IAS Exam 2024 Dates, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, and Syllabus

IAS or Indian Administrative Service which comes under civil service examination is the most prestigious job in India and arguably in the world. Each year 11 Lakh (approx) candidate participates in the examination out of which only 750-800 candidates get selected. For IAS services, the vacancies are even less making it one of the toughest examinations in the world.

A well-functioning democratic government has three branches namely- Parliament, Judiciary, and Executive branch. UPSE Examination offers a candidate-job in the executive branch of the government and is part of the permanent bureaucracy of the nation. In this article, we will discuss IAS Exam 2024 Dates, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, etc.

UPSC IAS Exam 2024 Highlights

Name of the Exam Civil Services Examination
Level of the ExamNational Level Exam
Conducting  bodyUPSC – Union Public Service Commission
Periodicity of Exam Yearly
Application ModeOnline Mode
Mode of ExamOffline (Pen-Paper Mode)
Expected RegistrationApprox. 3 lakh
Total VacanciesApprox. 600
Official Websitehttp://www.upsc.gov.in/

IAS Exam Important Dates 2024

EventDates
UPSC Notification 2024 2 February 2024
Last date to apply for IAS Exam 2024 22 February 2024
IAS Prelims Exam 2024  5 June 2024
IAS Prelims 2024 ResultOctober-November 2024 (Tentative)
IAS Main Exam 2024 16 September 2024
IAS Main 2024 result To be announced

IAS Exam Eligibility Criteria

The following are the eligibility criteria for IAS Exam-

  • Candidate must be a citizen of India
  • The age criteria of candidate must be between 21 years and 32 years of age
  • Candidate must be a graduate from a recognized university in any discipline
  • The following are the number of attempt allowed for reserved category students-
Reserved CategoryAttempts
General6
SC/STno limit
OBC9

IAS Exam Application Form

The Application form of IAS UPSC can be filled online. The following are the steps by step application process-

Follow our WhatsApp Channel

  • Visit the official website of the UPSE- http://www.upsc.gov.in/
  • Click on the ‘New Candidate Registration’ and start filling in the required details like email ID password etc.
  • Now, verify the email by clicking on the verification link send by UPSC
  • Now, Log in to your account and click on the apply button
  • A form will appear, fill the form with correct information
  • Now upload your scanned passport size photograph
  • Now you have to upload the scanned copy of all the certificates and documents mentioned below
  • Now a payment gateway will open where you have to pay the application fee using Credit/Debit, UPI, Net Banking, or challan
  • Take a print out of the payment confirmation slip and the application for future uses

Documentation Requirement for registration

The following are the list of documents required for IAS Exam recruitment-

  • Scanned Passport Size photograph under 1 MB
  • Scanned copy of class  10th, & 12th passed certificate/ Mark Sheet
  • Graduate Degree/ Marks Sheet
  • Aadhar Card

IAS Exam 2024 Application Fee

The application fee for the IAS Exam entrance examination is as follows-

CategoryApplication Fee
Application fee for the IAS Exam entrance examinationRs.100/-
Women candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Ex-servicemen (ESM)No Fee required

IAS Exam Examination Pattern

The examination pattern of IAS or civil services is divided into three examinations. The following are the entrance examination of IAS exam-

IAS Exam Prelims

  • The prelims question will be of objective type and the negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
  • The GS Paper II (CSAT) in IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33 per cent
  • Prelims is a screening test and prelims marks will not be included in final score
Sl. No.Name of the PaperNature of the PaperDuration of the ExamQuestionsMarks
1IAS Exam Paper – I: General StudiesMerit Ranking Nature2 Hours100200 Marks
2IAS Exam Paper – II: General Studies (CSAT)Qualifying Nature2 Hours80200 Marks

