Important Facts Every UPSC Aspirant Must Know

Every year, the Union Public Service Commission conducts various exams to recruit candidates for various posts in the Government of India. A lot of youngsters nurture the IAS dream and want to appear in the Civil Services Examination, but very few get selected for the desired post. The Civil Services Exam is held to recruit candidates for various posts in Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ of civil services.

The UPSC is a much-coveted profession in India because of the prestige and power associated with it. If you are a beginner and are going to take the Civil Services Exam for the very first time, there are a few important things to remember before you register for UPSC online.

Candidates who aspire to write the Civil Services Exam, especially the beginners writing the exam for the first time, it is always advised to know the prerequisites of the Civil Services Exam beforehand, as it will give them a fair idea of what kind of preparation plan to draft and how to make their preparation organised and effective.

Therefore, this article aims to provide the basic facts related to the UPSC exam that will assist the aspirants in leading their preparation in the right direction.

7 Must Know Facts for Civil Services Exam Aspirants

1. Know the exam well – Understand what UPSC is all about. Is it a UPSC exam or the Civil Services Exam? What are the posts and services you can aspire to? For which posts are you eligible? The Civil Services Examination is a competitive examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services like Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), etc.
2. Do you qualify to appear for the exam? You must be at least a graduate and have completed 21 years of age and not reached 32 years of age. It is important for candidates to know whether they qualify with respect to the age criteria given by the commission.  It is important for aspirants to know that there is certain age relaxation allowed for the reserved category candidates. And yes, if you are awaiting the results of your graduation, then you can also appear in the prelims exam.
3. Keep a watch on exam dates – Aspirants must always be watchful of the exam dates for the Civil Services Exam, such as when the notification is scheduled to release, what is the start and last date to fill the application form, and when the admit card is expected to release, what are the dates for prelims and mains exam, etc.
4. Get acquainted with the examination pattern – The most important thing to know before you start preparing is the exam pattern of the Civil Services Exam. The exams for UPSC are conducted in three stages, i.e. UPSC Prelims, UPSC Mains and UPSC Interview or Personality Tests. Knowing the exam pattern will enable you to strategise your preparation in an effective way. It is pertinent for candidates to know that both the papers have negative marking for incorrect answers. In the CSAT, you have to score 33% to qualify, whereas, in the GS1 paper, you have to score at least the minimum qualifying marks that are prescribed by the UPSC.
5. Understand the syllabus in detail – The UPSC has provided the syllabus for the Civil Services Preliminary and Main examination in an elaborate manner. The syllabus is the soul of any exam. Knowing the syllabus is the foremost thing to do before you go through the books. Aspirants should understand and follow the syllabus for UPSC Civil Service Examination. Knowing the syllabus will help you to choose relevant study materials, prioritise the subjects, etc.
6. Knowing the right sources of study materials – Candidates choose too many books to cover a single subject or a topic. This adds an extra burden in the long run and will give a feeling that they have lots to study. Hence, before starting their preparation, aspirants should find out and pick the right sources of study materials. Candidates should choose wisely and pick the important books to refer to start their preparation.
7. Collect and go through past years’ question papers – Gathering and going through previous years’ question papers before starting your preparation definitely makes a difference. Scan the types of questions asked, and write down what you observe by scanning the question papers, like the type of questions asked, the weightage given to factual and conceptual questions, the way questions were formatted, etc. This will help you strategise preparation even better, and you will be able to understand what are the important topics. By following this approach, candidates also develop skills to predict questions that may be asked in the exam.

The last thing to know before you embark on the Civil Services Exam journey is that it takes a lot of directed effort, hard work, sacrifices and truckloads of practice to make the cut in this exam. But first, you should meet the eligibility conditions asked. Candidates who belong to the economically weaker section can go through the details regarding the EWS certificate on the linked page. Candidates will have to work with a single-minded devotion to your UPSC dream. The competition is intense, and the syllabus is unforgiving. Hence, work with a well-thought-out plan to crack this tough nut!