UPSC CSE Selection Process 2024 - Interview Schedule, Documents Required for Verification

Updated By Tiyasa Khanra on 09 Jan, 2024 12:53

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UPSC Selection Process 2024

The UPSC CSE Selection Process 2024 includes three stages- Preliminary Exam, Mains Exam, and Interview-cum-Personality Test. Candidates who are preparing for the UPSC CSE 2024 must qualify for all three stages to achieve success in UPSC CSE. The UPSC CSE 2024 Preliminary Exam will be conducted on May 26, 2024. The subsequent Civil Services Mains examination will be held in September 2024.

    The prelims exam acts as the screening exam for UPSC CSE. It is an objective type paper, which is important to qualify. The examination has objective-type or multiple-choice questions. The marks secured in this paper are not counted for the final merit. The paper includes two stages, General Studies Paper 1 and 2. GS Paper 1 is subject-specific and GS Paper 2 is CSAT, which is a qualifying paper (minimum 33% score required). Candidates must not forget that there is a negative marking of one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to the question. The marks are deducted for every wrong answer in both Paper 1 and Paper 2.

    UPSC Mains exam is subject-specific. In this exam, candidates are tested on different grounds. The exam helps the commission filter out the candidates who are apt for the post. In the UPSC CSE mains exam paper, candidates have to work on various things such as essay writing, General Studies, English, and an optional subject. UPSC interview round tests the real potential of candidates. To clear this round, aspirants need dynamic knowledge. The questions can be asked from anywhere to check the candidate’s critical thinking.

    The UPSC CSE exam has a limited number of attempts for some candidates. The number of attempts differs according to the category, for instance, General category candidates have 6 attempts, OBC has 9, and for SC/ST there are unlimited attempts. Candidates appearing for the UPSC CSE 2024 exam can find complete details about the UPSC CSE Selection Process 2024 provided on this page.

    Upcoming Exams :

    UPSC CSE Selection Process 2024: Highlights

    Check the highlights of the UPSC Civil Services Selection Process 2024 provided below.

    • The first stage of the UPSC CSE exam is Prelims.

    • The candidates who pass the Prelims exam have to appear for the UPSC CSE Mains exam.

    • The UPSC Mains exam is the second stage of the Civil Services Examination. IAS aspirants who clear the Prelims i.e. those who score above the cutoff in General Studies Paper I and more than 33% marks in General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) become eligible to appear for the UPSC Mains.

    • Candidates who qualify Mains exam have to appear for Personality Tests/Interview Process.

    • The results for the UPSC Civil Services exam are declared within a week after the interviews, i.e. between April-June. After the candidates receive the allocation letter, they are given fundamental training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie for 15 weeks.

    UPSC CSE Stage 1: Preliminary Exam

    Civil Services (Preliminary) exam is the first stage to shortlist candidates for the Mains exam. This examination is conducted just as a screening test to shortlist eligible applicants for the Mains exam. Candidates who qualify for the preliminary exam will be eligible to take part in the Civil Services (Main) exam. The marks obtained in Civil Services (Preliminary) exam will not be considered in the final merit list. Paper II i.e. CSAT will only be qualifying in nature. This means the candidates will only have to acquire 33% marks in the CSAT exam to pass Paper II.

    Highlights of UPSC CSE Prelims Exam Pattern

    Particulars

    Details

    Duration of examination

    2 hours (120 minutes, extra time of 20 minutes for blind candidates)

    Total Number of Questions

    • GS Paper I- 100 questions
    • Paper-II (CSAT) - 80 questions

    Total Marks

    400

    Types of Questions

    MCQ Types

    Marking scheme

    • Paper I- 200 marks
    • Paper II- 200 marks

    Negative marking

    1/3

    Mode of Examination

    Hindi and English

    Also ReadUPSC CSE Prelims Passing Marks 2024

    UPSC CSE Stage 2: Mains Exam

    The second stage of the IAS Exam is called the Mains Exam. It is a descriptive examination, which consists of 9 papers. The 9 papers in UPSC CSE (Mains) include: Paper-A (Compulsory Indian Language); Paper –B (English) which are qualifying in nature, while the other papers like Essay, General Studies Papers I, II, III, and IV, and optional papers I and II are considered for the final ranking.

