The official name of IAS exam is civil services examination. It is organized by the UPSC or Union Public Service Commission annually. The IAS examination consists of three levels and candidates who are clearing all three levels will be offered the prestigious civil services position in the country. They become officers and given positions like IFS (Indian Foreign Service), IPS (Indian Police Service) and IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and several other services. IAS or UPSC exam is said to be one of the challenging exams in India. If the candidate follows the right strategy and approach, they can easily clear the IAS exam just in the first attempt. It is recommended to join a leading IAS training center in Chennai for complete assistance and guidance throughout the exams and interview sessions.
Also Read: MORE THAN IAS COACHING, HOW PROFESSIONALS STUDY FOR CSE
History of IAS examinations
As IAS exam aspirants, it is necessary to understand and know the needs of IAS exam 2019. You should be aware of syllabus for IAS exams (that is both Mains and Prelims), application procedure, pattern, and several other important details before starting your preparation tasks. Before checking the exam pattern, let us discuss the history of IAS (Indian Administrative Service) exam in India.
- The civil service exams were basically conducted for hiring right candidates for the administration process. It has been found that it came into effect from 1757 that is after the British East India Company started to rule various parts of India. They started it as CCS (Covenanted Civil Services). The CCS members should sign agreements with the board of the company.
- Later, after the 1857 Revolt, the rule of British East India Company came to an end and the control was shifted to British Crown. It means after 1886, the civil service was referred to as the Imperial Civil Service. Later, it was renamed as Indian Civil Service.
- The Macaulay Committee suggested to stop the appointment of civil servants according to the patronage of the East India Company and raised to establish merit-based system. After 1855, ICS recruitment was designed as per the merit-based model and competitive examination was held. But was not allowed for Indians.
- Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison was the head of the Aitchison Commission in 1886. He recommended giving equal employment for Indians in the public service.
- Later in 1912, Indians were included in civil services department. The Islington Commission recommended that one-fourth of the higher positions be occupied by the Indians. Moreover, they also recommended that hiring higher positions should be performed party in England and party in India.
- The ICS examination was conducted in 1922 in India.
- The Union Public Service Commission or Public Service Commission of India was inaugurated under the leadership of Sir Ross Barker on October 1, 1926.
- In 1924, all India services were selected as the Central Superior Services. After 1939, the count of Indians in Union Public Service Commission increased due to unavailability of Europeans.
Following Independence, the position ICS was transformed as IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
IAS exam pattern
There are three stages in the IAS exam. It is important to pass in all three stages to get the position you desire.
- 1st stage: IAS Prelims (Preliminary examination)
- 2nd stage: IAS Mains (Mains examination)
- 3rd stage: IAS Interview (UPSC personality test)
Question paper format for UPSC prelims
There are two papers. IAS exam paper 1 and 2. Paper 1 covers general studies. Paper 2 covers general studies CSAT. The duration given for both papers is 2 hours. The maximum marks to secure for each paper is 200 marks. In paper 1, there will be around 100 questions and in paper 2, there will be about 80 questions.
Question paper format for UPSC mains
In the second stage, the candidate has to attend totally 9 papers that include English, Compulsory Indian Language, Essay, General Studies I, II, III, IV, Optional Paper I and II. Each exam is conducted for 3 hours. The candidate can choose to write either in English or Hindi or other languages mentioned in the laws of Indian Constitution.
The third stage of UPSC involves personality tests or interviews. The candidates who pass in the second stage will be selected for the third stage. The personality test is conducted only at the New Delhi UPSC Bhavan.
Common Mistakes Committed by Every UPSC CSE Aspirants
The applicants make many mistakes in the UPSC exams which results in scoring fewer marks in the exams. Though the preparation can be stressing and taxing mentally, preparing beforehand and strictly following the strategy would make one reach for success. There are many students even after preparing really hard, ends up failing in the exam. So, a flexible and well-designed plan is the only key to achieve success in the most difficult exams. The target work will help in improving your performance and will give you a boost of head start in the prelims exams. Scholars from popular magazine have collected such mistakes committed by candidates to enable IAS aspirants to avoid such mistakes in future.