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The UPSC IAS Exam Explained

The Indian Administrative Service is often known as UPSC (IAS). India’s national civil service examination is the IAS exam. This exam was first held in 1951, and the Indian Administrative Services Selection Board is organizing it. One of India’s most significant government tests is the IAS exam, which is a requirement for admission to the Indian Civil Services.

The test takers must be proficient in at least two languages besides English. To choose qualified applicants for the various positions in the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, and Indian Police Service, the UPSC is held annually.

You are aware that the first hurdle standing in your way of becoming an IAS is the UPSC Prelims. Every year, thousands of Indians take this exam. The UPSC mains exam will be open to those who pass the prelims and the candidates will only be called for the UPSC interview if they achieve the required rank in this exam and after passing the interview, only a small number of applicants will be hired by the Indian civil services.

The fundamental question that has been on the minds of many candidates will be attempted to be addressed in this article while keeping the elements above in mind and therefore UPSC is the most difficult test in India.

Process of selection in UPSC IAS

You are aware that the UPSC Prelims are the first obstacle in your path to becoming an IAS. Numerous Indians take this exam each year. Those who pass the preliminary exam will be eligible for the UPSC mains exam. Additionally, applicants will only be invited to the UPSC interview if they receive the required score on this exam. The Indian civil services will hire only a select few candidates who succeed in the interview.

UPSC is considered the toughest exam in INDIA because of following reasons

Reason 1

The UPSC test consists of three levels or stages:

Prelims: This is the basic stage of this exam, preliminary stage. General Studies I and CSAT are the two papers that make up the UPSC Prelims. While CSAT is a qualifying exam, your selection for UPSC Mains is based on your performance on the General Studies test. This means that the Prelims cut off will take into account your General Studies Paper result. All applicants must take both the General Studies and CSAT tests in order to be eligible for the Mains.

Mains: This is the second stage of this exam. There are two different sorts of papers in the IAS Mains Exam: qualifying and merit-ranking. The Language Paper (Paper A) and the English Paper (Paper B) are qualifying in nature. The grades you receive for these papers won’t be included to the grades that could affect your rank. The merits of all the other essays will be assessed. Your rank will be based on your performance in all other papers, excluding the language papers (Paper A and Paper B). As a result, your grade will be based on a total of 1750 points. Each paper must receive a minimum score of 25% in order to be considered during the final selection.

Interview: The final and most important step in the UPSC Exam Pattern selection process is the interview. The interview is worth 275 points, for a total possible score of 2025. The board evaluates a candidate’s mental acuity, critical thinking, analytical thinking, risk assessment, crisis management, leadership potential, and intellectual and moral integrity, among other traits.

Before proceeding to the next level, a candidate must pass the one before it. It also comes as no surprise that the difficulty level rises as the stage continues.The hardest part of the process is getting through the interview because this is where your understanding, optimism, and practical problem-solving skills will all be evaluated.

It is reasonable to infer that the third and final stages of the UPSC test are challenging to pass.

WHY UPSC is considered the toughest exam in INDIA

Reason 2

The second factor that emphasizes the exam’s difficulty is its extensive material. It is accurate to say that the UPSC syllabus is challenging.

The range of disciplines calls for greater commitment and prolonged study periods. Since an IAS’s work is not limited to a single sector, a wide range of topics are addressed in this examination. From the perspective of the exam, every single topic on the curriculum seems to be extremely important.

Most applicants fall short of covering the complete curriculum, which lowers their likelihood of selection. Whether you like it or not, you must learn everything there is to know. It addresses:

Huge Syllabus and Large number of subjects

The Civil Services Preliminary Exam for the UPSC Syllabus consists of two required papers, each worth 200 marks and with multiple-choice, objective-type questions. The marks from the preliminary exam will only be used for determining eligibility for the main exam, not for determining the final ranking. The list of qualified candidates for the Civil Services Main Examination will be determined based on a minimum score of 33% in GS Paper II and a total score in GS Paper I, as decided by the Commission.

Paper I is a two-hour objective paper with 100 questions, and only its marks are counted in determining the top performers of the preliminary exam. The syllabus includes current events of national and international importance, Indian and world geography, Indian polity and governance, economic and social development, environmental ecology, and general science.

Paper II is also a two-hour objective paper with 80 questions, and only serves to qualify a candidate. The syllabus covers comprehension, interpersonal skills, logical reasoning, decision-making, mental ability, and basic numeracy and data interpretation

As we know that,the Preliminary Exam has two compulsory papers of 200 marks each, with 100 multiple-choice questions in each paper. Paper I is counted towards deciding the toppers of the preliminary exam while Paper II is just qualifying in nature, with a minimum score of 33% required.

