Civil Service Annotation

What is Civil Service Exam?

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) for recruitment to the various Civil Services of the Government of India, including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among others.

Exams that come under the ambit of UPSC are:

·         Indian Administrative Services (IAS)

·         Indian Forest Services (IFS)

·         Indian Police Services (IPS)

These examinations also help UPSC in recruiting people in sectors such as Medical, Forestry, Civil Services and Engineering.

Why Civil Services?

Those who have a passion to serve nation directly with administrative power opt to go for civil services exam. In spite of selection process being very tough and rate of success very low the charm and significance of this exam doesn't seems to fall down.So if you want to bring a new wave of change in India Civil services is the way.

The administrative services give an immediate sense of participating in the Indian governance

Eligibility

The eligibility norms for the examination are as follows:

Nationality

·         For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.

·         For the Indian Foreign Service, a candidate must be one of the following:

o A citizen of India

o a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

·         For other services, a candidate must be one of the following

o A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan

Education

All candidates must have a minimum of any of the following educational qualifications:

·         A degree from a Central, State or Deemed university

·         A degree received through Correspondence Education or Distance Education

·         A degree from an Open University

·         A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to either of the above

The following candidates are also eligible, but have to submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam.

·         Candidates who have appeared in an examination, the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy any of the above points

·         Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed their internship

Age

Prescribed age limits are minimum 21 years and maximum of 30 years as on 1 August of the year of Examination. A candidate who turns 21 on 1 August is eligible whereas a candidate who turns 31 is not.

Upper age limit relaxation is provided to candidates as follows:

·         A maximum of three years for OBC candidates

·         A maximum of three years in case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof

·         A maximum of five years for candidates belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe

·         A maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1989

·         A maximum of five years in case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1 August and have been released on either of the following basis:

o on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1 August) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency

o on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service

o on invalidment

·         A maximum of five years in case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1 August and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.

·         A maximum of ten years in case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons

The age relaxation will not be admissible to Ex-Servicemen and Commissioned Officers including ECOs/SSCOs who are released on own request.

Numbers of attempts

The number of attempts a candidate can give the exam is limited as follows:

·         Four attempts for General category candidates and OBC category candidates under the Creamy layer

·         Seven attempts for OBC category candidates

·         To SCs/STs, there is no limit on the number of attempts.

However these candidates are requested to bear in mind:

An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.

1. If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination.

2. Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.

3. Candidates just applied but not appeared at the exam is not an attempt.

Test Structure

These are following stages for Test:

·         Stage I: Preliminary examination - This is qualifying test held in May/June every year. Notification for this is published in December/January. Results are published in the first half of August.

·         The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 450 marks.

The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi.

·         Paper 1: General Studies

·         Paper 2: One of the optional subjects to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects

·         Stage II: Main examination - This is the main test, held in October/November every year. Results are usually published in the second week of March.

Paper 1:

One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18 languages included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution (Qualifying Paper)

Paper 2: English (Qualifying Paper)

Paper 3: Essay

Paper 4 & 5: General Studies

Paper 6,7,8: Any two subjects (each having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (300 marks for each paper)

·         Stage III: Personality Test (Interview) - It is the final test and is held in April/May every year. Final results are usually announced a few days before the next preliminary examination.

How to apply?

All the UPSC Exams have the same forms. The eligibility criteria and other details may differ from exam to exam. A candidate wishing to appear for more than one exam has to fill an individual form for each examination. UPSC notifies common public about the examinations through Employment News and other leading newspapers every year in the month of December.

Applicants can procure forms and information brochures about UPSC exams from all the leading Post Offices across India. Candidates have to send the properly filled forms along with the acknowledgment card.

Indian Civil Service background:

In a vast country like India, a well organized administration is very important. We have defense services to look after our security and we have Indian Civil Services to look after our non-military part.

It was during the colonial rule of the British government when the powerful Indian Civil Service was built. Though initially, Indian Civil Service was considered as a tool for British domination, our great freedom fighters later realized its importance after India’s independence in 1947. They realized how important it is to have a highly qualified administration in place to run a country where social unrest can affect our national integrity and security.

The first Public Service Commission was set on 1st October 1926 by the then British Indian Government. This was set up on demand of our then Indian politicians to have a superior and indianized civil service. Unfortunately, this Public Service Commission failed to satisfy parties’ demand that were related to the freedom struggle. This was mainly due to its limited advisory functions.  The British Indian government then set up a Federal Public Service Commission and suggested the development of provincial level Public Service Commission under the Government of India Act 1935.

After 26th Jan 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission was given an independent status and titled as Union Public Service Commission Constitutional Provisions. This was done to ensure impartial recruitment to civil services and protection of civil interest. The aim was to ensure consistent and fair standards of administration in all the fields, encourage efficient harmonization in social and economic development, and support the national point of view.

Union Public Service Commission Constitutional Provisions:

The team:

Established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India, The Union Public Service Commission consists of Chairman and ten members. Their terms and conditions are governed by the Union Public Service Commission (Members) Regulations, 1969. The Commission is serviced by a Secretariat headed by a Secretary with two Additional Secretaries, a number of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and other supporting staff.

Duties under the Constitution:

The key role played by the Union Public Service Commission is to select persons to operate the various Central Civil Services and Posts and the Services common to the Union and States.

Recruitment to services & posts under the Union by conducting competitive exams.

Recruitment to services & posts under the Central Government by interview.

Advisory role on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation.

