What is IAS?
IAS is the short form of Indian Administrative Service. It is one of the prestigious services among the 24 services like IPS, IFS etc for the which the UPSC conduct Civil Services Examination (CSE) for selecting the candidates. An officer selected into the Indian Administrative Service gets exposure in very diverse roles like the collector, commissioner, head of public sector units, chief secretary, cabinet secretary etc. Not only the experience and challenges, but also the scope of making positive changes in the life of millions in India makes IAS a unique career choice.
How to become an IAS officer?
The UPSC CSE consists of 3 stages – Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Getting into Indian Administrative Service is not easy considering the competition involved, but not impossible for a candidate with right attitude and approach.
Civil Services Examination(CSE)
UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is the government agency responsible for selecting the right candidates for this service. Every year only around 1000 candidates is selected for all the 24 services combined. The number of candidates who applied for UPSC Civil Service Exam was about 9 lakh in 2015, out of which around 4.5 lakh candidates appeared on the exam day.
This exam is widely considered as the toughest exam in the world, considering the exam duration (extends 1 year), depth of the syllabus and the competition involved. The first stage of the exam – Preliminary (objective) – is usually conducted around August, while the second stage, Mains (written), is conducted around December. Those who clear Mains will have to face interview/personality test during April-May period. The final result usually comes in June.
How to Clear Civil Services Exam?
To clear IAS Exam, aspirants are advised to have a long-term strategy. Though most of the serious candidates start preparation 9-12 months before the exam date, there are candidates who successfully achieve top ranks with only a few months of dedicated study. So what matters is not the duration of the preparation, but the quality of the same.
A disciplined and focused mind with a passion for learning and reading is the basic trait of all successful candidates. The UPSC Civil Services exam is more a test of the analytic and presentation skills along with knowledge gained by the candidate rather than a test which checks candidate’s mathematical or verbal skills. To clear IAS, we feel two entities as essential:
- Right guidance – for prelims and mains.
- Right study-materials and books.
IAS Exam Number of attempts permitted
Number of attempts permissible for a general category candidate in UPSC CSE is 6. For OBC candidates the number of attempts permitted it 9. SC/ST category candidates will have unlimited attempts till they attain the upper age limit to appear for UPSC CSE.
IAS Exam Age Limits
The minimum age to appear for UPSC Civil Services Exam is 21 years. Upper age limit for General category is 32 years, for OBC it is 35 years while for SC/ST it is 37 years.
IAS syllabus
A good understanding of UPSC syllabus and exam pattern is the first step for all freshers. 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 main exam.
A candidate’s rank in UPSC Civil Service Exam depends only on the mark scored in Main and Interview. The written examination (main) will consist of the following 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 UPSC each year. The main exam has 1750 marks while interview has 275 marks.
IAS Coaching
Classroom IAS Coaching is adopted by many students for proper guidance and ease of materials for learning though it is not a must for clearing IAS. Now websites provide guidance outside the classroom coaching and free online IAS study materials for those who can’t afford it due to time/financial constraints. If the aspirant is dedicated and is properly guided, self-study is enough to clear UPSC CSE.
IAS Exam Eligibility: Minimum Educational Qualifications to appear for UPSC Civil Services Exam
Any degree (graduation).
From:
From:
- any of the 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.
Note: Final year students can also apply.
Minimum age to appear for UPSC IAS Exam?
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 2013 prelims, he/she should be above 21 years of age by Aug 1, 2013.
Upper age-limit to appear for UPSC IAS Exam?
Upper age limit is also calculated on the date Aug 1. This means if the candidate is appearing for 2013 prelims, he/she should be below the mentioned maximum limit by Aug 1, 2013. 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 Citizens of Jammu and Kashmir: 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-service men, he will get an extension of 5 + 7 = 12 years, ie his upper age limit now stands at 42 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 wish. There are some restrictions on the number of times this exam can be taken, which again is different for different categories.
- Number of attempts for IAS exam : General Category : 6 attempts till 32 years of age.
- Number of attempts for IAS exam : OBC : 9 attempts till 35 years of age.
- 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 of9 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 filled up the UPSC application form but didn’t go to take the Preliminary Exam, your attempt will NOT BE COUNTED.