What is IAS?

IAS is the short form of Indian Administrative Service. It is one of the prestigious services
among the 24 services like IPS, IFS etc for the which the UPSC conduct Civil Services
Examination (CSE) for selecting the candidates. An officer selected into the Indian
Administrative Service gets exposure in very diverse roles like the collector, commissioner, head
of public sector units, chief secretary, cabinet secretary etc. Not only the experience and
challenges, but also the scope of making positive changes in the life of millions in India makes
IAS a unique career choice.
How to become an IAS officer?

Even though the exam to be undertaken is popularly known as IAS exam, it is officially called
UPSC Civil Services Exam. The UPSC CSE consists of 3 stages Prelims, Mains, and
Interview. Getting into Indian Administrative Service is not easy considering the competition
involved, but not impossible for a candidate with right attitude and approach.
The IAS Syllabus and other services like Income Tax and the IPS is the same, as it is considered as single exam and
conducted by UPSC, which also sets the syllabus.
UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted in three phases:
Phase 1: Preliminary Examination or CSAT (Objective Section)
Phase 2: Main Examination (Subjective Section)
Phase 3: Interview (Vocal Section)

Phase 1: Preliminary Examination CSAT Syllabus:

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test is the first phase of preliminary examination of UPSC. This test is intended to
assess the aptitude of examinees in solving the Reasoning and Analytical questions.
IAS prelims exam consists of two papers of objective type, each of 200 marks (total of 400 marks) and two hours of
duration and candidates must take both the papers.
The preliminary examination is meant for screening the candidate and the marks obtained by a candidate in the
prelims who qualifies to the mains exam will not be be taken in account to determine their final merit.

 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
specialisation General Science
a) IAS Preliminary Exam:
Paper

Subjects

Total Marks

Duration

General Studies

200 marks

2 hours

II

Aptitude Skills

200 marks

2 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)

The phase 2 tests candidates academic talent in depth and his/her ability to present understanding in a reasonable
way. The IAS mains examination is designed to analyse the comprehensive intellectual quality and the understanding
of candidates rather than just determining their information and memory.
The UPSC mains exam consists of 9 papers, in which two are qualifying papers of 300 marks each:
I. Any Indian Language
II. English
These two papers just need to qualify which is compulsory and marks obtained will not be considered or counted.
And the rest of seven papers can be written in any of the languages mentioned as in the Eighth Schedule of the
Constitution or in English. Below given the remaining seven papers:
Paper

Subject

Paper - I

Essay
Can be written in the medium or language of the
candidate's choice

Paper-II

General Studies- I
(Indian Heritage and Culture,
History and Geography of the World and Society)

Paper-III

General Studies- II
(Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and
International relations)

Paper-IV

General Studies- III

(Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity,
Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

Paper-V

General Studies- IV
(Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
(Marks carried by General Studies was 4X250=1000)

Paper-VI

Optional Subject - Paper 1

Paper-VII

Optional Subject - Paper II

(Candidate is allowed to take up literature as an
optional subject " and candidate need not to be a
graduate in that languages literature.)