• February 2: UPSC IAS 2022 notification released. See here the steps for UPSC 2022 application.
• December 15: UPSC released the IAS main 2021 admit card online. The candidates can get here the direct link to download UPSC admit card
• November 23: UPSC released the IAS main 2021 exam timetable.

UPSC IAS 2022 notification released for 861 vacancies. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) released the notification and along with it, the application link was also activated to fill out the UPSC 2022 application. The last date to apply for the IAS 2022 exam is February 22 (6.00 PM). The UPSC notification was issued for 29 services. The number of vacancies is more than last year’s 712 vacancies. The application fee is INR 100 for the preliminary exam. UPSC IAS 2022 notification will officially kickstart the exam process by announcing the application dates, eligibility, vacancies, syllabus, exam pattern and the like. UPSC Civil Service Exam (CSE) is the most sought after exam across the nation as it recruits the candidates for the All India Service (highest post under direct recruitment). UPSC 2022 Prelims exam will be conducted on June 5.

The candidates can see here the important details related to UPSC Civil Service (IAS) exam.

The Civil Services Exam is a two-stage process and the pattern for the Preliminary and Mains Exams is different. The exam pattern for both the stages is detailed below:

Preliminary (Prelims) Exam Pattern

UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam consists of two papers, both containing multiple-choice questions. Both the exams have a duration of two hours and carry 200 marks each.  It is mandatory for candidates to appear for both the papers. However, Paper-II of is a qualifying paper with 33% as minimum qualifying marks. Candidates can attempt the papers in either English or Hindi languages.

Marking Scheme

Paper I : 2 marks for each correct response, 0.66 marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer

Paper II : 2.5 marks for each correct response, 0.85 marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer

Negative Marking: There is a negative marking of (1/3), which means that one-third of the assigned marks to the question will be deducted for giving the wrong answer. However, no marks will be deducted for the questions left unanswered by the candidates.

Mains Exam Pattern

The Civil Services Main exam consists of a total of 9 papers- two qualifying papers and seven merit-based papers, which are followed by an interview round (personality test). Each paper has a duration of 3 hours. The details for all the papers are given below:

Qualifying Papers

There will be two qualifying language papers, the marks for which will not be counted for preparation of the rank list.

Paper A is not mandatory for Persons with Benchmark Disability (only Hearing Impairment sub-category) and candidates hailing from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

The language papers are qualifying in nature, and candidates need to score above 25% in both of them so that their remaining answer sheets get evaluated. The pattern of questions in both these papers would be broadly as follows :

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Précis Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.

The Indian Language paper will additionally contain a section on translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

Merit-Based Papers

There will be a total of seven merit-based papers, marks for which will be counted for the preparation of merit list:

Other than the literature or language papers, all question papers will be set in Hindi and English languages only. However, candidates will have the option to answer all the question papers (except the qualifying language papers, Paper-A and Paper-B) in either English or any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

List of Optional Subjects

The candidate can choose any one subject as the optional subject.

The candidates can choose the Literature of any one of the following languages as their optional subject:

Personality Test/ Interview Pattern

Candidates who clear the written tests will be interviewed by a board at the UPSC premises in New Delhi. There is no defined pattern of the IAS interview since it differs from candidate to candidate and Board to Board. This interview is for a total of 275 marks. In the interview, candidates will be judged on the skills mentioned below:

• Mental Alertness
• Critical Powers of Assimilation
• Clear and Logical Exposition
• Balance of Judgement
• Variety and Depth of Interest
• Ability for Social Cohesion and Leadership
• Intellectual and Moral Integrity

The UPCS CSE Syllabus is broadly defined in the IAS notification each year. It has no boundaries but can be filtered with the relevance and recency point of view. The syllabus is defined based on the principles of socio-economic awareness expected from IAS aspirants. UPSC frames the IAS prelims questions in such a way that it requires the knowledge of a topic in its entirety to answer a question. So, candidates need to plan their IAS preparation in such a way that it serves the requirements of both the prelims and main exam.

Candidates who wish to appear in UPSC CSE 2022 should ensure that they meet the below eligibility criteria regarding nationality, number of attempts, age limit and educational qualification.

