New changes and syllabus for IAS examination

Guide For Civil Services Examination

The Civil Services examination is undergoing a thorough overhaul with more emphasis on general studies and the dropping of the second optional subject. The changes will make it more a test of originality and skill than mere subject knowledge. The new changes are meant to attract candidates who have a thorough awareness of the various problems the country is grappling with.

New Scheme and Syllabus of Civil Services

The Civil Service Examination conducted in three different stages is used to recruit young graduates into the highest civil positions available in the country including many senior positions under various state government and departments and agencies of Government of India. The senior most Civil  echelons are recruited through this examination including that of Cabinet Secretary.

   Officers of the three important constitutional All India Services  (AIS). Indian Administrative Services, Indian  Police Service and Indian Foreign Service and the Diplomatic Service (IFS) are selected through this common examination which usually spreads over about 18 months. the examination, which is open to all candidates holding a graduate degree approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or equivalent qualification, attracts about 3-4 lakhs of applications per year and about 2 lakh serious competitors at the first stage of competition, now known as the Civil service Aptitude Test (CSAT).

     The Union Public Services Commission selects about 10-12 times the total number of vacancies of the year for competing in the main written stage of the examination and about twice to thrice the number of vacancies in the personality test. A merit list is produced based on the aggregate scores achieved by the candidates in those competitive subjects in the main examination and the personality test (interview) taken together. Only 2 out of 1,000 applicants figure in the final merit list and candidates need to be in the first 300 ranks to be allocated their services of first or second choice. In terms of the number of applicants and the intensity of competition, the examination is possibly unmatched in the entire world. Apart from banking, private sector management and teaching professions, the Civil Services offers best general opportunities for employment in the job market in India.

     Since 2011, the Union Public Service Commission has been making various changes to the pattern of the examination to reduce its predictability and increase its competitiveness. These changes are notified for the present year in UPSC's notifications dated 05-05-2013 and 26-05-2013 available in the UPSC website i.e., www.upsc.gov.in.

     The changes introduced in the preliminary stages of the examination have been implemented since 2011. The first change has been to replace the subject based optional paper in the preliminary examination with a general paper making CSAT an examination of marks (200 marks each in two papers) conducted on the same day across India. The subject content of the two papers is provided hereafter.
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Important Links :
This part will give you basic information of CSAT, Syllabus and Preparation plan.

• Changes in the civil services main examination:

• Click Here For Preliminary examination (CSAT) Details:

• Click Here For Personality Test Details:

• General Tips for Civil Services Aspirants: