IAS Exam is a 3 stage process. 3 stages are
| Stage | Name | Calender | Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preliminary Examination | May/June | Preliminary is the first and the most competitive stage in the IAS examination. | ||||
| 2 | Mains Examination | Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec | Mains is the critical stage in securing a good rank and one of the top Services | ||||
| 3 | Interview stage | Feb/Mar/Apr | Interview is stage is just the last stage before an aspirant become a civil servant. | ||||
| Final result Apr/May/June | |||||||
Stage I – Preliminary Examination
- Objective and Multiple Choice Question type examination
- Qualifying in nature
- Paper- I (GS) consists of 100 questions
- Paper- II (CSAT- Civil Services Aptitude Test) consists of 80 questions
- Negative marking 0.33%
| Paper | Subject | Marks | Questions | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I | General Studies | 200 | 100 | 2 Hrs |
| Paper II | CSAT | 200 | 80 | 2 Hrs |
Preliminary Examination Cutoffs
| Prelims | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 241 | 205 | 107.34 | 116 | 105.34 |
| OBC | 222 | 204 | 106 | 110.66 | 102.66 |
| SC | 207 | 182 | 94 | 99.34 | 88.66 |
| ST | 201 | 174 | 91.34 | 96 | 88.66 |
| PH-1 | 199 | 167 | 90.66 | 75.34 | 85.34 |
| PH-2 | 184 | 113 | 76.66 | 72.66 | 61.34 |
| PH-3 | 163 | 115 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
Stage II – Mains Examination
- Subjective in Nature
- Contains 9 papers
- Merit counted: 4 General Studies Papers, 2 papers from Optional and 1 Essay
- Qualifying Nature – 2 Language papers
List of Papers
| Sl. No | Paper | Category | Name | Duration | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper I | Essay | Essay | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 2 | Paper II | General Studies | General Studies I | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 3 | Paper III | General Studies | General Studies II | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 4 | Paper IV | General Studies | General Studies III | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 5 | Paper V | General Studies | General Studies IV | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 6 | Paper VI | Optional Paper | Optional Paper I | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 7 | Paper VII | Optional Paper | Optional Paper II | 3 Hrs | 250 |
| 8 | Paper A | Qualifying | Indian Language | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| 9 | Paper B | Qualifying | English | 3 Hrs | 300 |
Total (Excluding Qualifying Papers) : 1750
Mains Examination Cutoffs
| Mains | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 564 | 678 | 676 | 787 | 809 |
| OBC | 534 | 631 | 630 | 745 | 770 |
| SC | 518 | 631 | 622 | 739 | 756 |
| ST | 510 | 619 | 617 | 730 | 749 |
| PH-1 | 510 | 609 | 580 | 713 | 734 |
| PH-2 | 502 | 575 | 627 | 740 | 745 |
| PH-3 | 410 | 449 | 504 | 545 | 578 |
Stage III – Interview Stage
- Personality Test
- Evaluated for the administrative qualities in the candidate
| S.No. | Head | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panel | 5 members in the panel assess the administrative qualities of the candidates |
| 2 | Marks | 275 marks |
| 3 | Duration | About 20 to 40 minutes |
Final Result
| Stage | Max Marks |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Examination | Qualifying Nature |
| Mains Examination | 1750 |
| Interview stage | 275 |
| Total | 2025 |
Final Cutoffs out of 2025
| Final | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 775 | 889 | 877 | 988 | 1006 |
| OBC | 742 | 844 | 834 | 951 | 968 |
| SC | 719 | 830 | 810 | 937 | 944 |
| ST | 707 | 811 | 801 | 920 | 939 |
| PH-1 | 725 | 816 | 802 | 927 | 923 |
| PH-2 | 718 | 778 | 830 | 951 | 948 |
| PH-3 | 613 | 713 | 697 | 817 | 830 |