The UPSC exams are conducted to induct new recruits into various Civil services, which forms the backbone of Governance in India. The Civil Services are the permanent part of the Executive. The Governments will keep changing with elections as per the mandate of the people, but the Civil Services makes sure that the country runs smoothly even when the Governments keep changing and the policies keep changing as per the wishes of the Government. This article will briefly share information about the various Civil Service posts and the UPSC exams.
The selection of successful candidates in the UPSC exams is done after a rigorous 3 stage process. The first stage is the Prelims, followed by Mains and the final stage is the Interview. Around 5 lakh candidates register for the examination but usually the vacancies are less than a thousand. The Civil Services Exam – Prelims 2021 was held on 10th October, 2021. The IAS Exam – Mains 2021 is scheduled for a duration of 5 days from 7th January 2022. The prescribed age limit for this Civil Services UPSC exam is 21 years to 32 years (upper age relaxation for reserved candidates).
The Group ‘B’ Civil Services recruitment done through the UPSC exams are the Pondicherry Police Service, the Pondicherry Civil Service, the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, DANIPS, and DANICS. UPSC exams are conducted to recruit candidates for Group ‘A’ Civil Services such as Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS), Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS), Indian Defense Accounts Service (IDAS), Indian Defense Estates Service (IDES), Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), Indian Trade Service (ITS), Railway Protection Force (RPF), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Postal Service (IPoS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), etc. The 3 All India Services recruited through UPSC Civil Services exam are Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Apart from Civil Services examination conducted by the UPSC, the other different UPSC Exams are Combined Defense Services Examination, Combined Medical Services Examination, Engineering Services Examination, Indian Economic Service – Indian Statistical Service Examination, Combined Geo-Scientist Examination, National Defense Academy and Naval Academy Examination, Central Armed Police Forces Exam, etc.
The Civil Services 2022 exam dates have been notified. On June 5, 2022, UPSC prelims examination will be held. On September 16, 2022, UPSC Civil Services Mains examination will be held. In the CSAT paper, candidates should score a minimum of 33 percent, which is qualifying in nature. In the Prelims stage of the IAS Exam there is ‘Negative Marking’ for each incorrect answer. The Prelims are of the objective type or Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).
While preparing for the Civil Services examination, candidates should use some of the important sources of information such as Yojana Magazine, Kurukshetra Magazine, The Hindu Newspaper, NCERT text books, and the study materials of the BYJU’S. While beginning the preparation, the right strategy would be to start preparing for the Mains examination because if a candidate clears the Prelims examination there will be hardly any time left to cover the massive syllabus of the UPSC mains examination. Before beginning the UPSC exam preparation, it is important that aspiring candidates solve the previous year question papers as that will help them to stay on the right track while preparing for the Civil Services examination.
