NEW UPSC IAS MAINS EXAM PATTERN AND SYLLABUS
Union Public Service Commission
UPSC Finally Released Corrigendum For The IAS Notification 2013, Which Has Clearly Mentioned New Pattern For IAS Exams 2013.
Scheme And Subjects For The Preliminary And Main Examinations.
Section‐I
Plan Of Examination
The competitive examination comprises two successive stages:
- Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (ObjectiveType) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination
- 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.
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.
First Paper consists of maximum 200 marks & time duration will be 2 hours as under-
- 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 specialization
- General science. Second Paper consists of maximum 200 marks & time duration will be 2 hours as under
- Comprehension/ Intellectual Capacity
- Interpersonal skills as well as communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical aptitude.
- Decision making and problem solving
- General mental aptitude
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class 10th Standard), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data competence etc. –Class 10th Standard)
- English language intellectual capacity skills (Class 10th Standard)
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
| Paper | Subject Name | Marks |
| Paper-1 | Essay | 250 |
| Paper-2 | General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 |
| Paper-3 | General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) | 250 |
| Paper-4 | General Studies –III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio‐diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper-5 | General Studies –IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper-6 | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 250 |
| Paper-7 | Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 250 |
| Sub Total (Written test) | 1750 | |
| Personality Test | 275 | |
| Grand Total | 2025 |
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:
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Anthropology
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Commerce and Accountancy
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- Geography
- Geology
- History
- Law
- Management
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medical Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science and International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Literature of any one of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
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.
The Kothari Committee of the UPSC, has listed the qualities that should be rated in the interview as, ''clarity of expression, grasp of narrative and argument, reasoning ability, appreciation of different points of view, awareness and concern for socio-economic problems, ranges and depth of interests and personal attributes relevant to interaction with people.''
The Interview for the civil services examination also known as the Personality Test is exactly that. It is aimed at assessing the candidate’s personality, whether he is suitable to be a competent administrator or not. The candidate is tested not only for his/her intelligence but also for his/her overall personality development, his/her attentiveness, balance of judgement and qualities of honesty, integrity and leadership. Therefore preparation for the Interview requires proper planning.
The selectors look out for some attributes in the candidate and decide whether he/she is suited for a career in civil services or not. For this,the candidate should have a positive attitude, should have an alert mind with quick reflexes, should be free from any sort of prejudice, should be good at making quick decisions and should have the ability to act under stress and to handle difficult situations.
Preparation for the Interview is a continuous process. This involves a wide reading of books, journals, magazines and at least two newspapers. One should try to improve his/her conversational skills with the right pronunciation. The candidate should be prepared to answer questions on his background, hobbies and extra curricular activities. It is a good idea to discuss current affairs and recent issues with friends. One good way of rehearsing possible questions would be to have mock interviews and discussion groups. The candidate should make a self analysis of his strengths and weaknesses and make a conscious effort to play on his strengths.
Some useful tips for a successful interview at UPSC are:
- To have a positive body language
- To have a good personal turnout and ensuring the right posture
- To answer questions clearly and confidently
- Try to remain calm and composed even when faced with provocative questions
- Try not getting into long winded explanations and answer to the point.
Things To Be Avoided at the UPSC Interview
- Avoid the expression, 'I am sorry.'
- Avoid conversational cliches, like: 'as you know', 'that's correct', 'of course', 'indeed', 'obviously', etc.
- Avoid technical jargon. However, if a member continues to probe you in any technical field, you can use technical expressions.
- Maintain a cheerful disposition. Now and then you can appear serious; but most of the time keep smiling or look cheerful and composed. One caution here: if the board laughs, you should only smile. It is only when you maintain some amount of distance that the board begins to wonder about the depth of your personality.
- Do not give long introductions. Come straight to the heart of the matter.
- Show human concern whenever possible in your answers.
- You should be logically consistent and analyse things rationally while talking. You are supposed to defend what you say, but with due respect to the views of the board. Stop trying to defend an answer if it becomes difficult to do so logically and fairly.
- Do not make hasty or sweeping generalisations.
Types of questions asked at the UPSC interview.
- Relating to your name. Any famous personality who has a similar or same name or surname.
- Your career choice. Why you want to opt for the civilservices.
- Your Hobbies. Why you pursue such a hobby or questions related to your hobby. So reasearch well on your hobby.
- Hot topics of recent days like the Bird Flu and Tamiflu, Office of Profit, Sahara airlines deal and the growing airlines,Terror attacks in India, India US Nuclear deal, Commonwealth games, Saurav Ganguly etc.Keep reading and watching the news. If the recent headlines have something to do with your subject then specially revise those portions. For example if you are a veterinary doctor, Bird flu may go on to other animal diseases that can infect men. If you are an MBBS, then you might be asked about human to human spread of epidemics or any other epidemics and precautions etc. You may even be asked about the influence of MNC or drug manufacturers responsible for the spread of fear etc. If you are from an economy background, the same topic will veer towards the economic implications of the Bird flu.
- How you are going to use your specific knowledge(like if you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer etc) in the services.
- Situational questions. Like If you were the collector/SP of Varanasi, what would you do after the Bomb Blast?
- Choice of services. The order of your choice of services can raise questions too.
- About your institution and related.If you have studies at IIM you may be asked about the rising salaries, if from IGNOU then even about Indira Gandhi and so on.
- From your form. You must go through the form you have filled because most questions will arise from there. If you have changed subjects, mentioned anything out of the way, watch out for questions on them. Interviewers take cue from the form you have filled.
Some actual questions asked of UPSC candidates.
- Don't you think you can serve your country better by remaining a doctor and treating poor patients? Why do you want to be a civil servant?"
It would be best to answer this question very practically rather than emotionally saying you want to serve the country, because even a doctor serves the people. A doctor from Kerala was asked this Question and her reply was - "Because I want to treat the primary malady that afflicts our country, that creates so many poor in India. As a doctor I can treat only secondary maladies." She even came up with exact statistics and suggestions on a rubber plantation for poverty alleviation indicating that she had spent considerable time and thoughts on her future plans. She was awarded a score of 85 per cent. - "What are the problems faced by wheat cultivators in your state?" an M.Sc. (Agriculture) student from Palanpur was once asked. "The problem is not so much to do with agronomy but with the lack of a seed bank in Palanpur," came the reply and the candidate walked away with an 80 per cent score.
- "Is there a law in physics, which is relevant to administration?" a law graduate was prompted. "Yes. Newton's third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." He scored a cool 80 per cent.The above questions can give you an idea of how relevant questions are asked from your subjects even as they are not directly from the syllabus.
STUDY MATERIAL:
General Studies-
Question Papers:
GS 2008 Solved Question Paper
GS 2009 Solved Question Paper
GS 2010 Solved Question Paper
GS 2011 Solved Quesstion Paper
GS 2012 Solved Quesstion Paper
**************** For more years question papers**************
Prelims: POLITY more
Useful Websites For Civil Services:
http://civilservicesmentor.com/
http://www.eenadupratibha.net/Pratibha/civils.aspx
Online prelims Exams
good civils material
http://civilservicesmentor.com/
http://www.eenadupratibha.net/Pratibha/civils.aspx
Online prelims Exams
good civils material
