UPSC − Overview

Civil Services is the backbone of Indian governance which constitutes all Ministries of their departments. One of the most challenging competitive exams in India if not the entire world, it is conducted by Union Public Service Commission. The prestige, power, charm, and responsibility that comes along with top jobs like IAS, IFS, IPS etc are a definite reason for anyone to choose Civil services as a career option Shankar IAS Academy, Anna Nagar Chennai is proud to have helped aspirants achieve their goals in these esteemed services.

Structure / Course of the examination

• Civil Services Examinations is essentially 3-tiered, namely Preliminary examination, Mains Examinations, and Interview / Personality test.

Preliminary Examination

The Preliminary Examination is conducted usually during May/June of every year. It consists of two papers - one to be attended in the forenoon and the other in the Afternoon of the same day. In the Forenoon session, General Studies Paper - I, a set of multiple choice questions is to be answered by the applicants. In the afternoon session, Civil Services Aptitude Test / General Studies - II is held.

Main Examination

The candidates who qualify for Mains have to choose two optionals which have two papers each. Totally the aspirants are to appear in nine papers, details of which is given below

Subjects	Papers	Marks
General Studies	Paper - I	300
	Paper - II	300
Optional I	Paper - I	300
	Paper - II	300
Optional II	Paper - I	300
	Paper - II	300
Essay	-	200
* English	-	300
* Regional Language	-	300

* Qualifying Papers

The exams are usually conducted during October / November months of every year.

Interview / Personality Test

Candidates who qualify for Interview / Personality are required to attend the Interview / Personality Test in UPSC, New Delhi The Maximum marks for Interview / Personality are 300. These tests are conducted during March / April months of every year.
The final results are published on-line a week or fortnight before the next preliminary Examination.

Eligibility conditions

Nationality

• For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a 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.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.
A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India.

(ii) Age Limits

a. A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on 1st August, 2012, i.e. he/she must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1982 and not later than 1st August, 1991.

b. The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable :

• (i) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe
• (ii) upto a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.
• (iii) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989.
• (iv) upto a maximum of three years in the 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.
• (v) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2012 and have been released (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2012) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment.
• (vi) Upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2012 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.
• (vii) upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons.

NOTE I

Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(ii) (b) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen, persons domiciled in the State of J & K, blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped etc. will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both the categories.

NOTE II

The term ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.

NOTE III

The age concession under para 3(ii) (b) (v) and (vi) will not be admissible to Ex-Servicemen and Commissioned Officers including ECOs/SSCOs who are released on own request.

NOTE IV

Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under para 3 (ii) (b) (vii) above, a physically disabled candidate will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if he/she (after such physical examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/posts to be allocated to the physically disabled candidates by the Government.

SAVE AS PROVIDED ABOVE THE AGE LIMITS PRESCRIBED CAN IN NO CASE BE RELAXED.

The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University, which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate.
These certificates are required to be submitted only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, service records and the like will be accepted.
The expression Matriculation/Secondary Examination Certificate in this part of the instruction includes the alternative certificates mentionedabove.

NOTE 1

Candidates should note that only the Date of Birth as recorded in the Matriculation/ Secondary Examination Certificate or an equivalent certificate as on the date of submission of applications will be accepted by the Commission and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.

NOTE 2

Candidates should also note that once a Date of Birth has been claimed by them and entered in the records of the Commission for the purpose of admission to an examination, no change will be allowed subsequently (or at any other examination of the Commission) on any grounds whatsoever.

NOTE 3

The candidate should exercise due care while entering their date of birth in the online Application Form for the Preliminary Examination. If on verification at any subsequent stage, any variation is found in their date of birth from the one entered in their matriculation or equivalent Examination certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the Rules.

(iii) 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.

NOTE I

Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission's examination but have not been informed of the results as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite examination with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. The applications for the Main Examination will be called sometime in the month of July/August, 2012.

NOTE II

In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who has not any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he/ she has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his/her admission to the examination.

NOTE III

Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the examination.

NOTE IV

Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S. or any other Medical Examination but have not completed their internship by the time of submission of their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Examination provided they submit along with their application a copy of certificate from the concerned authority of the University/Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional medical examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview original Degree or a certificate from the concerned competent authority of the University/Institution that they had completed all requirements (including completion of internship) for the award of the Degree.

(iv) Number of attempts : Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted four 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. Provided further that the number of attempts permissible to candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes, who are otherwise eligible shall be seven. The relaxation will be available to the candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.Provided further that a physically handicapped will get as many attempts as are available to other non-physically handicapped candidates of his or her community, subject to the condition that a physically handicapped candidate belonging to the General Category shall be eligible for seven attempts. The relaxation will be available to the physically handicapped candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

NOTE

• i. An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.
• ii. If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made anattempt at the Examination.
• iii. Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.

(v) Restrictions on applying for the examination :

A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination. In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS/IFS after the Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Examination, 2011 is over and he/she continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2011 notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination, 2011.
Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2011 but before the result threof and continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be considered for appointment to any service/post on the basis of the result of this examination viz. Civil Services Examination, 2011.

(vi) Physical Standards :

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2011 as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 19th February, 2011.

List of services

• 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 Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group 'A'.
• Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group 'A'.
• Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group 'A'.
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group 'A' (Assistant Works Manager, Administration).
• 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'.
• Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Group 'A'
• Indian Defence Estates Service, Group 'A'.
• Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group 'A'.
• Indian Trade Service, Group 'A' (Gr. III).
• Indian Corporate Law Service, Group "A".
• Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group 'B' (Section Officer's Grade).
• Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'.
• Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group 'B'.
• Pondicherry Civil Service, Group 'B'.
• Pondicherry Police Service, Group 'B'.

Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes. Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Physically Disabled Categories in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

Exam Calendar for 2012

S.No.	Name Of Examination	Date Of Notification	Last Date For Receipt Of Applications	Date Of Commencement Of Exam	Duration Of Exam.
1	Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam., 2012	04.02.2012	05.03.2012 (MONDAY)	20.05.2012 (SUNDAY)	1 DAY
2	Civil Services (Main) Exam., 2012	31.03.2012		05.10.2012 (friday)	21 DAY

UPSC COURSE SCHEDULE 2013 - 2014

S.No.	Subject	Date Of Commencement	Duration	Timings	Class Days
GENERAL STUDIES
1.	PRELIM CUM MAIN BATCH-1	12.06.2013	JUNE TO MAY	9.00 AM - 1.00 PM	MONDAY TO FRIDAY
2.	PRELIM CUM MAIN BATCH-2	03.07.2013	JUNE TO MAY	2.00 PM - 6.00 PM	MONDAY TO FRIDAY
3.	GS WEEK END-PRELIMINARY ONLY @ ANNA NAGAR	14.07.2013	JUNE TO MAY	2.00 PM - 8.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
4.	GS WEEK END-PRELIMINARY ONLY @ ADYAR	15.06.2013	JUNE TO MAY	2.00 PM - 8.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
5.	v. GS MAINS CRASH COURSE-3 DAYS PER WEEK	12.06.2013	JUNE TO NOVEMBER	5.00 PM - 8.00 PM	MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY
OPTIONAL SUBJECTS
1.	GEOGRAPHY BATCH-1 (REGULAR)-2 DAYS ONLY- OLD STUDENTS	12.06.2013	JUNE TO SEPTEMBER	2.00 PM - 6.00 PM	MONDAY AND FRIDAY
2.	GEOGRAPHY BATCH-2 (WEEKEND)-2 DAYS ONLY-NEW COMERS	15.06.2013	JUNE TO SEPTEMBER	9.00 AM - 1.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
3.	PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONREGULAR-5 DAYS	12.06.2013	JUNE TO SEPTEMBER	2.00 PM - 4.30 PM	MONDAY TO FRIDAY
4.	POLITICAL SCIENCE-WEEKEND 2 DAYS ONLY	15.06.2013	JUNE TO SEPTEMBER	2.00 PM - 6.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
5.	SOCIOLOGY-WEEKEND- 2 DAYS ONLY	15.06.2013	JUNE TO DECEMBER	9.00 AM - 1.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
6.	TAMIL LITERATURE-WEEK END	15.06.2013	JUNE TO SEPTEMBER	5.00 PM - 7.00 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
7.	CSAT-WEEKEND	15.06.2013	JUNE TO AUGUST	9.00 AM - 1.15 PM	SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Important instructions:

