Civil Services Examination

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

This article is about the examination in India. For a worldwide view, see Civil service entrance examination.


The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS).[1] The examination is the toughest examination in India, with more than 900,000 applicants and a success rate of 0.1%-0.3%, one of the lowest in the world. It is conducted in two phases - a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (general studies and aptitude test), and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type followed by a personality test (interview).[1] The entire process from the notification of the preliminary examination to declaration of the final results takes roughly one year.[1]

Process

The Civil Services Examination is based on the British Raj - era Imperial Civil Service tests, as well as the civil service tests conducted by old Indian empires such as in the Mauryan Empire and Mughal Empire. The Civil Services Examination is considered to be one of the most difficult and competitive examinations in India. On average, 900,000 to 1,000,000 candidates apply every year and the number of candidates appearing to sit the preliminary examination is approximately 450,000.[2] The examination consists of the following three stages:

  • Stage I: Preliminary examination - A qualifying test advertisied in May and held in August each year. Results are published in mid-October.
  • Stage II: Main examination - Held in December every year. Results are usually published in the second week of March.
  • Stage III: Personality Test (interview) - held in April/May each year. Final results are usually announced in May .

The training program for the selected candidates usually commences the following September.

Eligibility

Eligibility for the examination is as follows:[1]

Nationality

Education

All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications:

  • A degree from a Central, State or Deemed university[1]
  • A degree received through correspondence or distance education
  • A degree from an open university[3]
  • A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above[1]

The following candidates are also eligible, but must submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam.[1]

  • Candidates who have appeared in an examination, the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points[4]
  • Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed an internship
  • Candidates who have passed the final exam of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), ICSI and ICWAI
  • A degree from a private university
  • A degree from any foreign university recognized by the Association of Indian Universities

Age

A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on August 1 of the year of examination. Prescribed age limits vary with respect to caste reservations. For other backwards castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35, and for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) the limit is 37 years. The upper age limit is relaxed for certain candidates who are backward with respect to other factors and physically handicapped people.[5]

Numbers of attempts

The number of times a candidate may attempt the exam is limited as follows:[3]

  • General category candidates: 6 att[6]
  • OBC category candidates = 9
  • SC/ST Candidates = unlimited

Appearing to attempt one of the papers in the preliminary examination is counted as an attempt, including disqualification/cancellation of candidature. However, applying to sit the exam but failing to attend is not counted as an attempt.[7]

Vacancies and Selection

Generally the number of vacancies varies every year. The number of candidates that pass the preliminary examination is generally 11 or 12 times the number of vacancies, and the number of candidates selected for the final interview is twice the number of vacancies. As per existing policies, reservation for SC/ST/OBC is applied to each level of the selection process.

In 2006, around 400,000 candidates applied for fewer than 500 vacancies. Of those candidates, 7,500 passed the preliminary exam. In 2010, 547,698 candidates appeared for the preliminary exam.[8]

Preliminary

The pattern of the Preliminary examination up to 2010 was based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1979). It included two examinations, one on general studies worth 150 marks, and the second on one of 23 optional subjects worth 300 marks.[4][9] Until 2011, when it was revamped,[9] the preliminary pattern was sustained with only minor changes once every ten to fifteen years.[9]

From 2011 onwards, the Preliminary examination, now popularly known as the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)(officially it is still called General Studies Paper-1 and Paper-2), intends to focus on analytical abilities and understanding rather than the ability to memorize. The new pattern includes two papers of two hours duration and 200 marks each.[8] Both papers have multiple choice objective type questions only.[8] They are as under:

  • Paper I tests the candidate's knowledge on current events, history of India and Indian national movement, Indian and world geography, Indian polity and governance, economic and social development, environmental ecology, biodiversity, climate change and general science.[8]
  • Paper II tests the candidates' skills in comprehension, interpersonal skills, communication, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision making, problem solving, basic numeracy, data interpretation, English language comprehension skills and mental ability.[8]

In August 2014, the Centre announced that English marks in CSAT-II will not be included for gradation or merit and 2011 candidates may get a second chance to appear for the test next year.[10]

In May 2015, the Government of India announced that Paper II of the preliminary examination will be qualifying in nature i.e. it wouldn't be graded for eligibility in Mains Examination & a candidate needs to secure at least 33% marks in order to be eligible for graded on basis of Marks of Paper I of Preliminary Examination.