• Nationality
  • For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of
  • For other services, a candidate must be either:—
    • a citizen of India, or
    • a subject of Nepal, or
    • a subject of Bhutan, or
    • a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
    • 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.

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 candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2022 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1990 and not later than 1st August,
• The upper age-limit prescribed above will be relaxable:
  • up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
  • up to 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;
  • up to 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;
  • up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2022 and have been released:
• on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due  to  be  completed within one year from 1st August, 2022, otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency); or
• on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or
• on
  • up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service as on 1st August, 2022 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
  • up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories
• blindness and low vision;
• deaf and hard of hearing;
• locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;
• autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness;
• multiple disabilities from amongst person under clauses (i) to (iv) including deaf-blindness.

Note-I : Candidates belonging to either the SC or the ST or the OBC category who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(II)(2) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen or PwBD, will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both 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)(2) (d) and (e) will  be  admissible  to  Ex-servicemen  i.e.  a person who has served  in  any  rank whether  as combatant or  non-combatant  in  the  Regular  Army,  Navy and Air Force of the  Indian  Union  and who either has  been  retired or relieved or discharged from such service whether at own request or being relieved by the employer after earning pension.

Note-IV : Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under  para  3(II)  (2)  (f)  above,  candidates  of PwBD category will be considered to be eligible for appointment  only  if  they  (after  such  Medical Examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) are  found to satisfy the requirements  of physical  and  medical standards  for the  concerned  Services  to  be  allocated  to the candidates of PwBD category by the Government.

Note-V : Save as provided under para 3(II) (2) 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 examination certificate or an equivalent examination The certificate in support of the date of birth is required to be submitted by a candidate 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.

Note-I : Candidate should note that only the date of birth as recorded in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in an equivalent certificate as mentioned in para 3(III) (3) above and issued prior to the date of submission of application will be accepted by the Commission, and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.

Note-II : Candidates should also note that once a date of birth has been submitted by them in the application form 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.

Provided that in case of an inadvertent/unintentional/ typographical error committed by a candidate in indicating the date of birth in the Online Application Form, the  candidate  may make  a request to the Commission for subsequent rectification along with supporting documents, as specified in the Rule 5(3) of the Examination and the request may be considered by the Commission if the same is made latest by the date of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 which is 05.06.2022.

All communication in this regard should contain the following particulars :-

1. NAME AND YEAR OF THE EXAMINATION
2. REGISTRATION D. (RID)

3. ROLL NUMBER (IF RECEIVED)
4. NAME OF CANDIDATE (IN FULL AND IN BLOCK LETTERS)
5. COMPLETE POSTAL ADDRESS AS GIVEN IN THE
6. VALID AND ACTIVE EMAIL-ID.

(III)                    Minimum Educational Qualification:

A candidate must hold a Graduate degree of any of the 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 a qualifying examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s Examination but have not been informed of the  result as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services (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 qualifying examination along with their application (i.e. Detailed Application Form-I) for the Main Examination, failing which such candidates will not be admitted to  the  Main  Examination. Such proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination should be dated earlier than the due date (closing date) of Detailed Application Form-I of the Main Examination.

Note-II : In exceptional cases, the Commission may treat a candidate who does not have any of the foregoing qualifications as a candidate, provided that the candidate has passed an examination conducted by any other institution the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies the admission to the Civil Services 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 Civil Services Examination.

Note-IV : Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S or any other equivalent professional examination leading to a medical degree or certificate 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 Civil Services 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 examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview the 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 six (6) attempts at the CSE. However, relaxation in the number of attempts will be available to the  SC/ST/OBC and PwBD category candidates who are otherwise eligible. The number of attempts available to such candidates as per relaxation is as under:

Note-I : The terms – GL for General, EWS for Economically Weaker Sections, SC for Scheduled Castes, ST for Scheduled Tribes, OBC for Other Backward Classes and PwBD for Persons with Benchmark Disability

– are used for denoting the categories of candidates taking an attempt at the Examination.

Note-II : An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Civil Services Examination.

