UPSC Civil Services Selection Process

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Selection Process comprises of two stages – Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type), Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written) and a Personality Test (Interview).

Civil Services Selection Procedure:

Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam – Civil Services (Preliminary) exam is the first stage to shortlist candidates for Mains exam. The highlights of the Civil Services (Preliminary) exam are given below:

• This examination is conducted just as a screening test to shortlist eligible applicants for Mains exam.
• Candidates who qualify preliminary exam will be eligible to take part in Civil Services (Main) exam.
• The marks obtained in Civil Services (Preliminary) exam will not be considered in the final merit list.

Civil Services (Mains) Exam – The Civil Services (Main) exam consists of a written exam & a personal interview. These 2 stages of Mains exam has been detailed below-

Written Exam – The applicants who score minimum qualifying marks in written part of the Mains exam as may be fixed by the UPSC at their discretion will be summoned by them for a personal interview test. The number of applicants selected for the personal interview will be just twice the no. of vacancies to be filled.

Personal Interview:

• The personal interview will have 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).
• The applicants will be asked questions on general interest any the interviewers.
• The main object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the applicant for a career in public service by a Board of competent & unbiased observers.

Final Selection Criteria for Recruitment:

The marks obtained in Civil Services Mains exam and in the Interview Test are added up. The top 980 students are allotted a post in the Service or Cadre in order of availability and preference for the same. Thus, the top ranker will get his/her post of first preference, while the last candidate will get what is remaining.