UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Exams or sometimes also referred to as The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most competitive examinations in India for candidates who wish to apply for various designations in Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS).
In this post, I am going to discuss some of the major key points & facts that one must know about UPSC Exams in India
1. History of UPSC Exams in India
- In 1923, the then British India Government set up the Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India under the Leadership of Lord Lee of Fareham.
- On 1st October 1926, the Public Service Commission was established under the chairmanship of Sir Ross Barker which was later rebuilt as Federal Public Service Commission by the Government of India Act 1935. This was again renamed as Union Public Service Commission post-Independence.
- The Union Public Service Commission received a constitutional status in the Constitution of India on the Republic Day (26th January 1950)
2. Headquarters of Union Public Service Commission
- The Commission has its headquarters located at Dholpur House, in New Delhi on Shahjahan Road.
- Built during the construction of New Delhi, in the 1920s, The Dholpur House is former Residence of Rana of Dholpur, Delhi. It is located next to India Gate on Shahjahan Road.
- The interviews for all recruiting candidates to the All India Services and Group A services for the Government of India are conducted in the Dholpur House headquarters.
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3. The Organisational Chart & Structure of UPSC
- The Commission comprises of 9 to 11 Members including the Chairman of the Commission. Every member holds the office for the term of six-year or until he attains the age of 65, whichever comes earlier.
- All the members of the Commission are appointed by the President of India.
- The Commission is serviced by a Secretariat headed by a Secretary with four Additional Secretaries, a number of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and other supporting staff. The secretariat, for administrative purpose, is further divided into divisions, each undertaking a particular responsibility.
- Administration
- All India Services
- Appointments
- Examination
- General
- Recruitment
- Recruitment Rules
- Services I
- Services II
4. Eligibility Criteria for Exams
Nationality:
- First and Foremost, the Nationality for Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, the eligibility requires the Candidates to be the Citizens of India.
- The Nationality for other services, the Candidates are eligibility is as follows:
- A citizen of India.
- A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
- A Tibetan refugee who settled permanently in India before 1 January 1962.
- A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India
Educational qualification:
- All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications:
- A degree from a Central, State or a Deemed university.
- A degree received through correspondence or distance education.
- A degree from an open university.
- A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above.
- The following candidates are also eligible but must submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam.
- Candidates who have appeared in an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed an internship.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of ICAI, ICSI and ICWAI.
- A degree from a private university.
- A degree from any foreign university recognized by the Association of Indian Universities.
Age Criteria:
The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years (for the General category candidate) on 1 August of the year of examination. Prescribed age limits vary with respect to caste reservations.
- For Other Backward Castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35 years.
- For Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the limit is 37 years.
- For Defence Services Personnel disabled in operations during hostilities, the limit is 40 years.
- For Candidates belonging to ex-servicemen including Commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered military services for at least five years as on 1 August, of the year and have been released
- on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1 August of the year otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency or
- on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service or
- on invalidation or
- Relaxation of up to a maximum of five years will be given in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service as on 1 August of the year and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months’ notice on the selection from the date of receipt of the offer of appointment, the limit is 32 years.
- For ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service, the limit is 32 years.
- For PwD candidates, the limit is 37 years.
- For Domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1989, the limit is 32 years.
- For the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, the standard age limits apply.
The number of attempts:
The number of times a candidate can appear for the exam are given below.
- General category candidates – 6
- OBC category candidates – 9
- SC/ST candidates – unlimited attempts till 37 years of age.
Appearing to attempt one of the papers in the preliminary examination is counted as an attempt, including disqualification/ cancellation of candidature. However, applying to sit the exam but failing to attend is not counted as an attempt.
5. The list of Services in UPSC
Following are the services which one gets on qualifying the Civil Service Examination.
All India Services
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
- Indian Police Service (IPS)
Central Services (Group A)
- Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS)
- Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
- Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
- Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
- Indian Information Service (IIS)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
- Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
- Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)
- Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
- Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
- Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS)
- Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
- Indian Revenue Service (IRS-IT)
- Indian Revenue Service (IRS-C&CE)
- Indian Trade Service (ITrS)
Group B Services
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services (AFHCS)
- Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS)
- Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS)
- Pondicherry Civil Service (PCS)
- Pondicherry Police Service (PPS)
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