What is UPSC?
At the time of political uprising in India, the demand for an independent body for the recruitment of civil servants came up. This led to the establishment of first Public Service Commission on October 1st 1926. The constituent assembly, after the promulgation of Constitution on January 26th 1950, was renamed as Union Public Service Commission.
In the Constitution, the provisions of UPSC are listed under the Article 315. Including the Chairperson, the commission constitutes 9 to 11 members.
In India, UPSC, being a central recruiting agency plays an important role in the recruitment of individuals for the post of Civil Services, Engineering, Medical and Forest Services etc.
The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination every year, which is common for the all candidates applying for Civil Services Examination and Indian Forest Service Examination .This exam acts a primary mechanism for selection of candidates for the Civil Services (Main) Examination.
Classification of Services- Group A, B, C & D
Part XIV of Indian Constitution provides for different types or classes of services for India. The name of the chapter is Services under- Union and the States. The Constitution has not elaborated the types and categories of services. In accordance with the Constitution we divide the services into the followings categories —All India Services (AIS), State Services, and Local and Municipal Services. There are four groups of central services—Central Services Group A, Central Services Group B, Central Services Group C and Central Services Group D.
| Group of Services | Pay Levels | Pay Scale | Name of Service | Work Profile |
| A (Gazetted) | Oct-18 | 15,600– 39,100/- | IAF/Navy/Army (Indian Armed Forces), AIS Officers (All India Services), Engineers, Bureaucrats, Scientists in the organizations like DRDO, ISRO, CSIR, BARC and Central India Civil Services (IAS, IRS, IPS, IFS, IRS, IRTS). | Higher Administrative, |
| Executive Responsibility, | ||||
| Senior Management positions in ministries and field organization. | ||||
| B (Gazetted / Non Gazetted) | 6-Sep | 9,300 – 34,800 /- | Sub-Inspectors, Inspector, Junior Engineer, TGT and PGT School Teachers, Staff Nurse, Translator, Jr. Officers, Technical Assistants, Accountants, Accounts Officer, Instructors, Section Officers. | Middle and Junior Administrative and Executive Responsibility, |
| Middle Management positions in ministries and field organization. | ||||
| C | 1-May | 5,200 – 20,200 /- | Clerks, Tax assistant, Typist in courts, Stenographer, Primary Teachers, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Store Keeper. | Supervisory, |
| Operative tasks, | ||||
| Render clerical in ministries and field organization. | ||||
| D | 0 | – | Peons, sweeper, gatekeeper, cleaner, Mali, Guard, Barber, Cook, semi-skilled workers. | Operating routine duties. |
List of Group A Services in UPSC
UPSC Vacancies
The number of vacancies fixed by Union Public Service Commission through Civil Services Examination varies from year to year. Vacancies for year 2021 will be notified in IAS 2021 notifications, which is to scheduled to be released on February 10.
Since the number of vacancies are decreasing every year, the competition has become even more tougher. However, this year, the number of vacancies are expected to increase as the Indian Railway may send requisition for Indian Railway Management Services.
89 more candidates were recommended in UPSC CSE 2019. In UPSC 2020, 927 candidates were recommended initially but after the addition of 89 candidates, the list has now grown to 1006 candidates.
UPSC notified 796 vacancies for the year of 2021 with 24 vacancies for Pwd Category. Although the number of recruitments is not certain for other categories but in case of IAS Officers, Baswan Committee recommended to recruit 180 IAS Officers each year to fill the recruitment gap.
UPSC IAS 2021 Exam Highlights
| Exam Name | UPSC Civil Services Exam (IAS) 2021 |
| Nodal Body for exam Conduction | Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) |
| Exam Strata | National |
| No. Of Vacancies | 712 |
| Frequency each year | Once a year |
| Mode of examination | Offline – Pen and Paper Mode |
| Stages of examination | Prelims – Mains(Written) – Mains(Interview) |
| Fee Required | 100 |
| Language of Exams | Prelims – English and Hindi |
| No. of Test Cities | Test centres across the nation |
UPSC Important Dates
After the meeting held in June, here is the revised calendar for UPSC Exam 2021.
| Activity | Dates |
| UPSC Notification release date | 4-Mar-21 |
| Last date to apply for this exam | 24-Mar-21 |
| Prelims exam date | 27 June 2021 |
| 10-Oct-21 | |
| Results to be released on | October-November 2021 (Tentative) |
| IAS Mains exam date 2021 | 17-Sep-2021 7-Jan-2022 |
| IAS Mains results to be announced on | December/January 2022 (Tentative) |
So, the candidates who want to join these reputed services and work for the betterment of the society must apply now.
All India Services
Civil Service Exam is conducted for the recruitment of candidates for various posts under All India Services and Central services. Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS) are considered as All India Services while recruitment in other services comes under Central Services.
The officials of All India Services are recruited and trained by the Union Government ( the Centre) and serve in various State Government (the States) as well as centre (which is why IRS is a “central service” and not All India Service as it serves only the central government). Officers are organized into different cadres. Twenty-four states have their own cadres but there are three joint cadres as well.
Indian Administrative Services
The top-most service of Civil Service Exam is Indian Administrative Services. Initially, there were 927 vacancies but after the addition of more 89 vacancies, the list has grown to 1006. According to the Baswan Committee, 180 IAS officers must be recruited every year to reduce the recruitment gap. People who can secure their rank under 180 can secure their selection as an IAS officers.
An IAS Officer works to formulate and modify policies. The implementation entails disbursements of funds, which calls for personal supervision. In each Ministry, you will supervise the allotment and proper utilization of funds by the field officers in your Ministry.
Half of the career of IAS Officers is spent in the State where they have been allotted. In the initial years, when the officers are on probation, they are attached to the Secretariat, various training schools, field offices and to the district collector’s office. After the completion of probation, the IAS officer is appointed as Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Here, you will be looking after the law and order, general administration, revenue work and developmental work that is assigned to you in that work span. In next three scales Senior Scale, Junior Administrative Grade and Selection Grade an IAS have to serve as District Magistrate, Director of any government department, Chief Managing Director of a Public Sector Unit. In the super time scale they appointed as Secretaries or Divisional Commissioners. The highest post in the State is that of the Chief Secretary. At the top of the hierarchy of IAS officers is the Cabinet Secretary followed by Secretary/ Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary, Director, Under Secretary and then the Junior Scale Officers.
IAS Pay Scale and Grades
The IAS salary is governed by the grades of the IAS officers. The grades are assigned to the IAS officers based on their number of years in the services. The IAS officers are regularly upgraded to the upper grade based on their years of experience. Sometimes they are promoted based on their performance.
The IAS Salary structure is divided into eight grades. Each grade has a fixed basic pay and grade pay. This component of IAS Salary is fixed throughout the grade. The IAS salary comprises of the basic pay, grade pay, Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), Medical Allowance, Conveyance Allowance.
The DA depends on the city of posting and it differs from city to city. In the same way, HRA is also dependent on the residence of the IAS officer. If he is availing the housing facility provided by the government then he will be entitled to the HRA. All the allowances differ from officer to officer.
DA is the most important component of IAS salary and it is increased by the government from time to time. It is increased up to 103% of the basic salary. Union government periodically revise the DA for the employees and sometimes merge it with the basic salary.
HRA ranges from 8% to 24% of the basic salary. The pay structure as devised by the 7th pay commission does not provide the detail of the salary but provides clear information regarding the maximum and minimum salary of IAS officers within a grade. The payscale is further supported by Grade Pay, DA, HRD and several other benefits.
IAS Pay Level and Posts
The salary of an IAS officer is further explained as per the number of service years and the Pay Level as following.
| Pay Level | Basic Pay | Post |
| (years in service) | (INR) | |
| 10 | 56100 | Sub-divisional magistrate in District Administration |
| (1-4 years) | Undersecretary in State Secretariat | |
| Assistant Secretary in Central Secretariat | ||
| 11 | 67,700 | Additional district magistrate in District Administration |
| (5-8 years) | Deputy Secretary in State Secretariat | |
| Under-Secretary in Central Secretariat | ||
| 12 | 78,800 | District magistrate in District Administration |
| (9-12 year) | Joint Secretary in State Secretariat | |
| Deputy Secretary in Central Secretariat | ||
| 13 | 118,500 | District magistrate in District Administration |
| (13-16 years) | Special secretary-cum-director in State Secretariat | |
| Director in Central Secretariat | ||
| 14 | 144,200 | Divisional commissioner in District Administration |
| (16-24 years) | Secretary-cum-commissioner in State Secretariat | |
| Joint Secretary in Central Secretariat | ||
| 15 | 182,200 | Divisional commissioner in District Administration |
| (25-30 years) | Principal Secretary in State Secretariat | |
| Additional secretary in Central Secretariat | ||
| 16 | 205,400 | Additional Chief Secretary in State Secretariat |
| (30-33 years) | ||
| 17 | 225,000 | Chief Secretary in State Secretariat |
| (34-36 years) | Secretary in Central Secretariat | |
| 18 | 250,000 | Cabinet Secretary of India |
| (37+ years) |
Indian Police Services
Indian Police Service or IPS is one of the All India Service. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India got independence. It’s not a law enforcement agency, rather a civil service in which the officials are selected on the basis of their professional; merit list.