1.Course duration is subject to change.

2. Class timing is subject to change.

3. Class timings may be extended to cover the syllabus within stipulated time.

4. General Studies programme consist of 5 days Lecturing and one day Test and Discussion.

Subjects Offered

Preliminary

• General Studies
• CSAT

Preliminary Cum Mains

• General Studies

Mains

• Geography
• Public Administration
• Sociology
• Tamil Literature
• Political Science

SYLLABUS PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

Paper - I

GENERAL STUDIES

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration : Twohours

• 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 - that do not require subject specialisation
• General Science.

Paper - II

CSAT

Paper II - (200 marks) Duration : Twohours

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problemsolving
• 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)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).

Note 1 : Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper- II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
Note 2 : The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
Note 3: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/ she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Syllabus Main Examination

General Studies
Geography
History
Political Science
Psychologys
Public Administration
Sociology
Tamil

Previous Year Question paper Link

2011 PRELIMINARY QUESTION PAPER

http://www.upsc.gov.in/questionpaper/2011/CSP2011/GS_PAPER_I.pdf
Paper - I General Studies

http://www.upsc.gov.in/questionpaper/2011/CSP2011/GS_PAPER_II.pdf
Paper - II CSAT

http://www.upsc.gov.in/questionpaper/2011/CSP2011/GS_PAPER_II_VISU_CHALL.pdf
Paper - II CSAT

2010 QUESTION PAPER

http://www.upsc.gov.in/questionpaper/2010/CSP10_NEW/GENERAL_STUDIES.pdf
Paper - I General Studies

2009 QUESTION PAPER

http://www.upsc.gov.in/questionpaper/csp2009/GENERAL_STUDIES.pdf
Paper - I General Studies

Book List

GENERAL STUDIES - PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author / Publications
1	History - Ancient, Medieval & Moder	NCERT 11th & 12th
2	Geography	NCERT 6th to 12th
3	General Science	NCERT 9th & 10th
4	India's Struggle for Independence	Bipan Chandra
5	Certificate Physical Geography	Gohcheng Leong
6	Economic Survey	Ministry of Finance
7	International Organisation	Class Notes
8	Economics	Class Notes & Ramesh Singh
9	Indian Polity	Lakshmi Kanth
10	Governance in India	Lakshmi Kanth
11	A Brief History of Modern India	Spectrum Publications
12	The Hindu Speaks on Scientific Facts Volume 1 & 2	Hindu Publications
13	Atlas	Orient Black Swan School Atlas / Oxford School Atlas / TTK School Atlas
14	Environment	SIA Book

CSAT - PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author / Publications
1	Objective Arithmetic	Arihant-Rajesh verma
2	Quantitative Aptitude	R.S Agarwal
3	Verbal Reasoning	Arihant Publications  & R.S. Agarwal
4	Reading comprehension	Wren & Martin
5	Data Interpretation	Arun Sharma

GENERAL STUDIES - MAIN EXAMINATION

S.No	Title Science andTechnology	Author / Publications Class Notes
1	Geography	Class Notes
2	Economics	Class notes
3	Science & Technology	Class Notes
4	India and World	Class Notes
5	India’s Struggle for Independence	Bipan Chandra
6	A Brief History of Modern India	Spectrum Publications
7	Indian Polity	Lakshmi Kanth & Class notes
8	Current Affairs	The Hindu & Civilspedia Magazine (Released by SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY)
9	Statistics	Spectrum Publications
10	Social issues	Ram Ahuja, Class notes
11	Indian Culture	Class Notes

