Civil Servant (IAS/PCS) exams

There are two ways to become IAS officer i.e, by appearing in Civil Service Examination and by appearing in PCS examination conducted by various state Public Sector Commission. PCS officers become IAS after gaining experience and performance. In order to help you few datils on Civil Service Examinations and PCS are givem below:
The Civil Services Examination is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and others services. Eligibility condition for appearing in civil services examination is as follow:
(a)The candidate must hold a PASS BACHELOR'S degree from any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University, under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
(b) Candidates who have appeared or intend to appear for the final examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to apply for the Preliminary Examination.
(c)A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years.
(d)You may refer to UPSC website for other eligibility criterion.
It is conducted in two phases - a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (general studies and aptitude test), and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type, followed by a personality test (interview). Out of "NINE" there are two qualifying papers; i) any modern Indian language (300 marks) ii) English (300 marks). The marks of these two papers will not be counted in the merit list of the main examination however, qualifying in these two papers is compulsory. Out of "Seven" Papers there are "Five" compulsory papers and Two Optional papers from the subject of your choice.
Provincial Civil Services, abbreviated as PCS, are actually the civil based administrative services of the State Government. These officers relate to the policy making of the state to which they belong. These officers are also selected through an entrance test conducted by the state based Public Service Commission.
You are advised to look at eligibility criteria of PCS os state in which you are planning to appear.

The Civil Services Exam is conducted by the UPSC every year and the exam is held in three stages and they are:Stage I: Preliminary ExaminationStage II: Main ExaminationStage III: Personality Test/Interview Round
The stage 1 of the civil services exam is prelims, which is a screening test for candidates and comprises of two papers with questions of objective or MCQ type.
The stage 2 of the Civil Services Exam for IAS is called as the Main Exam, which is a written examination and comprises of 9 papers. The 9 papers are as following Paper-A (Compulsory Indian Language); Paper B (English) are qualifying in nature, while the other papers like Essay, General Studies Paper I, II, III, and IV, and Optional Paper I and II are considered for the final ranking.
Candidates who clear the Civil Services Main Exam with the set cutoff marks will qualify for the final stage of the exam i.e., the Personality Test or Interview round with the UPSC Board Members. The candidates who qualify to the final stage will be sent an e-summon by the commission for a face to face discussion round with the board members. In this round the board assesses the personality traits of the candidates and questions will be asked on their hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions and etc. The final round that is the personality test will be held only in the UPSC Bhawan in New Delhi.
All The Best

Hello,
Here are a few good tips:
*Test Series:
Do join a test series, online or offline, doesn't matter. You have to give all tests with full preparation. As it enables you to fail faster, earlier and more often. Give all test as if you are appearing for UPSC preliminary examination. Start revising at least three days before the test. And always keep a balance between class and test preparation.
*Classes:
If you are attending any classes, do attend all of them. Sit far away from anyone you know personally. Listen to teacher diligently. Make note of every single keyword they are dictating. Revise the class in half an hour on a daily basis.
*Self Study:
At least 6 hours per day cumulatively. Make your own goals depending upon your talent, knowledge base, potential and learning speed. Try to achieve at least 70% of that goal. Study whenever, wherever.
*Books to avoid:
Any book which is difficult to revise I.e having more than 500 pages
India after Independence, India after Gandhi, India Year Book (Read summary only), Manorama Year Book, Indias struggle for independence etc.
Also avoid doubling of books for same subject like DD Basu, Subhash Kashyap etc as only Laxmikanth is needed for polity.
Avoid any market magazine except Yojana.
*Distractions:
Avoid heeding to advise of so-called well-wishers, who always try to demoralize you and pull you down. Do not be bogged down by sheer syllabus or number of candidates that apply for the examination.