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How does UPSC draw a list of candidates to be qualified for the Civil Services (Mains) Examination?

UPSC draws a list of candidates to be qualified for the Civil Services (Mains) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies Paper-II of Civil Services 
Preliminary Examination (CSAT Paper) and total qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination as may be determined by the Commission.

What does the Civil Services (Mains) Examination consist of?

The Civil Services (Mains) Examination consists of a Written Examination and an Interview/Personality Test. 

How many papers are in the Written Examination of the Civil Services (Mains) Examination?

The Written Examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type, out of which two papers will be of qualifying in nature. Marks obtained for all the compulsory papers (Paper-I to Paper-VII) and Marks obtained in Interview/Personality Test will be counted for ranking. Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an Interview/Personality Test.
 

What number of candidates are called for UPSC’s Interview/Personality Test?

The number of candidates to be summoned for an Interview/Personality Test will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. 

Does the interview personality test have qualifying marks?

The Interview/Personality Test will carry 275 marks with no minimum qualifying marks. 

What determines the final ranking and allocation of services in the Civil services (Main) Examination?

Marks obtained by the candidates in the Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written part and Interview/Personality Test together) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and their preferences for the various Services and posts.

What is the nature and standard of the questions asked in the written part of the Main Examination?

The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type. The candidate should go through the previous year’s question papers of the main examination to understand the nature and standard of the questions.

What are the time duration of the written examinations and the time slots in which they are held? 

Each paper will be three hours in duration. The schedule for the Main Examination is extended over two weeks. The table below enlists the various papers of the Main Examination held in two-time slots.

Time slots in the Main Examination written part:

 

9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Week 1

 

Friday

Essay paper

No examination

Saturday

General Studies-I

General Studies -II

Sunday

General Studies -III

General Studies -IV

Week 2

 

Saturday

Paper-A (Indian Language)

English

Sunday

Optional Subject - Paper 1

Optional Subject - Paper 2

 

What is the medium of language in the Main examination written part?

Candidates can answer all the question papers, except the Qualifying Language Papers, Paper-A and Paper-B, in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India or in English. The Candidate will have the choice to write the Optional Papers in English if the candidates opt to write Paper I-V except for the Qualifying Language Papers, Paper-A and Paper-B, in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

Are marks secured by the candidate in all the subjects of the Main Examination's written part counted to determine the merit ranking?

Marks obtained by the candidates for Paper I-VII only will be counted for merit ranking. However, the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all of these papers.

Papers to be counted for merit

Paper

Marks

Paper-I Essay

250

Paper-II General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)

250

Paper-III General Studies -II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International relations)

250

Paper-IV General Studies -III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

250

Paper-V General Studies -IV(Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)

250

Paper-VI Optional Subject - Paper 1

250

Paper-VII Optional Subject - Paper 2

250

Sub Total (Written test)

1750

Personality Test

275

Grand Total Marks

2025

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ACQ IAS
ACQ IAS