All You Need to Know About IAS

The IAS exam is a dream of every government exam aspirant in India.  It is one of the most respected and responsible jobs in the Indian hierarchy. IAS exam is conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year. There are three stages of the exams to be conducted for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Services (IPS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) respectively. It is important to know the pattern of the exam if you have decided to appear in it, in order to be able to prepare accordingly.

IAS as the name suggests deals with administrative responsibilities.

About IAS Exam Pattern in detail

The IAS Exam is conducted in 3 stages:

1) Stage I: Preliminary Examination (IAS Prelims)-

  • The exam is in the form of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).
  • For each answer attempted incorrectly, negative marketing is done.
  • The GS Paper II (CSAT) in the  IAS exam is a qualifying paper as a minimum of 33% needs to be scored to be qualified for the mains.
  • The marks scored in the preliminary stage merely decide your qualification to the mains and nothing else.

2) Stage II: Mains Examinations (IAS Mains)-

The second stage of the IAS Exam is called the Mains exam. It is a written and descriptive examination which comprises 9 papers in all.

Paper I: It is a compulsory Indian Language paper. The language is supposed to be a regional language of India. To check for the eligible languages, you can refer to the official UPSC website.

Paper II: This paper contains questions based on English Grammar and Language.

Both Paper I and Paper II are qualifying exams of 300 marks each. It is a 3-hour long exam.

Paper III: Consists of essay type questions carrying 250 marks. It is a merit ranking exam of 3 hours.

Paper IV:  General Studies I

Paper V: General Studies II

Paper VI: General Studies III

Paper VII: General Studies IV

Paper IV, Paper V, Paper VI, Paper VII carry 350 marks each. Each paper needs to be completed in 3 hours.

Paper VIII: Optional Paper I

Paper IX: Optional Paper II

Paper VIII and Paper IX are based on your field of interest. You can therefore choose from various options from your field of expertise. Both of them need to be completed in 3 hours each and carry 250 marks each.

3) Stage III:  UPSC Personality Test (IAS Interview)-

Aspirants who clear the Mains stage as per the cut-off and qualify to the final stage are called by the commission for face-to-face discussion, personality test and interview round after which they are selected.

IAS Exam Preparation methods & techniques

Read on for IAS exam preparation strategies:

1) Analyze previous year question papers and trends. The previous year questions will give you a better idea of the level of exam.

2) Appear in MCQ question test regularly after preparing for the exam and be well prepared for answer writing in mains.

3) Update your notes, and revise the entire syllabus regularly.

4) Read Newspaper preferably The Hindu regularly.

5) Prepare for both Prelims and Mains exams simultaneously.

Preparing for such national level tests is not an easy task to do. Coaching, therefore, becomes an important part of the preparations.

If you are looking for the best IAS coaching in Chandigarh, Divine IAS Academy is one of them. The institute has retired professionals on board to guide the students through their journey. The coaching centres (at both Chandigarh and Ranchi) are equipped with all facilities including the library.

Not only does the institute provide best UPSC coaching in Chandigarh and Ranchi but equally reliable online classes are also provided.

The institute even provides coaching for Himachal administrative services and hence is the best HPPCS coaching centre in Chandigarh and Ranchi.

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