Note-III : If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, it will be deemed that the candidate has made an attempt at the Examination.

Note-IV : Notwithstanding any subsequent disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the Examination will count as an attempt.

The combined score of the Civil Services Mains exam and personality test is considered while making the final rank list of candidates for the UPSC exam. The candidate’s score in the preliminary exam is not considered for preparing the final merit list. The final cutoff for UPSC exam 2020 will be released by UPSC after the declaration of the final result. Candidates have to qualify the cutoff in order to secure the post.

The cut-off marks are decided by UPSC based on various factors, some of which are:

• Total Number of Vacancies
• Total Number of Candidates Participating in Each Stage
• Last Year cut off Trends
• Reservation Norms
• Difficulty Level of Questions

After each stage of the examination, UPSC releases the list of qualified candidates and results/scorecards of all stages along with cutoffs are only released along with the final cutoff. UPSC therefore releases a cutoff for each stage of the Civil Services Examination: Prelims, Mains and a Final cutoff.

Previous Years’ Cut-off Trends

The category-wise cut-offs for Prelims, Main and Final is given below:

UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2021

UPSC Mains Cut-Off 2021

UPSC Final Cut Off 2021

UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2020

UPSC Mains Cut-Off 2020

UPSC Final Cut Off 2020

UPSC Cut Off Marks 2019

UPSC Cut Off Marks 2018

UPSC Cut Off 2017

UPSC Civil Services cut-off marks for Final Ranking for the last few years is provided in the below table.

Tie-Breaking Resolution in IAS Exam

The below tie-breaking rules will come into play where two or more candidates score the same aggregate marks in the Civil Services exam.

1. If the marks secured by two or more candidates are same in the aggregate total(out of 2025), the candidate who had secured more marks in the compulsory papers(Essay, GS I, GSII, GS III, GSIV) and the personality test(IAS interview) combined will be given preference over the others.
2. In case the candidates tied in the above situation also, the candidate who is older will be given preference over the younger one.

• Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website https://upsconline.nic.in Detailed instructions for filling up online applications are available on the above mentioned website. Brief Instructions for filling up the “Online Application Form” given in Appendix-IIA.
  • Candidate should have details of one Photo ID Card Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving Licence/Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government. The details of this Photo ID Card will have to be provided by the candidate while filling up the online application form. The candidates will have to upload a scanned copy of the Photo ID whose details have been provided in the online application by him/her. This Photo ID Card will be used for all future referencing and the  candidate  is advised to carry this Photo ID Card while appearing for Examination/Personality Test.

   

  • The facility of withdrawal of Application is available for those candidates who do not want to appear for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. In this regard, Instructions are mentioned in Appendix IIB of this Examination

   

  2. LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS :

  The online Applications can be filled up to 22nd February, 2022 till 6:00 PM. The  eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card three weeks before the commencement of the examination. The e-Admit Card will be made available in the UPSC website https://upsconline.nic.in  for downloading by candidates. No Admit Card will be sent by post.

   

  3.  PENALTY FOR WRONG ANSWERS:

  Candidates should note that there will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.

   

  4. FACILITATION COUNTER FOR GUIDANCE OF CANDIDATES:

  In case of any guidance/information/clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. candidates can contact UPSC’s Facilitation Counter near gate ‘C’ of its campus in person or over Telephone No. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 on working days between 10.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs.

   

  5.   MOBILE PHONES BANNED:

  • The use of any mobile phone (even in switched off mode), pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc. or camera or blue tooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories either in working or switched off mode capable of being used as a communication device during the examination is strictly Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.

   

  • Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned  items including mobile phones/pagers to the venue of the examination, as arrangement for safe-keeping cannot be

   

  6. Candidates are advised not to bring any valuable/costly items to the venue of the examination, as safe-keeping of the same cannot be Commission will not be responsible for any loss in this regard.

   

  2022. No. 1/9/2021-E.I(B) : Preliminary Examination of the Civil Services Examination for recruitment to the Services and Posts mentioned below will be held by the Union Public Service Commission on 5th June, 2022 in accordance with the Rules published by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 2nd Feb, 2022. All candidates must carefully read the Civil Services Examination-2022 Rules together with all the Appendices along with the Annexures thereof and this Examination Notice derived from the CSE Rules, 2022 in entirety for gaining awareness of the current Rules and Regulations as changes may have been incorporated since the previous Examination Rules.

