|| Muni Pungav Shree Sudhasagaraya Namah: ||
Even though the exam to be undertaken is popularly known as IAS exam, it is officially called UPSC Civil Services Exam. 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.
If you become an IAS officer, you become part of the Indian Administrative Service. You will be part of the Govt. You can work from “the inside” and change “the system”!!
If you have a dream for India, or if you, like me, believe that India will soon be a “super-power”. If you want to be part of the process of making India a great nation, IAS is for you! Being an IAS officer, there is a lot more power and control you have so that you can be part of Emerging India!
Besides that, IAS is a great career option! You get many “perks of the job” when you are an IAS officer. You will have “job security”, “discount on Govt. services”, “Govt. provided transportation” and many more things... Even though the monthly salary provided by the IAS career is not too high, the “perks” make up for the less salary!
To get into the IAS, you will have to give the “UPSC held Civil Services Examination”. It is a common exam for getting into the IAS, IPS etc. To succeed in the “Civil Services Examination” you first need to understand how the examination is conducted or the “examination format”! IAS is a tough exam and you need to do smart as well and hard work. To get you started stepwise -
Know The Exam
The Civil Services Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) each year. It is conducted in 3 stages:
Stage 1: Preliminary Examination (Popularly known as CSAT)
There are two papers in Prelims exams – namely Paper I and Paper II.
Paper I tests you on General Studies and Paper II tests you on Aptitude. Qualifying Paper I lets you appear for the Mains examination. Paper II is only to analyze you i.e it is only of qualifying nature.The marks scored in Paper II are NOT added for the overall merit of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
Paper I (General Studies)
200 Marks
Duration: Two Hours
Number of Questions: 100
Paper II (Aptitude)
200 Marks
Duration: Two Hours
Number of Questions: 80
Stage 2: Main Examination (Also known as Mains)
The Main Examination will consist of written examination. The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type i.e descriptive in nature.
Stage 3: Personal Interview
Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks in the Main Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview for a Personality Test.
Step 2
Know the Exam Syllabus
Paper I Syllabus (General Studies)
Current Affairs: Events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement
Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change (no subject specialization required)