Overview
The Civil Services Examination (CSE), commonly referred to as the UPSC CSE, is a standardised competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It is held for recruitment to the higher civil services of the Government of India, including the All India Services, the diplomatic services and the Central Civil Services at Group A and certain Group B levels. The examination is widely regarded as one of the toughest in the world, both on account of its broad syllabus and its multi-stage selection process spanning approximately one year.
Key details
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Examination name | Civil Services Examination (CSE / UPSC CSE) |
| Conducting body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Country | India |
| Purpose | Recruitment to higher civil services of the Government of India |
| Services covered | All India Services, Diplomatic Services, Central Civil Services (Group A and select Group B posts) |
| Stages | Three — Preliminary, Main, and Personality Test (Interview) |
| Interview venue | UPSC headquarters, New Delhi |
| Total examination duration | Approximately 32 hours across the full process |
| Cycle length | Around one year |
Structure of the examination
The CSE is conducted in three successive stages, with candidates required to clear each stage to advance to the next.
Preliminary examination
The Preliminary stage, commonly called the Prelims, consists of two objective-type papers:
- Paper I — General Studies, covering a broad range of subjects.
- Paper II — Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT), which assesses Mathematics, Logical Reasoning and Comprehension.
The Prelims serves as a screening test, and only those candidates who qualify proceed to the Main examination.
Main examination
The Main examination, or Mains, comprises nine papers of conventional descriptive type. Of these, two papers are qualifying in nature, while the remaining seven papers are counted towards the candidate's merit ranking for qualifying the Mains stage.
Personality test
Candidates who qualify the Mains are called for the Personality Test, also referred to as the Interview, which is conducted at the UPSC headquarters in New Delhi. The Interview assesses the suitability of the candidate for a career in public service.
Role in admissions and recruitment
The CSE functions as the principal gateway for entry into India's higher administrative and diplomatic cadres. Successful candidates are allocated to services such as the All India Services and the various Central Civil Services (Group A), as well as the diplomatic services and a few Group B posts, on the basis of their final ranking and preferences. Given the cumulative duration of the three stages — amounting to about 32 hours of examination spread across nearly a year — and the breadth of the syllabus, the CSE is regarded as a particularly demanding selection process.
References
- "Civil Services Examination", Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Services_Examination
- Union Public Service Commission — official notifications on the Civil Services Examination.
Comments
0 comments
No comments yet.