There are lakhs of aspirants for the coveted UPSC examination. Union Public Service Commission conducts Civil Services Examination (CSE) annually. The commission releases the official notification usually in February. The notification mentions all important details like application process, educational qualifications, syllabus, etc. The one of the most important pieces of information is the UPSC eligibility criteria. Aspirants should know whether they are eligible for the CSE examination or not before they start preparing for it.
The dream to clear the UPSC examination and get yourself into Indian Administrative Services or other coveted All-India Services can be fulfilled. Knowledge of Eligibility Criteria for UPSC is helpful for all the aspirants as it will answer the following questions:
- What is the minimum educational qualification required for the examination?
- What is the minimum and maximum age limit for the candidates?
- Exemption for different categories aspiring to write the examination
- Physical Standards requirements for the civil services examination
Brief about the UPSC Examination
The UPSC CSE examination takes place annually. Recently UPSC 2019 results were declared. 896 candidates were selected in the services. CSE 2020 application process started from 12th February 2020 onward. UPSC Prelims is the first stage of the exam. It has 2 papers. First one is General Studies Paper and the second one is Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT.) Both the papers are objective types and are of 200 marks each. CSE Mains is the second stage which has nine theory papers; and Interview is the last stage. The exam pattern is mentioned in the table below:
| Stage 1 | Prelims | Two Papers: General StudiesCSAT |
| Stage 2 | Mains | Nine Theory Papers: Paper A and Paper B (Language Papers)GS-I, GS-II, GS-III and GS-IVOptional Paper 1 and 2Essay Paper |
| Stage 3 | Interview | Personality Test of 250 marks |
Important details of UPSC Eligibility Criteria
The following details are considering the eligibility conditions stated by the UPSC, for the CSE:
- For IAS and IPS, a candidate has to have Indian nationality.
- For all other services, subjects of Nepal, Bhutan are also allowed. Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1st January 1962 and settled in India are also eligible for the UPSC Exam. Similarly, Persons of Indian Origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zaire and Vietnam and settled in India permanently, are also allowed to write the exam.
- The age requirements for the examination differ for different categories of candidates:
- General Category candidates minimum age should be 21 and maximum should be 32 as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- SC/ST candidates should be between 21 and 37 years of age as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- OBC candidates should be between 21 and 35 years of age as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- Persons with disabilities (PwD) should be between 21 and 42 years of age as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- Ex-Servicemen have also been given an exemption as they can be between 21 and 37 years of age as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- Disabled defence services personnels are given an age exemption of upto three years, hence they have to be between 21 and 35 years of age as of 1st August of the year of the examination.
- Economically weaker section (EWS) candidates have to be between 21 and 32 years of age on/before 1st August of the examination year.
- The number of attempts given to the candidates to write the examinations too vary for different categories:
- General Category candidates get six attempts.
- EWS candidates get six attempts
- OBC candidates get nine attempts
- SC/ST candidates get unlimited attempts till they attain the maximum allowed age limit.
- PwD candidates get 9 attempts if they belong to the general, EWS, and OBC category. PwD candidates belonging to SC/ST category get unlimited attempts till they reach 42 years of age.
- Ex-servicemen and disable defense personnel get nine attempts.
Candidates should note the above-mentioned information on the eligible conditions. These facts on eligibility criteria for UPSC will help clear most of the doubts of the aspirants.
You should note that preliminary examination 2020 is scheduled to take place on 4th October while Mains are scheduled to take place from 8th January 2021 onward.
Also Read : Technological Latest Trend in a Education Sector
