Eligibility
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The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to examination. Their admission to all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.
Mere issue of admission certificate to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission. Commission take up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/ Personality Test
New Eligibility Criteria
The government intends to raise the upper age limit and number of attempts of applicants of the UPSC Civil Service Examination with effect from 2015.
According to information published on the website of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, the upper age limit will be 37 years for SC/ST candidates with unlimited number of attempts; 35 years for OBC with 9 attempts; and 32 for the unreserved (general) category with 6 attempts.
For physically handicapped candidates age limit is 42, 45 and 47 years for General, OBC and SC/ST category respectively while the number of attempts is 9 for General and OBC and unlimited for SC/SC category.
Eligibiltiy Table
| Category | Maximum Age | Attempt |
|---|---|---|
| General | 32 | 6 |
| OBC | 32+3=35 | 9 |
| SC/ST | 32+5=37 | As many as upto age limt |
|
Physically disabled (Blind, Deaf-mute, Orthopedic) |
32+10=42 |
if general then 9 OBC then 9 SC/ST- then upto age limt |
| J&K domicile |
if general then 32+5=37 OBC then 32+5+3=40 SC/ST then 32+5+5=42 PH then 32+5+10=50 |
depending on above categories viz.Gen, OBC, SC/ST, Disabled |
| Disabled serviceman discharged from duty |
if general then 32+3=35 OBC then 32+3+3=38 SC/ST then 32+3+5=40 |
-do- |
| Ex-serviceman with five years duty* specific condition on page2 of notification |
if general then 32+5=37 OBC then 32+5+3=40 SC/ST then 32+5+5=42 |
-do- |
Academic Eligibility for IAS Exams
- The candidate must hold a degree of any of 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
- Candidates who have appeared or intend to appear for the qualifying examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to appear for the Preliminary Examination. All such candidates who qualify to appear for the Civil Services Main Examination must produce proof of having passed the said examination along with their application for the Main Examination.
- The UPSC may in exceptional cases treat a candidate without the foregoing requisite qualification as an eligible candidate if he / she has passed an examination conducted by other institutions, the standard of which justifies his / her admission in the opinion of the Commission.
- Candidates with professional and technical qualifications recognised by the Government as equivalent to professional and technical degrees.
- Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical Examination but are yet to complete the internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However they must submit along with their Main Examination application, a certificate from the concerned authority of the University / Institution that they have passed the final professional medical examination. At the Interview stage they must then produce a certificate from a competent authority that they have completed (including internship) all the requirements for the award of the Medical Degree.
- For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
- For other services, a candidate must be either :— a. a citizen of India, or
- A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2015 i.e., he/she must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1983 and not later than 1st August, 1994.
- The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable:
- Upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
- Upto a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.
- Upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st December, 1989.
- upto a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof.
- upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2015 and have been released
- on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2015) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency,or
- on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or
- on invalidment.
- Upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2015 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment
- upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons.
Restrictions on applying for the examination:
A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination.
In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS/IFS after the Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Examination, 2015 is over and he/she continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2015 notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination, 2015.
Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2015 but before the result thereof and continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be considered for appointment to any service/post on the basis of the result of this examination viz. Civil Services Examination, 2015.
Other Eligibility Conditions for IAS Exams:
(i) Nationality:b. a subject of Nepal, or
c. a subject of Bhutan, or
d. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
e. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.
A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India.