The UPSC Exams are conducted nationwide. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a premier recruiting body for the central government services. It conducts exams for civil service, engineering, medical, defense, etc., Also, they recruit most of the Group-A officers for the central government. Furthermore, Group-B cadre officers are also recruited through exams.
| Website | www.upsc.gov.in |
| Chairman | Dr. Pradeep Kumar Joshi |
| Founded on | October 1st, 1926 |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
The UPSC is a constitutional body mentioned in Part 14 of the Indian Constitution. Hence, they are more powerful and independent. The UPSC is a parent commission to the Public Service Commission (PSC). The salary and other expenses of the commission come under the consolidated fund of India. The UPSC reports the selected candidates for various posts to the Central Government. Finally, the Central Government appoints them. Also, the decision of the UPSC is not binding on the government. However, there is always coordination between these bodies while recruiting candidates.
The UPSC conducts the most important exams for the government central job aspirants. Also, the frequency of exams and the process of conducting exams are done in a mannerly fashion. The Commission delivered the exam schedules for the years 2021-2022. The official website provides the annual calendar for these years separately. The annual calendar involves the registration date as well as the exam dates. The UPSC not only conducts exams for IAS, IPS, IFS but also for many other posts. The UPSC EPFO, UPSC CAPF are some of the notable exams conducted by the recruiting body.
The following provides the in-depth description of each upcoming UPSC Exams
The UPSC Civil Service Exam is one of the toughest nationwide exams. It is conducted for the recruitment of IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS officers. The exam includes three phases namely the Preliminary exam, Mains exam, and also an interview. Also, the preliminary contain two phases namely the UPSC CSAT and a General Studies Paper.
The General studies paper involves 100 MCQs for 200 marks. It happens for a 2 hours duration. Likewise, the UPSC CSAT also happens for 2 hours. The CSAT includes 80 questions for 200 marks. The general studies paper includes topics like History, Economics, Geography, Polity, Science, Current Affairs, etc., Also, every incorrect answer carries a negative of 0.66 each. The candidates have to score approximately 50% for qualifying for the next round. Here, the topmost 10% of candidates are filtered for the mains stage.
The mains include descriptive writing of 9 papers on wide topics. It is for a total of 1750 marks. Each paper/exam happens for 3 hours. The following are the 9 descriptive paper
| Indian language Paper | 300 marks (only qualifying) |
| English | 300 marks (only qualifying) |
| General Studies 1 | 250 marks |
| GS 2 | 250 marks |
| GS 3 | 250 marks |
| Essay | 250 marks |
| General Studies 4 | 250 marks |
| Optional paper 1 | 250 marks |
| Optional paper 2 | 250 marks |
Finally, the shortlisted candidates are interviewed. The personal interview carries 275 marks. Both the phases total to 2025 marks (1750 +275). Also, note that the preliminary stage is just a filtration process to select the top 10% of candidates. Thus, the prelims score is not included. Finally, the selected candidates are given training. They are trained in the LBSNAA, Mussoorie. After, the training, the candidates are posted accordingly.
The CSAT paper happens on the afternoon session of the preliminary exam phase. Generally, it involves 80 questions for 200 marks. Also, there is a 1/6th penalty for wrong answers. This paper involves topics like English comprehension, Logical Reasoning, and Aptitude. Also, this exam is just qualifying in nature. The qualifying marks are 66 or 33%. It also happens for a 2-hour duration.
The Indian Administrative Service exam is a part of the UPSC – CSE. The candidates should clear all the three phases of the UPSC-CSE with the highest scores to get into the IAS cadre. Also, the UPSC CSE is commonly referred to as the IAS exam. This is because of the popularity of the IAS posting. Most of the candidates writing the CSE exam opt for the IAS post. The exam pattern is the same for all the CSE posts. The final cadre is given based on the marks and ranking of the candidate.
Likewise, the Indian Police Service (IPS) aspirants should also clear the UPSC CSE. The topmost candidates are offered IAS, IPS, and IFS posts. Also, there are some physical eligibility criteria for the IPS exam. The following table provides details of the physical requirements
| Height – Male | 165 cm 160 cm (ST) |
| Height – Female | 150 cm 145 cm (ST) |
| Chest measurement – Male | 84 cm (Expansion 5 cm) |
| Chest measurement – Female | 79 cm (Expansion 5 cm) |
| Eyesight for Male candidates | 6/9 or 6/6 |
| Eyesight for Female candidates | 6/9 or 6/12 |
There are also a few other additional requirements apart from physical criteria. All these are tested after the interview process.
The Indian Foreign Service is a sought-after post along with IAS and IPS. Similarly, the candidates must write the UPSC CSE and secure top ranks. The diplomats representing our nation are selected through this exam. The lifestyle of an IFS officer is something to crave for. The officers are trained according to their cadres before the actual posting. Candidates with excellent communication and diplomacy skills are selected through this exam.
The Indian Forest Service Officers are again selected through the UPSC CSE. They are selected for the management of forest habitats throughout India. The UPSC CSE Prelims is the same for Forest service and other services. Whereas, the mains pattern differs for this exam. The IFS mains include General English, Math’s/Statistics. Then, Physics/Zoology, and Chemistry/Geology. Also, subjects like Agriculture, Agricultural Husbandry, Veterinary Science, etc., are present. Civil/Chemical engineering is also a paper in the IFS mains. Moreover, the interview process is separate. If you are a person with an interest in wildlife and nature, then this is to go for. Besides, you and your family will have free access to all the national parks and sanctuaries across India.
The Indian Revenue Service, IRS is also a part of the UPSC CSE. The IRS is also a Group-A service allotted to the candidates. This is considered as one of the elite jobs in the UPSC CSE Group-A services. The IRS officers take care of the Revenue department. The IRS officer controls the Income-tax, Narcotics, Customs, and Revenue departments. All three phases of the UPSC CSE exam are the same for the IRS aspirants. Also, the final rankings decide the posting. Usually, the toppers aim for IAS, IPS, and IFS. The candidates succeeding them are given IRS.
The Indian Engineering Service or the Engineering Service Exam is also conducted by the UPSC. Likewise, this exam has three phases namely, Prelims, Mains, and the Interview. Any candidate with a degree in engineering or equivalent course can apply for this exam. The following table provides the exam details of the IES.
| Prelims Paper 1 (General Studies and Aptitude) | 2 hours | 200 marks |
| Prelims Paper 2 (Engineering) | 3 hours | 300 marks |
| Mains Paper 1 | 3 hours | 300 marks |
| Mains Paper 2 | 3 hours | 300 marks |
The mains paper includes descriptive writing of any of the Engineering disciplines. This includes Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and also ECE. The preliminary exam is about to happen on 20th February 2022. The total vacancy is 247. The candidates selected after the three phases are taken into any government sector. The following departments recruit the IES candidates
| Railway Board | Department of Telecommunication | Public Work Department |
| Ministry of Road Transport and Highways | Ministry of Science & Technology | Geological Survey of India |
| Ministry of Defence | Indian Navy | Military |
| Electricity Board | River and water development | Skill Development. |
Any eligible candidate between the ages of 21-30 can apply for IES. The application fee is just 200 INR and the SC/ST/Women and PWD candidates are exempted from the fee. Also, there is a physical requirement for this exam. The candidates clearing the interview phase are subjected to a physical test by the Medical Board.
The UPSC also conducts the CAPF (Combined Armed Police Forces) exam. The department/forces such as BSF (Border Security Force), ITBP (Indo-Tibetian Border Police), CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), and the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) recruit the CAPF candidates. Furthermore, the candidates join the force as AC (Assistant Commandant).
Any citizen of Nepal, Bhutan, and India can apply for this exam. Also, the age limit is 20-25 years. Any graduate students, as well as final year graduation students, can apply. Make sure to submit the appropriate degree mark sheet at the time of the interview. The selection happens in three phases
The exam pattern for the written test is as follows
Paper 1 (MCQ) General Knowledge and Aptitude | 250 marks | 2 hours |
Paper 2 (Descriptive) Comprehension, General study topics, and essays | 200 marks | 3 hours |
The requirements include various things such as height, chest measurement, vision capacity, weight, etc., Also, there is a PET test. The PET examination includes running race, long jump, and also shot put.
Finally, the selected candidates appear for the personal interview. The interview is evaluated for 150 marks. The candidates are selected based on scores of all three phases.
The UPSC CMS happens every year to recruit applicants in the medical field. The exam is Combined Medical Service (CMS) exam conducted by the UPSC. They select for various posts like Assistant Medical Officer, and Divisional Medical Officer. Also, General Duty Officers in Medical are selected. There are also a few junior grade posts in CMS.
| Phases of the selection process | 2 phases (Written test + Interview) |
| Written exam (Paper 1 and 2) | 250 +250 = 500 marks |
| Personal Interview | 100 marks |
| Application fee | INR 200 (Reserved category and women candidates are exempted) |
| Eligibility | MBBS graduate The maximum age limit is 32 The maximum age limit is 35 for Junior scale posts |
Also, the topics covered in the written exam are General medicine, Paediatrics, Surgery, Gynaecology, Preventive medicine, etc., There is a penalty of 1/3rd marks for every wrong answer.
The Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) is an exam conducted by the UPSC. It is to recruit candidates in the Mechanical engineering program at the Railways department. The selected applicants undergo a 4-year training at the IIRIMEE, Jamalpur. Finally, the applicant gets a Bachelor’s degree (Mechanical Engineering) after the training program. After that, they are placed as Group-A officers in the railways.
Moreover, it is a tough exam and usually has fewer vacancies. The selected candidates can complete the program at the Indian Railway’s expense. Also, the application fee for this program is just INR 100. The reserved candidates are exempted from this fee.
The exam pattern is as follows
| General Knowledge, English, and also Reasoning | 200 marks (2 hours) |
| Physics and Chemistry | 200 marks (2 hours) |
| Maths | 200 marks (2 hours) |
| Interview | 200 marks |
Any candidate of age 17-21 who has completed High-school can apply for this exam. This is one of a kind exam conducted by the UPSC. Here, the young candidates are selected, trained, and also given high-paid jobs in the government.
The Combined Geo-Scientist exam is conducted by the UPSC. It recruits applicants into the Water Board (Central) and also the GSI (Geographical Survey of India).
Group A posts | Chemist, Geologist, and Geophysicist |
Geologist – eligible degrees | M.Sc in Geo-exploration/ Mineral exploration/ Geology/ Geological Science or a similar course. |
Chemist – eligible degrees | M.Sc in Analytical or Applied Chemistry |
Desired qualification for Geo-physicist | M.Sc in Applied geophysics or Geophysics Also, M.Sc physics M.Sc Exploration Geophysics, M.Sc Applied Physics Also, masters in Exploration technology and Marine Geophysics can apply |
Group B posts | Junior Hydrologist |
Desired qualification for Junior Hydrologist | M.Sc in Applied Geology/ Geology/ Marine Geology |
Any candidate between the age group of 21-32 can apply with a fee of INR 200. The selection process involves three phases
The exam syllabus includes subject related topics like Geology, Chemistry, etc., Also, the exam pattern differs for each post mentioned above.
The UPSC conducts the Steno exam to recruit candidates in Group-B Stenographer posts. They belong to the Grade-B, Grade 1 category.
UPSC Steno is a Departmental Competitive Exam. Thus, candidates with prior work experience in a similar field can apply for this. There are nine such categories for different Steno grade officers. Candidates eligible for more than one category can also apply accordingly. At most a candidate can fill for two categories. Armed force, Intelligence bureau are some of the categories for SO. The written exam evaluates their selection. Later, their work is assessed and the final selection list is released. The type of work experience differs with each Steno officer post.
The written exam has three papers. Paper 1 (Objective) is for 2 hours and 150 marks. Likewise, Paper 2 (Objective) is for 2 hours and 150 marks. The final Paper 3 (Subjective) is for 3 hours and 200 marks. Also, there is a penalty of 0.33 marks for every incorrect answer. In the subjective paper, candidates must do Drafting, Note making, Precise writing, etc.,
The UPSC also conducts exams for the recruitment of an EO/AO in the Employee Provident Fund of India. EO means Enforcement Officer and AO is Accounts Officer. This recruitment exam is nothing but the EPFO Exam. The Employee Provident Fund Officers (EPFO) come under the aegis of the Ministry of Labour. The selection process involves a written exam and a personal interview. The following table includes the overview details of the EPFO exam.
| Total Vacancies | 421 |
| Application fee | INR 25 |
| Marking scheme for written exam | 120*2.5 = 300 (MCQ) Also, 1/3rd negative for the wrong answer. |
| Weightage | Written exam: Interview 75: 25 |
| Eligibility criteria | Maximum age limit 30 Any graduate from the field of law/Business Administration. The applicants having prior experience in Legal and Administrative matters are given preference |
The EPFO involves Pension, Provident Fund, and also insurance-related works. The job profile of EO/AO includes Accounts recovery, Pension work, and verifying bank statements. Also, managing cash flow and cash book.
The following table provides the registration date and the exam date for various UPSC exams. The registration phase includes the application start date and also the last date for applying. This includes the upcoming exams based on the UPSC calendar 2021-2022. You can also visit their official webpage for further notifications.
Name of the Exam | Registration date (Including start and end date for application) | Exam date |
IAS (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022 |
UPSC CSE (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022 |
| UPSC EPFO | 13th January – 31st January 2021 | 5th September 2021 |
IFS – Forest (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 27th February – 8th March 2022 |
IFS – Foreign (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March, 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022 |
IES (Prelims) (Mains) | 7th April – 27th April 2021 | 18th July 2021 21st November 2021 |
IRS (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022 |
| UPSC CAPF | 20th April – 10th May 2022 | 7th August 2022 |
IPS (Prelims) (Mains) | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022 |
| UPSC CMS | 6th April – 26th April 2022 | 17th June 2022 |
| UPSC SCRA | October – November 2021 | December 2021 (Tentatively) |
| UPSC CSAT | 4th March – 24th March 2021 | 10th October 2021 |
UPSC Geo-Scientist (Preliminary) (Mains) | 22nd September – 12th October 2021 | 20th February 2022 25th and 26th June 2022 |
| UPSC Steno | 15th September – 5th October 2021 | 11th December 2021 |
All the exams conducted by the UPSC meet a certain standard. Thus, thorough preparation is needed to clear the above-mentioned exams. Also, the competition for these national-level exams is immense. For example, the qualifying percentage for UPSC CSE is just 0.01%. This means only 1000 candidates out of 10 lakhs are selected every year. The following tips help in better planning for the UPSC exams –
The UPSC exams like IES, CMS, EPFO, and also Geoscientist require specific graduates. They must have graduation in concerned subjects. For example, IES is especially for Engineer graduates. Whereas CMS exam is for MBBS graduates. But the exams like UPSC CSE involve a large number of graduates from various fields. Additionally, graduates from Arts, Humanities, etc., can apply for this. Meanwhile, Engineers and medical candidates can also apply. Usually, the UPSC CSE aspirants prefer Humanities courses.
The selection process for UPSC CSE involves three stages. Firstly, the Prelims stage. Here, the candidates are filtered and selected for the UPSC Main. Also, only 10% of the candidates are selected for the mains. Then, the candidates clearing mains are shortlisted for the personal interview. The final ranking is based on the scores of the mains and also the interview.
The pay scale starts from 9300 and goes till 34800. Also, the additional grade pay is INR 4800 (Level 8 pay matrix). Thus, AO/EO are paid more according to their cadre/positions.
Undoubtedly, UPSC CSE is the toughest exam. This is because of the number of competitions in this exam. A wide number of aspirants compete for various coveted posts like IRS, IPS, IAS, IFS, IRPS, etc., Also, the qualifying rate for this exam is just 0.01%. Candidates with any basic degree can apply for this exam. Thus, the competition all over the nation is very high.
Firstly, both IAS and IFS are equally valuable when it comes to government service. They both have their perks. However, for IAS there are quite more seats than IFS. They are placed within India. Also, they can avail hometown cadres if they are toppers. Whereas, candidates who find themselves good at communication and diplomacy can select IFS. Furthermore, they are placed in foreign nations. The pay scale is almost the same for both cadres. But the allowances are a bit more for IFS. Also, IFS has only a limited number of seats.
The salary of an IES officer varies according to the department they are posted in and also their designation. In general, an IES officer gets around 64,000 after the probation period. They are paid in power with other civil servants. For officers at the junior level, the pay scale is between 15,600-39,100. Also, for someone who is in the cabinet secretary garden, it is INR 90,000. Thus, the grade pay varies according to the designation.
Generally, the unreserved candidates can attempt 6 times maximum. Also, the OBC, ST, and SC aspirants can attempt 7 times. Besides, these reserved candidates can attempt any number of times till the age of 37.
No, there are no official notifications on UPSC SCRA. The notification and also registration might tentatively happen in October and November. This is based on the previous year’s trend. Also, the SCRA aspirants must have a check on the webpage of UPSC for official notifications.
In general, the job profile of the Geoscientist includes, visiting various sites and collecting samples. They analyze the geological information available. Most importantly, they plan government projects. Also, they do testings on rocks, soils, fossils, and other samples. They should also make sure that environmental regulations are maintained during the process.
There is a total of 159 vacancies in UPSC CAPF. The vacant posts are as follows –
Always, the process of clearing UPSC exams is considered a slow and steady process. Also, the prevailing COVID situations have worsened the conditions for the UPSC aspirants. But UPSC is the most prompt exam conducting body when compared to other recruitment bodies. They make sure to release the annual calendar at the start of the year. Also, they stick to their notification and exam dates. The results for various stages are also released at the most speed. In conclusion, they are a highly professional recruitment body for the Central jobs. Also, the exams mentioned above are some of the highly coveted postings in the central sector. Thus, government job aspirants can spend their exam years as an investment for a better future.
