What is IAS?
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Civil Services Examination and one of the toughest competitive exams in India. It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for the recruitment of officers for the All India Administrative civil service. The Indian Administrative Service is the premier administrative civil service of the Government of India. Hierarchy-wise, IAS is the highest administrative post among the 24 services like IPS, IFS etc. IAS is the permanent bureaucracy in India and forms a part of the executive branch. It is one of the three All India Services, its cadre can be employed by both the Union Government, the State Governments and public-sector undertakings.
Age Limit
A candidate should be minimum 21 years and maximum 32 years old.
Relaxation of
5 years - Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST)
3 years - Other Backward Classes (OBC)
(For more details visit www.upsc.gov.in)
Eligibility Criteria
I. Nationality:
1. Candidate must be a citizen of India.
2. Candidate must be a citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
3. Candidate must be a Tibetan Refugee who came to India before 1st January 1962 to be settled permanently in India.
4. Candidate must be person of Indian Origin who has migrated from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire, or Zambia with an intention of permanently settling in India.
Educational Qualification
Candidate applying for civil service exams is required to fulfill the following criteria:
1. Candidate must hold a Bachelor's Degree from any of the recognized universities
2. Candidates who have appeared for the qualifying examination and are awaiting results or those who are yet to appear for the qualifying examination are also eligible for the Preliminary Examination. Such candidates have to produce proof of passing the said examination along with the application for the Main Examination.
3. Candidates with professional and technical qualifications recognized by the Government or its equivalent are also eligible to apply Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical Examination but are yet to complete the internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However, they must submit a certificate from the concerned University that they have passed the final professional medical examination.
IAS Exam Pattern
1. Prelims exam pattern
The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 400 marks.
| General Studies Paper – I | 200 Marks |
| General Studies Paper – II | 200 Marks |
The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi
NOTE: Not counted for the merit rank in Prelims but a qualifying Paper; just needs 33% marks.
2. Mains Exam Pattern
The written examination or UPSC Mains exam consists of nine papers, two qualifying papers and seven papers counted for ranking.
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper A | (One of the Indian languages listed below, to be selected by the candidate (from the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India) (Qualifying) | 300 |
| Paper B | English (Qualifying) | 300 |
| 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, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management) | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies-IV(ethics, integrity, and aptitude) | 250 |
| Papers VI, VII | Two papers on subjects to be selected by the candidate from the list of optional subjects (250 marks for each paper)(CIVIL ENGG. Is one of the optional sub) | 500 |
| TOTAL(WRITTEN TEST) | 1750 | |
NOTE: The objective of the interview is to test the overall orientation of the candidate towards Administrative services.
a. Note: If any confusion prevails about the UPSC Civil Service Examination or about Civil Services Exam Syllabus or any other point, please refer UPSC website (www.upsc.gov.in) as well as employment news in which detailed advertisement of examination is published.
b. Also get UPSC Syllabus in Hindi. Download UPSC Syllabus in Hindi. Check out for UPSC Syllabus in Hindi. Download UPSC Syllabus in Hindi from this article. Click on the provided link to download UPSC Syllabus in Hindi.
c. We hope, you were able to get more clarity on IAS exam pattern, group 1 syllabus & Subjects article we gave a timeline of various stages in IAS exam, Exam pattern of IAS prelims, and mains exam. IAS exam is a nationwide exam and takes one year to complete. IAS aspirants must improve their reading, writing, and communication skills to crack IAS exam.
Syllabus (Click to download)
IAS SyllabusIAS Exam Paper Download (click on Link to download)
2014
Mains Exam Civil Engg. optional Paper Download (Click to download)
- Question Paper
2015
Mains Exam Civil Engg. optional Paper Download (Click to download)
- Question Paper