Civil Services 2023: Like every year, this year too has brought Civil Services exam, 2023. There are certain important things that you must know before the commencement of the exam. It is a fact that once the exam is cleared there will be surety for a reliable career in the government sector as one can become a reputed IAS officer. Amongst numerous government jobs, this is one of the esteemed jobs which help in reaching to the paramount position. However, to reach a high position, one needs to put all the efforts, intellectual skills, and hard work. If interest then you must know all about the eligibility criteria, officially scheduled date, timings, etc. In order to pass the IAS exam, the candidate needs to first appear in the written examination which is followed by preliminary.
UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2023 is the responsibility of the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission). This exam is attended by numerous aspirants all over India because after all, it leads to position you at the top position amongst numerous government jobs.
Civil Services 2023 Exam Dates:
| EVENT | DATES |
| Starting of the application process | February 2023 |
| Closing of the application process | March 2023 |
| Release of admit card (Prelims) | May 2023 |
| UPSC Civil services exam 2023 Date (Prelims) | June 2023 (SUNDAY) (1 Day) |
| Result (prelims) | 1st week of August 2023 |
| Release of admit card (Mains) | 1st week of September 2023 |
| UPSC Civil services exam 2023 Date (Mains) | September 2023 (FRIDAY) (5 Days) |
| Result (Mains) | 1st week of December 2023 |
| Personality test Notification | 1st week of January |
| Admit Cards for Personality Test | 2nd week of January |
| Personal Interview and Personality Test | 1st week of February |
| Final Results | May |
IAS 2023 Eligibility Criteria:
Nationality
- candidate should be the citizen of India
- subject of Nepal
- subject of Bhutan
- Tibetan refugee who arrived in India with the intention of a resident there forever before 1 January 1962.
- The Indian origin person migrated to India from Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, the United Republic of Tanzania, or Vietnam from Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or the Eastern African countries in order to settle there permanently.
Education
- Candidates must receive a degree or qualification recognized by the Government of India from any Central, State or Deemed University.
- An applicant with a bachelor’s degree from the Association of Indian Universities from an overseas university is also eligible for the examination.
- Candidates who have appeared may also apply.
- Candidates who appeared in their final year of graduation are eligible for the exam.
- Individuals who passed ICWAI / ICSI / ICAI final examination are eligible for this examination.
- Also eligible for this examination are individuals who have passed the final year of MBBS degree (without completing the internship).
Number of Attempts
- The government has restricted the number in which a candidate can apply for this examination.
- For this examination, the applicant in the general category could only appear six times.
- The candidates of the OBC category can take a total of nine times for this test.
- The candidates in the SC / ST category have the advantage of being examined in unlimited times until they are thirty-seven years old.
Age limit
| Category | Upper age limit |
| General | 32 Years |
| OBC | 35 Years |
| SC/ST | 37 Years |
| PH (Blind, Deaf, Orthopedic) | 42 Years |
| J & K Domicile | GEN=37 Yrs, OBC= 40 Yrs, SC/ST=40 Yrs, PH=50 Yrs |
| Disabled servicemen, disabled from duty. | GEN=37 Yrs, OBC=40 Yrs, SC/ST=40 Yrs |
Civil Services 2023 Application Form:
UPSC Civil Services Application form check out given below:-
- Candidates are advised to provide the valid and active email address and mobile number, and the registered mobile number and email address will be communicated to the candidates by size UPSC.
- The applicants should avoid multiple forms of application, which could confuse the applicant himself. The latest completed form will, however, be considered the final form by UPSC.
- The process most important is that the documents are uploaded. The candidates should upload the correct documents and not blur the photographs of the candidates.
- The medical certificate must be submitted to the Medical Council of the State by candidates who suffer from any disability or muscle deformity / cerebral paralysis.
- The two parts of the application form must be completed, and it is not sufficient to fill only one form. Without Part II, the public service request form is incomplete.
- Candidates are eligible to apply online for the Civil Services 2023 Application Form, in accordance with the above eligibility criteria.
- Only on the official website i.e. www.upsc.gov.in can the application form be submitted online.
- This consists of two parts.
- PART-1: Registration
- Name
- Gender
- Date of Birth
- Father’s Name
- Mothers Name
- Nationality
- Marital Status
- Community
- Educational qualification
- Address
- Email Id
- Mobile Number
- The candidates have to choose the Examination name in which they want to appear Civil Service, IFS, and Civil Services & IFS.
- Now the candidates have to fill the further form.
- Type of photo identity card
- Photo identity card number
- Percentage in graduation
- Number of attempts in graduation
- Main examination center
- language Medium for Paper I to V
- Optional subject VI to VII
- Select language for Paper A
- Then click on “Submit Button”.
- Then the payment page is reached.
- PART-2: Application Fee
- The candidates must pay the application fee to complete the application process.
- Applicants must pay the application form in any way that suits them.
- Select any payment method Online or Offline Mode.
- For the purpose of paying the application fee on rupees Rs 100/- via the single central recruitment Fee stamp, applicants may apply offline (by a common application form).
- No application fee is necessary for all female applicants and those belonging to ST / SC.
IAS 2023 Examination Pattern:
Phase I: Preliminary Exam
- The preliminary examination will be an objective-type test.
- This will be an offline pen-paper test with 2 papers.
- The papers are 2 hours each. They are both. For each paper, blind candidates will be given an additional 20 minutes.
