Civil Services in India & Civil Services Examination

Last Updated on June 10, 2017 by Bharat Saini

The Indian Civil Service provides one of the most challenging opportunities for Indian citizens who want to be an active part of the governance of the country. The entry into the civil service is through a competitive examination process conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.

Union Public Service Commission of India (UPSC) under Article 320 of the Constitution of India is required to be consulted on all matters relating to recruitment to Civil Services and posts. It is the central agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of India. The agency’s charter is granted by the Constitution of India. Articles 315 to 323 of Part XIV of the Constitution, titled Services under the Union and the States, provide for a Public Service Commission for the Union and for each state.

Civil Service is the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India and is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. The executive decisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants. The members of civil service serve at the pleasure of the President of India and Article 311 of the Constitution protects them from politically motivated or vindictive action. Civil servants are employees of the Government of India. Senior civil servants may be called to account by Parliament. The responsibility of the civil services is to run the administration of India. The country is managed through a number of Central Government agencies in accordance with the policy directions given by the ministries.

The members of the civil services represent as administrators in the Central government and state government; emissaries in the foreign missions/embassies; as tax collectors and revenue commissioners; as civil service commissioned police officers; as permanent representative(s) and employees in the United Nations and its agencies and as Chairman, Managing Director, full-time functional Director/Member of the Board of Management of various Public Sector Undertakings/ Enterprises, Corporations and Financial Institutions. Civil servants are employed to various agencies of India and can also be appointed as advisors or special duty officers or private secretaries to ministers of the Union and the State Government.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the premier administrative civil service of the Government of India and public sector undertakings. As in various other countries such as the United Kingdom, that follow Parliament system, IAS as the permanent bureaucracy in India forms an inseparable part of the executive branch of the Government of India thus providing continuity and neutrality to the administration.

Along with the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Services, the IAS is one of the three All India services – its cadre can be employed both – the Union Government and States. Apart from this IAS officials along with their counterparts from India Foreign Service are posted in various International Organisations like in the United Nations and its agencies, World Bank and IMF etc. either representing India or working under them on deputations.

There are two modes of recruitment to the All India Services:

• Direct Recruitment : Through the Civil Services Examination for IAS and IPS and the Indian Forest Service Examination for the IFS. These Examinations are conducted by UPSC.
• Promotion/Selection : By way of promotion of the SCS/SPS/SFS officers to the respective All India Service and by way of selection of Non-State Civil Services (NSCS) Officers to the IAS.

Civil Services Examination, 2017

Examination Notice of Civil Services Examination, 2017 for recruitment to various Services including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Allied Service, for approximately 980 vacancies, was issued on 22/02/2017 in accordance with the Rules published by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 22nd February, 2017 and its important features are as under:

• Last date for receipt of applications was 17/03/2017.
• Eligible candidates were required to apply Online by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in
• Detailed instructions for filling up online applications were available on the Commission’s Website: upsc.gov.in.
• The Commission takes up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/Personality Test.
• The eligible candidates are issued an e-Admission Certificate three weeks before the commencement of the examination. The e- Admission Certificate is made available in the UPSC website [www.upsc.gov.in] for downloading by candidates. No Admission Certificate is sent by post.
• There is Penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.
• Mobile phones, smart watches, pagers or any other communication devices are not allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted.

The Civil Services Examination consists of two successive stages:

1. Preliminary Examination: Objective type – to be on 18th June, 2017; and
2. Main Examination: Written and Interview to be held in October, 2017.

Applications are first invited for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination only. Candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Exam for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination have to apply online again, in the Detailed Application Form which is made available to them. The Main Examination is likely to be held in October, 2017.

Eligibility Conditions:

• Nationality:
• For IAS, IPS & IFS candidate must be a citizen of India
• For other services, a candidate must be either:

(a) a citizen of India, or

(b) a subject of Nepal, or

(c) a subject of Bhutan, or

(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or

(e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

• Age Limits:

(a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2017 i.e., he must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1985 and not later than 1st August, 1996. Necessary action to make corresponding changes in respective Rules/Regulations pertaining to various services is being taken separately.

(b) The upper age-limit prescribed above is relaxable as detailed in the Examination Notice.

• Minimum Educational Qualifications:

The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

• Number of Attempts:
• Every candidate appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six attempts at the examination.

Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates who are otherwise eligible; and in certain other cases as specified in the Examination Notice.

Prime Minister on the Civil Services Day