UPSC Exams List

UPSC Exams List has been provided in this article. The candidates who are preparing for any of the exams conducted by UPSC such as UPSC CSE, UPSC NDA, UPSC CDS, UPSC IES, UPSC CAPF, UPSC EPFO, and others can check the details.

UPSC Exams List

UPSC Exams List: The UPSC conducts various examinations for the recruitment of candidates in various departments of the central government as well as armed forces. These examinations include Civil Services Examination (CSE), National Defence Academy (NDA) examination, Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination, Indian Engineering Services (IES) examination, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) examination, etc. Some of these examinations are conducted annually such as CSE, IES, CAPF and some are conducted twice in a year such as NDA and CDS. These examinations attract a large chunk of applicants as they appear to offer a lucrative salary along with prestigious positions. Every year lakhs of aspirants apply for each of these recruitment examinations. The numbers itself shows the importance these examinations hold. Let’s explore each of these examinations in detail including the nature of the exam, selection process, stages of examination, and other important details.

UPSC Civil Services Examination

UPSC conducts the most coveted examination in the country which is called the Civil Services Examination (CSE). The exam is being conducted annually to recruit candidates for All India Services, Group A ‘Central Services’ and Group B ‘Civil Services’. These services include the IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, DANICS, DANIPS, IRTS, etc. There are a total of 24 services for which the candidates are selected.

UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria

The candidates who wish to apply for the UPSC CSE examination must meet the eligibility criteria outlined by the UPSC.

• A candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognised university/college in India.
• The minimum age should be 21 years and the maximum age should be 32 years. Certain age relaxations are also provided for the reserved category candidates.

UPSC CSE Selection Process

UPSC conducts the CSE exam in three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The candidates are required to qualify each stage separately. Check the details here:

• Preliminary Exam: UPSC CSE Prelims is the initial stage of the selection process which is being conducted to shortlist the candidates for the Mains examination. Prelims is just a qualifying stage i.e. the marks obtained in the preliminary exam will not be counted in the preparation of the final merit list.
• Mains Exam: The next stage is UPSC CSE Mains. Candidates who qualify the prelims will only be eligible to appear for the Mains examination. UPSC CSE Mains exam consists of a total of 09 descriptive papers.
• Interview/ Personality Test: The candidates who will qualify the Mains examination will be called in for the Interview stage, which is the final stage of the selection process.

UPSC NDA Exam

The UPSC conducts the NDA & NA (National Defence Academy & Naval Academy) examination twice in a year which means there are more opportunities for the candidates in a single year. The NDA exam is being conducted to select candidates for admissions into NDA & NA. The candidates selected after the exam will have to undergo training in the NDA & NA before joining the tri-services i.e. Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA).

UPSC NDA Eligibility Criteria

Candidates are required to meet the requisite essential qualifications in order to appear for the UPSC NDA exam. These include:

• A candidate must be a citizen of India.
• Must have passed Class 10+2 from a recognised board/university in the country.
• Must be between the ages of 16.5 and 19.5.
• Must be unmarried male and female.

UPSC NDA Selection Process

To get admission in the NDA & NA, the candidates will have to qualify two stages of the examination which includes a Written exam followed by a SSB Interview.

• Written Exam: The written exam is conducted in offline mode and consists of objective-type questions. It consists of two papers- Mathematics and General Ability Test (GAT). The candidates will have to qualify the written exam in order to become eligible for the next stage.
• SSB Interview: The candidates who qualify the written exam will be called in for the Services Selection Board (SSB) Interview which includes screening tests, psychological tests, group discussions, and a personal interview.

UPSC CDS Exam

The UPSC conducts Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination bi-annually to recruit candidates for the officer positions in the Indian Armed Forces including the IMA, INA, AFA, and Officers Training Academy. The candidates after undergoing training will be appointed as officers as per their respective Force.

UPSC CDS Eligibility Criteria

The candidates require certain eligibility criteria for UPSC CDS exam including the educational qualifications and age limit.

UPSC CDS Selection Process

The CDS selection process involves a written exam followed by a SSB Interview and medical examination.

• Written Exam: Consists of a single paper for the candidates appearing for IMA, INA, & AFA and another paper for candidates appearing for OTA.
• SSB Interview: Candidates who qualify the written exam will be eligible to appear for SSB Interview which is conducted across five days in two stages including screening tests, psychological tests, group testing officer tasks, and final board review.

UPSC CAPF AC Exam

UPSC conducts the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Assistant Commandant examination to recruit the candidates who will lead India's paramilitary and security forces such as BSF, CISF, ITBP, CRPF, and SSB. The exam is conducted annually in offline mode and includes a three-stage selection process.

UPSC CAPF AC Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university.
• A candidate must be between the ages of 20-25 years. Certain age relaxations are provided as per rules for the reserved category candidates.

UPSC CAPF AC Selection Process

UPSC CAPF AC exam selection process includes three stages- Written exam, Physical Standard Test (PST) & Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Medical Examination.

• Written Exam: The written exam consists of two parts- Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 is objective in nature and Paper 2 is descriptive.
• PST & PET: Candidates who qualify the written exam will have to appear for the PST & PET stage. This is the qualifying stage and the marks are not added in the preparation of the final merit list.
• Medical Examination: The last stage of the recruitment process is the medical examination and the candidates will have to undergo certain medical tests to ensure a smooth recruitment process.

UPSC IES/ESE Exam

UPSC also conducts some recruitment examinations which are domain specific such as the Indian Engineering Services (IES) examination also known as Engineering Services Examination (ESE) This particular exam is conducted to recruit candidates for Group A & B technical and managerial posts. The exam is conducted annually and includes a three-step selection process.

UPSC ESE Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must possess an Engineering degree or an equivalent qualification through any of the following for the UPSC IES exam:

• Engineering degree from a recognised Indian university or institution established by an Act of Parliament/State Legislature or deemed university, OR
• Passed Sections A and B of the Institution of Engineers (India) examinations, OR
• Engineering degree/diploma from a recognised foreign university or institution, OR
• Passed the Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (India), OR
• Passed Associate Membership Examination Parts II and III / Sections A and B of the Aeronautical Society of India, OR
• Passed the Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics and Radio Engineers, London, conducted after November 1959.

UPSC ESE Selection Process

The selection process of UPSC ESE includes three-stages: Preliminary exam, Mains, and Interview.

• Prelims: It includes two papers- Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both papers include objective-type questions.
• Mains: The UPSC ESE Mains exam has two papers which are discipline-specific. The questions are of descriptive nature.
• Interview: The candidates who have qualified the Mains stage will appear for the interview and the final merit list will be prepared based on the marks obtained in the Mains and Interview.