Preliminary Examination 2014
UPSC Preliminary Services Examination 2014 will commence on 24th August 2014 and the last date for receipt of application is June 30th 2014.
Civil Services Aptitude Test
The Preliminary Examination of Union Public Service Commission for Civil Services Examination is also popularly called CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is actually the second paper of General Studies that was introduced in 2011. The CSAT was implemented to end the use of scaling system for varying subjects in the General Studies paper and was a matter of concern for many Civil Services councillors. With the introduction of the CSAT, the UPSC now intends to choose Civil Servants who not only have the knowledge but also the aptitude for reasoning and analytical brain.
A very important point to be noted is that there is Negative Marking in the prelims and 1/3rd of marks allotted for every question is reduced from your score if you get it wrong. So do not guess!
There are some changes made in the Civil Services Examination from 2013. It's for the first time the Indian Forest Service (IFS) aspirants were combined with the Civil Services aspirants and are made to take Preliminary examination. Those Indian Forest Service aspirants who may eventually clear the Preliminary examination have to write separate exams for their Mains Indian Forest Service examination.
There is also a pattern change in the Civil Services Mains examination introduced from 2013. Now there are four compulsory papers of General Studies, there is only one optional subject now instead of two, plus there is one compulsory essay paper. English and one language paper is of only qualifying nature.
Scheme of Civil Services Examination
The Civil Services Examination consists of two successive stages -
Civil Services Preliminary Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
Civil Services Main Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and post. The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) each of 200 marks and carries a total of 400 marks. The question papers are set both in Hindi and English. Each paper is of two hours duration. Blind candidates are allowed extra time of twenty minutes for each paper.
Scheme of Preliminary Examination
This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year in the various Services and Posts. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year are eligible for writing the Main Examination of that year.
UPSC Preliminary Examination Syllabus 2014
Syllabus of Paper I -(200 marks) Duration : Two hours
Current events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization
General Science
Syllabus for Paper II-(200 marks) Duration: Two hours
Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)
English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
The questions will be of multiple choices, objective type.
Note: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.
UPSC Exam Mains Syllabus for Civil Services Examination
More on Civil Services Examinations
A set of sample questions for both Papers has given below for reference of prospective candidates.
UPSC Preliminary Services Examination 2014 will commence on 24th August 2014 and the last date for receipt of application is June 30th 2014.
Civil Services Aptitude Test
The Preliminary Examination of Union Public Service Commission for Civil Services Examination is also popularly called CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is actually the second paper of General Studies that was introduced in 2011. The CSAT was implemented to end the use of scaling system for varying subjects in the General Studies paper and was a matter of concern for many Civil Services councillors. With the introduction of the CSAT, the UPSC now intends to choose Civil Servants who not only have the knowledge but also the aptitude for reasoning and analytical brain.
A very important point to be noted is that there is Negative Marking in the prelims and 1/3rd of marks allotted for every question is reduced from your score if you get it wrong. So do not guess!
There are some changes made in the Civil Services Examination from 2013. It's for the first time the Indian Forest Service (IFS) aspirants were combined with the Civil Services aspirants and are made to take Preliminary examination. Those Indian Forest Service aspirants who may eventually clear the Preliminary examination have to write separate exams for their Mains Indian Forest Service examination.
There is also a pattern change in the Civil Services Mains examination introduced from 2013. Now there are four compulsory papers of General Studies, there is only one optional subject now instead of two, plus there is one compulsory essay paper. English and one language paper is of only qualifying nature.
Scheme of Civil Services Examination
The Civil Services Examination consists of two successive stages -
Civil Services Preliminary Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
Civil Services Main Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and post. The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) each of 200 marks and carries a total of 400 marks. The question papers are set both in Hindi and English. Each paper is of two hours duration. Blind candidates are allowed extra time of twenty minutes for each paper.
Scheme of Preliminary Examination
This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year in the various Services and Posts. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year are eligible for writing the Main Examination of that year.
UPSC Preliminary Examination Syllabus 2014
Syllabus of Paper I -(200 marks) Duration : Two hours
Current events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization
General Science
Syllabus for Paper II-(200 marks) Duration: Two hours
Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)
English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
The questions will be of multiple choices, objective type.
Note: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.
UPSC Exam Mains Syllabus for Civil Services Examination
More on Civil Services Examinations
A set of sample questions for both Papers has given below for reference of prospective candidates.
