Ensuring Eligibility for the Civil Services Examination

Introduction: The Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a prestigious avenue for individuals aspiring to join the administrative machinery of India. Ensuring eligibility for this examination is paramount for candidates aiming to embark on this challenging yet rewarding journey.

Understanding Eligibility: Candidates must meticulously review the Rules of Civil Services Examination provided by the Government and the accompanying Notice of Examination. Fulfilling all eligibility criteria is essential for admission to various stages of the examination. Admission remains provisional until candidates satisfactorily meet all prescribed conditions, verified through original documents post qualifying for the Interview/Personality Test.

Application Process: Applicants are mandated to apply online via the official UPSC website, adhering to detailed instructions provided therein. It is imperative for candidates to possess a valid Photo ID Card, such as Aadhaar Card, Voter Card, PAN Card, Passport, or any other government-issued Photo ID. This Photo ID will serve as a crucial reference point throughout the examination process.

Age Limits and Relaxations: Candidates must be between 21 and 32 years old, with relaxations provided for certain categories. Relaxations include a maximum of five years for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, three years for Other Backward Classes, and various concessions for Defense Services Personnel, ex-servicemen, and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), extending up to 10 years.

Educational Qualifications: A candidate must hold a Graduate degree from a recognized university or possess an equivalent qualification as per UGC norms.

Number of Attempts: Candidates are allowed a maximum of six attempts at the CSE, with relaxations provided for SC/ST/OBC and PwBD candidates. The number of attempts varies according to the category, with unlimited attempts for SC/ST candidates and nine attempts for OBC/PwBD.

Examination Structure: The CSE consists of two stages: Preliminary Examination and Main Examination. The Preliminary Examination comprises two compulsory papers of 200 marks each, both objective in nature. The Main Examination consists of a written test followed by a Personality Test.

Scheme of Main Examination: The Main Examination includes qualifying papers in Indian Language and English, followed by papers covering various aspects such as Essay, General Studies, and Optional Subjects. The written test carries a total of 1750 marks, while the Personality Test contributes 275 marks, making the grand total 2025 marks.

1. Preliminary Examination:
   • Two papers, each for 200 marks.
   • Objective type, two-hour duration.
   • General Studies Paper-II is qualifying.
2. Main Examination:
   • Written test followed by Personality Test.
   • Written test includes:
     • Qualifying Papers (Indian Language and English).
     • Merit Papers (Essay, General Studies I-IV, Optional Subjects).
   • Written test subtotal: 1750 Marks.
3. Personality Test: 275 Marks.
4. Grand Total: 2025 Marks.

Encouraging Diversity: The government emphasizes gender balance and encourages women candidates to apply for the Civil Services Examination, aiming for a diverse and inclusive workforce.

In the pursuit of success in the Civil Services Examination, leveraging the insights, guidance, and practice opportunities offered by previous year question papers is indispensable. They serve as potent instruments for aspirants to navigate the complexities of the examination, hone their skills, and embark on their journey towards realizing their aspirations of serving the nation through administrative roles. Embracing these papers as integral components of their preparation strategy equips aspirants with the tools and confidence to excel in one of the most prestigious examinations in the country.

Download Civil Services Previous Year Questions 2020-2023:

