Civil Services Examination Notice 2024 - UPSC PDF

1 EXAMINATION NOTICE No 05/2024 - CSP DATE: 14.02.2024 (LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS : 05.03.2024 of CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION, 2024) (The Commission’s Website :...

1 EXAMINATION NOTICE No 05/2024 - CSP DATE: 14.02.2024 (LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS : 05.03.2024 of CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION, 2024) (The Commission’s Website : www.upsc.gov.in) IMPORTANT 1. CANDIDATES TO ENSURE THEIR ELIGIBILITY FOR THE EXAMINATION: All candidates (male/female/transgender) are requested to carefully read the Rules of Civil Services Examination notified by the Government (Department of Personnel and Training) and this Notice of Examination derived from these Rules. The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to examination. Their admission to all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. Mere issue of e-Admit Card to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission. The Commission takes up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/Personality Test. 2. HOW TO APPLY: Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. It is essential for the applicant to register himself/herself first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commission’s website, and then proceed for filling up the online application for the examination. OTR has to be registered only once in life time. This can be done anytime throughout the year. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway for filling up the online application for the examination. 2.1 Modification in OTR Profile: In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. The change in OTR profile data shall be available till expiry of 7 days from the next day after the closure of application window of his/her first final application for any Examination of the Commission. In the case, the candidate after registration of OTR applies for the first time in this examination last date of modification of OTR would be 12.03.2024. 2.2 Modification in application form (Other than OTR Profile): The Commission has also decided to extend the facility of making correction(s) in any field(s) of the application form for this examination from next day of the closure of the application window of this Examination. This window will remain open for 7 days from the date of opening of the same, i.e., from 06.03.2024 to 12.03.2024. In case a candidate wants to carry out any change in his/her OTR profile during this period, then he/she should login to the OTR platform and do the needful accordingly. In other words, no change in the OTR profile can be made by visiting the window for Modification in application form. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  2 2.3 The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same. 2.4 Candidate should have details of one Photo ID Card viz. 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. This Photo ID Card will be used for all future reference and the candidate is advised to carry this Photo ID Card while appearing for Examination/Personality Test. 3. LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS : The online Applications can be filled upto 5th March, 2024 till 6:00 PM. The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card on the last working day of the preceding week of the date of 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. 4. 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. 5. Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep): The Commission has introduced a time frame of 7 days (a week) i.e. from the next day of the Examination Date to 6.00 p.m. of the 7th day is fixed for the candidates to make representations to the Commission on the questions asked in the Papers of the Examination. Such representation must be submitted through the “Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep)” only by accessing the URL http://upsconline/nic/in/miscellaneous/QPRep/. No representation by email/post/hand or by any other mode shall be accepted and the Commission shall not involve into any correspondence with the candidates in this regard. No representation shall be accepted under any circumstances after this window of 7 days is over. 6. 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. 7. MOBILE PHONES BANNED: (a) 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 prohibited. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  3 (b) 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 no arrangement for safe-keeping will be made at the venue of the examination. 8. Candidates are advised not to bring any valuable/costly items to the venue of the examination, as no arrangement for safe-keeping will be made at the venue of the examination. Commission will not be responsible for any loss in this regard. 9. Instruction in respect of uploading of Photograph while filling up online application form :- (a) The photograph, uploaded by candidate should not be more than 10 days old from the start of the online application process (i.e. the application commencement date). (b) Ensure that the name of candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are clearly mentioned on the photograph. (c) The candidate’s face should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph. (d) The candidates must ensure that their appearance must match with their photograph at each stage of the Examination Process i.e. at the time of Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. For instance, If a candidate uploads a bearded photograph, he must appear with the same look in the Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. Same would be the case with spectacles, moustaches, etc. 10. The candidates should reach the venue of the Examination well in time at least 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each session of the Examination. No late entry will be allowed inside the Exam-venue under any circumstances. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  4 F.No. 1/3/2023-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 26h May, 2024 in accordance with the Rules published by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 14th February, 2024. All candidates must carefully read the Civil Services Examination- 2024 Rules together with all the Appendices along with the Annexures thereof and this Examination Notice derived from the CSE Rules-2024 in entirety for gaining awareness of the current Rules and Regulations as changes may have been incorporated since the previous Examination Rules. (i) Indian Administrative Service (ii) Indian Foreign Service (iii) Indian Police Service (iv) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ (v) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ (vi) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’ (vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’ (viii) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’ (ix) Indian Information Service, Group ‘A’ (x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’ (xi) Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’ (xii) Indian Railway Protection Force Service, Group ‘A’ (xiii) Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) Group ‘A’ (xiv) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group ‘A’ (xv) Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Grade III) (xvi) Indian Railway Management Service, Group ‘A’ (xvii) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade) (xviii) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS), Group ‘B’ (xix) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS), Group ‘B’ (xx) Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group ‘B’ (xxi) Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS), Group ‘B’ The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 1056 which include 40 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category, i.e. 06 Vacancies for candidates of (a) blindness and low vision; 12 Vacancies for (b) deaf and hard of hearing; 09 Vacancies for (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and 13 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 Authorities. 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 Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  5 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. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  6 Note : A list of Services Identified suitable for Persons with Benchmark Disability Name of the Category(ies) for which Suitable Category of Functional Service(s) Identified Benchmark Requirements [erstwhile Disabilities [erstwhile Physical Requirements Functinal (PR)] Classification (FC)] (1) (2) (3) (4) 1. Indian Administrative (i) Locomotor disability OA, OL, BA, OAL, BLA, S, SE, H, RW, C Service, BLOA, BL, BAOL, SD, SI, including Cerebral CP, LC, Dw, AAV, MDy 2. Indian Foreign Service, Palsy, Leprosy Cured, 3. Indian Audit and Accounts Dwarfism, Acid Attack Service, Group 'A', Victims and Muscular 4. Indian Civil Accounts Dystrophy Service, 5. Indian Corporate Law (ii) Blindness and Low LV, B MF, PP, S, ST, W, L,C, Vision RW (including in braille/ Service, Group ‘A’, software), H, KC, BN 6. Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group 'A', (iii) Deaf and Hard of D, HH MF, PP, S, ST, W, L, C, Hearing RW, KC, BN 7. Indian Defence Estates Service, Group 'A', (iv) Multiple disability Any combination of S, RW (including in from amongst only FCs from different braille/ software), C 8. Indian Information Service, categories as allowed Group 'A', above three categories under (i) to (iii), except 9. Indian Postal Service, the combination of Group 'A', blind & deaf (B+D) 10. Indian P and T Accounts and Finance Service, Group 'A', 11. Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), Group 'A', 12. Indian Revenue Service (IT), Group 'A', 13. Indian Trade Service, Group 'A' (Grade III), 14. Indian Railway Management Service, Group 'A', 15. Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civil Service, Group 'B' (Section Officer’s Grade), 16. Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS), Gr. 'B', 17. Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group ‘B’ Note: If there is any change in the ‘Suitable Categories of Bechmark Disabilities’ and ‘Functional Requirements’ in any of the Service(s) as prescribed above, the same shall be notified subsequently. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  7 List of Abbriviations used : Categories of Disability LD Locomotor Disability VI Visual Impairment HI Hearing Impairment MD Multiple Disabilities Sub-Categories OA One Arm OL One Leg BA Both Arms OAL One Arm One Leg BLA Both Legs and Arms BLOA Both Legs One Arm BL Both Legs BAOL Both Arms and One Leg SD Spinal Deformity SI Spinal Injury CP Cerebral Palsy LC Leprosy Cured Dw Dwarfism AAV Acid Attack Victims MDy Muscular Dystrophy LV Low Vision B Blind D Deaf HH Hard of Hearing MD Multiple Disabilities Functional Requirements S Sitting ST Standing W Walking SE Seeing H Hearing RW Reading and Writing C Communication MF Manipulation with Fingers PP Pulling & Pushing L Lifting KC Kneeling and Crouching BN Bending JU Jumping CL Climbing Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  8 2 (A)(i) Centres of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination: The Examination will be held at the following Centres: Sl. CENTRE Sl. No. CENTRE Sl. No. CENTRE No. 1 AGARTALA 29 GURGAON 57 PORTBLAIR 2 AGRA 30 GWALIOR 58 PRAYAGRAJ (ALLAHABAD) 3 AHMEDABAD 31 HYDERABAD 59 PUDUCHERRY 4 AIZAWL 32 IMPHAL 60 PUNE 5 AJMER 33 INDORE 61 RAIPUR 6 ALIGARH 34 ITANAGAR 62 RAJKOT ALMORA JABALPUR RANCHI 7 (UTTARAKHAND) 35 63 8 ANANTHAPURU 36 JAIPUR 64 SAMBALPUR CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR JAMMU SHILLONG [AURANGABAD 9 (MAHARASHTRA)] 37 65 10 BAREILLY 38 JODHPUR 66 SHIMLA 11 BENGALURU 39 JORHAT 67 SILIGURI 12 BHOPAL 40 KARGIL 68 SRINAGAR BILASPUR SRINAGAR KOCHI 13 (CHHATISGARH) 41 69 (UTTARAKHAND) 14 CHANDIGARH 42 KOHIMA 70 SURAT 15 CHENNAI 43 KOLKATTA 71 THANE KOZHIKODE COIMBATORE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 16 44 (CALICUT) 72 17 CUTTACK 45 LEH 73 TIRUCHIRAPALLI 18 DEHRADUN 46 LUCKNOW 74 TIRUPATI 19 DELHI 47 LUDHIANA 75 UDAIPUR DHARAMSHALA (HIMACHAL MADURAI VARANASI 20 PRADESH) 48 76 MANDI (HIMACHAL DHARWAR VELLORE 21 49 PRADESH) 77 22 DISPUR 50 MUMBAI 78 VIJAYAWADA 23 FARIDABAD 51 MYSURU 79 VISHAKHAPATNAM 24 GANGTOK 52 NAGPUR 80 WARANGAL GAUTAM BUDDH NASIK 25 NAGAR 53 26 GAYA 54 NAVI MUMBAI 27 GHAZIABAD 55 PANAJI (GOA) 28 GORAKHPUR 56 PATNA (ii) Centres of Civil Services (Main) Examination:- Sl. Sl. Sl. CENTRE CENTRE CENTRE No. No. No. 1 AHMEDABAD 9 DELHI 17 PATNA 2 AIZAWL 10 DISPUR (GUWAHATI) 18 PRAYAGRAJ ( ALLAHABAD) 3 BANGALURU 11 HYDERABAD 19 RAIPUR 4 BHOPAL 12 JAIPUR 20 RANCHI 5 CHANDIGARH 13 JAMMU 21 SHILLONG 6 CHENNAI 14 KOLKATA 22 SHIMLA 7 CUTTACK 15 LUCKNOW 23 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 8 DEHRADUN 16 MUMBAI 24 VIJAYAWADA Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  9 The Centres and the date of holding the examination as mentioned above are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission. Applicants should note that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the Centres, except Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. Allotment of Centres will be on the "first-apply-first allot" basis, and once the capacity of a particular Centre is attained, the same will be frozen. Applicants, who cannot get a Centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones. Applicants are, thus, advised that they may apply early so that they could get a Centre of their choice. NB : Notwithstanding the aforesaid provision, the Commission reserves the right to change the Centres at its discretion if the situation demands. All the Examination Centres for Civil Services (Preliminary), Examination, 2024 will cater to examination for Persons with Benchmark Disability in their respective Centres. Candidates admitted to the examination will be informed of the time table and place or places of examination. The candidates should note that no request for change of Centre will be entertained. (B) Plan of Examination: The Civil Services Examination will consist of two successive stages (vide Appendix I Section-I) (i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and (ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts noted above. Applications are now invited for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination only. The Candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will have to apply online again and submit on-line Detailed Application Form-I [DAF-I] along with scanned documents/certificates in support of date of birth, category {viz. SC/ST/ OBC (without OBC Annexure) /EWS [Economically Weaker Sections] (without EWS Annexure) /PwBD / Ex-Serviceman} and educational qualification with required Examination Fee. Any delay in submission of DAF-I or documents in support beyond the prescribed date will not be allowed and will lead to cancellation of the candidature for the CSE- 2024. The candidates who are declared to have qualified Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to mandatorily indicate order of preferences only for those services participating in the Civil Services Examination for the year, for which he is interested to be allocated to, in the on-line Detailed Application Form-II [DAF-II], before the commencement of Personality Tests (Interview) of the examination. Further, the candidates who wish to indicate IAS/IPS as their Service preference are advised to indicate all the Zones and Cadres in the order of preference in their on-line DAF-II as per the extant Cadre Allocation Policy applicable for the Civil Services Examination, 2024. With this DAF-II, a candidate will also be required to upload documents/certificates for higher education, achievements in different fields, service experience, OBC Annexure (for OBC category only), EWS Annexure [for EWS Category only], etc. Any delay in submission of DAF-II or documents in support beyond the prescribed date will not be allowed and will lead to cancellation of the candidature for the CSE-2024. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  10 3. Eligibility Conditions: (I) Nationality (1) For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign 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, 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: (1) 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, 2024 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1992 and not later than 1st August, 2003. (2) The upper age-limit prescribed above will be relaxable: (a) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe; (b) 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; (c) 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; (d) 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, 2024 and have been released: (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2024, otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency); or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or (iii) on invalidment. (e) 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, 2024 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  11 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 appointment. (f) up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories viz. (i) blindness and low vision; (ii) deaf and hard of hearing; (iii) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; (iv) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; (v) 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. (3) 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 certificate. 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 (II) (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. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  12 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, 2024 which is 26.05.2024. All communication in this regard should contain the following particulars :- 1. NAME AND YEAR OF THE EXAMINATION 2. REGISTRATION I.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 APPLICATION. 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 have been issued latest by the 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. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  13 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: Category to which the Candidate Belongs Number of SC /ST OBC PwBD attempts 09 for GL/EWS/OBC Unlimited 09 Unlimited for SC/ST 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. (V) Restrictions on applying for the examination: (1) A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service will not be eligible to appear at the Civil Services Examination-2024. In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 is over and the candidate continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 notwithstanding having qualified in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024. If such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 but before the result thereof is declared by the Commission and continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be considered for appointment to any Service/Post on the basis of the result of the CSE-2024. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  14 (2) A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service shall not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service on the basis of the result of the CSE-2024. (VI) Medical and Physical Standards: Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2024 as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 14 th February, 2024. 4. FEE : Candidates (Except Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay fee of Rs. 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only) either by remitting the money in any Branch of State Bank of India by cash or by using Net Banking facility of any bank or by using Visa/Master/RuPay/Credit/Debit Card/UPI Payment. Applicants who opt for "Pay by Cash" mode should print the system generated Pay-in-slip during part II registration and deposit the fee at the counter of SBI Branch on the next working day only. "Pay by Cash” mode will be deactivated at 11.59 P.M. of 4th March, 2024 i.e. one day before the closing date; however applicants, who have generated their Pay-in- Slip before it is deactivated, may pay at the counter of SBI Branch during banking hours on the closing date. Such applicants who are unable to pay by cash on the closing date i.e. during banking hours at SBI Branch, for reasons whatsoever, even if holding valid pay-in- slip will have no other offline option but to opt for available online Debit/Credit Card/UPI Payment or Internet Banking payment mode on the closing date i.e. till 06:00 P.M. of 5th March, 2024. For the applicants in whose case payments details have not been received from the bank they will be treated as fictitious payment cases and a list of all such applicants shall be made available on the Commission website within two weeks after the last day of submission of online application.These applicants shall also be intimated through e-mail to submit copy of proof of their payment to the Commission at the address mentioned in the e-mail. The applicant shall be required to submit the proof within 10 days from the date of such communication either by hand or by speed post to the Commission. On receipt of documentary proof, genuine fee payment cases will be considered and their applications will be revived, if they are otherwise eligible. In case, no response is received from the applicants their applications shall be summarily rejected and no further correspondence shall be entertained in this regard. All female candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe/ Persons with Benchmark Disability categories are exempted from payment of fee. No fee exemption is, however, available to OBC/EWS candidates and they are required to pay the prescribed fee in full. Persons with Benchmark Disability are exempted from the payment of fee provided they are otherwise eligible for appointment to the Services/Posts to be filled on the results of this examination on the basis of the standards of medical fitness for these Services/Posts (including any concessions specifically extended to the Persons with Benchmark Disability). A candidate of Persons with Benchmark Disability claiming fee concession will be required by the Commission to submit along with their Detailed Application Form - I, a certified copy of the Certificate of Disability from a Government Hospital/Medical Board in support of his/her claim for belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  15 NB: Notwithstanding, the aforesaid provision for fee exemption, a candidate of Persons with Benchmark Disability will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if the candidate (after such physical examination as the Government or the Appointing Authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/Posts to be allocated to candidates of Persons with Benchmark Disability by the Government. Note I: Applications without the prescribed Fee (unless remission of Fee is claimed) shall be summarily rejected. Note II: Fee once paid shall not be refunded under any circumstances nor can the fee be held in reserve for any other examination or selection. Note III: If any candidate who took the Civil Services Examination held in 2023 wishes to apply for admission to this examination, he/she must submit his/her application without waiting for the results or an offer of appointment. Note IV: Candidates admitted to the Main Examination will be required to pay a further fee of Rs. 200/- (Rupees Two hundreds only). 5. How to Apply: (a) Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. It is essential for the applicant to register himself/herself first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commission’s website, and then proceed for filling up the online application for the examination. OTR has to be registered only once in life time. This can be done anytime throughout the year. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway for filling up the online application for the examination. (i) Modification in OTR Profile: In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. The change in OTR profile data shall be available till expiry of 7 days from the next day after the closure of application window of his/her first final application for any Examination of the Commission. In the case, the candidate after registration of OTR applies for the first time in this examination last date of modification of OTR would be 12.03.2024. (ii) Modification in application form (Other than OTR Profile): The Commission has also decided to extend the facility of making correction(s) in any field(s) of the application form for this examination from next day of the closure of the application window of this Examination. This window will remain open for 7 days from the date of opening of the same, i.e., from 06.03.2024 to 12.03.2024. In case a candidate wants to carry out any change in his/her OTR profile during this period, then he/she should login to the OTR platform and do the needful accordingly. In other words, no change in the OTR profile can be made by visiting the window for Modification in application form. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  16 (iii) The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same. (b) 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 Commission. 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 - V. 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 - V. NOTE-5: Candidates appearing in Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 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 Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  17 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, 2024 reproduced below: (1) A candidate who is or has been declared by the Commission to be guilty of :- (a) Obtaining support for candidature by the following means, namely :- (i) offering illegal gratification to; or (ii) applying pressure on; or (iii) blackmailing, or threatening to blackmail any person connected with the conduct of the examination; or (b) impersonation; or (c) procuring impersonation by any person; or (d) submitting fabricated/incorrect documents or documents which have been tampered with; or (e) uploading irrelevant or incorrect photo/signature in the application form in place of actual photo/signature; or (f) making statements which are incorrect or false or suppressing material information; or (g) resorting to the following means in connection with the candidature for the examination, namely :- (i) obtaining copy of question paper through improper means; or (ii) finding out the particulars of the persons connected with secret work relating to the examination; or (iii) influencing the examiners; or (h) being in possession of or using unfair means during the examination; or (i) writing obscene matter or drawing obscene sketches or irrelevant matter in the scripts; or Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  18 (j) misbehaving in the examination hall including tearing of the scripts, provoking fellow examinees to boycott examination, creating a disorderly scene and the like; or (k) harassing, threatening or doing bodily harm to the staff employed by the Commission for the conduct of the examination; or (l) 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 (m) violating any of the instructions issued to candidates along with their admission certificates permitting them to take the examination; or (n) 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 :- (i) by the Commission, from any examination or selection held by them; (ii) 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 :- (i) giving the candidate an opportunity of making such representation in writing as the candidate may wish to make in that behalf; and (ii) taking the representation, if any, submitted by the candidate within the period allowed for this purpose, into consideration. (2) 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) above. Note: “ If a candidate is found to be in possession or using unfair means, may not be allowed to continue in the said exam as soon as the incident comes to notice of the Examination functionaries and the action against the candidates may be taken in consultation with the Commission. Further, the candidate may also not be allowed in any of the subsequent papers of the said examination.” 6. LAST DATE FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS: The Online Applications can be filled upto 05.03.2024 till 6:00 P.M. after which the link will be disabled. Detailed instructions regarding filling of online application is available at Appendix- II. 7. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE COMMISSION: The Commission will not enter into any correspondence with the candidates about their candidature except in the following cases: Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  19 (i) The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card on the last working day of the preceding week of the date of examination. The e-Admit Card will be made available on the UPSC website [www.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 on the last working day of the preceding week of the date of 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 three days before the commencement of 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. (ii) 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 Office. (iii) 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 regard. (iv) Candidates must ensure that their emails IDs given in their online application are valid and active. Important: All communications to the Commission should invariably contain the following particulars. 1. Name and year of the examination. 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 application. 6. Valid and Active E-mail ID. 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. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  20 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 ‘Suitable Category of Benchmark Disabilities’ and ‘Functional Requirements’ [erstwhile Functional Classification and Physical Requirements (abilities/disabilities) (FC&PR)] consistent with requirements of the identified Service/post as may be prescribed by the Government. Note-I : The details of ‘Suitable Category of Benchmark Disabilities’ and ‘Functional Requirements’ of Services participating in CSE-2024 are indicated in Appendix-IV of the Rules which are identified and prescribed by the Government as per the provisions of Section 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 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. 9. Eligibility for Availing Reservation: (1) 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 Government. (2) The OBC candidates applying for CSE-2024 must produce OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate based on the income for the Financial Year (FY) 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 and issued on/after 01.04.2023 (after the completion of FY 2022-23) but not later than the closing date of the application for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 i.e. 5th March, 2024. (3) 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 Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  21 requisite Income & Asset Certificate based on income for Financial Year (FY) 2022-2023 and issued on/after 01.04.2023 (after the completion of FY 2022-23 ) but not later than the closing date of the application for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 i.e. 5th March, 2024. 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, 2024. 11. The closing date fixed for the receipt of the application of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination - 2024 will be treated as the date for determining the OBC status (including that of creamy layer) of the candidates. 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 who qualified each stage of the Examination on General standard, shall be allowed to change (on their request or as decided by the Commission/Government based on the documents submitted by them) their category from reserved to unreserved or claim the vacancies (Service/Cadre) for unreserved category after the declaration of final result by UPSC. In cases where such candidates do not qualify on General Standard, their candidature shall be cancelled. 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 becoming a Candidate belonging to Person with Benchmark Disability during the course of the examination process, the candidate must produce valid document of acquiring a disability to the extent of 40% or more as defined under the RPwD Act, 2016 to consider drawing the benefits of reservation as available to the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) category. 13. Withdrawal of applications: The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same. Debabrata Banerjee JOINT SECRETARY UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  22 APPENDIX I SECTION I : PLAN OF EXAMINATION The Civil Services Examination comprises two successive stages: (i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Civil Services (Main) Examination; and (ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview/Personality Test) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts. 2. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks in the subjects set out in sub-section (A) of Section II. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this Examination. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination. 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 : (i) 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. (ii) 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. (iii) If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question. 3. The Civil Services (Main) Examination will consist of a Written Examination and an Interview/Personality Test. The Written Examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type in the subjects set out in sub-section (B) of Section-II out of which two papers will be of qualifying in nature. [Also see Note (ii) under Para-I of Section II-(B)]. Marks obtained for all the compulsory papers (Paper-I to Paper-VII) and Marks obtained in Interview/Personality Test will be counted for ranking. 4.1 Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Civil Services (Main) Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an Interview/Personality Test, vide sub-section (C) of Section-II. The number of candidates to be summoned for Interview/Personality Test will be about twice of the number of vacancies to be filled. The Interview/Personality Test will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks). Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  23 4.2 Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written part as well as Interview/Personality Test) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and posts. SECTION II: Scheme and Subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examination A. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION: The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each. Note: (i) Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions) and each will be of two hours duration. (ii) The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. (iii) The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English. (iv) Details of the syllabi are indicated in Part A of Section III. B. MAIN EXAMINATION: The Written Examination will consist of the following papers:— Qualifying Papers: Paper-A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution). 300 Marks Paper-B English 300 Marks Papers to be counted for merit : Paper-I Essay 250 Marks Paper-II General Studies-I 250 Marks (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) Paper-III General Studies -II 250 Marks (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) Paper-IV General Studies -III 250 Marks (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) Paper-V General Studies -IV 250 Marks (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) Paper-VI Optional Subject - Paper 1 250 Marks Paper-VII Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  24 Optional Subject - Paper 2 250 Marks Sub Total (Written test) 1750 Marks Personality Test 275 Marks ===================================================================================== Grand Total 2025 Marks Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects given in para 2 below:— Note : (i) The papers on Indian languages and English (Paper A and paper B) will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. (ii) Evaluation of the papers, namely, 'Essay', 'General Studies' and Optional Subject of all the candidates would be done simultaneously along with evaluation of their qualifying papers on ‘Indian Languages’ and ‘English’ but the papers on Éssay', General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance who attain 25% marks in ‘Indian Language’ and 25% in English as minimum qualifying standards in these qualifying papers. (iii) The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. (iv) The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for Candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability (only Hearing Impairment sub-category) provided that they have been granted such exemption from 2nd or 3rd language courses by the concerned education