Latest Exam Updates About UPSC CSE IAS 2017 Exam: Important Dates of Exam, Application Form, Eligibility Criteria, Selection Procedure, Exam Pattern –Prelims Exam, Mains Exam and Interview, Admit Card, Result

UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is enshrined in the constitution of India. It is a constitutional body which derives its powers and functions under the Article 315 to 323, Part -14 of the Constitution of India. It is entrusted with duty to conduct various important exams including Civil Services Examination, Engineering Services, Combined defense services exam, Indian Economic services/Indian Statistical Services, National Defense Academy Examination etc.

The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination on national level every year to select candidates for various Gazette posts under the Government of India. This is considered as one of the toughest exam of the country. It is called by the students as the mother of all exams. Hence the success rate of candidates in the Civil Services Examination is low. The UPSC has released the date of notification for the Civil Services Examination, 2017. The candidates who are wishing to apply for the Civil Services Examination,2017 can check the official website of the Union Public Service Commission.

For further details about the Civil Services Examination,2017, read the Article below.

Eligibility for IAS Exam

Nationality – The candidate must be a citizen of India for most of the services under the purview of the Civil Services examination. But for some of the services people of Indian Origin and the person from the nations of Bhutan and Nepal are given opportunity to get selected for this illustrious exam.

Find below the details of the Nationality criteria.

For the IAS (Indian Administrative Services), IPS (Indian Police Services) and the IFS (Indian Foreign Services) the candidate should be a Citizen of India. Or else the candidate should be People of Indian Origin who have migrated to India with an intension to permanently settling down in India, from the nations of Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Myanmar, African nations of Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zaire, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zambia and the South-East Asian nation of Vietnam.
For all other services under the purview of the Civil Services Examination candidate should be Citizen of India, Nepal or Bhutan. They are also eligible to appear for the exam if they are People of Indian origin and have migrated to India with an intention to settle down permanently from the aforesaid nations.

Educational Qualifications

The candidate should have a Degree or Equivalent from –

Any Central, State or deemed University recognized under the section 3 of the UGC act of 1956.
From recognized Distance education or Correspondence.
From any Open University.
The candidate who are appearing their final exams and whose results are awaited are also eligible to apply for the exam, provided that during the Mains exam they will be able to furnish the result in their favour as the degree.
Candidates who have done their Degree from Private University or Foreign University can also apply for the exam, provided that those colleges are recognized by the Association of the Indian Universities.
Some specific candidates like MBBS, ICAI, ICSI, ICWAI who have passed their final exams but their internships are awaited can also apply for the exam.

Age Limit

The candidate should not be less than 21 years of the age and should not have exceeded the age limit of 32 years.
The August 1st of the year of the exam is counted for calculating the age limit of the candidate.
There is provision for the age relaxation for the reserved category of candidates for the exam. Find the details of which as below-

Category of the Candidate	Relaxation in Upper Age Limit
General	32years
SC/ST	35 years
OBC	37 years
PH (Blind, Deaf, Orthopedically handicapped)	42 years
J & K Candidates General	37 years
J & K Candidates OBC	40 years
J & K Candidates SC/ST	40 years
J & K Candidates PH	50 years
Disabled Servicemen General	37 years
Disabled Servicemen OBC	40 years
Disabled Servicemen SC/ST	40 years

Candidate can apply for the exam for a limited number of attempts. However, for reserved category of candidates there is relaxation in the number of attempts they can make for the exam.

Category of Candidates	Number of attempts
General	6
SC/ST	No bar until 37 years of age.
OBC	7

Note – It is to be noted that the candidate who has applied for the exam, but has failed to or was unable to write the paper then his attempt would not be counted.

IAS Exam Admission Process

Application Form

The Application Form for the Civil Services Examination, IAS, 2017 will be available online starting from 22nd February,2017 to 17th March, 2017. Candidates are required to visit the official website of the Union Public Service to get accessibility of the authentic Application form. They should not try to get the Application form from other websites. The Application form can be availed by the candidates only through the Online mode. Further there are two parts of the Application form. Candidates should fill both parts. They should also pay the requisite amount of the Application Fee along with the Application form. And then finally submit their form.

