Union Public Service Commission

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examinations.

Section-I

Plan of Examination

The competitive examination comprises two successive stages:

1. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (ObjectiveType) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination

2. Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various services and posts.

The preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks in the subjects set out in sub‐section (A) of Section II. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of Candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission, to the Main Examination.

The Main Examination will consist of written examination and an interview test. The written examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type in the subjects set out in sub‐section (B) of Section II out of which two papers will be of qualifying in nature. Also see Note (ii) under Para I of Section II (B). Marks obtained for all the compulsory papers (Paper–Ito Paper‐VII) and Marks obtained in Interview for Personality Test will be counted for ranking.

Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview for a Personality Test, vide sub‐section ‘C’ of Section II. The number of candidates to be summoned for interview will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).

Section - II

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examination.

A. Preliminary Examination

The Examination shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200marks each.

B. Main Examination

The written examination will consist of the following papers:

Qualifying Papers:

Paper : A - (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution). 300 Marks

Paper : B English 300 Marks

Papers to be counted for merit

Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects given below:

Language 		Script
Assamese 		Assamese
Bengali 		Bengali
Gujarati 		Gujarati
Hindi 			Devanagari
Kannada 		Kannada
Kashmiri 		Persian
Konkani 		Devanagari
Malayalam 		Malayalam
Manipuri 		Bengali
Marathi 		Devanagari
Nepali 			Devanagari
Oriya 			Oriya
Punjabi 		Gurumukhi
Sanskrit 		Devanagari
Sindhi 			Devanagari or Arabic
Tamil 			Tamil
Telugu 			Telugu
Urdu 			Persian
Bodo 			Devanagari
Dogri 			Devanagari
Maithilli 		Devanagari
Santhali 		Devanagari or Olchiki

List of optional subjects for Main Examination:

1. Agriculture
2. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
3. Anthropology
4. Botany
5. Chemistry
6. Civil Engineering
7. Commerce and Accountancy
8. Economics
9. Electrical Engineering
10. Geography
11. Geology
12. History
13. Law
14. Management
15. Mathematics
16. Mechanical Engineering
17. Medical Science
18. Philosophy
19. Physics
20. Political Science and International Relations
21. Psychology
22. Public Administration
23. Sociology
24. Statistics
25. Zoology
26. Literature of any one of the following languages:

C. Interview Test

• The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his career. He will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.
• The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross‐examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.
• The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an
  intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own State or Country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated youth.

Courtesy: www.upsc.gov.in

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