   

  • Indian Administrative Service
  • Indian Foreign Service
  • Indian Police Service
  • Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Information Service, Junior Grade Group ‘A’
  • Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Railway Protection Force Service, Group ‘A’
  • Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) Group ‘A’
  • Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group ‘A’
  • Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Grade III)
  • Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)
  • Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS), Group ‘B’
  • Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS), Group ‘B’
  • Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group ‘B’

   

  The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 861 which include 34 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category, i.e. 7 Vacancies for candidates of (a) blindness and low vision; 11-Vacancies for (b) deaf and hard of hearing; 8-Vacancies for

  • locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and 8- Vacancies for (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (c) including deaf-blindness. The final number of vacancies may undergo change after getting firm number of vacancies from Cadre Controlling Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes. Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

   

  As per the decision taken by the Government for increasing the access of unemployed to job opportunities, the Commission will publicly disclose the scores of the candidates (obtained in the Written Examination and Interview/Personality Test) through the public portals. The disclosure will be made  in respect of only those willing candidates who will appear in the Interview/Personality  Test  for  the  Civil Service  Examination  and are  not finally  recommended for appointment.  The  information  shared through this disclosure scheme about the non-recommended candidates may be used by other public and private recruitment agencies to appoint suitable candidates from the  information  made  available  in  the  public portal.

   

  Candidates will be required to give their options at the time of Interview/Personality Test, while downloading the e-Summon  Letter from the  Commission’s website  for the  interview.  A candidate may  opt out of the scheme also and in that case his/her details will not be published by the Commission.

   

  Besides sharing of the information of the non-recommended willing candidates of this examination, the Commission will not assume any responsibility or liability for the method and manner in which information related to such candidates is utilized by public/private organizations.

  Candidates are required to apply online using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions for filling up online applications are available on the above mentioned website. The applicants are advised to submit only single application; however, if due to any unavoidable situation, if an apllicant submits another/multiple applications, then the applicant must ensure that application with the higher RID is complete in all respects like applicants’ details, examination centre, photograph,  signature, photo ID, fee etc. The applicants who are submitting multiple applications should note that only the applications with higher RID (Registration ID) shall be entertained by the Commission and fee paid against one RID shall not be adjusted against any other

• All candidates, whether already in Government Service, Government owned industrial undertakings or other similar organizations or in private employment should submit their applications direct to the

Persons already in Government Service, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity or as work charged employees other than casual or daily rated employees or those serving under the Public Enterprises are however, required to submit an undertaking that they have informed in writing to their Head of Office/Department that they have  applied for the  Examination. Candidates should note that in case a communication is received from their employer by the Commission withholding permission to the candidates applying for/appearing at the examination, their application will be liable to be rejected/candidature will be liable to be cancelled.

NOTE 1: While filling in his/her Application Form, the candidate should carefully decide about his/her choice of centre for the Examination. If any candidate appears at a centre other than the one indicated by the Commission in  his/her Admission  Certificate, the  papers of such  a candidate will not be evaluated and his/her candidature will be liable to cancellation.

NOTE 2: The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the categories of blindness, locomotor disability (both arm affected – BA) and cerebral palsy will be provided the facility of scribe, if desired by the person. In case of other category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities as defined under section  2(r) of the RPWD Act, 2016, the facility of scribe will be allowed to such candidates on production of a certificate to the effect that the person concerned has physical limitation to write, and scribe is essential to write examination on behalf, from the Chief Medical Officer/ Civil Surgeon/ Medical Superintendent of a Government Health Care institution as per proforma at Appendix – IV. The candidates have discretion of opting for his/her own scribe or request the Commission for the same. The details of scribe i.e. whether own or the Commission’s and the details of scribe in case candidates are bringing their own scribe, will be sought at the time of filling up the application form online. Suitable provisions in Online Application have been made.

