The Union Public Service Commission published the UPSC CSE 2024 Notification. Read to know more about the Eligibility, Age Limit, Age Relaxation, Application Process, Exam Date, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, etc.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) released the much-awaited notification for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) on 14 February 2024.
UPSC selects candidates for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other prestigious civil services through the Civil Services Examination.
Download UPSC CSE 2024 Notification
Click here to download the notification (PDF)
Number of Vacancies Reported: 1056
The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 1056.
This includes 40 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category.
What is the Application Date for the UPSC CSE Prelims Examination?
As per the official notification of UPSC, the application window for the UPSC CSE exam will be active from 14th Feb 2024 and remain open till 5th Mar 2024.
The application form for the Preliminary Examination is divided into two parts i.e., Part I and II.
In order to be eligible for the Prelims examination, candidates have to complete both parts of the application process by 5th Mar 2024 before 18:00 Hrs.
UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to appear in the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024, an aspirant must fulfill the following eligibility conditions:
Nationality: The candidate must be a citizen of India.
Educational Qualification: The candidate must hold a graduate degree from any recognized university. Those in the final year of graduation can also apply.
UPSC CSE Age Limit
The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years (general category).
There is an age relaxation of up to 3 years for OBC candidates and 5 years for SC/ST candidates.
The minimum age limit to appear for the UPSC CSE Preliminary exam is 21 years. The upper age limit varies for different categories:
- For General category candidates: 32 years
- For OBC category: 35 years
- For SC/ST category: 37 years
Note: Check the ClearIAS UPSC age calculator to determine if you are eligible to apply or to find out how many attempts are left.
Number of Attempts Allowed
General category candidates are allowed 6 attempts for the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
The OBC category has 9 attempts while SC/ST candidates can appear any number of times till the upper age limit.
For OBC and SC/ST candidates, the relaxation in the number of attempts is applicable only till they are within the prescribed age limits.
UPSC CSE Age Relaxation
The UPSC provides age relaxation for certain categories of candidates:
- For OBC: Up to 3 years
- For SC/ST: Up to 5 years
- Defence service personnel with 3 years of continuous service: Up to 5 years
- Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers: Up to 5 years
- Disabled Defense service personnel: Up to 10 years
- Widows/divorced women/women judicially separated: Up to 35 years (with no attempts limit)
The age relaxations are admissible up to the prescribed age limits. Candidates have to produce the relevant certificates to avail of these relaxations.
UPSC CSE Exam Pattern
The UPSC CSE selection process consists of 3 successive stages:
- Preliminary Exam
- Mains Exam
- Interview
UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam Pattern
The prelims stage consists of two objective-type papers of 200 marks each:
- Paper 1: General Studies
- Paper 2: CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)
The marks secured in prelims will not be counted for the final merit list. It’s just a screening test with minimum qualifying marks.
UPSC CSE Main Exam Pattern
The main exam has 9 papers totalling 1750 marks:
- 1 Essay Paper (250 marks)
- 4 General Studies Papers (250 marks each, total 1000 marks)
- 2 Optional Subject Papers (250 marks each, total 500 marks)
- Qualifying Paper A: Modern Indian language (300 marks)
- Qualifying Paper B: English (300 marks)
Candidates have to choose one optional subject for the main exam. The marks obtained in the main exam will be counted for merit ranking.
Also read: When Should You Apply for the UPSC CSE?
UPSC CSE Interview/Personality Test
The final stage is an interview/personality test of 275 marks. The final merit list is prepared based on marks obtained in the Main exam + Interview.
UPSC Civil Services Examination – Important Dates
All the important dates associated with the UPSC CSE examination 2024 are provided below:
Event |
Date |
---|---|
Notification Release Date |
14th Feb 2024 |
Start of Online Registration |
14th Feb 2024 |
Last date for Online Registration |
5th Mar 2024 |
Date of Preliminary Exam |
26th May 2024 (Postponed to 6th June 2024) |
Date of Main Exam |
20th Sept 2024 |
The preliminary exam acts as a screening test while the Main exam and Interview decide the final merit list. The prelims and mains exams are conducted on separate dates with a gap of 3-4 months.
Application Process for UPSC Civil Services Examination
Eligible candidates can apply online only through the UPSC website upsconline.nic.in. The online registration process involves two stages:
Part 1 Registration: Fill in basic details, upload photo/signature
Part 2 Registration: Fill out the detailed application form, choose the exam centre, upload documents
The application fee is Rs. 100 for the general category and nil for SC/ST/Female/PWD candidates. Fee can be paid online through Net banking, Credit/Debit card, or offline through SBI challan.
Before starting the application process, keep scanned copies of the photograph, Signature, ID proof, Category certificate (if applicable), and PWD certificate (if applicable) – as per the prescribed size and format.
Facilities for PWD candidates
UPSC provides several facilities for Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwD) candidates such as scribes, extra time, assistive devices, exemption from application fees, and so on to allow them to take the exam on equal footing.
PWD candidates must carry a disability certificate issued by a competent medical authority as per UPSC format.
UPSC CSE Admit Card 2024
The UPSC CSE prelims admit cards will be released 3-4 weeks before the respective exam date.
Candidates have to download their admit cards from the UPSC portal and carry a print-out on exam day along with an original photo ID proof.
Documents Required During Filling the Application Form
Before initiating the online application process, candidates are required to prepare certain documents to ensure a smooth and efficient submission. Here are the details of the documents to have ready:
Photograph and Signature:
- Scan a recent photograph and signature in .jpg format.
- Ensure that each file does not exceed 300 KB and is not less than 20 KB in size.
Photo ID Card Details:
- Choose one Photo ID Card from options such as Aadhaar Card, Voter Card, PAN Card, Passport, Driving Licence, or any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government.
- Have the details of the selected Photo ID Card ready for input during the online application process.
Uploading Scanned Photo ID:
- Candidates must upload a scanned copy of the Photo ID Card, the details of which have been provided in the online application form.
- This uploaded Photo ID Card will serve as a reference for all future communications and is recommended to be carried during the Examination/Personality Test.
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus 2024
The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam is an important step in the selection process, consisting of two papers, each carrying 200 marks (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II).
Both papers involve multiple-choice, objective-type questions. Paper II is qualifying in nature which means, aspirants have to secure only 33% in order to qualify for Paper II.
It’s important to note that the marks obtained in the prelims are not considered for the final ranking; they solely serve as a qualification for the main exam.
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Paper I – (200 marks) Duration: Two Hours
UPSC CSE Paper I syllabus is as follows:
- 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 – not requiring subject specialization.
- General Science.
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Paper II – (200 marks) Duration: Two Hours
UPSC CSE Paper II syllabus is as follows:
(Note: Not counted for merit rank in prelims but a Qualifying Paper; only 33% marks needed)
- Comprehension.
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
- Decision-making and problem-solving.
- General mental ability.
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) – Class X level.
- Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc.) – Class X level.
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