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Civil Services Examination

The Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the most prestigious competitive examination in the country. It is usually held in the month of May/June every year.

The Civil Services examination is held for selecting candidates for various services and posts like Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service and Indian Police Service.

The Civil Services examination has two stages: preliminary and main. The preliminary examination is of the objective type. Only those candidates who get through the Preliminary examination successfully can appear for the Main examination.

Civil Services Preliminary Examination

General Studies

The Civil Services Preliminary examination consists of two papers: One of them is a paper on general studies, while the other is an optional paper on a subject related to the educational background and/or aptitude of the candidate. Both papers are of objective type and consist of multiple choice questions only. Each paper is of two hours duration.

The General Studies paper will include questions covering a wide variety of topics like general science, current events (national and international), world geography, Indian polity and economy, Indian national movement and questions on general mental ability. You must prepare thoroughly in order to be able to answer all the 150 questions in two hours. Each question carries one mark. Your aim should be to answer the maximum number of questions in the minimum possible time. So don’t spend too much time on any particular question at the cost of other questions. Attempt the easier questions first. If you have sufficient time left, go back to those questions which you left unattended in the first place. There is no negative marking, so if you are not sure about the answer there is no harm in guessing.

An analysis of previous years’ question papers shows that the approximate number of questions asked on different subjects is as follows:

General Science: 15 questions
Current Events: 25 questions
Indian history: 20
Geography: 20
Indian polity and economy: 20
Indian National Movement: 20
General Mental Ability: 30

Total number of questions: 150