IAS Exam Mains

  • The 9 papers in IAS Exam (Mains) are as follows: Paper-A (Compulsory Indian Language); Paper –B (English) which are qualifying in nature, while the other papers like Essay, General Studies Papers I, II, III, and IV, and Optional Papers I and II are considered for the final ranking
  • IAS Mains Exam will be language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution
  • Candidates who score above the cut-off marks in the IAS exam (Mains) will get the summons for the Personality Test
  • The final examination will be calculate based on the Main Examination and Personality Test/Interview Round of the IAS exam
Sl. No.IAS Exam PaperName of the PaperNature of the PaperDuration of the ExamMarks 
1Paper – ACompulsory Indian LanguageQUALIFYING NATURE3 Hours300 Marks 
2Paper – BEnglish3 Hours300 Marks 
3Paper – IESSAYMERIT RANKING NATURE3 Hours250 Marks 
4Paper – IIGeneral Studies I3 Hours250 Marks 
5Paper – IIIGeneral Studies II3 Hours250 Marks 
6Paper – IVGeneral Studies III3 Hours250 Marks 
7Paper – VGeneral Studies IV3 Hours250 Marks 
8Paper – VIOptional Paper I3 Hours250 Marks 
9Paper – VIIOptional Paper II3 Hours250 Marks 
TOTAL1750 Marks 275 Marks 
Interview or Personality Test
GRAND TOTAL2025 Marks 

IAS Exam Personality Test/ Interview

The candidates who clear main stage of the examination will be selected for personality test or interview round. Candidate will be sent an e-summon by the Commission for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members. The question will be based on hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions, etc. and test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

IAS DAF Filling

DAF Stands for Detailed Application Form and the following are the steps to fill DAF-

  • Candidates who have been declared qualified in the written part of the Examinations have to first get themselves registered before filling up the Online Detailed Application Form (DAF)
  • Candidates are required to upload scanned copies of documents like proof of Age, Educational Qualification, Community Certificate, PH Certificate etc. as mentioned in the Instructions to Candidates for filling in the Detailed Application Form

IAS Exam Syllabus

The following are the examination syllabus for IAS Exam-

General Studies-I

  1. History
    1. Modern Indian History
    2. World History
  2. Art & Culture
    1. Indian Heritage & Culture
  3. Geography
    1. Human Geography
    2. Physical Geography
    3. Geomorphology
    4. Indian Geography
    5. Climatology
    6. Oceanology
  4. Indian Society
    1. Diversity in Indian Society
    2. Role of Women
    3. Poverty
    4. Urbanization
    5. Social Empowerment
    6. Regionalism
    7. Communalism
    8. Secularism, etc.

General Studies-II

  1. Polity    
  2. Constitution      
  3. Governance      
  4. Social Justice     
  5. International Relations

General Studies-III

  1. Economic Development
  2. Agriculture
  3. Science & Technology
  4. Environment & Ecology
  5. Security, and
  6. Disaster Management

General Studies-IV

  1. Ethics
  2. Attitude
  3. Aptitude
  4. Emotional Intelligence
  5. Moral Thinkers
  6. Public Organisations and
  7. Probity in Governance

IAS Exam Preparation Books

The following are the Exam preparation books –

SubjectUPSC Books
History, Indian Heritage & Culture [GS Paper 1]Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra India after Independence by Bipan Chandra History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra Ancient India by R.S Sharma
Geography [GS Paper 1]Geography of India by Majid Husain World Geography by Majid Husain World Atlas (Orient Black Swan) Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11
Polity & International Relations [GS Paper 2]Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu International Relations: Pushpesh Pant
Economy [GS Paper 3]Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar
Ethics [GS Paper 4]Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary
NewspaperThe Hindu, Hidustantimes, Navbharat times etc.

IAS Exam Admit Card

The admit card o of IAS Exam can be downloaded online using the official website of UPSC. Candidate must follow the guidelines mentioned on the admit card otherwise the examination of the candidate can be cancelled.

IAS Result

The result of IAS will be declared online in the form of merit list. UPSC release a minimum cut-off mark and the candidates who scored more than the cut-off marks will be eligible for civil services. The top rankers in the Civil service will be selected as IAS officer and will be sent to LBSNAA for further training for two years and then the candidates will be posted in different cadre.

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