How many attempts are permitted in the UPSC CSE? What is the upper age limit for the IAS exam? Know the IAS exam eligibility details by reading this article.
कौन बनते है आईएएस और आईपीएस -
- Tip #1: Prepare Yourself.
- Tip #2: Make a Time Table.
- Tip #3: Know the UPSC Syllabus.
- Tip #4: Newspaper Reading/Current Affairs for IAS.
- Tip #5: Choosing Optional
Tip #6: NCERTs
- The NCERT textbooks from classes six to twelve play a very significant role in IAS exam preparation.
- Aspirants can get basic concepts and theories from NCERT textbooks.
- These books provide the information very coherently. Moreover, they are reliable too as the source is the government itself.
- In previous years UPSC has asked questions directly from NCERT textbooks.
- So, NCERTs are undoubtedly the best books to begin your IAS preparation with. Get a complete list of NCERTs needed for the UPSC exam here.
- Apart from the NCERTs, you should also follow a few other advanced textbooks.
- Tip #7: Making Notes
- It is helpful to make short notes during UPSC preparation.
- Since the UPSC syllabus is very vast, it helps to keep track of the portions covered and also serves as a ready-reckoner for revision.
- You can have separate files or notebooks for separate subjects. Files are preferred by many since they help adding notes to a topic easier. This is especially helpful in the case of adding current affairs-related news to a particular topic.
- Tip #8: Answer Writing Practice
- The IAS main exam papers are descriptive in nature.
- It is mainly about testing your analytical, critical, and communicative abilities.
- It demands you to think with conceptual clarity and organize your views, perceptions, and thoughts in a flawless manner.
- Another thing to be kept in mind is the time and space constraint in the answer booklet.
- Therefore, candidates have to answer the questions quickly and effectively and in minimum words.
- This is not possible without adequate answer writing practice
- Tip #9: Solving Previous Years’ UPSC Question Papers
- Previous question papers are the most reliable sources of UPSC pattern, difficulty level and question type.
- You can judge the trends in the UPSC exam paper easily.
- It will also help you understand which areas are the most important in a particular subject.
- Lastly, it is a good source of self-assessment in your IAS preparation.
- Tip #10: Mock Test Series
- Self-assessment is an essential part of UPSC preparation.
- It can help civil service aspirant in realizing and learning from mistakes, shaping what approach they need to follow in continuing the preparation and identifying strengths and weaknesses.
- It is highly recommended to join mock test series, especially if you are preparing from home. This will help you to assess yourself and help you further.
Tip #11: Important Government Resources
- Your ultimate aim when you are taking the IAS exam is to work for the Indian government.
- Naturally, there are many government sources you can rely on during your preparation. Government websites like the PIB, PRS, and national television programmes featured on the Rajya Sabha TV are very helpful. We cover important PIB articles every day
Tip #12: Revision
- Revision is very important when you are facing an exam as tough as the UPSC exam.
- Since the UPSC syllabus is vast and diverse, covering multifarious subjects, it is natural to forget things that you had studied earlier.
- To avoid this, timely revision is a must.
Tip #13: UPSC Interview
- As mentioned before, the final stage in the UPSC exam process is the UPSC interview or Personality Test.
- This is an important stage in the process and here, it is something more than academics that will help you.
- You will be assessed on qualities such as diplomatic skills, communication skills, presence of mind, reaction to stress, etc.
- You will also be asked questions about your interests, hobbies, education and work experience, if any. So, you have to brush up on these aspects.
Tip #14: Relevant Magazines
- Magazines like Yojana, Kurukshetra, Economic & Political Weekly, etc. are very important for the IAS exam.
- They contain important information on topics like polity, governance, agriculture, economy, etc.
Tip #15: Stay Positive
- The most important aspect of the entire UPSC journey is to stay positive.
- There are times when it can get quite overwhelming and you will feel depressed.
- Remove negative thoughts from your head and work on.
What is UPSC?
UPSC is India’s central agency which conducts exams like Civil Services Exam (CSE) to recruit candidates into top government services like IAS, IPS, IFS etc. UPSC recruits candidates to both civil services as well as defence services
What is the full form of UPSC?
The full form of UPSC is Union Public Service Commission
What are the exams conducted by UPSC for selection into civil services?
