Civil Services Preliminary Examination – IAS Exam Scheme 2018

Civil Services Preliminary Examination – IAS Exam Scheme 2018

Plan of Civil Service Competitive Examination 2018 comprises two successive stages 

1. Civil Services ( Preliminary ) Examinations ( Objective Type ) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and
2. Civil Services ( Main ) Examination ( Written and Interview ) for the selection of candidates for the various Civil Services and Posts.

The Civil Service Preliminary Examination 2018

Note I : The Commission will draw a list of candidates to be qualified for Civil Services ( Main ) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies Paper-II of Civil Services ( Preliminary ) Examination and total qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of Civil Services ( Preliminary ) Examination as may be determined by the Commission.

Note II : There will be negative marking for incorrect answers ( as detailed below ) for all questions except some of the questions where the negative marking will be inbuilt in the form of different marks being awarded to the most appropriate and not so appropriate answer for such questions.

1. There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third ( 0.33 ) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

2. If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happen to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.

3. If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question

The Main Examination will consist of written examination and an interview test. The written examination will consist of Nine papers of conventional essay type in the subjects of which two papers will be of qualifying in nature. Marks obtained for all the compulsory papers and Marks obtained in Interview for Personality Test will be counted for ranking

Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Civil Service Main Examination as may be fixed by the Union Public Service Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for interview / for a Personality Test vide sub-section ‘C’ of Section – II. The number of candidates to be summoned for Civil Services interview will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview will carry 275 marks ( with no minimum qualifying marks ).

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Civil Services Main Examination ( written part as well as interview ) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the Civil Service Examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and Posts.

Civil Service Preliminary Exam Papers

IAS Preliminary Examination 2018

The Examination for Civil Services 2018 shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

Note :

1. Both the Civil Services question papers will be of the objective type ( multiple choice questions ).
2. The General Studies paper II of the Civil Services ( Preliminary Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
3. The Civil Services question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
4. Each paper will be of two hours duration. Blind candidates and the candidates with locomotor disability and cerebral palsy where dominant ( writing ) extremity is affected to be extent of slowing the performance of function ( minimum of 40% impairment will; however, be allowed an extra time of twenty minutes per hour for each paper.

Syllabi for the Civil Service Prelims Examination

Note : Candidates are advised to go through the syllabus published in this section for the Preliminary Examination and the Main Examination, as periodic revision of syllabus has been done in several subjects.

Part A – Preliminary Examination

Paper I – ( 200 marks ) Duration : Two hours

1. Current events of national and international importance.
2. History of India and Indian National Movement.
3. Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
4. Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
5. Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
6. General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
7. General Science.

Paper II – ( 200 marks ) Duration : Two hours

1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy ( numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc. ) ( Class X level ), Data interpretation ( charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level )

Note 1 : Paper II of Civil Services ( Preliminary ) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

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. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he / she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services ( Prelims ) Examination.