FAQ: Civil Services/IAS Exam
(Doubts in Question-Answer Format)
Q. I want to apply for Civil Services Exam, what is the minimum age required to appear in the exam?
Ans. According to the latest advertisement issued by UPSC 2016, minimum age required to appear in this exam is 21 years.
Q. Thank you. Can you tell me category-wise upper age limit?
Ans. Yes, why not? For SC/ST candidates, the upper age limit is 37 years and for OBC and General candidates, upper age limits are 35 years and 32 years respectively.
Q. How many attempts can I give?
Ans. It depends on which category you belong to. If you are an SC/ST candidate, then you do not have to worry. You have unlimited attempts. Yes but only till 37 years of your age. If you are an OBC candidate then you have 9 attempts. For General candidates, maximum attempts are 6.
Q. Oh…I see. I have heard that UPSC this year is going to revise Upper age limit for all categories? Is it true?
Ans. How can I say? I am not an UPSC member. Yes it is true that UPSC has suggested to Central Govt. that the upper age limit for General candidates should be brought down to 26 from 32. But the final decision on this matter will be taken by the Central Government only.
Q. Wow. I am safe. I am an ST candidate. But now tell me, right now I am in the final year of graduation. Can I appear for the Civil Services Prelims Exam this year?
Ans. You can appear. But you will have to produce a photocopy of your graduation results while filling the form of UPSC Mains.
Q. I have passed my graduation privately. Can I appear for IAS exam?
Ans. Whether you have passed your graduation privately or regularly does not matter. The University which has taken your examination, however, must be one that has been recognized by UGC. Remember that such distance learning universities like IGNOU are also recognized by university.
Q. In UPSC exam, how many stages are there?
Ans. There are three stages. First Prelims (Preliminary Exam), second Mains and then Interview.
Q. What is the nature of Prelims and Mains exam?
Ans. Prelims exam is a screening exam. It is of objective kind whereas Mains exam is descriptive in nature.
Q. Can you brief UPSC PRE’s latest syllabus please?
Ans. Oh! You asked an OMG question because UPSC has a lengthy syllabus. Still I try to brief it. In Prelims exam, you will have to face two papers. i) General Studies Paper 1 ii) General Studies Paper 2 aka CSAT. Both papers are of 400 marks (200+200) in total. General Studies Paper 1 will cover topics like Current Affairs, History of India, India and World Geography, Indian Polity and Governance, Economic and Social Development, General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change.
In Paper 2, you will be given some questions on Comprehension, Interpersonal skills including Communication skills, Logical reasoning and Analytical ability, Decision making topics, General mental ability questions and Basic numeracy of class X level.
One important thing to be noted is that only Paper 1 is a merit paper. Paper 2 marks will not be counted in the final total marks of Pre. Though in Paper 2 you will have to secure at least 33% marks (i.e. 33% of 200 Marks)
Q. Oh! But I am a Hindi medium student. In paper 2, will I be given English Comprehension?
Ans. Not at all. You will be given Hindi comprehension passages, so do not worry about that!
Q. Thank God! you saved my life. How many papers are there in Mains exam?
Ans. Total 9 papers. All papers are compulsory in nature.
- Indian Language
- English
- Essay
- Four Papers of General Studies (I+II+III+IV)
- Two Papers of your Optional Subject
Marks of Indian language paper and English paper will not be counted in the final marks. Yes, it is true that you will have to secure minimum marks prescribed by UPSC in these both papers, then only your other 7 papers will be checked. In Indian Language, you can choose any one Indian language that comes under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution i.e. (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili (22) Dogri] This paper will not be compulsory for candidates who are residents of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.
Q. What the hell! Oh! again English. Anyway, kindly tell me about the total marks of all of these nine papers.
Ans.
- Indian Language= 300 Marks
- English= 300 Marks
- Essay=250 Marks
- Four Papers of General Studies (I+II+III+IV)= 250+250+250+250
- Two Papers of your Optional Subjects= 250+250
- Interview= 275
Total marks/Grand Total= 2350 Marks
But I told you already that marks of Indian language and English will not be counted in the final marks of Mains, so the grand total is (2350-600= 2025)
Q. Is there any minimum required/qualifying marks for Interview/Personality test?
Ans. No.
Q. Can you give me some tips for Interview?
Ans. Listen carefully what board members are actually asking. Let them finish their questions first. Do not try to interject them in between. Wait for a second before you start replying in a calm way and appropriately. I will give you more tips in one of my next posts.
Q. Thanks. I am ready to appear in this prestigious exam. Can you suggest to me whether I should join coaching?
Ans. Well, it is not necessary or mandatory to join any coaching unless you have very less knowledge about General Studies and about your optional paper. If you have no one to guide you then you should prefer to join a coaching. Coaching gives you enough study-material as well as imparts a regularity to your efforts. They also offer you mock tests which are very helpful.
Q. Do you have any idea as to which is the best IAS coaching?
Ans. It is a very difficult question. In fact it all depends on the status of your present knowledge as well as the subject you have opted for your optional subjects.
Q. I am planning to choose Sanskrit literature in the optional paper. Can I answer all the other papers in Sanskrit script?
