IAS Selection Process 2020
IAS Exam (Indian Administrative Services) is taken to invite candidates who wish to seek employment at All India Services such as I.A.S, I.P.S, I.F.S, I.R.S and various other Group A and Group B services. IAS Exam Selection process comprises of three different stages- Preliminary Exam, Main Exam and Interview Round. On the basis of marks obtained in main examination and Interview, a final merit list prepared with the name of the candidates who are eligible for recruitment.
IAS Selection Process
Selection of candidates is based on the cut offs released by the commission after preliminary examination and main examination. Candidates who qualify in the preliminary examination can sit for the UPSC main examination.A cut off is then released according to which qualified candidates are called for the interview session hence, preparation of merit list takes place excluding marks scored in preliminary examination.
IAS SELECTION PROCESS: IAS 2019 Exam Result
IAS Prelims 2019 Exam was held on June 2, 2019. IAS Result for the same has been released by the commission on July 12, 2019. Candidates whose roll numbers are mentioned in the result PDF file will proceed to the Main examination.
- IAS Exam Selection Process has three stages. First is IAS the prelims exam, those who qualify this stage have to register again for the IAS Main exam.
- Marks scored in the IAS Prelims is only considered to select candidates for the IAS main exam and not for final merit list.
- IAS Main Exam will be held on September 20, 2019, those who qualify this will be called for the final round – IAS Interview Round.
- IAS Interview round will be conducted in the month of February to March.
- Final merit list is prepared based on the score of main exam and the interview round.
- Final Result will be in the month of May each year for joining of the candidates provided their documents are verified and factual.
IAS SELECTION PROCESS: IAS Preliminary Exam 2019
Preliminary exam of IAS Exam was conducted on June 2, 2019. There are two compulsory papers in Preliminary Exam, Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Civil Services Aptitude Test). Preliminary exam is two hours long and total marks for the same is 200 marks for each paper. IAS Question Paper of preliminary exam can be taken in both English and Hindi language.
Here is the IAS Exam Selection Process followed by UPSC for Preliminary examination:
IAS SELECTION PROCESS: IAS Exam Prelims
Duration of Exam
2 hours or 120 minutes (extra time of 20 minutes for blind candidates) for each paper
Total Number of Questions
Paper I- 80 questions, Paper II- 100 questions
Total Marks
Maximum of 400 marks
Types of Questions
Objective Type Multiple Choice Questions
Marking Scheme
Paper I- 200 marks, Paper II- 200 marks
Negative Marking
1/3rd of the marks allotted to the question will be deducted from every wrong answer
Mode of Exam
Hindi and English
The criteria of evaluation in preliminary examination to determine cutoff will be on the basis of minimum qualifying marks of 33 % in General Studies Paper-II of the Preliminary Examination and total qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of Preliminary Examination.
IAS SELECTION PROCESS: IAS Main Exam 2019
To give the IAS Main examination, candidate is required to qualify the Preliminary exam and shall compete with candidates ten to twelve times to the number of vacancies available.
Main exam consists of 9 papers out of which 2 are language papers and 2 are optional papers. Each paper will be of 3 hours’ duration. Total marks for each paper will be 250 marks while the language papers are of 300 marks each.
Following table elaborates the details regarding UPSC main examination pattern:
IAS SELECTION PROCESS: IAS Exam Main Examination
Duration of Exam
Each paper will be of 3 hours
Total Marks
Maximum of 1750 marks
Types of Questions
Conventional Essay type questions
Marking Scheme
250 marks each for Paper I- Paper VII and 275 marks for Interview
Mode of Exam
Hindi and English
Candidates who qualify the main examination as per the cut off set by UPSC shall be called for the interview session or personality test which will also be considered for merit calculation. Candidate will be selected on the basis of the career tracks and records. General questions related to the job profile will be asked to test candidate’s knowledge. Marks scored in the main examination and interview session will be the main factors of selection of the candidate, no qualifying list or cut off will be released after this.
IAS Interview Round
The most important stage that must be cleared in order to get recruited in All India Services is the Interview Round or the Personality test. Candidates who qualify the main examination are called to face a board of judges from the Union Public Services Commission who judge the candidate on the basis of several aspects. These aspects include mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, logical thinking, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity along with some technical skills required in the job profile that has been chosen by the candidate.
The approach of the interview is not a strict one but a natural, directed and purposive conversation which intends to reveal the mental toughness of the candidate. Interview session is has 275 marks and no qualifying marks have been enlisted to clear it by UPSC. The skills presented in the career profile must be shown while in front of the board members to secure good marks in the Interview Round. Final selection will be based on combination of main examination and Interview session marks.
IAS Exam Final Merit List
Final merit list will be prepared on the basis of marks obtained in the main examination and Interview Round. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services according to their merit and choices. The final merit list will be out in May, 2020. Marks scored in Preliminary examination will be excluded while preparing the Final Merit List.
