Age Limits:
• Candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on 1st August of the year in which examination is being held. The upper age limit may be relaxed in respect of the SC/ST and other backward classes.
• Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and physically disabled categories in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government
Number of Attempts
• A maximum of 4 attempts is permitted to every candidate and 7 to those belonging to Other Backward Classes. There is no restriction on the number of attempts in the case of SC/ST candidates.
Check your Progress:
1. What are the eligibility conditions for the public service? 2. What were the suggestions of Kothari Committee?
1.2.2: Procedure of Civil Services Examinations
The notification of the examination is made in December. The Examination consists of 2 subjects where the mode of testing is via Objective type questions. One paper is compulsory (General Studies) and the other optional (e.g. Economics, Physics, Medical Science, Engineering etc.) This exam is held every year in June and about 300,000 candidates take it.
The Preliminary Examination is followed by the Main Written Examination and a personal Interview. The Main Examination is held in November and December of the same year. Approximately 7000 candidates are called for this examination, chosen on the basis of merit from the Preliminary (Qualifying) exam.
The marks obtained in the Main Examination (Written and Interview) determine the final ranking. The candidates are then allotted to various services on the basis of their ranks and the preferences expressed by them.
Examination Papers:
Preliminary Examination - The preliminary examination consists of two papers:
• Paper I — General Studies 150 marks
• Paper II ~ An Optional subject 300 marks
Subjects for Paper II (one subject to be selected): Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics,