UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) 2025 Updates: Check eligibility, attempts, steps to apply at upsc.gov.in

--If the category indicated by a candidate in the UPSC registration and online application Form for the Civil Services Examination is an Unreserved category but the candidate writes to the Commission to change the category to a reserved one, such request will not be entertained.

--In case a candidate becomes a candidate belonging to Person with Benchmark Disability during the examination process, they must produce valid documents of acquiring a disability to the extent of 40% or more as defined under the RPwD Act, 2016 to consider drawing the benefits of reservation as available to the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) category.

--As mentioned on the official website, a candidate is eligible for reservation benefits only in cases where they have a certificate of the caste or their name is added to the list of reserved communities issued by the Central Government.

--For the OBC candidates applying for the exam should produce an OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate that should be based on the income for the Financial Year (FY) 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

--A candidate will be eligible to get the benefit of the EWS reservation only when she or he meets the criteria issued by the Central Government and has the requisite Income & Asset Certificate based on income for Financial Year (FY) 2023-2024 and issued on/after 01.04.2024 (after the completion of FY 2023-24) but not later than the closing date of the. The online application form for Civil Services Examination-2025 i.e. 11th February 2025, read the notification.

The UPSC online applications can be filled up to 11.02.2025 till 6:00 pm after which the link will be disabled.

--Candidates except Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates who are exempted from payment of fee are required to pay a fee of Rs 100.

--No fee exemption is, however, available to OBC/EWS candidates and they are required to pay the prescribed fee in full.

Every candidate appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six (6)

attempts at the CSE.

General category (UR): 6 attempts are allowed
OBC: 9 attempts
SC/ST: Unlimited attempts
PwBD: 9 attempts for General/EWS/OBC and unlimited for SC/ST

The UPSC CSE 2025 prelims exam is scheduled to be held on May 25.

Civil Services Examination (CSE) aspirants can check this year’s detailed information bulletin, syllabus, and exam pattern at upsc.gov.in.

Last year, the UPSC had notified a total of 1,056 vacancies for CSE and 150 for IFoS. The UPSC CSE interview session is underway and will be over in April.

Age Limit

--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, 2025 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1993 and not later than 1st August, 2004.

--Candidates belonging to either the SC or the ST or the OBC category who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(II)(2) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen or PwBD, will be eligible for a grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both categories.

--

No change in preference for Services and Cadre (applicable for IAS/IPS) once submitted by a candidate would be permitted

The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 979 which include 38 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category, i.e. 12 Vacancies for candidates of (a) blindness and low vision; 7 Vacancies for (b) deaf and hard of hearing; 10 Vacancies for (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and 9 Vacancies for (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (c) including deaf-blindness. The final number of vacancies may undergo change after getting firm number of vacancies from Cadre Controlling Authorities.

(i) Indian Administrative Service

(ii) Indian Foreign Service

(iii) Indian Police Service

(iv) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

(v) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

(vi) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’

(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

(viii) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’

(ix) Indian Information Service, Group ‘A’

(x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’

(xi) Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’

(xii) Indian Railway Management Service (Traffic), Group ‘A’

(xiii) Indian Railway Management Service (Personnel), Group ‘A’

(xiv) Indian Railway Management Service (Accounts), Group ‘A’

(xv) Indian Railway Protection Force Service, Group ‘A’

(xvi) Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) Group ‘A’

(xvii) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group ‘A’

(xviii) Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Grade III)

(xix) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)

(xx) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Civil Service (DANICS), Group ‘B’

(xxi) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Police Service (DANIPS), Group ‘B’

(xxii) Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group ‘B’

(xxiii) Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS), Group ‘B’

There are age and attempt limit. Here are the category-wise details:

General category (UR): 6 attempts are allowed

OBC: 9 attempts

SC/ST: Unlimited attempts

PwBD: 9 attempts for General/EWS/OBC and unlimited for SC/ST

Going by figures available with the UPSC from 1974 to 2014, JNU — after Delhi University — had the largest number of students successfully qualifying the exam. During those 40 years, a total of 7,890 students from JNU appeared for the civil services exam out of which 1,236 made it to the merit list, marking a success rate of 16.95 per cent.

In the first five years since its inception in 1969, less than 10 students appeared in the exam out of which only one qualified, in the year 1974. Between 1975 and 1985, as many as 882 candidates appeared and 182 qualified for various civil service posts offered by the commission.

The number of students that appeared from 1995 to 2004 and 2005 to 2014 were more or less similar, but the success rate majorly varied. Between 1995-2004, JNU students recorded a 14.45 per cent success rate in the exam, which improved to 16.25 per cent in the 10 years that followed.

--The photograph, uploaded by candidate should not be more than 10 days old from the start of the online application process.

-- Name of the candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are mentioned on the photograph.

--Candidate’s face should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph.

--The candidates must ensure that their appearance must match with their photograph at

each stage of the Examination Process i.e. at the time of Preliminary, Main (Written) and

Interview/Personality Test. For instance, If a candidate uploads a bearded photograph, he

must appear with the same look in the Preliminary, Main (Written) and

Interview/Personality Test. Same would be the case with spectacles, moustaches, etc.

The online applications can be filled up to 11th February 2025 till 6:00 PM

The Commission has extended the facility of making corrections in the applications. This window will remain open for 7 days from the date of opening of the same, i.e., from 12.02.2025 to 18.02.2025.

Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.gov.in. Candidates have to register first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform followed by application submission. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway to fill up the online application for the examination, read the notification.

The Union Public Service Commission has also released the notification for the Indian Forest Service Examination 2025 on its website. The online registration process has been started for the Indian Forest Service 2025 prelims exam. The last date to submit the application form is February 11.

The Jamia Millia Islamia RCA provides free residential coaching to 200 candidates belonging to minorities, SCs, STs and women (of all communities) for the preparation of civil services (preliminary-cum-main). Scholarships to 20 per cent at Rs 2000 per month are also provided on means-cum-merit basis. RCA conducts entrance examinations for coaching in 12 cities across the country. The application process for admission to the current session is now open.

Jamia Hamdard residential coaching academy, New Delhi

The academy provides free coaching to civil services exam aspirants. This facility is exclusively open for candidates belonging to minority, scheduled caste, and scheduled tribe categories. Women candidates are also eligible to avail this opportunity. The admission is through a written test, and only the shortlisted candidates are called for the test. Upon successfully qualifying for the test, the candidates need to appear for an interview. Only candidates with a completed graduation degree are eligible to apply.

Aligarh Muslim university residential coaching academy, Aligarh

AMU’s merit-cum-means freeship programme provides free coaching and residential facilities to 100 aspiring students every year. The programme is open for minorities, SCs, STs and women candidates only. The selection process is done through a merit-based test and family income less than eight lakh per annum. AMU provides library access, separate accommodation to men and women, coaching facilities for all three stages of the civil service exam. Eligible candidates can check the official website of AMU for the registration process.

Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh

Dr Ambedkar Centre of Excellence launched at BHU in 2022 provides free civil services coaching to SC students. The institute has a capacity of 100 seats for coaching and over 33 per cent of total sanctioned seats are preferably given to eligible female candidates of the scheduled caste (SC) category. To avail the free coaching services, candidates need to pass an entrance test.

IGNOU

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) offers free UPSC coaching to candidates from the Scheduled Caste (SC). The coaching is offered under the aegis of the newly-established Dr Ambedkar Centre for Excellence (DACE). Admission is done through the Common Entrance Test (CET), conducted by the University. This entrance exam will have 100 objective type questions based on general knowledge, language skills, reasoning abilities and general aptitude.

Several state governments, universities and even private institutions provide scholarships and free coaching facilities to UPSC aspirants. Here's the list

Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratiba Vikas Yojana by Delhi govt

Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratiba Vikas Yojana was launched in 2018 by the Social Welfare Department of the Delhi government, under which the government had tied up with 46 private institutions to provide free coaching to UPSC aspirants. The scheme was launched for students from the SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories.

Abhiyudaya coaching scheme by UP Govt

In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government launched a statewide free coaching facility for students to help them prepare for various competitive exams like JEE, NEET and UPSC. The candidates for the coaching centres are selected on the basis of entrance examinations. A stipend is also given to selected students.

Mukhyamantri Anuprati Coaching Yojana by Rajasthan government

The ‘Mukhyamantri Anuprati Coaching Yojana’ was launched by the Rajasthan government in 2021 and provides free UPSC coaching to civil service aspirants and other govt examination aspirants. The scheme is only applicable to SC/ST/OBC and EWS categories of Rajasthan. As per the scheme, the existing coaching institutes in the state will provide service to underprivileged candidates and the Rajasthan government will reimburse the funds.

Free UPSC coaching scheme by Jharkhand government

In 2015, the Jharkhand government launched a free coaching scheme for state’s underprivileged students belonging to Scheduled Tribes. As part of the scheme, students will be enrolled in the registered coaching institutes in the state and the government will bear the coaching expenses as well as pay stipends to such students. The selection will be based on an entrance test.

State Institute for Administrative Careers by Maharashtra government

In order to encourage the participation of the state’s youth towards civil services and to enhance their performance, the State Institute for Administrative Careers (SIAC) was instituted in 1976 by the government of Maharashtra. The setting up of the SIAC fulfilled the need for a full-time residential institute devoted to conducting free training programmes around the year equipping the Maharashtrian youth to face confidently the challenges posed by the CSE.

Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration by Gujarat Government

The government of Gujarat started a central government recruitment study centre in April, 2013 at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) Ahmedabad for imparting training to the youth of Gujarat who aspire to join central government class 1-2 service.

The Delhi High Court today sought the stand of Jamia Millia Islamia on a PIL over admissions of OBC (non-creamy layer) students in its residential coaching academy meant for civil services aspirants. The university provides free coaching to UPSC aspirants.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notice to Jamia Millia Islamia and University Grants Commission (UGC) on the PIL by Satyam Singh, a law graduate.

Referring to the UGC guidelines, Singh said Jamia couldn't restrict free coaching only to female students and those from SC/ST and minority communities as it was under the obligation to extend the benefit to both OBC (non-creamy layer) and economically weaker sections (EWS).

When the court pointed out there was no provision in the UGC guidelines for the EWS category, the petitioner restricted his relief only to OBC (non-creamy layer).

The court however asked the petitioner to inform if a university established by a statute was bound to follow the UGC mandate and said, "Issue notice to the respondents." The court had questioned the petitioner on the "right" to seek admission in the coaching academy as an OBC (non-creamy layer) candidate.

"You are virtually asking us to reframe a policy. Admission is not to regular courses but a coaching centre. It is for authorities to provide for reservation. You are asking us to create a right," it said.

In the petition filed through advocates Akash Vajpai, Ayush Saxsena Puru Mudgal, the petitioner said UGC gave financial support to four Central universities, including JMI, and therefore it was under an obligation not to discriminate among the underprivileged students.

The petition said the current admission policy for the residential coaching academy was arbitrary and discriminatory as it left out a category of students who deserved admissions.

"The objective of the residential coaching academy is to provide equal opportunities to all sections of society for equitable growth by providing coaching programme to the underprivileged students, with hostel facilities on paying nominal fee for entry into central/state government jobs but surprisingly OBC (non-creamy layer) and EWS students to whom even UPSC provides 25% and 10% reservation in the examination because of their limited financial resources, have been excluded," the PIL said.

The matter would be heard next on February 12.

The data available for 40 years between 1975 and 2014 shows that students who graduated from Delhi University performed much better than their counterparts from other universities.

Second, on the list was the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), with 1,325 of its graduates qualifying for civil services. The gap with DU is surprising since JNU is commonly perceived to have produced more civil servants. Read

- Documents in support of age and reservation-related claims are made mandatory by candidates while applying for the UPSC CSE prelims 2025. Earlier, such documents were to be uploaded after candidates qualified the preliminary test.

- Service preferences will have to be filled during the application for prelims

- This time, candidates who are yet to pass their qualifying exam will also become eligible to write the UPSC CSE mains exam. However, However, all such candidates, who are declared qualified by the Commission for Interview/Personality Test, will be required to produce proof of passing of the requisite qualifying examination within the time limit. Earlier, only those candidates were eligible to appear for the mains were required to produce proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination along with their application (i.e. Detailed Application Form-I) for the main examination.

UPSC has asked the candidates to upload photographs not older than 10 days from the start of the online application process. Therefore, candidates will have to make sure that the photographs are taken after January 12, 2025. The face of the candidates should also occupy three-fourths of the space in the photograph. Also, the name of the candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken must be clearly mentioned on the photograph.

The upsc.gov.in website is hosting the application form and candidates will be able to apply by February 11, 2025. The UPSC CSE 2025 prelims exam is set to be held on May 25.

The number of total vacancies to be filled through the examination (979) also includes 38 vacancies reserved for Persons with benchmark disability category. Of them, as many as 12 vacancies will be filled by candidates of blindness and low vision, seven vacancies for deaf and hard of hearing; 10 vacancies for locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and nine vacancies would be filled from candidates of multiple disabilities.

During the 2022 UPSC CSE exam, 75 General, 45 OBC, 29 SC and 13 ST appointments were made in the IAS. Similarly, 83 General, 53 OBC, 31 SC and 13 ST were appointed in the IPS during the same period. A total of 43 General, 51 OBC, 22 SC and 11 ST appointments were made in the IFS during CSE 2024. Read

The minister further informed that as on January 1, 2024, of the total sanctioned strength of 6,858 IAS, there were 5,542 officers in-position. Moreover, of the 1,316 vacant posts of IAS, 794 were meant for direct recruitment and 522 were promotion posts.