Year: 2023

Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2023

Optional Subjects	Agricultural Paper – I  Agricultural Paper – II  Animal Hus. and Vet. Sc. Paper – I  Animal Hus. and Vet. Sc. Paper – II  Anthropology Paper – I  Anthropology Paper – II  Botany Paper – I  Botany Paper – II  Chemistry Paper – I  Chemistry Paper – II  Civil Engineering Paper – I  Civil Engineering Paper – II  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – I  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – II  Economics Paper – I  Economics Paper – II  Electrical Engineering Paper – I  Electrical Engineering Paper – II  Geography Paper – I  Geography Paper – II  Geology Paper – I  Geology Paper – II  History Paper – I  History Paper – II  Law Paper – I  Law Paper – II  Management Paper – I  Management Paper – II  Mathematics Paper – I  Mathematics Paper – II  Mechanical Engineering Paper – I  Mechanical Engineering Paper – II  Medical Science Paper – I  Medical Science Paper – II  Philosophy Paper – I  Philosophy Paper – II  Physics Paper – I  Physics Paper – II  Political Science and IR Paper – I  Political Science and IR Paper – II  Psychology Paper – I  Psychology Paper – II  Public Administration Paper – I  Public Administration Paper – II  Sociology Paper – I  Sociology Paper – II  Statistics Paper – I  Statistics Paper – II  Zoology Paper – I  Zoology Paper – II
Literature Subjects	Bengali Literature Paper – I  Bengali Literature Paper – II  English Literature Paper – I  English Literature Paper – II  Gujarati Literature Paper – I  Gujarati Literature Paper – II  Hindi Literature Paper – I  Hindi Literature Paper – II  Kannada Literature Paper – I  Kannada Literature Paper – II  Maithili Literature Paper – I  Maithili Literature Paper – II  Malayalam Literature Paper – I  Malayalam Literature Paper – II  Manipuri Literature Paper – I  Manipuri Literature Paper – II  Marathi Literature Paper – I  Marathi Literature Paper – II  Punjabi Literature Paper – I  Punjabi Literature Paper – II  Sanskrit Literature Paper -I  Sanskrit Literature Paper -II  Sindhi Devanagari Literature Paper – I  Sindhi Devanagari Literature Paper – II  Tamil Literature Paper – I  Tamil Literature Paper – II  Telugu Literature Paper – I  Telugu Literature Paper – II  Urdu Literature Paper – I  Urdu Literature Paper – II
Compulsory Subjects	Assamese Compulsory  Bengali Compulsory  Bodo Compulsory  English Compulsory  Gujarati Compulsory  Hindi Compulsory  Kannada Compulsory  Maithili Compulsory  Malayalam Compulsory  Manipuri Compulsory  Marathi Compulsory  Nepali Compulsory  Odia Compulsory  Punjabi Compulsory  Sanskrit Compulsory  Sindhi Devanagari Compulsory  Tamil Compulsory  Telugu Compulsory  Urdu Compulsory
General Studies	General Studies Paper – I  General Studies Paper – II  General Studies Paper – III  General Studies Paper – IV
General	Essay

