The Civil Service Examination has a complicated format! The
complete
exam stretches over a period of one year! So, before you go ahead, let
us first try to understand the “format” of the exam.
First of all, in the month of May or June there are the
“Preliminary examinations”. Now, in this
examination, there
are two papers. The papers are on:
1. General Studies (150 marks)
2. Some optional subject (300
marks)
This exam is just to get you to the next round of the
“main
exam”. This is just to short list candidates. The score you
get
here is NOT added to your final score.
Now, you are probably wondering what “general studies” and “some optional subject” means, so let us clear that up!
General Studies Paper….
General Studies paper consists of questions on:
- Indian Polity & Economy
- History of India including Indian National Movement
- Indian and World Geography
- Current Affairs of National and International Importance
- General and day-to-day Science
- Mental Ability and Basics of Statistics etc.
Questions on planning, budgeting, developmental programs, latest issues of political and constitutional importance, panchayati raj, electoral reforms, natural resources, culture, growth of nationalism, Committees, Commission etc can be expected every year.
Now-a-days, there is a lot of emphasis on “current
affairs” in the general studies paper!
Basically, the syllabus is HUGE and vague. But, don’t worry we shall try to help you with what you need to do. How to prepare for these papers is given later on in the “How to prepare” section…
“Some optional subject” paper
Here you have to give a paper on a subject of your choice. You
can choose from the following subjects:
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Commerce
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- Geography
- Geology
- Indian History
- Law
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medical Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
As, you know, to give the exam you need to be a
“graduate” in some field. People generally choose
their
optional subject as the same subject that they graduated in. However,
there is no such compulsion. You can choose any subject and give your
"optional subject paper" for that subject.
To get the syllabus for the optional subject you pick, you can
check
out this link!
Okay, now after you have given the prelims, you have to wait
for the
result and see if you got selected for the “Main
Examination”! The results generally come out by July or
August!
Once the results are out, you will know whether you are going
to be appearing for the “Main Examination” or not!
Now, in the main examination, there are “9” papers
that you have to give! These papers include:
- 1 Essay type Indian Language Qualifying Paper (300 marks)
- 1 English Qualifying Paper (300 marks)
- 1 General Essay type paper (200 marks)
- 2 General Studies papers (300 marks each)
- 4 Optional subjects papers (300 marks each)
You can find the syllabus for these papers here.
Then finally, if you qualify after the “main
examination”
stage, you have to go for an interview. In the interview, you are
tested on basis of your personality, mental ability etc. It is seen how
suitable the job will be for you. And, if the interviewers like you,
you are selected.
This complete process takes about one year. The preparation
for this
starts 4-5 yeas in advance. And out of the 2 lakh people that apply,
only 400 to 500 are selected! To add to all this, if you are selected
and only if you have a good enough score, you are free to choose what
you want, whether IAS, IPS etc… IAS and IPS get filled out
fastest. If you want to become an IAS officer, you will need a great
score!
It’s hard, but we will try to guide you….Next, let us see how you should prepare for the prelims…..
Next - How to prepare for the "Preliminary Exam"? >>
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