CSAT paves way to Civil Services

By Ruchi Shrimali

Indian Civil Services Exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has always been considered one of the most challenging examinations in the country. Every year about 5 lakh applicants appear for the Civil Services Examination.

In 2010, the exam pattern of Civil Services Exam underwent a revolutionary change. The Civil Services Prelims or General Studies paper was replaced by the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT). CSAT was first held in June 2011. 

Civil Services are highly lucrative

Besides the stability of a government job, the Civil Services offer you a great salary, exemplary benefits, timely promotion, and a lot of respect in the social circles. One of the key aspects of being a Civil Servant is that you are a part of bureaucracy where you have powers to bring about some actual changes at the ground level.

A graduate from any recognized university and from any stream are eligible for Civil Services Exams (CSE), if he or she is between 21 to 30 years of age on the 1st August of the year of examination and is physically fit. There is a relaxation of 3 years for OBCs in the upper age limit. SCs and STs get a relaxation of 5 years.

Only Indian citizens are eligible for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). However for all the other services such as Indian Revenue Service (IRS), and Indian Customs and Excise Service, subjects of Nepal and Bhutan, and Tibetan refugees who want to settle in India permanently may also apply for the test.

New Civil Services Exam Pattern

Prior to this change, the General Studies paper of the Civil Services Prelims (CSP) paper carried a total of 150 marks. The second paper of the CSP had 23 optional papers to choose from, and carried a total of 300 marks.

The launch of CSAT changed the way the test was conducted. In the new Civil Services Exam pattern, the preliminary examination or the CSAT still has two papers but each paper is worth 200 marks. The first paper of CSAT is still the General Studies Test, while the second paper is not optional papers anymore.

Instead, it has been replaced by a General Aptitude Test to assess whether candidates are a right fit for the civil services or not, where candidates need to be good at handling tough real-life decision making process rather than expertise in a single subject.

Both the papers of CSAT have objective-type and multiple-choice questions and evaluate one's logical reasoning and thinking performance, doing away with subject influences.

Hence, the screening process for Civil Services now is CSAT, Civil Services Main Exam, and Interview, which usually takes anywhere between 12 to 18 months to complete its life cycle.
It also means that all candidates get an equal opportunity, irrespective of the fact that they have chosen scoring subjects like History, Geography, or Mathematics or not.

Tips for IAS Aspirants

• Students can appear for a maximum of four attempts in the Civil Services Examination.
• General Knowledge plays an important role in scoring more in the first paper of CSAT. Newspapers, news magazines and channels and quiz shows can be quite helpful in building your knowledge base.
• Students who perform well in both the written exams get to choose which civil service position they want to join. Otherwise, they have to accept whatever is available.
• The interview call for Civil Services is usually sent out in March or April and the interview process normally takes over next month. The number of interviewees invited is usually double the number of vacancies available. Hence, you have to be sharp and focused to crack the interview, which is the final process of the actual placements.
• At the interview stage, it is your leadership traits, your social traits, your personality and your integrity that counts. You should also prepare yourself for some quick thinking and coming up with instant answers to surprise questions.
• For IFS aspirants, it is important to know at least one foreign language well enough. French and German can be good choices for this stage.

Lakhs of Civil Services aspirants apply for a handful of vacancies every year and the acceptance rate is around 0.01%. If you are interested in becoming an IAS or IFS or any of the other Civil Services, Shiksha.com offers you a number of reputed coaching institutes to choose from. Do post your comments and queries about Civil Services here.