    UPSC Mains Paper

    Name of the Paper

    Nature of the Paper

    Duration of the Exam

    Marks

    Paper – A

    Compulsory Indian Language

    QUALIFYING NATURE

    3 Hours

    300 Marks

    Paper – B

    English

    3 Hours

    300 Marks

    Paper – I

    ESSAY

    MERIT RANKING NATURE

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – II

    General Studies I

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – III

    General Studies II

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – IV

    General Studies III

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – V

    General Studies IV

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – VI

    Optional Paper I

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    Paper – VII

    Optional Paper II

    3 Hours

    250 Marks

    TOTAL

    1750 Marks

    Interview or Personality Test

    275 Marks

    GRAND TOTAL

    2025 Marks

    NOTE:

    • The candidates can select Hindi or English medium to write the UPSC Civil Services IAS Mains Exam. They can also choose any other language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

    • The Indian Languages included in the UPSC CSE are according to the languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

    Also ReadUPSC CSE Mains Passing Marks 2024

    UPSC CSE Stage 3: Personality Test

    The last stage in the selection for UPSC Civil Services is the Personality Test, which is taken by a panel of UPSC Commission members. The following components of the UPSC interview must be kept in mind.

    • The interview session is conducted for 275 marks.

    • No minimum qualifying marks have been prescribed by the commission for the interview.

    • The skills presented in the career profile must be shown in front of the board members to secure good marks in the personality test.

    • The final selection will be based on the main examination and Interview session marks combined together.

    • After the candidates receive the allocation letter, they are given fundamental training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie for 15 weeks.

    UPSC CSE Final Merit List 2024

    The marks obtained in the Civil Services Mains exam and in the Interview Test are added up for UPSC CSE final merit list. The top 980 students are allotted a post in the Service or Cadre in order of availability and preference for the same. Thus, the top-ranked candidate will get his/her post of first preference, while the last candidate will get what is remaining. 

    UPSC CSE Previous Year Final Cutoff

    The Previous Year UPSC CSE Cutoff 2024 for Prelims and Mains has been given below for different categories of candidates:

    Category

    UPSC Cut Off - Prelims

    UPSC Cutoff- Mains

    General

    92.51

    736

    EWS

    77.55

    687

    OBC

    89.12

    698

    SC

    74.84

    680

    ST

    68.71

    682

    PwBD-1

    70.06

    648

    PwBD-2

    63.94

    699

    PwBD-3

    40.82

    425

    PwBD-4

    42.86

    300

    Also ReadUPSC CSE Prelims Subject-Wise Weightage 2024

    UPSC Civil Services Selection Process takes place in 3 phases, UPSC CSE exam for Prelims, UPSC CSE exams for Mains and Personal Interviews. Candidates who qualify for all the 3 phases get shortlisted for posts available in UPSC civil services. Candidates planning to appear for UPSC exam must check out the below-mentioned articles to get a clearer perspective of UPSC CSE. 

    Want to know more about UPSC Civil Services

    FAQs about UPSC Civil Services

    I have qualified in UPSC Civil Services Prelims, however, I did not qualify in UPSC Civil Services Mains. Will I be selected?

    No, for the selection process, it is mandatory for the candidates to qualify in both Prelims as well as in the Main exam.

    What is the number of vacancies in Civil Services for which the exam is conducted every year by UPSC?

    The number of vacancies is reported by Union Public Service Commission in its advertisement/notification for the exam. The number of vacancies varies every year. The number of vacancies per year in the last 4 years has varied between 1000 and 1200.

    Is a change of preference of services once indicated permitted?

    No change in preferences of services once indicated by a candidate is permitted.

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