During the probation period, an IPS officer has to undergo the job training for two years under the Superintendent of Police of a district, in the state they have been appointed. On completing your two year probation, you will be confirmed as a three star Assistant Superintendent of Police (A.S.P.). As Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police of a District and as Deputy Inspector General of a Range you will be exclusively responsible for the prevention and detection of crime. In cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the law and order duties are the exclusive responsibility of the police force. In these cities the ASP, SP, and the DIG are called Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACPO), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Commissioner of Police (CP). The Director General of Police (DG) is the head of the entire Police force of a state.
With the passage of time Indian Police Service’s objectives were updated and redefined, the rules and functions of an Indian Police Service Officer are as follows:
- To fulfill duties based on border responsibilities, in the areas of maintenance of public peace and order, crime prevention, investigation, and detection, collection of intelligence, VIP security, counter-terrorism, border policing, railway policing, tackling smuggling, drug trafficking, economic offences, corruption in public life, disaster management, enforcement of socio-economic legislation, bio-diversity and protection of environmental laws etc.
- Leading and commanding the Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau(IB), Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), Crime Investigation Department (CID) etc., Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories.
- Leading and commanding the Para-Military Forces of India (PMF) which include the Central Police Organizations (CPO) and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF) such as Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Vigilance Organizations, Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
- Serve as the head of the departments in policy making in the Ministries and Departments of Central and State Governments. They also head Public Sector Undertakings both at centre and states.
- To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All India Services and Central Civil Services. They also have to keep an alignment and co-ordination with the Indian Armed Forces primarily with the elite Indian Army.
- Endeavour to inculcate in the police forces under their command such values and norms as would help them serve the people better.
Indian Police Gazzetted and Non Gazzetted Officers' Rank
Indian Forest Services
India was the first country in the world to introduce the scientific forest management. The first one was established under the British Raj and was called as Imperial Forest Department.
The modern Indian Forest Services was established in 1966, after independence. It was formed under All India Services Act 1951 was passed, for protection, conservation and regeneration of forest department.
Ranks of the Indian Forest Service are as follows:
- Assistant Conservator of Forests – Probationary Officer,
- Divisional Forest Officer (DFOs)
- Deputy Conservator of Forests
- Conservator of Forests (CFs)
- Chief Conservator of Forests (CCFs)
- Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Addl. PCCFs)
- Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF)
- Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF) – highest post in a State
- Director General of Forests (India) – highest post at Centre
The training of the forest officers is held at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy to harden the officers so that they become capable to serve in the most difficult terrains. Now the government is also providing the Hari Singh fellowships to Forest officers to help them get specialization in the field of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System.
They also work for several National and International organizations related to forest management, wildlife management and environment. Few examples of such organizations are:-
- Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
- International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, SAARC Forestry Centre
- Forest Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India
- Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE)
- Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA)
- Directorate of Forest Education
- Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB)
Equivalent Ranks:
S No | Indian Administrative Service (IAS) | Indian Police Service (IPS) | Indian Forest Service (IFoS) | Indian Revenue Service (IRS) |
1 | Assistant Collector | Assistant Superintendent of Police | Assistant Conservator of Forests | Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax |
2 | Collector/Deputy Commissioner/Deputy Secretary / Deputy Directors | Additional Superintendent of Police/ Superintendent of Police | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax |
3 | Collector/ Deputy Commissioner / Additional Secretary / Joint Secretary / Directors | Senior Superintendent of Police | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Joint Commissioner of Income Tax |
4 |
| Deputy Inspector General of Police | Conservator of Forests | Additional Commissioner of Income Tax |
5 | Secretary/ Commissioner & Secretary | Inspector General of Police | Chief Conservator of Forests | Commissioner of Income Tax |
6 | Principal Secretary/Financial Commissioners | Supplementary Director General of Police | Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | Chief Commissioner of Income tax |
7 |
| Director General of Police | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | Director General of Customs & Excise/Board & Tribunal Members |
8 | Chief Secretary/Chairman Administrative Tribunal etc | Director General of Police (Head of State) | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of State) | CBDT Chairman/Board Chairman etc |
Cadre Allocation Policy – Five Zones
There are five zones in which state cadres/joint cadres have been divided:
| State Cadres/ Joint Cadres for UPSC – All India Services | |
| Zones | State Cadres |
| Zone-I | AGMUT, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana |
| Zone-II | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha |
| Zone-III | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh |
| Zone-IV | West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura |
| Zone-V | Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
UPSC Civil Services Toppers 2019
| Rank | Name | Marks |
| 1 | Pradeep Singh | 1072 |
| 2 | Jatin Kishore | 1063 |
| 3 | Pratibha Verma | 1062 |
| 4 | Himanshu Jain | 1051 |
| 5 | Jeydev C S | 1050 |
| 6 | Visakha Yadav | 1046 |
| 7 | Ganesh Kumar Baskar | 1046 |
| 8 | Abhishek Saraf | 1045 |
| 9 | Ravi Jain | 1043 |
| 10 | Sanjitha Mohapatra. | 1042 |
UPSC Civil Services Toppers 1990- 2019
| Year | Toppers Name | State |
| 2019 | Pradeep Singh | Haryana |
| 2018 | Kanishk Kataria | Rajasthan |
| 2017 | Anudeep Durishetty | Telangana |
| 2016 | Nanini | Karnataka |
| 2015 | Tina Dabi | Delhi |
| 2014 | Ira Singhal | Delhi |
| 2013 | Gaurav Agarwal | Rajasthan |
| 2012 | Haritha V Kumar | Kerala |
| 2011 | Shena Aggarwal | Haryana |
| 2010 | S Divyadarshini | Tamil Nadu |
| 2009 | Shah Faesal | Jammu & Kashmir |
| 2008 | Shubhra Saxena | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2007 | Adapa Karthik | Andhra Pradesh |
| 2006 | Mutyalaraju Revu | Andhra Pradesh |
| 2005 | Mona Pruthi | Haryana |
| 2004 | S Nagarajan | Tamil Nadu |
| 2003 | Roopa Mishra | Odisha |
| 2002 | Ankur Garg Punjab | Punjab |
| 2001 | Alok Ranjan Jha | Bihar |
| 2000 | Vijayalakshmi Bidari | Karnataka |
| 1999 | Sorabh Babu | Uttar Pradesh |
| 1998 | Bhawna Garg | Punjab |
| 1997 | Devesh Kumar | Bihar |
| 1996 | Sunil Kumar Barnwal | Bihar |
| 1995 | Iqbal Dhaliwal | Tamil Nadu |
| 1994 | Ashutosh Jindal | Delhi |
| 1993 | Srivatsa Krishna | Karnataka |
| 1992 | Shri Anurag Srivastava | Uttar Pradesh |
| 1991 | Raju Narayana Swamy | Kerala |
| 1990 | Lakshmi Narayana | Andhra Pradesh |
Given Below is the List of All India Services and their Last Rank in 2019
| Services | Last Rank | ||||
| General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST | |
| IAS | 72 | 18 | 52 | 25 | 13 |
| IFS | 12 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| IPS | 60 | 15 | 42 | 23 | 10 |
| Group A | 196 | 134 | 109 | 64 | 35 |
| Group B | 57 | 14 | 42 | 14 | 8 |
Syllabus for IAS Exam
Syllabus for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations
Paper I – General Studies (200 marks/Duration: 2 hours)
Current Affairs: 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.
Paper II – Aptitude (200 marks/Duration: 2 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)
[Note: Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%]
Syllabus for Civil Services (Main) Examinations Paper-A and B:
There will be two qualifying papers in any Indian language and English each of 300 marks.
The aim of the paper is to test the candidates ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and how they express their ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian Language concerned.
The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows:
Paper-A: Indian Languages:
Comprehension of given passages Precise Writing
Usage and Vocabulary Short Essays
Translation from English to the Indian language and vice-versa.
Paper-B: English
Comprehension of given passages Precise Writing
Usage and Vocabulary Short Essays
[Note 1: The Papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.
Note 2: The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved].
Paper-I : Essay-250 Marks
Candidates are required to write two essays on a specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They are expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
Paper-II
General Studies-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society (250 marks).
Indian culture covers the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.
The Freedom Struggle – its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country. History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redraw of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc. and their forms and effect on the society.
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
Role of women and women’s organizations, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies; Effects of globalization on Indian society.
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism. Salient features of world’s physical geography.
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone, etc. geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Paper-III
General Studies-II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations (250 marks).
Indian Constitution: historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
Parliament and State Legislatures: structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies; Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
Role of civil services in a democracy. India and its neighbourhood- relations.
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Paper-IV
General Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) of 250 marks which may include following topics:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting.
Major crops, cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
Land reforms in India.
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Investment models.
Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Disaster and disaster management.
Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention
Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate
Paper-V
General Studies -IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) of 250 marks which may include following topics:
This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.
Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Attitude: content, structure, functions; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service , integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
PAPER-VI & PAPER VII
Optional Subject Papers I & II
List of optional subjects for Main Examination:
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management; Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics and Zoology.
Literature of any one of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English.
Candidates may choose any optional subject from the list of subjects.
[Note: The candidates would be allowed to use any one language from the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution or English as the medium of writing the examination.
