IAS

The IAS exam (officially known as the Civil Services Examination) is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) annually.
Those who clear all the three stages of the IAS exam enter into the prestigious civil services of the country, and become officers in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and a host of other services. Although regarded as one of the toughest exams in the country, with the right approach and strategy, an aspirant can crack the IAS examination in the very first attempt. It is essential for aspirants to know and understand the requirements of the IAS exam 2021 such as the UPSC syllabus for IAS Exam (Prelims and Mains), pattern, eligibility criteria, application procedure and other such significant details before kick-starting the preparations.

IAS Exam Pattern

1. Stage I: Preliminary Examination (IAS Prelims)
2. Stage II: Mains Examination (IAS Mains)
3. Stage III: UPSC Personality Test (IAS Interview)

Sl.No	Name of the Paper	Nature of the Paper	Duration of the Exam	Questions	Marks
1	IAS Exam Paper – I: General StudiesIAS Exam Paper – I: General Studies	Merit Ranking Nature	2 Hours	100	200
2	IAS Exam Paper – II: General Studies (CSAT)	Qualifying Nature	2 Hours	80	200

1. The questions in the IAS Exam (Prelims) are of the objective type or Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
2. There is ‘Negative Marking’ in the IAS Exam for each incorrect answer but only in the Prelims stage. The negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
3. The GS Paper II (CSAT) in IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33 per cent in this paper to qualify to the next stage of the IAS exam i.e. the Mains.
4. Blind candidates are given an extra time of 20 minutes for each paper in the IAS Exam (Prelims).
5. It is mandatory for the candidates to appear in both the papers of civil services prelims exam for the evaluation.
6. The marks scored by the candidates in the preliminary examination are not counted for the final score. It is only a screening test where candidates not securing the cut-off marks are eliminated.

Sl.No	IAS Exam Paper	Name of the Paper	Duration of the Exam	Marks
1	IAS Paper – A	Compulsory Indian Language	3 Hours	300 Marks
2	Paper – B	English	3 Hours	300 Marks
3	Paper – I	Essay	3 Hours	250 Marks
4	Paper – II	General Studies I	3 Hours	250 Marks
5	Paper – III	General Studies II	3 Hours	300 Marks
6	Paper – IV	General Studies III	3 Hours	250 Marks
7	Paper – V	General Studies IV	3 Hours	250 Marks
8	Paper – VI	Optional Paper I	3 Hours	250 Marks
9	Paper – VII	Optional Paper II	3 Hours	250 Marks
		TOTAL		1750 Marks
		Interview or Personality Test		275 Marks
		GRAND TOTAL		2025 Marks

Candidates who clear the Mains stage of the IAS exam with the required cut-off marks qualify for the final stage of the IAS exam i.e., the Personality Test or Interview round with the UPSC Board Members. The candidates who qualify to the final stage will be sent an e-summon by the Commission for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members. In this round, the board assesses the personality traits of the candidates and questions will be asked on their hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions, etc. to evaluate if they are fit for a career in the civil services or not. The UPSC personality test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

Study Material for UPSC

1. 2nd ARC Report
2. Economic Survey (Latest)
3. Budget (Latest)
4. Finance Commission Report (Latest)
5. Annual reports by central ministries
6. Current Affairs
7. The Hindu Newspaper
8. Yojana Magazine
9. Press Information Bureau Releases
10. Niti Aayog Action Agenda