Board/University. The candidate needs to provide an undertaking/self declaration in this regard in order to claim such an exemption to the Commission. (v) Marks obtained by the candidates for the Paper I-VII only will be counted for merit ranking. However, the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all of these papers. (vi) For the Language medium/literature of languages, the scripts to be used by the candidates will be as under :— Language Script Assamese Assamese Bengali Bengali Gujarati Gujarati Hindi Devanagari Kannada Kannada Kashmiri Persian Konkani Devanagari Malayalam Malayalam Manipuri Bengali Marathi Devanagari Nepali Devanagari Odia Odia Punjabi Gurumukhi Sanskrit Devanagari Sindhi Devanagari or Arabic Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  25 Tamil Tamil Telugu Telugu Urdu Persian Bodo Devanagari Dogri Devanagari Maithilli Devanagari Santhali Devanagari or Olchiki Note : For Santhali language, question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki. 2. List of optional subjects for Main Examination: (i) Agriculture (ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science (iii) Anthropology (iv) Botany (v) Chemistry (vi) Civil Engineering (vii) Commerce and Accountancy (viii) Economics (ix) Electrical Engineering (x) Geography (xi) Geology (xii) History (xiii) Law (xiv) Management (xv) Mathematics (xvi) Mechanical Engineering (xvii) Medical Science (xviii) Philosophy (xix) Physics (xx) Political Science and International Relations (xxi) Psychology (xxii) Public Administration (xxiii) Sociology (xxiv) Statistics (xxv) Zoology (xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English. Note : (i) The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type. (ii) Each paper will be of three hours duration. (iii) Candidates will have the option to answer all the question papers, except the Qualifying Language Papers, Paper-A and Paper-B, in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  26 Constitution of India or in English. Notwithstanding this, the Candidate will have the choice to write the Optional Papers in English also if candidates opt to write Paper I-V except the Qualifying Language Papers, Paper-A and Paper-B, in any one of the language included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. (iv) Candidates exercising the option to answer Papers in any one of the languages included in the Eight Schedule to the Constitution of India mentioned above may, if they so desire, give English version within brackets of only the description of the technical terms, if any, in addition to the version in the language opted by them. Candidates should, however, note that if they misuse the above rule, a deduction will be made on this account from the total marks otherwise accruing to them and in extreme cases; their script(s) will not be valued for being in an unauthorized medium. (v) Candidates should note that if any irrelevant matter/signages/marks etc. are found written in the answer script(s), which would not be related to any question/answer and/or would be having the potential to disclose the candidate’s identity, the Commission will impose a penalty of deduction of marks from the total marks otherwise accruing to the candidate or will not evaluate the said script(s) on this account. (vi) The question papers (other than the literature of language papers) will be set in Hindi and English only. (vii) The details of the syllabi are set out in Part B of Section III. General Instructions (Preliminary as well as Main Examination) : (i) Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the answers for them. However, The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the categories of blindness, locomotor disability (both arm affected – BA) and cerebral palsy will be eligible for the facility of scribe. In case of other category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities as defined under section 2 (r) of the RPWD Act, 2016, such candidates will be eligible for the facility of scribe 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-V Further, for persons with specified disabilities covered under the definition of Section 2(s) of the RPwD Act, 2016 but not covered under the definition of Section 2(r) of the said Act, i.e. persons having less than 40% disability and having difficulty in writing will be eligible for the facility of scribe subject to production of a certificate to the effect that person concerned has limitation to write and that scribe is essential to write examination on his/her behalf from the competent medical authority of a Government healthcare institutio n as per proforma at Appendix-VII. (ii) The candidates have discretion of opting for their 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 as per proforma at. Appendix-VI. (for Candidates having 40% disability or more) and Appendix-VIII (for Candidates having less than 40% disability and having difficulty in writing). (iii) 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. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  27 (iv) The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the category of blindness, locomotor disability (both arms affected-BA) and cerebral palsy will be eligible for Compensatory Time of twenty minutes per hour of the examination. In case of other categories of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, such candidates will be eligible for this facility 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-V Further, for persons with specified disabilities covered under the definition of Section 2(s) of the RPwD Act, 2016 but not covered under the definition of Section 2(r) of the said Act, i.e. persons having less than 40% disability and having difficulty in writing will be eligible for compensatory time subject to production of a certificate to the effect that person concerned has limitation to write from the competent medical authority of a Government healthcare institution as per proforma at Appendix-VII. (v) Facility of Scribe and/or Compensatory time to eligible candidates will be provided, if desired by them. Note (1) : The eligibility conditions of a scribe and the conduct of scribe inside the examination hall and the manner in which and extent to which the scribe can help the eligible candidates (as defined above) in writing the Civil Services Examination shall be governed by the instructions issued by the UPSC in this regard. Violation of all or any of the said instructions shall entail the cancellation of the candidature of the candidate in addition to any other action that the UPSC may take against the scribe. Note (2) : The criteria for determining the percentage of visual impairment shall be as follows :— Better eye Worse eye Per Cent Disability category Best Corrected Best Corrected Impairment 1 2 3 4 6/6 to 6/18 6/6 to 6/18 0% 0 6/24 to 6/60 10% 0 Less than 6/60 to 3/60 20% I Less than 3/60 No Light 30% II (One eyed person) Perception 6/24 to 6/60 Or 6/24 to 6/60 40% III a (low vision) Visual field less than 40 up to 20 Less than 6/60 to 3/60 50% III b (low vision) degree around centre of fixation or Less than 3/60 to No Light 60% III c (low vision) heminaopia involving macula Perception Less than 6/60 to 3/60 Or Less than 6/60 to 3/60 70% III d (low vision) Visual field less than 20 up to 10 Less than 3/60 to No Light 80% III e (low vision) degree around centre of fixation Perception Less than 3/60 to 1/60 Or Less than 3/60 to No Light 90% IV a (Blindness) Visual field less than 10 degree Perception around centre of fixation Only HMCF Only HMCF 100% IV b (Blindness) Only Light Perception, Only Light Perception, No Light perception No Light perception Note (3) : The concession admissible to blind candidates shall not be admissible to those suffering from Myopia. (i) The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects of the examination. (ii) If a candidate’s handwriting is not easily legible, a deduction will be made on this account from the total marks otherwise accruing to the candidate. (iii) Marks will not be allotted for mere superficial knowledge. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  28 (iv) Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined with due economy of words in all subjects of the examination. (v) In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used. (vi) Candidates should use only International form of Indian numerals (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 etc.) while answering question papers. (vii) Candidates will be allowed the use of Scientific (Non-Programmable type) Calculators at the conventional (Essay) type examination of UPSC. Programmable type calculators will however not be allowed and the use of such calculators shall tantamount to resorting to unfair means by the candidates. Loaning or interchanging of calculators in the Examination Hall is not permitted. It is also important to note that candidates are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type papers (Test Booklets). They should not therefore bring the same inside the Examination Hall. C. Interview/Personality Test The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of the candidate’s career. The candidate will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the Interview/Personality Test is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The Interview/Personality Test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only intellectual qualities but also social traits and interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are 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. 2. The technique of the Interview/Personality Test is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate. 3. The Interview/Personality Test is not intended to be a test either of the specialized or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own State or Country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well-educated youth. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  29 SECTION III: SYLLABI FOR THE 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  Current events of national and international importance.  History of India and Indian National Movement.  Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.  Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.  Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.  General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.  General Science. Paper II-(200 marks) Duration : Two hours  Comprehension;  Interpersonal skills including communication skills;  Logical reasoning and analytical ability;  Decision making and problem solving;  General mental ability;  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 the 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. Part B—Main Examination The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a candidate’s general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in Civil Services. The questions are likely to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant issues, and ability to analyze, and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  30 The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honours degree 1evel i.e. a level higher than the bachelors’ degree and lower than the masters’ degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelors’ degree. Syllabi of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows :— QUALIFYING PAPERS ON INDIAN LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH The aim of the paper is to test the candidates' ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian language concerned. The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows : (i) Comprehension of given passages. (ii) Precis Writing. (iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essays. Indian Languages :— (i) comprehension of given passages. (ii) Precis Writing. (iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essays. (v) Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa. Note 1 : The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. Note 2 : The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved). PAPER-I Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression. PAPER-II General Studies-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.  Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.  Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.  The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.  Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.  31  History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of nat