IAS 2013

Universitycollegeslist.com brings you IAS Exam 2013 Exam Date, Notification, Paper Pattern, IAS Exam 2013 Dates, Forms, Eligibility Criteria, Preparation Tips, Tricks, Techniques.

Union Public Service Commission conducts Civil Service Examinations every year to select officers for various services including Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS), Indian Revenue Services and other Group 'A' and Group 'B' central jobs. The examination is a three stage process which consists of Civil Services Aptitude Test CSAT ( Earlier Civil Services Preliminary Examination) , Main Examination and the Interview. Earlier the candidate could choose the subject of his choice however now a common subject has been introduced covering Aptitude, Math’s and English. Candidates belonging to the general category are accepted to clear this test within four attempts whereas the one belonging to the OBC category are accepted to clear the test within seven attempts however there is no restrictions on the number of attempts by the candidates belonging to the SC/ST Caste.
IAS Eligibility Criteria:-

(i) Nationality:

(1) For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
(2) 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, Srilanka, 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 by the Government of India.

(ii) 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.

(iii) Age limit:-

21 years must be completed on 1st August of the year, which a candidate is appearing. Maximum 30 for general category, 33 for OBCs and 35 for SCs/STs. Ex-servicemen will get 5 more years exemption from the prescribed age limit.

(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).

(iv) Number of Attempts:-

Four attempts for open, seven for OBCs and no limit for SCs/STs. If a person appears in the Preliminary Examination or even one paper is counted as an attempt.

IAS Exam Written Test Pattern:-

Paper-I    
One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18 languages included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution (Qualifying Paper):- 300 Marks
Paper-II     English (Qualifying Paper):- 300 Marks
Paper-III     Essay:- 200 Marks
Papers IV & V:- General Studies (300 Marks for each paper):- 600 Marks
Papers VI, VII, VIII & IX    
Any two subjects (each having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (300 marks for each paper):- 1200 Marks
Total Marks for Written Examination:- 2000 Marks
Interview Test:- 300 Marks
Grand Total:- 2300 Marks

List of Optional Subjects - IAS (Main) (Total 25)

• Agriculture    
• Animal Husbandry & Vetinary Science    
• Anthropology    
• Botany     Medical Science
• Chemistry    
• Civil Engineering    
• Commerce & Accountancy    
• Economics    
• Geography    
• Geology     Statistics
• Indian History    
• Management
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science & International Relations
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Zoology

IAS Preparation Tips / Tricks / Techniques:-

Transform yourself into a bookworm:- Study from morning till night and from night till morning! Get your bro/sis/buddy/mom/dad to check your answers. Let them test you in every possible way. Writing/reading, objective type questions, the works.

Choose the Subjects:- Choose wisely from beginning. The preliminaries will be the first obstacle you have to overcome. you will face objective type questions which have the inherent quality of actually being a prompter. If you were to be unsure of answers, you would be able to identify the right answer. Precise answers are possible in Mathematics and it could be your first choice.

Additional Subjects:- History and geography should also be comparatively surmountable. Buy cheap editions of  books pertaining to these subjects and read them. I mean READ them. If you are an engineering student, you may well choose subjects you had studied during your course.

General Knowledge:- General Knowledge is not actually one subject. It is a conglomeration of any number of subjects.  The question setter, could be a vicious man taking some pleasure in asking questions like "How many strings did Eric Clapton break  in his guitar during his 1999 concert in Madison Square garden?".  I bet no one on this earth will know the answer including the the paper setter.

Watch knowledge TV channels:- What you can do is read anything that comes your way, including the cheesecake wrapper that you throw away.  Stop watching saas Bhahu and go instead for CNN and National Geographic. And, read as may newspapers as you can everyday.

Dress well for the Interview:- The face to face interview could prove to be intimidating.  You should be dressed to kill with nary a deficiency nor an over-do. As far as possible, wear hand-stitched dresses that are skin fitting. Insert the shirt into the pants. Wear a sober tie and a decent pair of leather shoes.

Carry yourself with confidence:- Your manners should  show how sure you are about yourself. The intimidator should feel intimidated by your sure manners. Remember that men sitting on the other side of the table are people with flesh and blood just like you are.

At the Interview Table:- The trick is for them to ask you what you may consider some inane and stupid questions but they are being asked to gauge how alert you are.  Well, here again, it could be anything, like "How many glasses of water did you drink today?" You, of course, do not know the answer. But neither does he. Inform him emphatically without batting an eyelid, "15".  Do not worry, you are safe. 

Language Skills:- The importance of language practice can not be stressed enough. Be sure to know the nuances and intricacies of the language that the interview is going to be conducted in. Communication skills cary their own rather heavy weight in the IAS interviews.

Sleep in order to be awake:- Whatever the examination, I strongly advice you to take complete rest the previous night. You are not going  to be any wiser by reading at the eleventh hour.