How To Apply
Candidate should visit the official website of the Union Public Service Commission.
On this website they will get the link of the Application form. Here they should click to get the accessibility for the Application form.
The Application form will be opened in the two parts. The Part -1 and the Part-2. The candidate is required to fill both the parts of the Application form, but in sequence. They should first of all fill the first part of the Application from and only then proceed to the next part of the Application for filling it. They should fill the Application form carefully and correctly.
In the Part-1 of the Application form is meant for the registration of the candidate. The candidates in this Part of the Application are asked to fill their basic detail like name, address, mobile number and valid email id. On the basis of these details the Registration of the candidate by the commission will get complete. Further they will be given a new registration id.
Candidate should note down their Registration id and Password and keep it till the completion of the exam process.
By entering their Registration id candidates will be given accessibility to the Part -2 of the Application form, which is the main Application form. It will be used by the commission during the selection process of the candidate.
Candidate should fill all the necessary columns with utmost care. They are first of all advised to read the instructions of filling the Application form carefully and only then proceed further to fill it. This will help them to minimize their errors. They should fill the Application form with all the valid and authentic information about themselves, as the commission is known to verify or cross-check all the furnished information by the candidate before selecting the candidate for any post under it.
The candidates are also required to upload the scanned copy of their photo and signature along with the form.
The Application fee should be paid along with the Application form.
The process of Registration gets complete once the candidate pays their Application fee.
Finally, after the successful submission of the Application form candidate should take the print copy of it. It can be used for any reference in future.

Application Fee

General Candidates should pay an Application Fee of Rs.100/.
The candidates belonging to the reserved category – OBC/SC/ST/PH and Female candidates are exempted from paying any Application fee to the commission.

Mode of Payment

It can be paid in both Online mode as well as Offline mode.
The candidate can pay their Application Fee in online mode through the Net Banking, Credit Card and Debit Card.
The candidate can also pay their Application fee through the Offline mode by Cash mode made at any SBI Bank branch.

IAS Exam Pattern (Syllabus)

The Civil Services Examination has 3 different stages of exam. The candidate should clear through all the stages of the exam to get selected by the commission. The 3 stages of the exam are-

Preliminary stage – This is merely qualifying in nature. The candidates are required to pass this exam so as to get selected for the next stage of the exam i.e. the Mains exam.
Mains Exam- This stage is the most important part of all the stages of the exam. Candidate should strive to score as much marks they could so that they can take competitive advantage over other candidates. The marks scored by candidates in their mains exam is counted while preparing the final merit of the successful candidates.
Interview – This is the last stage of the exam. Those candidates who qualify in the Mains exam are called for an interview by the UPSC board. The marks of Interview are also added while preparing the merit list of candidates.

Stage -1- Prelims Exam Details

The Prelims exam which was based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission has been changed from 2011 exam onwards. Under the new pattern of the Prelims exam which is called as the CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) there are 2 papers. The Paper-1 and Paper-2, both are based on the General Studies. These Papers tests the candidate’s analytical abilities and the level of their general awareness more than their memory test.

Some important details about the Papers

Paper-1	General studies – The marks of this Paper-1 is counted to get selected for the Mains exams.	2 hours	200 marks
Paper-2	CSAT- Civil Services Aptitude test. The candidate is required only to qualify in this paper by scoring 33% of the marks.	2 hours	200marks

Paper -1 and Paper -2 are of 200 marks and 2 hours of duration.
The questions in both the papers will be of objective type.
The questions will be put in both Hindi as well as English.
There is scheme of negative marking in the Preliminary exam. For every incorrect response 1/3 rd. marks will be deducted.

The following topics are required to be covered in the Paper-1 for the exam.

Current Affairs
History of India
Indian Polity
Indian and World Geography
Economic and Social Development
General Issues on Environment
General Science

The following topics are required to be covered in the Paper-2 for the exam.

Comprehension
English Language
Inter-personal skills
Logical Reasoning & Analytical Abilities
Decision Making and General problem solving skill
General Mental Ability
Basic numeracy of std. 10th level.
Data Interpretation.

Stage -2- The Mains Exam

Candidates who qualify the Prelims exam are given a call for the Mains exam. The Mains exam has 9 Papers. The two papers are only qualifying in nature, while rest of the 7 papers scores are counted while preparing the merit list of the candidates. Paper-A, a language paper which is to be selected by the candidate from the 8th schedule of language of India and Paper-B, which is a English language paper should be qualified by the candidate. If candidate fails in any of these papers is considered as fail.

It is advised that the candidates should score well in rest of the seven papers of the Mains exam.

Find below the further details of the Mains exam.

Paper Name	Subject	Marks
Paper-1	Essay type	250
Paper-2	General Studies-1	250
Paper-3	General Studies-2	250
Paper-4	General Studies-3	250
Paper-5	General Studies-4	250
Paper-6	Optional Paper-1	250
Paper-7	Optional Paper -2	250
Paper-A	Language Paper (to be selected by the candidate from the 8th schedule of India	300
Paper--B	English language.	300
Total Marks of 7 papers which marks are counted, excluding Paper-A and Paper-B.		1750.