GEOGRAPHY - MAIN EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author
1	Geography	NCERT 10th, 11th & 12th Books
2	Physical Geography	Savindra Singh
3	Certificate Physical Geography	Gohcheng leong
4	Climatology	D.S Lal
5	Models & Theories	Majid Hussain
6	Geography Mains Guide	Spectrum Publications
7	Indian Geography	Khullar
8	Atlas	Orient Atlas & Oxford Atlas
9	Geography through Maps	Siddartha
10	Human Geography	Majid Hussain

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - MAIN EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author
1	Public Administration New Horizon	Mohit Batachariya
2	Development of Public Administration	Mohit Batachariya
3	Restructuring of Public Administration	Mohit Batachariya
4	Administrative thinkers	Prasad & Prasad
5	Public policy - Art and Craft of Policy Analysis	R.K. Sapru
6	Essentials of Organizational Behavior	Stephen P.Robbins Timothy.A.Judge
7	Public Administration and Public Affairs	Nicholas Henry
8	Indian Administration	B.L. Fadia & Kuldeep Fadia /Ramesh K Arora
9	Local Administration	S.R. Mageshwari
10	Journal	Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA)

POLITICAL SCIENCE - MAIN EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author
1	An Introduction to Political Theory	O.P. Gauba
2	Indian Political Thought	J.P.Sudha
3	Political Thought	NCERT
4	Indian Government and Politics	A.S. Narang
5	Indian Polity	Laxmikanth
6	Indian Foreign policy	V.N. Khanna
7	International Relations	V.N. Khanna
8	India’s Foreign Policy and its Neighbors	J.N. Dixit
9	Material	IGNOU
10	Political Science and International relation	N.D. Arora
11	World Focus (monthly Magazine)

CURRENT AFFAIRS - EXAMINATION

S.No	Title	Author
1	CIVILSPEDIA - A Monthly Current Affairs Magazine	Shankar IAS Academy
2	The Hindu	Daily News Paper
3	Indian Year Book	Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
4	Manorama Year Book	Malayalam Manorama Publications
5	Business Line or Economic Times	Daily News Paper
6	Yojana – Monthly Magazine	Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
7	Kuru shetra - Monthly Magazine	Ministry of Rural Development

Results

http://shankariasacademy.com/web-htm/our_achievements.htm

Preliminary Key

UPSC Preliminary Test Schedule

Admission Policy

• Fees can be paid in cash or through Bank Draft in favour of "Shankar IAS Academy" payable at Chennai.
• Three recent passport size photographs have to be submitted at the time of admission.
• Please Note Fees once paid cannot be refunded under any circumstances. No request will be entertained in this regard.
• If for any reason, the candidate discontinues the course, he/she will have no claim on refund of fees.
• Admission process will be based on first come first serve basis.

Fees Structure

S.No.	Subject	Course Fee	Service Tax @12.36%	TOTAL FEE
1	GS (Preliminary Cum Main)	40050	4950	45000
2	GS (Weekend) - Preliminary	20025	2475	22500
3	Gs Main Crash Course (New Syllabus Only)#	14062	1738	15800
4	CSAT	10235	1265	11500
5	GS (Preliminary Cum Main) + CSAT - Integrated offer*	46992	5808	52800
6	GS (Weekend) - Preliminary + CSAT - Integrated offer*	27056	3344	30400
7	Geography	20025	2475	22500
8	Public Administration	14062	1738	15800
9	Sociology	14062	1738	15800
10	Tamil Literature	14062	1738	15800
11	Political Science	14062	1738	15800

SIA Special offer

* Students those who select integrated course for GS and CSAT will get discount amount of Rs.3,000/- from their course fee.

# SIA Old students who select GS MAIN CRASH COURSE will get discount amount of Rs.2,000/-