NOTE 3: The qualification of the Commission’s scribe as well as own scribe will not be more than the minimum qualification criteria of the examination. However, the qualification of the scribe should always be matriculate or above.

NOTE 4: The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the category of blindness, locomotor disability (both arm affected – BA) and cerebral palsy will be allowed Compensatory Time of twenty minutes per hour of the examination. In case of other categories of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, this facility will be provided on production of a certificate to the effect that the person concerned has physical limitation to write from the Chief Medical Officer/ Civil Surgeon/ Medical Superintendent of a Government Health Care institution as per proforma at Appendix – IV.

NOTE-5: Candidates appearing in Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 will be required to indicate information such as (a) detail of Centres for Civil Services (Main) Examination and Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination (b) Optional subject to be selected for the examination, (c) Medium of examination for Civil Services (Main) Examination, (d) Medium of Examination for Optional Subject if he/she chooses any Indian Language as the Medium of Examination for Civil Services (Main) Examination and (e) compulsory Indian Language for Civil Services (Main) Examination at the time of the filling up online application itself. No request for changes in these details once online application is submitted shall be entertained by the Commission.

NOTE 6: Candidates are not required to submit alongwith their applications any certificate in support of their claims regarding Age, Educational Qualifications, Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes/Other

Backward Classes/ Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability etc. which will be verified at the time of the Main examination only.

The candidates applying for the Civil Services Examination should ensure that they fulfil all the eligibility conditions for admission  to  the  Examination.  Their  admission  at  all  the  stages  of  Examination for which they are admitted by the Commission viz. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, Civil Services (Main) Examination – either Written or the Interview/Personality Test – will be purely provisional, subject to their satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. If on verification at any time before or after the Preliminary Examination,  Main  Examination  (Written)  and  Interview/Personality  Test,  it  is  found  that they do not  fulfil  any  of the  eligibility  conditions, their candidature  for the  Examination  will  be  cancelled by the Commission. The decision of the Commission as to the eligibility or otherwise of a candidate for admission to the Examination shall be final.

If any of their claims is found to be incorrect, they may render themselves liable to disciplinary action by the Commission in terms of Rule 19 of the Rules for the Civil Services Examination, 2022 reproduced below:

• A candidate who is or has been declared by the Commission to be guilty of :-
  • Obtaining support for candidature by the following means, namely :-
• offering illegal gratification to; or
• applying pressure on; or
• blackmailing, or threatening to blackmail any person connected with the conduct of the examination; or
  • impersonation; or
  • procuring impersonation by any person; or
  • submitting fabricated/incorrect documents or documents which have been tampered with; or
  • uploading irrelevant or incorrect photo/signature in the application form in place of actual photo/signature; or
  • making statements which are incorrect or false or suppressing material information; or
  • resorting to the following means in connection with the candidature for the examination, namely :-
• obtaining copy of question paper through improper means; or
• finding out the particulars of the persons connected with secret work relating to the examination; or
• influencing the examiners; or
  • being in possession of or using unfair means during the examination; or
  • writing obscene matter or drawing obscene sketches or irrelevant matter in the scripts; or
  • misbehaving in the examination hall including tearing of the scripts, provoking fellow examinees to boycott examination, creating a disorderly scene and the like; or
  • harassing, threatening or doing bodily harm to the staff employed by the Commission for the conduct of the examination; or
  • being in possession of or using any mobile phone, (even in switched-off mode), pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc. or camera or bluetooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories (either in working or switched-off mode) capable of being used as a communication device during the examination; or
  • violating any of the instructions issued to candidates along with their admission certificates permitting them to take the examination; or

• attempting to commit or, as the case may be, abetting the commission of all or any of the acts specified in the foregoing clauses;

in addition to being liable to criminal prosecution, shall be  disqualified by the  Commission from the Examination held under these Rules; and/or shall be liable to be debarred either permanently or for a specified period :-

• by the Commission, from any examination or selection held by them;
• by the central government from any employment under them;

and shall be liable to face disciplinary action under the appropriate rules if already in service under Government;

Provided that no penalty under this rule shall be imposed except after :-

• giving the candidate an opportunity of making such representation in writing as the candidate may wish to make in that behalf; and
• taking the representation, if any, submitted by the candidate within the period allowed for this purpose, into
• Any person who is found by the Commission to be guilty of colluding with a  candidate(s)  in committing or abetting the commission of any of the misdeeds listed at the clauses (a) to (m) above will be liable to action in terms of the clause (n) in Rule 19 (1)

4.  LAST DATE FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

The Online Applications can be filled up to 22nd Feb, 2022 till 6:00 P.M. after which the link will be disabled. Detailed instructions regarding filling of online application is available at Appendix-IIA.