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023

General Studies Paper I  General Studies Paper II

Year: 2022

Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2022

Compulsory Subjects	Assamese (Compulsory)  Bengali (Compulsory)  English (Compulsory)  Gujarati (Compulsory)  Hindi (Compulsory)  Kannada (Compulsory)  Kashmiri (Compulsory)  Malayalam (Compulsory)  Marathi (Compulsory)  Nepali (Compulsory)  Odia (Compulsory)  Punjabi (Compulsory)  Sanskrit (Compulsory)  Sindhi (Compulsory)  Tamil (Compulsory)  Telugu (Compulsory)  Urdu (Compulsory)
Literature Subjects	Assamese Literature Paper – I  Assamese Literature Paper – II  Bengali Literature Paper – I  Bengali Literature Paper – II  English Literature Paper – I  English Literature Paper – II  Gujarati Literature Paper – I  Gujarati Literature Paper – II  Hindi Literature Paper – I  Hindi Literature Paper – II  Kannada Literature Paper – I  Kannada Literature Paper – II  Maithili Literature Paper – I  Maithili Literature Paper – II  Malayalam Literature Paper – I  Malayalam Literature Paper – II  Manipuri Literature Paper – I  Manipuri Literature Paper – II  Marathi Literature Paper – I  Marathi Literature Paper – II  Punjabi Literature Paper – I  Punjabi Literature Paper – II  Sanskrit Literature Paper – I  Sanskrit Literature Paper – II  Sindhi Literature Paper – I (Devanagari)  Sindhi Literature Paper – II (Devanagari)  Tamil Literature Paper – I  Tamil Literature Paper – II  Telugu Literature Paper – I  Telugu Literature Paper – II  Urdu Literature Paper – I  Urdu Literature Paper – II
Optional Subjects	Agriculture Paper – I  Agriculture Paper – II  Animal Hus. and Vet. Sc. Paper – I  Animal Hus. and Vet. Sc. Paper – II  Anthropology Paper – I  Anthropology Paper – II  Botany Paper – I  Botany Paper – II  Chemistry Paper – I  Chemistry Paper – II  Civil Engineering Paper – I  Civil Engineering Paper – II  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – I  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – II  Economics Paper – I  Economics Paper – II  Electrical Engineering Paper – I  Electrical Engineering Paper – II  Geography Paper – I  Geography Paper – II  Geology Paper – I  Geology Paper – II  History Paper – I  History Paper – II  Law Paper – I  Law Paper – II  Management Paper – I  Management Paper – II  Mathematics Paper – I  Mathematics Paper – II  Mechanical Engineering Paper – I  Mechanical Engineering Paper – II  Medical Science Paper – I  Medical Science Paper – II  Philosophy Paper – I  Philosophy Paper – II  Physics Paper – I  Physics Paper – II  Political Science and IR Paper – I  Political Science and IR Paper – II  Psychology Paper – I  Psychology Paper – II  Public Administration Paper – I  Public Administration Paper – II  Sociology Paper – I  Sociology Paper – II  Statistics Paper – I  Statistics Paper – II  Zoology Paper – I  Zoology Paper – II
General	Essay
General Studies	General Studies – I  General Studies – II  General Studies – III  General Studies – IV

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022

General Studies Paper I  General Studies Paper II

Year: 2021

Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021

General	Essay
General Studies	General Studies Paper – I   General Studies Paper – II  General Studies Paper – III  General Studies Paper – IV
Compulsory Subjects	English  Assamese   Bengali  Bodo  Gujarati  Hindi  Kannada  Malayalam  Marathi  Nepali  Odia  Punjabi  Sanskrit  Sindhi  Tamil  Telugu  Urdu
Optional Subjects	Agriculture Paper-I   Agriculture Paper-II  Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Paper-I  Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Paper-II  Anthropology Paper-I  Anthropology Paper-II  Botany Paper-I  Botany Paper-II  Chemistry Paper-I  Chemistry Paper-II  Civil Engineering Paper-I  Civil Engineering Paper-II  Commerce and Accountancy Paper-I  Commerce and Accountancy Paper-II  Economics Paper-I  Economics Paper-II  Electrical Engineering Paper-I  Electrical Engineering Paper-II  Geography Paper-I  Geography Paper-II  Geology Paper-I  Geology Paper-II  History Paper-I  History Paper-II  Law Paper-I  Law Paper-II  Management Paper-I  Management Paper-II  Mathematics Paper-I  Mathematics Paper-II  Mechanical Engineering Paper-I  Mechanical Engineering Paper-II  Medical Science Paper-I  Medical Science Paper-II  Philosophy Paper-I  Philosophy Paper-II  Physics Paper-I  Physics Paper-II  Political Science and International Relations Paper-I  Political Science and International Relations Paper-II  Psychology Paper-I  Psychology Paper-II  Public Administration Paper-I  Public Administration Paper-II  Sociology Paper-I  Sociology Paper-II  Statistics Paper-I  Statistics Paper-II  Zoology Paper-I  Zoology Paper-II
Literature Subjects	Bengali Paper-I  Bengali Paper-II   English Paper-I  English Paper-II  Gujarati Paper-I  Gujarati Paper-II  Hindi Paper-I  Hindi Paper-II  Kannada Paper-I  Kannada Paper-II  Maithili Paper-I  Maithili Paper-II  Malayalam Paper-I  Malayalam Paper-II  Manipuri Paper-I  Manipuri Paper-II  Marathi Paper-I  Marathi Paper-II  Punjabi Paper-I  Punjabi Paper-II  Sanskrit Paper-I  Sanskrit Paper-II  Sindhi Paper-I  Sindhi Paper-II  Tamil Paper-I  Tamil Paper-II  Telugu Paper-I  Telugu Paper-II  Urdu Paper-I  Urdu Paper-II