Ans. You can give your optional paper in Sanskrit language. But you cannot use Sanskrit language for other papers like GS etc. In Indian Language paper, you are free to choose your own local/regional script.
Q. Can you suggest me some books recommended by UPSC toppers?
Ans. Yes. But not now. I will write a separate article for that.
32 Comments on “General FAQ for UPSC: Clear Doubts regarding IAS Exam”
Sir I m from pharmacy so I confuse choose optional subject. Plz tell me
It is not always necessary to go for the same subject as your optional in which you have done your graduation or masters. People often choose that subject in which they can get guidance, can fetch variety of books and in which they are interested.
Medical Science is one subject which is related to Pharmacology and medicines too. Hence this subject may be easier for you to handle.
sir i am done Sahitya sudhakar from mumbai hindi vidyapeeth Mumbai and sahitya sudhakar equivalent to B.A then i am eligible for upsc exam?
hello
I am Telangana state .i am very comfortable to write exam in Telugu language. Can i write prelims general studies paper1 and mains exam (All papers)in Telugu language.Could you please clarify my doubts
Prelims exam – only English or Hindi.
Mains exam all papers, and optional papers = you can choose Telugu.
Is this complusary to write essay in english language?
No. You will have to choose a language while filling up the form of Prelims. In that same language you will write all papers of mains including essay.
Sir my birth date is 22 December,1997. I am a general category student. Am I eligible to appear in upsc 2018 as I will complete my 21 years of age on 22 December 2018?
hello beta
one question please say yes or no …my daughter 18th aug 1985 born is she eligible for next year 2018
blessings
If you are a General Candidate, answer is NO
(32 years 11 months 14 days) = Her age on 1st of August, 2018
I m b.tech mechanicl engg. Sir help me chose my optn subject.
Why don’t you take any science subject? Are you comfortable with your degree subject?
Can you provide me information that if i have passed my B.tech with Grace marks am i eligible and my overall marks is 72%
Am i eligible to give Upsc
Will pass with Grade be a problem
No problem. You’re eligible.
Degree from a recognized university means graduation?
Yes graduation from a recognized university (approved by UGC/AICTE etc)
Sir I have taken admn. in B.Sc. H Maths. this year i.e 2017-20 . My graduation will be completed in 2020.My D. O. B. is 22/12/1999. So am i eligible to give UPSC CDS exam in 2020?
Sir, I m from Assam but was born and completed my education till class 12 at Meghalaya. What will be my Indian language subject?
I am a diploma final year student.Can I apply for IAS exam of 2017-18?
No you will have to pass any graduate level exam first.
SIR , i m study in hindi medium upto 12 th class then college and graduatin done english
which language should i free for written exam
the main problem is i am become a mixture of both language
any suggestion
In whichever you’re comfortable, choose that only. If you can write better Hindi than English, then go for Hindi or vice-versa. It is all about your writing skill.
hello sir , I am really worried about the UPSC civil services medical examination , as I am a person with minor issues of heart palpitation and I’ve been on medication for a couple of years , so will I be declared unfit to join the services , if so then all the hardwork will go in vain.
Sir I born on 02-06-1987. Is I’m eligible for upsc 2019 and I belongs to General category. The upper age limit mentioned is 32. Is it eligible in between 32 to 33 years
Will it be an issue in the selection procedures of a woman candidate opting for UPSC CSE ( IPS ) if she has a tattoo on her wrist ( near to the place where we used to wear wristwatches ) of four letters, i.e., the name of her elder sister who is no more? Will it be an issue even if the candidate belongs to the ST category? The tattoo is in sideline in the left hand. A person sitting left to the candidate can easily see it if the candidate puts both of her hands on a desk.
No it does not matter at all, in fact you will get opportunity to express your views and the story behind your tattoo. They are smart enough to judge you by your personality and your view you to see all the aspects of life.
ANCIENT HISTORY AND MEDIVAL HISTORY – OLD NCERT BY RS SHARMA AND CLASS 11 TAMIL NADU NCERT. (WITHOUT READING SATISH CHANDRA MEDIVAL HISTORY )
ART AND CULTURE – CLASS 11 NEW NCERT ON ART AND CULTURE
MODREN INDIAN HISTORY – CLASS 12 MODREN HISTORY BY BIPIN CHANDRA + SPECTRUM.
IS THIS BOOK LIST SUFFICENT FOR ANCIENT , MEDIVAL ,MODREN HISTORY AND ART AND CULTURE???
sir i am 31 year,4 months,22 days year old till 1 aug 2019 can i give exams
Yes you can give exam of course. Max is 32 years as of 1 Aug, 2019.
Hello sir, If I cleared UPSC mains and can be fillup for DAF and I eligible for IPS. Can I opt for IPS?? Please sir reply me. I very much doubt about on this.
You will be asked in the form which post you give first, second, third etc… priority. If IPS (Indian Police Service) is your first priority then fill it on top and then fill other posts in order preference-wise.
Then your final rank and other conditions will decide if you will get IPS post or not. It is not in your hand.
Sir I have done B. com and i want to go to ifs and i am interested in political and economics so can i take any one of these two subject?