5.  CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE COMMISSION:

The Commission will not enter into any correspondence with the candidates about their candidature except in the following cases:

• The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card three weeks before the commencement of the examination. The e-Admit Card will be made available on the UPSC website upsc.gov.in for downloading by candidates. No Admit Card will be sent by post. If a candidate does not receive his e- Admit Card or any other communication regarding his/her candidature for the examination three weeks before the commencement of the examination, he/she should at once contact  the  Commission. Information in this regard can also be obtained from the Facilitation Counter located in the Commission’s Office either in person or over phone Nos. 011-23381125/011- 23385271/011-23098543. In case no communication is received in the Commission’s Office from the candidate regarding non-receipt of his/her e-Admit Card at least 3 weeks before the examination, he/she himself/herself will be solely responsible for non-receipt of his/her e- Admit Card. No candidate will ordinarily be allowed to take the examination unless he/she holds an e-Admit Card for the examination. On downloading of e-Admit Card, check it carefully and bring discrepancies/errors, if any, to the notice of UPSC immediately.

The candidates should note that their admission to the examination will be purely provisional based on the information given by them in the Application Form. This will be subject to verification of all the eligibility conditions by the UPSC.

The mere fact that an e-Admit Card to the Examination has been issued to a candidate, will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission or that entries made by the candidate in his/her application for the Preliminary examination have been accepted by the Commission

as true and correct. Candidates may note that the Commission takes up the verification of eligibility conditions of a candidate, with reference to original documents, only after the candidate has qualified for Civil Services (Main) Examination. Unless candidature is formally confirmed by the Commission, it continues to be provisional.

The decision of the Commission as to the eligibility or otherwise of a candidate for admission to the Examination shall be final.

Candidates should note that the name in the Admit Card in some cases, may be abbreviated due to technical reasons.

• In the event of a candidate downloading more than one Admit Card from the Commission’s website, he/she should use only one of these Admit Card for appearing in the examination and report about the other(s) to the Commission’s
• Candidates are informed that as the Preliminary Examination is only a screening test, no marks sheets will be supplied to successful or unsuccessful candidates and no correspondence will be entertained by the Commission, in this
• Candidates must ensure that their emails IDs given in their online application are valid and

Important: All communications to the Commission should invariably contain the following particulars.

1. Name and year of the
2. Registration ID (RID)
3. Roll Number (if received)
4. Name of candidate (in full and in block letters)
5. Complete postal address as given in the
6. Valid and Active E-mail

N.B. I. Communication not containing the above particulars may not be attended to.

N.B. II. Candidates should also note down their RID number for future reference. They may be required to indicate the same in connection with their candidature for the Civil Services (Main) Examination.

8. Reservation against vacancies for Persons with Benchmark Disability:

The eligibility for availing reservation against the vacancies reserved for the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities shall be the same as prescribed in “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act, 2016)”. The candidates of Multiple Disabilities will be eligible for reservation under category (e)-Multiple Disabilities only of Section 34(1) of RPwD Act, 2016 and shall not be eligible for reservation under any other categories of disabilities i.e. (a) to (d) of Section 34(1) of RPwD Act, 2016 on account of having 40% and above in any of these sub-categories of PwBD.

Provided further that  the  candidates  from  Persons  with  Benchmark  Disability  category  shall  also be required to meet special eligibility criteria in  terms  of  Functional  Classification  and  Physical Requirements (abilities/disabilities)  (FC&PR)  consistent  with  requirements  of  the  identified  Service/post as may be prescribed by its Cadre Controlling Authority.