The Mains Exam has nine papers with only 7 counted towards the final merit ranking. Essay writing, Indian heritage and culture, world history and society, and social issues are among the topics covered in the Mains Exam. The Interview has 275 marks. The final rank in the UPSC Civil Services Exam depends only on the marks scored in the Mains Exam and the Interview.

Reason 3

You must complete it in a short period. At least a year must pass to study for the UPSC tests effectively. The lengthy course cannot be finished in a single day.

Planning and preparation are critical. You will need time and patience to study for nine papers. Although the preliminaries only contain two papers, the mains and preliminary rounds have identical syllabuses.

Reason 4

The UPSC preliminary exam is an entirely objective examination but you must select the appropriate response from the four options offered with the question. On the other hand, the UPSC preliminary test contains negative indications. A third of the total scores are deducted for each wrong response. Negative marking makes the UPSC exam difficult since you cannot take a chance and rely on intuition.

Reason 5

In contrast to high school or college exams, the passing mark is not just 33%. One of India’s most prized titles is up for grabs in UPSC. Looking at past success rates in UPSC exams allows us to understand how challenging or straightforward the IAS test is.

The cut-off score for the UPSC exam is typically low. The extremely high level of play is the cause of this. To enter public service, everyone wants to put their abilities and destiny to the test.

Thousands of candidates prepare for the UPSC prelims exam yearly, but only approximately 25% are successful. Around 15% of candidates pass the mains exam, which is a substantially lower ratio.

Reason 6

The UPSC test completely changes direction each year. The percentage of responders frequently need more ability to foresee the overall trend and, as a result, prepare.

For instance, in the 2016 prelims, more than 40–45 questions were purely based on current events; in contrast, in the 2017 prelims, methodological issues received the bulk of the attention.

Reason 7

Any aptitude test that is impossible to pass after a certain age is made more challenging. The UPSC has been in a similar situation. Only six exam opportunities remain for general category students until they turn 32.

The remaining groups receive 2-4 more concerted efforts and years for roughly the same. However, considering the course material and the number of students taking the exam, these efforts need to be revised.

Reason 8

Nobody can firmly assert that they will complete the UPSC Exam in a year. It’s just not possible. The UPSC exam places a high value on reliability.

While many competent and eligible candidates are passed over, the main candidates who meet the requirements after one attempt have shown consistency.

Students fail their assignments in future assessments even after acing the preliminary exam with flying colors. Failing even one of the tests also requires re-preparation for the following year. The middle of the spectrum doesn’t exist.

Reason 9

The third reason is that only a small number of seats are available. Of those, if you want to be an IAS officer, especially in your home state, you may only be able to get one or two or even none despite your best efforts. For instance, you must have Computer Engineering from IIT-Mumbai or another institute if you’re applying to IIT. Whether you are rated 1 or 50, you will achieve your goals because 50–60 seats are available (if we take 50 seats and all 50 select it).

Even ranked employees have occasionally had their first choices in the Civil Service rejected.

Reason 10

The last type of question is an open-ended one, which requires an understanding of a wide range of topics, including history, geography, society, economy, polity, security, science and technology, international relations, ethics, and your optional subject, as well as the ability to read and write 150–250 words on contentious topics within them from various points of view and to answer MCQs on them.

In addition, you must focus on your optional subject of current events and write two essays. The syllabus and questions seem to be manageable when we examine everything separately.

It becomes difficult, though, when you realize that you must cover all of these subjects (concepts and current events). Due to the subjective nature of the main exam, UPSC needs to grant you access to your corrected answer sheets. It is difficult to tell what worked and what didn’t because of this.

Conclusion

As we know it is a very difficult test that demands a lot of commitment and effort to succeed, the UPSC is regarded as one of the hardest in India. For many students, the UPSC’s length and number of phases can be intimidating.

Many students still decide to give the UPSC exam despite the difficulties in the hope of becoming public servants in India.

As you can see from the information above, it is clear that the IAS exam has the lowest success percentage. It’s true that we can’t compare all the examinations because each one requires a different set of skills, knowledge, and abilities to pass.

However, considering the difficulties faced by candidates and the time required to study for the exam, it cannot be said that the UPSC civil services exam is a thorough exam but passing any exam indeed requires effort, preparation, and a tonne of practice. The amount of preparation you have done for the exam will determine how difficult or easy it will be.

One should not be intimidated by the competition or even the size of the exam. Keep these ideas in your mind when studying for the exam, and maintain your composure.

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