The Civil Services Exam is the entry point for more than 20 All-India and Central Services in India. The prestigious exam is conducted on an annual basis by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Lakhs of hard-working aspirants appear for the exam each year but the total vacancies are usually around ~1000. Becoming an IAS/IPS/IFS officer is a dream which drives millions of students across the country to put in the effort day-in and day-out.
The salary, perks and privileges of being an administrator in the Indian bureaucratic setup is another motivating factor for aspirants. The competition is intense but starting preparation early and having a strategy can make a huge difference in the lives of the aspiring students.
Start Preparing Now for UPSC CSE 2022
The Civil Services Exam process starts with the release of the notification for that exam year. The UPSC Online Application Form and portal opens with the notification release and stays open for a period of 20-30 days.
After filling the online application and paying the fee, aspirants get about 2-3 months before they have to appear for the Preliminary stage of the exam. The Admit Cards are released online on the official UPSC website 2-3 weeks prior to the date of the exam.
The Prelims result is declared in a month’s time from the date of the exam. Once the Prelims result is declared, successful candidates have to fill the Detailed Application Form (DAF) online on the official website and prepare for the Mains exam in the next 60-odd days.
For reference, the UPSC Prelims 2021 is scheduled to be conducted in June and Mains 2021 are scheduled in September. The Mains exams last about a week (nine theory papers held in shifts) and the UPSC Mains Result is declared in about 45 days from the date of the last exam.
The Mains qualified candidates are then called to the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi for the Personality Test (Interview). UPSC generally finishes interviewing the candidates in one-two months.
The merit list is prepared by adding the candidates’ marks in Mains and Interview. The final result is declared after a total of approximately 12 months from the release of the CSE Notification.
For example – If notification releases in February 2022 for UPSC Exam, the final list of selected candidates who cleared Prelims, Mains and Interview can be expected in Jan-Feb 2023.
Thus, the IAS Exam is a comprehensive process and the syllabus is vast. If aspirants are not prepared beforehand, it will be a challenge to cover and revise all the important topics. In this regard, UPSC Mains is a tough one to crack as the nature of questions are essay-type and it also involves compulsory language papers and the optional subject.
Starting early gives the aspirants time to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Candidates who are aiming for UPSC 2022 can perhaps start with choosing the Optional Subject and reading the relevant study material for now. If the Optional Subject is studied and completed once or twice before the Prelims itself, it will help aspirants focus on the more current and contextual topics from the other Mains subjects in the months before the exam. Download BYJU’S app for your UPSC 2022 preparations.
