What is the UPSC CSE Exam?

The Union Public Service Commission is India’s most prestigious exam-conducting body, which conducts several examinations to recruit the most eligible candidates for the Government of India. The Civil Services Exam (CSE) conducted by UPSC is popularly known as the ‘IAS exam’ and is considered as the toughest exam in India. Through this exam, UPSC recruits candidates for various posts, including IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, etc.

The UPSC CSE exam is conducted in three stages: Preliminary exam (objective), Mains (written), and Personality Test (Interview). It takes around 10-12 months to complete the entire exam process. This exam is conducted annually across the country.

Highlights & Exam Pattern of the UPSC CSE

Name of the Exam	UPSC CSE 2024
Conducting Body	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam Level	National
Exam Frequency	Annually
Duration	Preliminary – 2 hours per paper Mains – 3 hours per paper
Mode of Exam	Offline (Pen & Paper)
Sections	3 Stages: – Preliminary Test – Mains – Personality Test
Types of Questions	Prelims – MCQs (Objective) Main – Descriptive
Marking Scheme	Prelims  – Paper 1 – 2 marks for right answer – Paper 2 (CSAT) – 2.5 marks for right answer Note: One-third of the marks will be deducted for every wrong answer Mains  – Paper A & B – 300 each (qualifying in nature) – Paper I to VII – 250 each (to be counted for merit)
Total Questions	Prelims  – GS – 100 – CSAT – 80 Mains  – 20 Questions in each paper (subject to variation)
Medium of Exam	Bilingual (Hindi/English)
Official Website	https://upsc.gov.in/

Eligibility Criteria for the UPSC CSE Exam

Age Limit	A candidate must be between 21 and 32 years as of August 1 of the examination year.
Age Relaxation	This varies as per the different reserved categories as prescribed by the UPSC in the official notification.
Educational Qualification	A candidate must be a graduate of a recognised university in any discipline. The ones who are in the final year of their bachelor’s can also apply, but they must submit proof of passing the degree before the specified date.
Nationality	– Indian citizen. – A subject of Nepal or Bhutan. – A Tibetan refugee who came to India prior to January 1, 1962, with the intent to settle in India permanently. – An Indian-origin person who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, East African countries of Kenya, Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Vietnam, or Ethiopia with the intent to settle in India permanently.

Note: This is a general eligibility criteria; for more specifications, read the official notification.

UPSC CSE Exam Date 2024

Date of Release of Notification	14 February 2024
Date of Commencement of Examination	Prelims – 26 May 2024, Mains – 20 September 2024
Last Date to Apply	5 March 2024
Fictitious Fee Payment Last Date	Yet to be updated
Duration of Exam	Prelims – 1 day, Mains – 5 Days
e-Admit Card Release Date	Yet to be released

Note: All the dates are subject to alteration as per the circumstances. Keep track of the official notification.

Registration Process & Fee

All interested candidates must register first at the One Time Registration (OTR) platform on the official website and then proceed with the application process. The OTR has to be registered once in a lifetime, which can be done anytime in a year.

For Prelims

(Part I) 

1. On the official UPSC website, click on the Apply Online tab on the right panel of the home page and select Online Application for Various Examinations. Then choose ‘online application for various examinations of UPSC’.
2. Click on the registration link for part 1. After this, important guidelines to fill out the application will be displayed, and the applicants are advised to read them carefully.
3. Once you are done reading the instructions, click yes, and the part I form will be displayed. Fill in all the personal details, educational details, and contact details.
4. After all the asked details are filled in, you can preview the details and edit them if required.
5. Submit the form. Then, you will be given a registration ID, which you must note down for future reference.

(Part II)

1. Using the registration ID, proceed with part II of the application process.
2. In this section, you have to pay the application fee via online/offline mode or pay by cash through SBI challan.
3. Choose the exam centre.
4. Upload all the required documents (photograph, signature, and photo ID).
5. Once done with all the submissions, a final declaration is displayed on the screen. Check the box and submit the application.

For Mains

Once the result for the UPSC CSE prelims is out, all the qualified candidates need to fill out the Detailed Application Form (DAF) to appear for the mains exam. To complete the DAF procedure, visit the official website and click on the ‘DAF for Various Examinations of UPSC.’ Choose your respective exam and complete the application form.

Application Fee

Category	Fee
General/OBC/EWS	INR 100
SC/ST/Ex-Serviceman/PWD/Female	Nil

UPSC CSE Admit Card

• For UPSC CSE 2024, the commission will release the admit card 3 weeks prior to the exam. The applicants can download their e-admit card from the official website for a prescribed period of time mentioned in the notification.
• Moving further, the Mains hall ticket shall be released a couple of weeks prior to the exam.
• Candidates who are able to qualify in the mains exam will be called for the personality test. The interview call letter for them will be released accordingly on the official website.

