UPSC (2017): Online Application For Civil Service Main Exam Begins

The Main exam that will, as per the official notification, be conducted from Oct 28 to Nov 11

In July, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had announced the result of the prestigious Civil Service prelims that was conducted on June 18, 2017 (Sunday). Now those who cleared the prelims will move on for the Main exam that will, as per the official notification, be conducted from October 28, 2017 (Saturday) to November 11, 2017 (Friday). (See the time table here) The Main exam requires the candidates to fill in a detailed application form online and submit the same online. It is to be noted that the online application form is available on the website of the Commission www.upsconline.nic.in from August 17 to August 31, 2017 till 6pm. Candidates must note down these dates. The Commission conducts the annual Civil Service exams for the Central Government at three levels: Preliminary, Main and Interview. The Candidates passing these exams secure the highly prestigious services such as Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and the like. The Civil Service exam happens annually for filling numerous vacancies in the Central government department. Roughly 980 vacancies are said to be filled through the exam this year.

Filling up Application Online: Candidates are advised to go through the instructions carefully before filling up the application form. Online submission of application can only be made at website www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions are available at the site. Candidate should read the instructions carefully before making any entry or selecting options. Candidate should supply all the required details while filling up the online form. Candidates may please note that changes are not allowed in the online application, once it is submitted. The filling of online application contains two parts.

• In Part I registration, candidate will have to fill basic information. On submission of details, candidate will be prompted to check the details and make correction, if any, in the application.
• Part-II Registration consists of filling up Payment details (except for fee exempted candidates), selection of examination centre, uploading of Photograph and Signature and agreeing to declaration.

Examination Overview:

The Commission conducts the annual Civil Service exams for the Central Government at three levels: Preliminary, Main and Interview. The Candidates passing these exams secure the highly prestigious services such as Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and the like. Following is the Main exam pattern

Paper	Subject	Marks
Paper A	(One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate (from the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India) (Qualifying)	300
Paper B	English (Qualifying)	300
Paper I	Essay	250
Paper II	General Studies I (Indian heritage and culture, history and geography of the world and society)	250
Paper III	General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social justice, and international relations)	250
Paper-IV	General Studies III (Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management)	250
Paper V	General Studies-IV(ethics, integrity, and aptitude)	250
Papers VI, VII	Two papers on subjects to be selected by the candidate from the list of optional subjects below (250 marks for each paper)	500
TOTAL(WRITTEN TEST)		1750

How to start preparation?

Keep in mind that the Main exam has descriptive type of questions. It tests the candidate’s ability on various levels. The time limit for the essay paper is set for 3 hrs. without a word limit. However for the optional paper, there are questions having specific word limit like 250 words in optional subjects and 250 words, 150 words and 20 words in general studies. It is necessary to attempt and answer these questions quickly and effectively and in minimum words. Candidates often get confused about whether to adopt the paragraph or the point style of answering questions. It would make sense to adopt a style reliant on the question asked. If the question requires you to discuss, analyze or critically examine, it would be better to answer the question in the paragraph format. If you are required to list the advantages or give reasons for/ against etc., it makes sense to pick the point format of answering.

• Answers should highlight the facts and concepts in an attention-grabbing way and should never read like a passage from a book.
• Try using simple English and avoid ornate language which takes the attention away from the original facts and the opinions about a given topic.
• Practice writing the answers as it is the best way to manage the time limit set for the exam.
• Practice daily and try finishing your answers within the allotted time it will help you get used to the time and word limits.
• Reading previous question papers helps to a great extent.

Excellent Performers Last Year:

Last year, a total of 11, 35,943 candidates had applied for the exams (2016-17) out of which over 4 lakh candidates appeared for the same with 15,452 qualifying for the main written exam that happened in December 2016. Out of 15,452 candidates, 2,961 qualified for Personality Test. About 15,452 candidates qualified for the main written exam that was conducted in December 2016, out of which 2,961 qualified for the Personality Test. Nandini K R a graduate of BE in Civil Engineering from the MS Ramajah Institute of Technology, Bangalore had scored highest with Kannada Literature as her optional subject. Anmol Sher Singh Bedi a BE in Computer Science from BITS Pilani stood the second followed by G Ronanki and others including 7 women and 18 men that stood in the top twenty five. The Commission had recommended a total of 1,099 candidates (846 male and 253 female) for appointment (interview) at central government organizations. The number of these candidates include 500 (General), 347 (OBC), 163 (SC) and 89 (ST). These numbers include 22 orthopedically handicapped, 7 visually challenged and 15 hearing impaired candidates.

About UPSC:
Established on 1 October 1926 as Public Service Commission, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is India's prestigious central recruiting agency that conducts appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services. It was known as Federal Public Service Commission by the Government of India Act, 1935 and was then renamed as today's Union Public Service Commission after the independence.