Note-I : The details of Functional Classification (FC) and Physical Requirements (PR) of each Service participating in CSE-2022 are indicated in Para -1 of this Examination Notice which are identified and prescribed by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs) as per the provisions of Section 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. This list is also available in the Rules of Civil Services Examination, 2022 at Appendix – IV.

Note-II : Persons with Benchmark Disability with only those category(ies) of disability(ies) mentioned in Para-1 of this Examination Notice shall be eligible to apply for the Examination under PwBD category. Therefore, candidates concerned are advised to  read  it  carefully  before  applying  appropriately  for admission to the Examination.

Note-III : Candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability category are likely to have been previously tested and in possession  of  related  medical  certificates even  before  applying  for  admission  to the Examination. However, it is to be noted clearly that the prescribed Medical  Examination  as  per these Rules, also including that for benchmark disability category(ies), shall be mandatory and only the results of the prescribed Medical Examination shall be deemed valid for assessing whether a  PwBD  category candidate meets the requirements to be appointed.

The physical requirement and functional classification can for example be one or more  of  the following:

Note: The above list is subject to revision.

9.        Eligibility for Availing Reservation:

• A candidate will be eligible to get the benefit of community reservation only in case the particular caste to which the candidate belongs is included in the list of reserved communities issued by the Central

• The OBC candidates applying  for  CSE-2022  must  produce  OBC  (Non-Creamy  Layer)  certificate  based on the income for the Financial Year (FY) 2020-2021, 2019-2020 and 2018-19.

• A candidate will be eligible to get the benefit of the Economically Weaker Section reservation only in case the candidate meets the criteria issued by the Central Government and is in possession of requisite Income & Asset Certificate based on income for Financial Year (FY) 2020-2021.

10. Candidates seeking reservation/relaxation benefits available for SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PwBD/Ex- servicemen must ensure that they are entitled to such reservation/relaxation as per eligibility prescribed in the Rules/Notice. They should also be in possession of all the requisite certificates in the prescribed format in support of their claim as stipulated in the Rules/Notice for such benefits by the closing date of the application of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination,

11. The closing date fixed for the receipt of the application of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination – 2022 will be treated as the date for determining the OBC status (including that of creamy layer) of the

12.    Change of Category:

If the category indicated by a candidate in the application form for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination is Unreserved category but the candidate subsequently writes to the Commission to change the category to a reserved one, such request shall not be entertained by the Commission. Further, once a candidate has chosen a reserved category, no request shall be entertained for change to other reserved category viz. SC to ST, ST to SC, OBC  to  SC/ST or  SC/ST to  OBC,  SC  to  EWS,  EWS  to  SC,  ST to  EWS, EWS to ST, OBC to EWS, EWS to  OBC. No  Reserved category candidates other than those  recommended on General Merit shall be allowed to change their category from Reserved to Unreserved or claim the vacancies (Service/Cadre) for Unreserved category after the declaration of final result by UPSC.

Further, no candidate belonging to any sub-category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) shall be allowed to change the sub-category of disability.

While the above principle will be followed in general, there may be a few cases where there was a gap of not more than 3 months between the issuance of a Government Notification enlisting a particular community in the list of any of the reserved communities and the date of submission of the application by the candidate. In such cases, the request of change of category from Unreserved to Reserved may be considered by the Commission on merit. In case of a candidate unfortunately becoming a Candidate belonging to Person with Benchmark Disability during the course of the examination process, the candidate should produce valid document of acquiring a disability to the extent of 40% or more as defined under the RPwD Act, 2016 to enable drawing the benefits of reservation as available to the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD).

13. Withdrawal of applications: The online Applications can be withdrawn from 1st March, 2022 to 7th March, 2022 till 6:00 PM after which the link will be Detailed instructions regarding withdrawal of Applications is available at Appendix IIB. No request for withdrawal of candidature will, however be entertained after the expiry of the specified period by the Commission under any circumstances.