Mains

The Civil Services Mains Examination consists of a written examination and an interview.[1][11]

Examination

The written examination consists of nine papers, two qualifying and seven ranking in nature.[1] The range of questions may vary from just one mark to sixty marks, twenty words to 600 words answers. Candidates who pass qualifying papers are ranked according to marks and a selected number of candidates are called for interview or a personality test at the Commission's discretion

According to the new marks allocations in Civil Service Examination 2013 there are some changes made in the examination according to the suggestion of the Prof. Arun. S. Nigavekar Committee.[12] However, after some controversy, the qualifying papers for Indian languages and English were restored to the examination.[13]

Civil Services New Mains Format[1][4]
Paper Subject Marks
Paper A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India)(Qualifying) 300
Paper B English(Qualifying) 300
Paper I Essay 250
Paper II General Studies I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) 250
Paper III General Studies II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) 250
Paper IV General Studies III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security andDisaster Management) 250
Paper V General Studies IV(Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) 250
Papers VI, VII Any one subject (having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (250 marks for each paper) 500
Sub Total (Written Test) 1750
Personality Test (Interview) 275
Total Marks 2025

List of Languages

For the Language medium/literature of languages, the scripts to be used by the candidates will be as under

Language Script
Assamese Assamese
Bengali Bengali
Gujarati Gujarati
Hindi Devanagari
Kannada Kannada
Kashmiri Persian
Konkani Devanagari
Malayalam Malayalam
Manipuri Bengali
Marathi Devanagari
Nepali Devanagari
Odia Odia
Punjabi Gurumukhi
Sanskrit Devanagari
Sindhi Devanagari or Arabic
Tamil Tamil
Telugu Nandanagiri or Andhri
Urdu Persian
Bodo Devanagari
Dogri Devanagari
Maithili Devanagari
Santhali Devanagri or Olchiki

Optional Subjects

List of optional subjects for Main Examination:

Agriculture Geography Physics 
botany
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Geology Political Science and International Relations
Anthropology History Psychology
Botany Law Public Administration
Chemistry Management Sociology
Civil Engineering Mathematics Statistics
Commerce and Accountancy Mechanical Engineering Zoology
Economics Medical Science Mechanical Engineering Philosophy
Electrical Engineering Geology Literature of any one of the following languages

Languages:

Assamese Bengali Bodo Dogri Gujarati Hindi Kannada Kashmiri Konkani Maithili Malayalam Manipuri
Marathi Nepali Oriya Punjabi Sanskrit Santhali Sindhi Tamil Telugu Urdu English

Interview

Officially called the "Personality Test", the objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to evaluate the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only a candidate's intellectual qualities, but also social traits and interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, and intellectual and moral integrity.

The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination, but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation that is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

The interview is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidate, which has been already tested through written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study, but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of all well-educated youth.

Annual highest scorers

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/over-4-5-lakh-students-appear-for-upsc-preliminary-exam/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/notifications/2015/CSP_2015/CSP_2015_eng.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/notifications/2016/CSP_IFS/CSP/CSP_2016_Engl_Notice.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/centre-to-lower-age-limit-for-civil-service-aspirants/article6609797.ece
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://www.upsc.gov.in/general/civil.htm#List of Optional Subjects - CS (Main)
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Govt rolls back changes to UPSC mains exam
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ http://www.flonnet.com/fl2411/stories/20070615002710600.htm
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ http://www.bihartimes.in/Newsbihar/2009/Oct/Newsbihar02Oct5.html
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01072001/29.htm
  46. ↑ http://www.scholarsavenue.org/careers/the-indian-foreign-service-as-a-career-option/

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Civil_Services_Examination&oldid=722764974"