A total of 4,469 IPS officers were working against their sanctioned strength of 5,055. For IPS, of the 586 vacant IPS posts, 209 were for direct recruits and 377 were promotion posts.

There are 2,151 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers in-position against their sanctioned strength of 3,193. Of the 1,042 vacant IFS posts, 503 were for direct recruit and 539 promotion posts.

A total of 1,316 and 586 posts of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers are vacant, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Rajya Sabha on December 12, 2024

In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR Profile (Registration) profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. The change in OTR profile (Registration) data shall be available till expiry of 7 days from the next day after the closure of application window of his/her first final application for any Examination of the Commission. In the case, the candidate after registration applies for the first time in this examination, the last date of modification of OTR Profile (Registration) would be February 18.

The UPSC CSE notification is released at upsc.gov.in. The Commission has also announced the vacancies for this year.

In the UPSC prelims, the candidates should note that there will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.

UPSC aspirants are required to apply online. The official website is upsconline.gov.in. It is important for the applicant to register himself/herself first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commission’s website.

The UPSC has released the notification and the number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 979. This includes 38 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability category, 12 posts for

candidates of (a) blindness and low vision; 7 vacancies for (b) deaf and hard of hearing; 10 Vacancies for (c)

locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular

dystrophy; and 9 Vacancies for (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (c)

including deaf-blindness.

In 2011, the UPSC introduced the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in the preliminary exam to test the analytical skills, reasoning ability and aptitude of the UPSC aspirants. However, this decision was criticised by the non-English medium candidates as the CSAT included questions on English comprehension.

The Nigvekar committee, which was appointed to examine the changes in the examination pattern, also said that the CSAT exam pattern gave more advantages to English aspirants.

To qualify, candidates must secure a minimum of 33% marks in the CSAT paper.

The UPSC CSAT 2025 is an integral part of UPSC CSE prelims. From 2013-2020, UPSC asked simple and direct questions in the UPSC CSAT qualifying paper. However, since 2020, there has been a considerable change in the pattern and the type of questions asked by UPSC.

UPSC CSE interview is underway and will continue till April. The UPSC CSE 2024 interviews or the personality tests have already started from January 7. As many as 2,845 candidates have been shortlisted for the interview stage.

The UPSC CSE 2025 prelims exam is scheduled to be held on May 25. And unlike previous years, the UPSC CSE Mains exam will be held in August. Earlier, it used to be held in September.

Over the years, the number of students taking exams in Hindi and other regional languages has been declining. (As per data available in the UPSC’s annual reports). In 2021, 470 candidates appeared from the Hindi medium while there were 2433 aspirants who took the exam in 2015. Read

The UPSC CSE notification is not released yet. Keep following this blog for latest updates.

Over the years, engineers have been dominating the UPSC CSE results. “Over 70 per cent of the recruits in the civil service by UPSC nowadays are from technical streams. Every year, hundreds of technocrats are thus being lost, who are likely to work in other specific areas which is also a requirement for the nation,” a parliamentary report stated. The report also highlighted a steady decline in the number of candidates from the humanities stream opting for civil service between 2011 and 2020. Read

In 2022, the UPSC had announced 1,011 vacancies, while in 2021, it was 712 and 796 in 2020.

The age limit for the general category candidate is 21 years, and the candidate should not have attained the age of 32 as of August 1 of the year of applying.

In 2024, the commission had notified a total of 1,056 vacancies for CSE and 150 for IFoS. UPSC had advertised 1,105 posts in 2023.

The official website of UPSC is upsc.gov.in.

The UPSC CSE exam is held in three stages -- prelims, mains and interview. After clearing the prelims, the shortlisted candidates appear for the descriptive mains. Those who qualify the UPSC main, they are invited to to appear for a personal interview.

The UPSC CSE notification will be released on upsc.gov.in. The candidates have time till February 11 to register for the exam.

The general category candidates can take as many as six attempts to clear the UPSC CSE exam. For those belonging to the OBC and PwBD categories will get nine attempts. There also exists relaxation in the number of attempts for the candidates belonging to SC and ST categories.

UPSC had notified a total of 1,056 vacancies for CSE and 150 for IFoS this year. The CSE 2024 prelims exam is set to be held on May 25 and the last date to register is February 11. Last year, the prelims was held on May 26 and the main was held on September 20

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will start the application process for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (CSE Pre) 2024. Along with the CSE prelims application form, the exam conducting body has also released this year’s detailed information bulletin, syllabus and exam pattern at upsc.gov.in.