EXAM STRUCTURE
Civil Service Examination consists of 3 stages as mentioned below:

Stage 1 : Preliminary Exam (Objective Type)
Stage 2 : Mains Exam (Descriptive Type)
Stage 3 : Interview (Oral)

Preliminary Exam

The Preliminary Examination which is common for both Civil services and Forest service is conducted during May or June every year. It consists of two papers – one is held in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon of the same day and both papers consist of a set of multiple choice questions. The forenoon session is General Studies Paper–I where questions are based on general awareness and other topics as mentioned in the syllabus. In afternoon session is based on Quantitative aptitude, Reasoning and Verbal ability as mentioned in syllabus. Candidates should note that there will be a penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers

Information given below are based on UPSC Civil Services Examinations 2018.

General Studies Paper – I

No. of Questions : 100
Total Marks : 200
Marks for Correct Answer: 2
Marks for Incorrect Answer: -0.66

For Wrong answers one – third of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

Result

Paper I marks is used for the selection of candidates to the mains examination.

Two set of results are published – one list is for those who qualified for Civil Service Mains Examinations and other list is for those who qualified for Forest Service Mains Examination.

This is only a screening test, marks will not be added in calculating final results.

Mains Examination
Mains Examination syllabus, pattern and schedule is different for Civil Service and Forest Service Examination.

Civil Service Mains Examinations
The candidates who qualify for Civil Service Mains Examination have to choose one optional subject which has two papers.

The mains examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a candidate’s general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in the Civil Services. The questions are likely to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant issues, ability to analyze and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers.

The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honors degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelors degree and lower than the masters degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and Law, the level corresponds to the bachelors degree.

In all, the aspirants are to appear in nine papers, details of which are given below:

Subjects Papers Marks

Indian Language Paper-A 300

English Paper-B 300

Essay Paper-I 250

General Studies 1 Paper-I 250

General Studies 2 Paper-II 250

General Studies 3 Paper-III 250

General Studies 4 Paper-IV 250

Optional Subject Paper-VI 250

Optional Subject Paper-VII 250

Qualifying Papers – For qualifying, candidates have to secure a minimum of 25% in these papers.

Interview
Interview for Personality test will be conducted in Delhi for candidates who clear the Mains examination. (Maximum mark : 275)

Final Results
Final Result of both Civil Services and Forest Service exam will be based on Mains examination and Interview marks.