UPSC CSE Exam Centres

For Prelims

Aligarh	Indore	Port Blair
Almora	Itanagar	Puducherry
Ananthapuru	Jabalpur	Pune
Aurangabad	Jaipur	Raipur
Bengaluru	Jammu	Rajkot
Bareilly	Jodhpur	Ranchi
Bhopal	Jorhat	Sambalpur
Bilaspur	Kochi	Shillong
Chandigarh	Kohima	Shimla
Chennai	Kolkata	Siliguri
Coimbatore	Kozhikode	Srinagar
Cuttack	Leh	Srinagar (Uttarakhand)
Dehradun	Lucknow	Surat
Delhi	Ludhiana	Thane
Dharwar	Madurai	Thiruvananthapuram
Dispur	Mysuru	Tiruchirapalli
Faridabad	Nagpur	Tirupati
Gangtok	Nasik	Udaipur
Gautam Buddh Nagar	Navi Mumbai	Varanasi
Gaya	Panaji (Goa)	Vellore
Ghaziabad	Patna	Vijayawada
Mandi (new)	Prayagraj	Visakhapatnam
		Warangal

For Mains

Ahmedabad	Delhi	Patna
Aizawl	Dispur	Prayagraj
Bengaluru	Hyderabad	Raipur
Bhopal	Jaipur	Ranchi
Chandigarh	Jammu	Shillong
Chennai	Kolkata	Shimla
Cuttack	Lucknow	Thiruvananthapuram
Dehradun	Mumbai	Vijayawada

Note: The allotment of the centre is on a ‘first-apply-first-allot’ basis. Also, the centres are subject to change as per the decision of the commission.

UPSC CSE 2024 Exam Syllabus

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) consists of three stages: prelims, mains, and interviews. Both preliminary exams and mains have different papers; some of them are qualifying in nature, while others are considered for merit.

UPSC Syllabus for Prelims

Paper I: General Studies (GS)

• Current affairs of national and international importance
• Indian History and the Indian National Movement
• Indian and world geography
• Indian polity and governance
• Economic and social development
• General issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change
• General Science

Paper II: Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills, communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and analytical ability
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (class 10th level)

UPSC Syllabus for Mains

• Paper A: (qualifying in nature) Candidates can choose any one Indian language mentioned in the eighth schedule of the constitution.
• Paper B: English (qualifying in nature)
• Paper I: Essay
• Paper II: GS I – (Indian Heritage, Culture, History and Geography)
• Paper III: GS II – (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)
• Paper IV: GS III – (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
• Paper V: GS IV – (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
• Paper VI: Optional Paper 1
• Paper VII: Optional Paper 2 (anyone subject from the prescribed list by UPSC for both the optional papers)

Section-Wise Distribution of Question Paper

For Prelims

Paper	No. of Questions	Marks	Duration	Negative Marking
General Studies I	100	200	2 hrs	Yes
General Studies II (CSAT)	80	200	2 hrs	Yes

For Mains

Paper	Marks
Paper A (Qualifying)	300
Paper B (Qualifying)	300
Paper I: Essay	250
Paper II: GS I	250
Paper III: GS II	250
Paper IV: GS III	250
Paper V: GS IV	250
Paper VI: Optional Paper 1	250
Paper VII: Optional Paper 2	250

Note: Generally, in each paper of UPSC CSE Mains, there are 20 questions and each paper is of 3 hours duration.

UPSC CSE 2023: Number of Attempts

Category	Number of Attempts
General	6
OBC	9
SC/ST	No limit until the upper age limit is achieved

UPSC CSE Preparation Tips

• Before starting your preparation, understand your syllabus properly. This will help in planning and making an effective study plan.
• Start by reading the NCERT. Do remember extremely important points and avoid highlighting the entire book. It is just to create a base.
• Make it a habit to read one national newspaper daily. Most of the aspirants prefer reading The Hindu or The Indian Express.
• Regularly practise your answer writing skills. Once it becomes a habit, you will be able to structure your answer swiftly without a hassle.
• Join a test series. This will help you analyse your progress.
• For UPSC, revision is the key. The more you revise, the better it is. That is why it is advised to revise daily and keep weekends completely for revision.

Previous Year Question Papers

You can download the previous year’s question paper for all the exams conducted by UPSC from the official website of the commission.

FAQs

Q1. What is the UPSC exam?

The UPSC CSE exam is conducted every year for recruiting the most suitable candidates for the most reputable services in the Government of India such as IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, etc.

Q2. What are the different examinations conducted by UPSC?

The UPSC conducts various examinations. Some of the most prestigious examinations governed by UPSC include:

• Civil Services Examination
• Indian Forestry Services Examination (IFoS)
• Central Armed Police Forces Examination (CAPF)
• Engineering Services Examination (ESE)
• Combined Medical Services (CMS)
• limited Departmental Competitive Examination for selection of Assistant Commandant (Executive) in CISF
• Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist Examination
• Special Class Railway Apprentices Exam (SCRA)
• Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS)

Q3. What is the qualification for the UPSC exam?

Any graduate can appear for the UPSC CSE examination.

Q4. How many attempts are there for the UPSC exam?

General category candidates can take the exam a total of 6 times before attaining the age of 32 years, OBC category candidates can take the exam 9 times before attaining the age of 35 years and there is no limit to the number of attempts for SC/ST candidates.

Q5. Is there negative marking in the UPSC Prelims exam?

Yes, there is negative marking in the UPSC CSE preliminary examination. For each wrong answer, one-third of the marks allotted to that question will be deducted.

Q6. What is the age limit for UPSC exams?

• General Category- 32 Years
• OBC- 35 Years
• SC/ST- 35 Years

Q7. What are the career prospects after clearing the UPSC Exam?

After qualifying the UPSC examination, a student can seek employment in any grade A services of the Government of India such as IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, etc., subject to their rank.