The exam centres (for both preliminary and mains) will be allotted on first-apply-first allot basis. Once the capacity of a particular centre is attained, the same will be frozen and applicants will have to choose a centre from the remaining options. Applicants are advised to apply early so that they can get an exam centre of their choice. The list of centres is given below: 

2 (A)(i) Centres of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination: The Examination will  be  held  at  the following Centres:

(A)      (ii) Centres of Civil Services (Main) Examination:-

Q: How to apply for Examinations conducted by the UPSC?

Candidates can apply online for the UPSC Examinations by accessing the online portal hosted on the UPSC’s website (https://upsconline.nic.in).

Q: What is meant by Part I and Part II of the Application Form?

Online Application Form consists of two parts i.e. Part I and Part II.

• Part I of the Application has personal details like name, father’s/mother’s name, date of birth, address, educational qualification, age relaxation, scribe details (only for PwBD candidates opting for scribe) and preferences of particular Examination etc. The applicants are also required to mention the number of Photo ID Card.
• Part II of the Application consists of payment option for Examination Fee (only for those who are not exempted from payment of fee), Centre of Examination along with uploading of photo, signature and photo ID card of the candidate. Candidate has to complete both Part I and Part II and submit finally to be a candidate of the said Examination.

Q: Can a candidate choose an optional subject, which he has not studied at graduate/post graduate level?

Yes.

Q: Which is the language / medium of question papers?

The question papers (other than the literature of language papers) are set in Hindi and English.

Q: How an ‘attempt’ is counted in the Civil Services Examination?

An attempt at the Preliminary Examination is considered an attempt at the Civil Services Examination:

(a) If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination.

(b) Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination is counted as an attempt.

Q: What are the eligibility conditions for consideration for promotion to All India Services?

In terms of the provisions of Promotion Regulations, a State Civil/Police/Forest Service Officer is eligible to be considered for promotion to IAS/IPS/IFS, provided on 1st January of the year for which the Select List is to be prepared, if he/she-

(a) is a member of the State Civil/Police/Forest Service, as the case may be; and

(b) has completed not less than eight years of continuous service (whether officiating or substantive) in the post of Deputy Collector or in any other post or posts declared equivalent thereto by the State Government for IAS/ Deputy SP or in any other post or posts declared equivalent thereto by the State Government for IPS/ post(s) included in the State Forest Service for IFS; and

(c) is confirmed in the State Service; and

(d) is within the zone of consideration which is equal to three times the number of vacancies in the order of seniority; and

(e) has not attained the age of 54 years (The cut-off age has been increased to 56 years which shall come into effect from the Select List of 2015, that is for the vacancies which may arise between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2015, as per the amendments to the IAS/IPS/IFS Promotion Regulations dated 17.03.2015 and the clarification issued vide OM No. 14015/30/2015-AIS-I dated 20.03.2015 by the Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India).

Q: What are the eligibility criteria for consideration for selection of Non-State Civil Service Officers to the Indian Administrative Services?

In terms of the provisions of IAS (Appointment by Selection) Regulations 1997, a Non-State Civil Service Officer is eligible to be considered for selection to the Indian Administrative Service, provided he/she-

(a) is of outstanding merit and ability; and

(b) holds a Gazetted post in a substantive capacity; and

(c) has completed not less than 8 years of continuous service under the State Government on the first day of January of the year in which his/her case is being considered in any post which has been declared equivalent to the post of Deputy Collector in the State Civil Service; and

(d) has not attained the age of 54 years on the 1st day of the January of the year for which the Select List is to be prepared. (The cut-off age has been increased to 56 years which shall come into effect from the Select List of 2015, that is for the vacancies which may arise between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2015, as per the amendments to the IAS Selection Regulations dated 17.03.2015 and the clarification dated 20.03.2015 issued thereto by the DoP&T, Government of India).

Q: Can State PCS Officers be promoted to IAS?

Yes, State PCS Officers can be promoted to become IAS officers subject to certain conditions laid down by UPSC. Each year, out of the total IAS vacancies, nearly 33% are filled through such promotions.

Q: I appeared only for GS Paper I in the Prelims Exam. Will this be counted as an attempt?

If a candidate appears in any one paper of the IAS Prelims Exam, then it is considered that he/she has made an attempt in the IAS Exam.