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2021

General Studies Paper – I  General Studies Paper – II

Year: 2020

Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2020

Compulsory Subjects	English Compulsory  Assamese Compulsory  Bengali Compulsory  Bodo Compulsory  Gujarati Compulsory  Hindi Compulsory  Kannada Compulsory  Maithili Compulsory  Malayalam Compulsory  Marathi Compulsory  Nepali Compulsory  Odia Compulsory  Punjabi Compulsory  Sindhi (Arabic) Compulsory  Sanskrit Compulsory  Tamil Compulsory  Telugu Compulsory  Urdu Compulsory
Optional Subjects	Agriculture Paper – I  Agriculture Paper – II  Animal Husbandry and Vet. Science Paper – I  Animal Husbandry and Vet. Science Paper – II  Anthropology Paper – I  Anthropology Paper – II  Botany Paper – I  Botany Paper – II  Chemistry Paper – I  Chemistry Paper – II  Civil Engineering Paper – I  Civil Engineering Paper – II  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – I  Commerce and Accountancy Paper – II  Economics Paper – I  Economics Paper – II  Electrical Engineering Paper – I  Electrical Engineering Paper – II  Geography Paper – I  Geography Paper – II  Geology Paper – I  Geology Paper – II  History Paper – I  History Paper – II  Law Paper – I  Law Paper – II  Management Paper – I  Management Paper – II  Mathematics Paper – I  Mathematics Paper – II  Mechanical Engineering Paper – I  Mechanical Engineering Paper – II  Medical Science Paper – I  Medical Science Paper – II  Philosophy Paper – I  Philosophy Paper – II  Physics Paper – I  Physics Paper – II  Political Science and IR Paper – I  Political Science and IR Paper – II  Psychology Paper – I  Psychology Paper – II  Public Administration Paper – I  Public Administration Paper – II  Sociology Paper – I  Sociology Paper – II  Statistics Paper – I  Statistics Paper – II  Zoology Paper – I  Zoology Paper – II
Literature Subjects	Assamese Literature Paper – I  Assamese Literature Paper – II  Bengali Literature Paper – I  Bengali Literature Paper – II  English Literature Paper – I  English Literature Paper – II  Gujarati Literature Paper – I  Gujarati Literature Paper – II  Hindi Literature Paper – I  Hindi Literature Paper – II  Kannada Literature Paper – I  Kannada Literature Paper – II  Maithili Literature Paper – I  Maithili Literature Paper – II  Malayalam Literature Paper – I  Malayalam Literature Paper – II  Manipuri Literature Paper – I  Manipuri Literature Paper – II  Marathi Literature Paper – I  Marathi Literature Paper – II  Odia Literature Paper – I  Odia Literature Paper – II  Punjabi Literature Paper – I  Punjabi Literature Paper – II  Sanskrit Literature Paper – I  Sanskrit Literature Paper – II  Sindhi (Arabic) Literature Paper – I  Sindhi (Arabic) Literature Paper – II  Tamil Literature Paper – I  Tamil Literature Paper – II  Telugu Literature Paper – I  Telugu Literature Paper – II  Urdu Literature Paper – I  Urdu Literature Paper – II
General Studies	General Studies Paper – I  General Studies Paper – II  General Studies Paper – III  General Studies Paper – IV
General	Essay

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2020

General Studies Paper-I  General Studies Paper-II

Source: UPSC

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers