marks) Duration: Two hours

 

Comprehension

  Interpersonal skills including communication skills

  Logical reasoning and analytical ability

  Decision-making and problem solving

  General mental ability

  Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level),

Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)

What is the marking scheme of the exam?

The Commission draws a list of candidates to be qualified for Civil Service (Main) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies Paper- II of Civil

Services (Preliminary) Examination and total qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination as may be determined by the Commission.

For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (0.33) of

the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

What is the scope of the exam?

It is the broad perspective exam which covers questions from each and every

segment of academic subjects including G.K. and Current Affairs. The aspirants whoprepare seriously for this exam have the probability to clear any state PCS and other

lower grade exams having the General Studies Papers.

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

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The candidates who clear the UPSC Civil Services examination have the very bright

future prospects like District Collector to Cabinet Secretary in IAS, SP to DGP in IPS,

and like-wise different dignified posts in other 22 services given below:

(i) Indian Administrative Service.

(ii) Indian Foreign Service.

(iii) Indian Police Service.

(iv) Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’. 

(v) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’. 

(vi) Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’. 

(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’. 

(viii) Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’. 

(ix) Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Works Manager,

Administration).

(x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’. 

(xi) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’. 

(xii) Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’. 

(xiii) Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group 'A'.

(xiv) Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’. 

(xv) Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Group ‘A’ 

(xvi) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’. 

(xvii) Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’. (xviii) Indian Trade Service, Group 'A' (Gr. III).

(xix) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group "A".

(xx) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade). 

(xxi) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra

&Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'.

(xxii) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra

&Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group 'B'.

(xxiii) Pondicherry Civil Service, Group 'B'.(xxiv) Pondicherry Police Service, Group 'B'.