- PAPER-I
- Current events, Indian history, social development, environmental ecology, Indian national movements, Indian & world geography, Indian polity, economy, biodiversity, etc.
- PAPER-II
- Problem-solving, data interpretation, English language, Comprehension, interpersonal skills, communication, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision making, problem-solving, data interpretation, English language, etc.
- A total of 400 marks are at stake in the prelims examination.
- Each question will be 1/3 Mark penalty for the wrong answer.
- A minimum of 33% marks are required in General Studies Paper-II (CSAT), to qualify for the mains.
| Papers | Details of the question papers | Total Marks | Total Marks |
| I | General Studies – This paper will be counted for qualifying to write the Civil Services Mains exam. | 200 | 2hr |
| II | Aptitude test (CSAT) – This paper is of qualifying nature, but the candidate must score at least 33% marks in this paper. However, marks of this paper are not counted for writing the Mains examination. | 200 | 2hr |
| Total | | 400 | 4hr |
Phase II: Main Exam
- The main examination will be a Descriptive-type test.
- It consists of 9 papers and for everybody, it is necessary paper-1 & paper-2.
- All are subjective papers of the type, each lasting 3 hours.
- In papers A and B for qualification, the candidates must obtain 25% marks (75 marks).
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper A | Indian Language (Qualifier) | 300 |
| Paper B | English (Qualifier) | 300 |
| Paper I | Essay Writing | 250 |
| Paper-II | General Studies I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies 2 (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies 3 (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies 4 (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper VI | Optional Paper I | 250 |
| Paper VII | Optional Paper 2 | 250 |
| Total Marks (I – VII) | | 1750 |
Phase III: (Personality Test/ Personal Interview)
- This round will be an interview with UPSC members, with a total of 178 marks involved. This is the final phase of the requirement process.
- The whole personality of the candidate is tested in this round and questions are asked about current affairs, hobbies, interests, situation analysis, etc.
- In calculating an applicant’s final rank, the total score in Mains and the Personality Test is used.
IAS 2023 Exam Syllabus:
- IAS Syllabus assesses the knowledge and ability of a candidate in current affairs.
- In his specialist subject, IAS Syllabus for Mains assesses the academic knowledge of a candidate. It also tests its capacity to clearly and consistently present knowledge and its overall intellectual characteristics and concepts.
- The preliminary section of the IAS Exam deals with historical, political, cultural, geographical and agricultural issues, science and technology, eco-friendly, economic, cultural and arts, social and social welfare issues, and the GK.
- As optional subject papers, the IAS Syllabus section for Mains (Document VI and Document VII) has a broad scope for the examination.
- The level corresponds to the degree in the field of engineering, medical science, and law.
Civil Services 2023-21 Admit Card:
- The Admit Card is available on UPSC’s official website.
- The Admit Card can be downloaded in pdf format by the Candidate.
- All Candidates will be given a separate Admit Card.
- Candidates can take the printout of the Admit Card after downloading it.
- All candidates must be required to receive the Admit Card in the exam center for entry into the Examination Hall.
Civil Services 2023 Result:
- The results will be posted on the official website of UPSC.
- For preliminary and main examinations, the results shall be published separately.
- In January or February, the main results will be available.
- The candidate’s result can be checked by roll no in the PDF file.
Important Books For Preparation UPSC 2023:
| BOOK TITLE | AUTHOR/PUBLICATION |
| History Of Modern India (History) | Bipan Chandra |
| India’s Struggle For Independence (History) | Bipan Chandra |
| India’s Ancient Past (History) | R.S. Sharma |
| History Of Medieval India (History) | Satish Chandra |
| A New Look at Modern Indian History | BL Grover |
| The Wonder That Was India (Culture) | A.L. Bhasham |
| Indian Art and Culture (Culture) | Nitin Singhania |
| Our Parliament | Subash Kashyap |
| Geography of India (Geography) | Majid Husain |
| Oxford School Atlas (Geography) | Oxford |
| Science and Technology | TMH |
| CSAT Book Cracking the CSAT Paper-2 | Arihant |
| Certificate Physical and Human Geography (Geography) | Goh Cheng Leong |
| Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations (Polity) | M. Laxmikanth |
| Indian Economy (Economy) | Ramesh Singh |
| Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure (Environment) | Rajagopalan |
| A History of Modern World | Ranjan Chakravarti |
| Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains (Environment) | Khuller |
| Facets of Indian Culture | Spectrum |
| Indian Constitution | PM Bakshi |
| Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning | R. S. Aggarwal |
Civil Services 2023 Cut off:
- The authorities shall release the minimum qualification marks or cut-offs after each stage has been declared.
- The next step of the selection process is for applicants with the scoring of more or equal to the cut mark.
- The cut-off for both exams depends on a number of factors such as the IAS Exam difficulty level, available vacancies, and the number of candidates appearing, etc.
| CATEGORY | PRELIMINARY | MAIN | FINAL |
| General | 150-200 | 660-679 | 860-889 |
| OBC | 140-201 | 600-631 | 809-845 |
| ST | 103-180 | 610-620 | 800-815 |
| SC | 101-185 | 615-633 | 815-835 |
| PH 1 | 101-170 | 550-615 | 800-820 |
| PH 2 | 89-120 | 550-630 | 780-835 |
| PH 3 | 60-125 | 450-515 | 690-726 |