- Civil Services Examination (CSE)
- Engineering Services Examination (ESE).
- Indian Forestry Services Examination (IFoS).
- Central Armed Police Forces Examination (CAPF).
- Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS).
- Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist Examination.
- Combined Medical Services (CMS).
- Special Class Railway Apprentices Exam (SCRA).
- Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for selection of Assistant Commandant. (Executive) in CISF.
What are the exams conducted by UPSC for selection into defence services?
- National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination – NDA & NA (I).
- National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination – NDA & NA (II).
- Combined Defense Services Exam – CDS (I).
- Combined Defense Services Exam – CDS (II).
Minimum age to appear for UPSC IAS Exam | IAS Exam Eligibility
The minimum age to appear for IAS Exam is 21 years. This means that the candidate must have at least 21 years of age on 1st August of that given year when the exam is held. For example, if the candidate is appearing for 2021 prelims, he/she should be above 21 years of age by Aug 1, 2021
Upper age limit to appear for UPSC IAS Exam | IAS Exam Eligibility
Upper age limit is also calculated on the date Aug 1. This means if the candidate is appearing for 2020 prelims, he/she should be below the mentioned maximum limit by Aug 1, 2020. Upper age limit is fixed different for different categories, which is as given below.
- Upper age limit for General category: 32 years.
- Upper age limit for OBC: 35 years.
- Upper age limit for SC/ST: 37 Years.
- Upper age limit for Defense Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof: 35 years.
- Upper age limit for Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service: 37 years.
- Upper age limit for blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons (general category): 42 years.
Apart from the mentioned limits, OBC/ SC/ ST candidates will get the benefit of cumulative age relaxation. This means age relaxations gets added in special cases, say, for example, if the person is OBC + Ex-servicemen, he will get an extension of 3 + 5 = 8 years, ie his upper age limit now stands at 40 years
How many attempts are allowed for UPSC Civil Services Exam?
A general category candidate has an age limit of 32 years, but that doesn’t mean that he can write this exam as many times as he wishes. There are some restrictions on the number of times this exam can be taken, which again is different for different categories.
- The number of attempts for IAS exam: General Category: 6 attempts till 32 years of age.
- The number of attempts for IAS exam: OBC: 9 attempts till 35 years of age.
- The number of attempts for IAS exam: SC/ST: unlimited attempts till 37 years of age.
NB: Physically Handicapped /disabled candidates belonging to General category will get the benefit of 9 attempts till the age prescribed by UPSC – 42 years.
How are attempts for Civil Service Exam calculated?
If you appear for any of the papers of the Civil Services Preliminary Exam, your attempt is counted. If you fill-up the UPSC application form but didn’t go to take the Preliminary Exam, your attempt will NOT BE COUNTED.
UPSC Civil Services Exam Notification
The UPSC CSE Exam notification has all the details you are looking for. This includes further details of relaxation, medical requirements for various services like IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS etc, and even the entire UPSC syllabus.
UPSC Exam: What is the UPSC Civil Services Examination?
Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most popular exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It is widely known as ‘IAS exam’ even though CSE is a common exam to recruit candidates to about 24 top government services like IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS etc.
UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) consists of 3 stages. The stages are:
- Preliminary Exam (objective)
- Main Exam (written)
- Interview (personality test)
The exam window extends around 10-12 months (usually from June month of a year to June month next year when the results are announced).
What is the UPSC Syllabus for Civil Services Exam?
There are 3 stages in the UPSC Civil Services Exam – (1) Preliminary Exam (Objective Test) (2) Main Exam (Written Test) (3) Personality Test (Interview).
Prelims – The Civil Services Preliminary exam comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each (General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II). The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type. The marks in prelims will not be counted for final ranking, but just for qualification for the main exam.
Mains – The written examination (main) will consist of the nine papers, but only 7 papers will be counted for final merit ranking. For the rest two papers, the candidate should secure minimum marks prescribed by the commission each year.
Interview – The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his/her career. He/she will be asked questions on matters of general interest.
The marks of the Preliminary Exam is not counted for the final ranking. Prelims is a screening test to select the candidates for the Main Exam. A candidate’s final rank in the Civil Service Exam depends only on the mark scored in the Main exam and Interview. The main exam has 1750 marks while interview has 275 marks. Total marks are calculated out of 2025.
Having said that, it is not easy to clear the Preliminary Exam without sufficient preparation. Only the top 3 out of 100 candidates are selected by the Union Public Service Commission to sit for the Main exam. You can read more about the UPSC syllabus from the link.
What is the UPSC age limit for the IAS Exam?
To attempt the IAS exam, the candidate should have crossed 21 years (by August 1, the year in which he/she attempts the exam).
The upper age limit is 32 for the General Merit category, 35 for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 37 for Scheduled Classes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Additional relaxations are provided for certain special cases.
What is the educational requirement to attempt the UPSC CSE?
Any graduate can attempt the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
The graduation can be in any stream. It can be a regular degree or distance education. You can understand the eligibility criteria for writing the IAS/IPS exam
How to prepare for the UPSC Exam?
Success in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) = 50% Knowledge + 50% Skills (Strategies).
Can I do UPSC Online Preparation?
UPSC Exam Dates
Usually, UPSC conducts the Civil Services Preliminary Exam in June. The Main Exam is usually conducted in September. The Personality Test takes almost 3 months to finish. UPSC conducts the CSE interview (or personality test) in the months February – April.
UPSC 2020
The UPSC Exam cycle for Civil Services Examination 2020 is already started. The dates of the exams are as below:
- UPSC CSE 2020 Prelims Date: October 04, 2020
- UPSC CSE 2020 Mains Date: January 08, 2021
- UPSC CSE 2020 Interview Date: March-May 2021 (expected)
- UPSC CSE 2020 Final Result Date: May End 2021 (expected)
Check UPSC 2020 Exam Calendar for details.
UPSC 2021
The notification for UPSC Civil Services Examination for 2021 will be published on February 10, 2021. You can apply for the Civil Services Exam 2021 from February 10, 2021, until March 02, 2021.
- UPSC CSE 2021 Prelims Date: October 10, 2021
- UPSC CSE 2021 Mains Date: January 2022 (expected)
- UPSC CSE 2021 Interview Date: March-May 2022 (expected)
- UPSC CSE 2021 Final Result Date: May end 2022 (expected)
Some of the best-selling books are:
- Indian Polity – by M. Laxmikanth
- Important Acts that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George
- Important Judgments that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George
- Indian Art and Culture – by Nitin Singhania
- Ancient and Medieval India – by Poonam Dalal Dahiya
- Modern Indian History – by Sonali Bansal and Snehil Tripathi
- Certificate Physical And Human Geography – by Goh Cheng Leong
- Geography of India – by Majid Husain
- Oxford Student Atlas for India
- Indian Economy – by Ramesh Singh
- Indian Economy – by Nitin Singhania
- Science and Technology – by Ravi P. Agrahari
- Environment and Ecology –by Vaishali Anand
- International Relations – by Pavneet Singh
- Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude – by Niraj Kumar
Timetable for IAS Exam Preparation
As a beginner who does not know what to study and how to study –
The Importance of the Right Strategy!
To crack IAS in the first shot, you need the right strategy. Candidates often find Civil Services Exam a hard nut to crack not due to lack of hard-work or potential, but due to lack of right strategy.
UPSC Online Application
Once the details of exams are notified in the official website of UPSC – upsc.gov.in – you need to apply online.
There is a website for UPSC online applications – https://upsconline.nic.in/.
Once the application window for an exam opens (usually in Feb for UPSC CSE), you can apply online.
UPSC Exam Results
Results of all exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (as well as notifications for future exams) will be published on the homepage of the official website itself.
UPSC Previous Year Question Papers
Previous Year Question Papers of various exams conducted by UPSC are available online. Check the link to download previous year question papers of UPSC as PDF.
Union Public Service Commission Report
UPSC submits an annual report on the work done by it to the president. The president places the report of the commission before the parliament along with a memorandum with regard to the cases where the advice of the commission was not accepted and the reasons for such non-acceptance.
Interesting Facts about Union Public Service Commission
- The Commission consists of a maximum of 11 members, including the Chairman.
- The Union Public Service Commission has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India.
- The Commission traces its origin to the first Public Services Commission established in 1926 and the Federal Public Services Commission established in 1935.
- Union Public Service Commission conducts exams to recruit candidates to both civil services as well as defence services.
0 Comments