Advisor to the Government on all matters relating to methods of Recruitment to various services and posts.

Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services

Miscellaneous matters relating to grant of extra ordinary pensions, reimbursement of legal expenses etc.

Recruitment procedure:

As per Article 320 of the Constitution of India, it is important that the Union Public Service Commission is consulted on all matters relating to recruitment to civil services and posts.

Recruitment to the post of Indian civil services is undertaken via following method:

Direct Recruitment

Promotion

Transfer

Direct Recruitment:

Direct recruitment can be organized either via competitive examination or through interview.

Recruitment via competitive exams:

One of the major functions of the Union Public Service Commission is to conduct exams to appoint for the post of Indian Civil Services. Exams are also held in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence for certain Defence services through National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and the Officers Training Academy.

Every year dozens of examinations are conducted on all India basis. The recruitment mainly involves in the field of Civil Services, Engineering, Medical and Forest Service, etc.

Recruitment via interview:

Again there are two methods in this selection procedure:

By Interview Only:

It is very difficult to call all the candidates for the interview when there are large numbers of applications. In such case, Union Public Service Commission shortlists the best candidates based on the nature of the job and call them for the interview.

By Written Test Followed By Interview:

This involves:

An objective-type written and/or practical test, followed by an Interview. The final decision depends on the performance in the interview and the test.

An objective-type written and/or practical test to screen candidates to be called for interview. The final decision depends on the performance in interview only.

Promotion/Deputation/Transfer:

As per the procedure decided by the Government, in consultation with the Commission, Chairman or a Member of the Commission presides over the Departmental Promotion Committee Meetings to consider promotions from Group B to Group A and from one grade to another within group A, where promotion is to be made by Selection.

The Recruitment Rules for a number of posts provide for appointment by Transfer on Deputation (including short term contract) and Transfer. When the field of consideration consists of Central Government as well as State Government officers, prior consultation with the Commission is necessary for selection of an officer. When the file for consideration is made more broad-based and consists of not only Central/State Government officers but also officers from Non-Government Institutions, the selection has to be made in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission.

Examinations Conducted by Union Public Service Commission:

Following is an overview of Indian Civil Service examinations help:

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (In May)

Civil Services (Main) Examination (In Oct/Nov)

Indian Forest Service Examination (In July)

Engineering Services Examination (In June)

Geologist Examination (in December)

Special Class Railway Apprentices Examination (In July)

National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (In April & September)

Combined Defence Services Examination (In February & August)

Combined Medical Services Examination (In January)

Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination (In November)

Section Officers/Stenographers (Grade-B/Grade-I) Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (In December)

Central Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination (In October)

Exam attempts for Indian Civil Service jobs:

Every candidate is allowed to attempt 4 times in the Indian Civil Service jobs. Other Backward Classes can have 7 attempts and no restrictions for scheduled caste candidates.

Eligibility for Indian Civil Service jobs:

Applicant should be between 21 and 30 years of age as on August 1st every year.

Candidates belonging to scheduled caste have a relaxation to the age limit for five years.

Candidates belonging to defence services personnel disabled in operations, have a relaxation to the age limit for three years.

Ex-servicemen including commissioned officer, have a relaxation to the age limit for five years.

Qualities required for Indian Civil Service jobs:

Intelligence

Interest in different subjects

Mental alertness

Leadership qualities

Diplomatic skills

Remuneration/Salary for Indian Civil Service jobs

(Approximate value)

Junior Officers: Rs. 8000-275-13500

Senior Officers: Rs. 10650-325-15200

Junior Administrative Grade: Rs. 12,750-375-16,500

Selection Grade: Rs. 15,100-400-18,300

Additional Secretary: Rs. 22400-525-24500

Secretary/Cabinet Secretary: Rs. 26,000/30,000

Apart from regular salary, employees of Indian Civil Service also enjoy various allowances such as Dearness Allowance, City compensatory Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Medical and subsidized housing.

Fee:

The fee for the exam of Indian Civil Service jobs is Rs 50, to be paid through Central Recruitment Fee stamps available at post offices. The post office must cancel the stamps so that the impression of the cancellation stamp partially overflows on the application form. Instruments such as postal orders, drafts and such are not accepted and candidates should only send the fee through the Recruitment Fee stamps. Candidates belonging to the scheduled castes and physically handicapped persons are not required to pay any fee.

List of Indian Civil Service jobs:

Following are the Indian Civil Service post for which recruitments are conducted:

Indian Administrative Service.

Indian Foreign Service.

Indian Police Service.

Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group 'A'.

Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group 'A'.

Indian Customs and Central Excise Service, Group 'A'.

Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group `A'.

Indian Revenue Service, Group 'A'.

Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group `A' (Assistant Manager, Non-technical)

Indian Postal Service, Group `A'.

Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group `A'.

Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group 'A'.

Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group `A'.

Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group 'A'.

Posts of Assistant Security Officer, Group `A' in Railway Protection Force.

Indian Defence Estates Service, Group `A'.

Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group `A'.

Indian Trade Service, Group `A' (Grade III).

Posts of Assistant Commandant, Group' A' in the Central Industrial Security Force.

Posts of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Group `A' in the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Central Secretariat Service, Group `B' (Section Officers Grade).

Railway Board Secretariat Service, Group `B' (Section Officers Grade).

Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group `B' [Assistant Civilian Staff Officers Grade).

Customs Appraisers' Service, Group `B'.

Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'.Pondicherry Civil Service, Group `B'.