ABOUT CIVIL SERVICES
THE INTRODUCTION:-
- In general, by civil services in India, we mean recruitment through Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC every year.
- This includes IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS and others.
- The top rankers generally get selected for IAS, IPS & IFS.
- They serve in different capacity from DM/SP to Secretary/Chief Secretary and Cabinet Secretary.
THE BEGINNING OF CIVIL SERVICES IN INDIA :-
- In 1793 Lord Cornwallis established civils services in India, hence he is known as the father of the British Indian civil services.
- In 1853 for the first time merit system was introduced on the recommendations of Macaulay Committee.
- Civil services came to be characterized as the “steel frame” by Lloyd George of which ICS as most popular service.
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES IN BRITISH INDIA :-
-
It played three main roles
(1) Law and order administration (2) Revenue administration (3) Judicial administration -
Purpose
(1) It was to strengthen and consolidate the British administration in India
(2) Establish a strong empire
THE CIVIL SERVICES POST INDEPENDENCE :-
- The legacy of the British India civil services was continued
- IAS replaced ICS
- UPSC/SPSC were established for recruitment
- CSE came to be the main examination for recruiting IAS/IPS
- There are All India Services, Central Civil Services and State Civil Services
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES POST‐ INDEPENDENCE :-
- Maintaining Law and Order, security, unity and integrity
- Nation‐building, brotherhood and nationhood
- Welfare and social justice
- . Socio‐economic transformation
- Strengthening the foundation of democracy
- Promoting citizen‐centric administration
THE SCHEME OF CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION
ELIGIBILITY :-
-
Nationality: Must be a citizen of India for IAS, IPS and IFS
- For other services a citizen of Nepal, Bhutan and some other special cases allowed -
Age limits: 21 to 32 for Unreserved category
- Age relaxation for OBC, SC/ST, Defence Service Personnel - Number of attempts: 6 for unreserved, 9 for OBC and no such number of attempts for SC/ST
- Educational: A degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of Central or state legislature in India.( Appearing candidates are also allowed )
PLAN OF THE EXAMINATION :-
-
Two successive stages:
(1) Civil Services (preliminary) Examination – This is objective type and is screening stage for selection in Main Examination
(2) Civil Services (Main) Examination – This includes written as well as interview
THE PRELIMINARY EXAM
Two papers of Objective type (MCQs) , each carrying 200 marks i.e. 400 in total
PAPER-I
- It is General Studies paper, having questions form history, geography, polity and governance, environment, current affairs etc
- 100 questions are there , each carrying 2 marks
NOTE: 1/3 marks deducted for each wrong answer
PAPER-II
- It includes test of comprehension, general mental ability, basic numeracy, data interpretation etc
- It consists of 80 questions each carrying 2.5 marks
- 1/3 marks cut for each wrong
NOTE: This paper is qualifying in nature, with a minimum of 33%
marks
NOTE: The paper 1 marks determines the merit list, subject to
qualifying the paper 2. The cut off is determined by paper 1 marks.
THE MAIN EXAMINATION (WRITTEN)
THE PAPERS TO BE COUNTED FOR MERIT
PAPER I
ESSAY
250 MARKS
PAPER 2
GENERAL STUDIES -1
(Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of The World and The Society)
250 MARKS
PAPER 3
GENERAL STUDIES-2
(Governance,Constitution,Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)
250 MARKS
PAPER 4
GENERAL STUDIES PAPER 3 (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
250 MARKS
PAPER 5
GENERAL STUDIES
PAPER 4
( Ethics, Integrity
and Aptitude)
250 MARKS
PAPER 6
OPTIONAL PAPER 1
250 MARKS
PAPER 7
OPTIONAL PAPER 2
250 MARKS
NOTE: FOR PAPER 1 TO 7, UPSC HAS DISCRETION TO FIX QUALIFYING MARKS IN ANY OR ALL OF THESE PAPERS
QUALIFYING PAPER
PAPER A
NOTE: THIS PAPER IS
NOT COMPULSORY
FOR CANDIDATES
FROM ARUNACHAL
PRADESH, MANIPUR,
MEGHALAYA,
MIZORAM,
NAGALAND AND
SIKKIM
ONE OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGE FROM 8TH SCHEDULE
300 MARKS
(25% to
get qualified)
PAPER B
ENGLISH
300 MARKS
(25% to
get qualified)
THE MAINS EXAMINATION (INTERVIEW)
- CONDUCTED FOR THOSE GETTING QUALIFIED IN WRITTEN
- CARRIES 275 MARKS
- No minimum qualifying marks is required
- Meant to assess the mental calibre of a candidate, mental alertness, critical powers balance of judgement, intellectual and moral integrity etc
- NOTE: Final result is based on marks obtained in written and interview (1750+275=2025)
SYLLABI FOR THE EXAMINATION
Preliminary Examination
Paper I – (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
- Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
- General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science.
Paper II-(200 marks) Duration : Two hours
- Comprehension;
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
- Decision making and problem solving;
- General mental ability;
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level);
Note 2 : The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
Note 3 : It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.
Main Examination
QUALIFYING PAPERS ON INDIAN LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH
The aim of the paper is to test the candidates’ ability to read and understand serious discursive prose,
and to express ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian language concerned.
The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows :
(i) Comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing.
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
(iv) Short Essays.
Indian Languages :—
(i) comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing.
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
(iv) Short Essays.
(v) Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.
Note 1 : The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and
will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.
Note 2 : The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the
respective Indian language (except where translation is involved).
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