Stage -3- Personality Test or Interview.

This is the final stage of the exam. The aim of this stage of the exam is to test the mental caliber of the candidates in areas of Social judgement, rational decision making, intellectual abilities, leadership traits, capacity to comprehend complex social realities, moral understanding, orientation of the personality of the candidate etc. The interview board is considered to be a fair, impartial and supportive team of jury to help candidates to expose the best of their intellect and talent.

The interview round of the exam is of 275 marks only, but it plays a crucial role while determining the ranks of the candidates. So the candidates should prepare equally hard for the Interview round of the exam, similar to the effort they have put for their Mains written exams. They must also to groom their personality in order to appear for the exam.

IAS Exam Important Dates

About the Exam	Important Exam Dates
Release of the Official Notification	22nd February,2017.
Closing date to apply	17th March, 2017.
Preliminary Exam Date	18th June,2017.
Mains Exam Date	28th October,2017.

Admit Card

The cards are issued to the candidates online. The candidates should visit the official website of the commission and get their Admit Card. It should be carried by the candidates at the centre of the exam.

Result

The UPSC announces the result. The candidates can check their result on the official website of the commission. The name and roll number of the successful candidates are given on the site of the commission.

FAQ.

Q. When will the Prelims exam of the CSE, IAS,2017 will be held?

The Prelims exam will be held in the month of 18th June, 2017.

Q. How many Papers are there in the Prelims exam?

The Prelims exam consists of 2 papers. The Paper-1 of General Studies and the Paper-2 of CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test.

Q. In the CSE, IAS, Prelims exams which questions Paper of the two is counted while passing the candidates for the Mains exams and which is of only qualifying in nature?

The Paper-1 which is the General studies paper is a scoring paper, which marks are added for selecting candidates for the Mains exam, while the Paper-2 or CSAT, civil services aptitude paper is only qualifying in nature. The candidate should score at least 33% of the marks to qualify for the next stage of the exam i.e. the mains exam.

Q. What is the marks of the 2 papers of the Prelims exam?

The two papers of Prelims exam are each of 200 marks. It is of total 400 marks.

Q. What is the nature of questions of the Prelims exam of CSE, IAS,2017?

The questions are objective type in nature. Candidates are given multiple choice question type to answer.

Q. Is there any scheme of negative marking the CSE, IAS,2017 prelims exam?

Yes, there is scheme of negative marking in the exam. The 1/3 marks is deducted for every incorrect answer to the question.

Q. What is the Pattern of CSE, IAS,2017 Mains exam?

The Mains exam of CSE consists of 9 papers. Two papers, the English language paper and the Language paper selected from the 8th schedule of India are of only qualifying in nature. Rest of the 7 papers of General studies are counted in the merit list. They should be scored well by the candidates.

Q. What is the total marks for which the Mains exam is held?

The Mains exam is held for the total of 1750 marks. Each of the seven Papers of General Studies is of 250 marks.

Q. For how much marks the Interview or the Personality test of the candidate is conducted?

The personality test or the Interview round of the exam is of 275 marks.

Q. What is tested during the Interview of the candidate in the CSE, IAS,2017?

The interview tests the candidate’s mental caliber. The interview board tries to reveal the traits of the candidates by asking questions on friendly note. The candidate’s leadership quality, his social judgement skill, decision making capacity, moral standing, ability to understand about the complex social realities etc. are judged. The interview carries only 275 marks only, but it plays critical role while determining the standing of the candidate on the final merit list.

Q. What is the nature of questions of the Main exam of CSE, IAS,2017?

The Mains exam is essentially descriptive in nature. Candidates are required to write answers in varying numbers of words, like 200, 250, 20 words etc., to judge their linguistic capacity, understanding about the topic, insight over any issue and their in-depth knowledge about the any topic or issue.

Q. For how many times the CSE, IAS, exam is conducted in a year?

The exam is conducted for only once in a given year.

Q. What is the age limit of the CSE, IAS,2017?

The candidate should not be less than 21years of age and should not be more than 32years of age. This age limit pertains to general candidate only. There is provision of age relaxation for the reserved category of candidates.

Q. How much Application fee is required to be paid by the candidate along with the Application form of the CSE, IAS, exam?

The general category candidate should pay Rs.100/ as the Application fee for the exam. While the candidates of reserved category are exempted from paying application fee for the exam. The OBC/SC/ST/PH and female candidates are not required to pay any fee for the exam.

Q. When will be the CSE, IAS,2017 Mains exam will be held?

It will be held on 28th October,2017.