CSE - Civil Services Exam

The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services Preliminary Exam which is common for the candidates applying for Civil Services Examination and Indian Forest Service  Examination, and acts as a screening mechanism for selection of candidates for the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination.

Important Dates

• Date of Notification: 02 February, 2022
• Last Date to Apply: 22 February, 2022
• Exam Date: 05 June, 2022
• Civil Services Mains: 16 September, 2022

Eligibility Criteria

Nationality: For Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service and Indian Police Service, you must be citizen of India. For other services, you must be either a citizen of India, or a subject of Nepal, or a subject of Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee or a person of Indian origin.

Age: UPSC has a fixed number of attempts and eligibility criteria concerning age for the UPSC examination. Here’s the category-wise age limit and the number of attempts:

Category	Upper Age Limit for UPSC	Maximum Number of Attempts
General	32	6
Economically Weaker Section (EWS)	32	6
OBC	35	9
SC/ST	37	Unlimited (Up to age limit)
Defence Services Personnel	35	9
Persons with Benchmark Disability	35	9

It is important to note that an attempt is counted when you appear for the Prelims examination. Even if you’ve appeared in any one of the exams, your attempt will be counted. This is also one of the major reasons for absenteeism in the Prelims Exam. Only about 50% of the applicants who fill the form appear for the examination. If you’ve filled the examination form and not appear for the exam, your attempt will not be counted.

Further, the person who has already joined the services of IAS or IFS officer cannot write the examination again. However, an IPS can write the examination to compete for IAS rank

Educational Qualification requirement for UPSC IAS Exams: 

You should possess a degree of graduation in any stream from any university recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Those who have appeared in the qualifying exam and are waiting for their results are also eligible to apply.

A candidate applying for IFS exam must possess a Bachelor's degree in one of the following subjects, including animal husbandry and veterinary science, botany, chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics, statistics and zoology, or a Bachelor's degree in agriculture, forestry or engineering from a recognized university.

Number of attempts: You are permitted six attempts at the examination.