IAS Exam is also known as the Indian Administrative Service. it is a national competition examination held annually by UPSC to recruit civil service candidates such as IPS, IFS (Foreign), IAAS, IRS, IDAS, CAPF-AF, and others. Close to 2 lakh candidates appear annually for the Civil Services Examinations.
Highlights of IAS 2019
| Exam Name | Civil Services Examination |
| Exam Level | National |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Official Website | www.upsconline.nic.in (UPSC website) |
| Exam Periodicity | Yearly |
| Exam Mode | Offline (Pen-Paper Mode) |
| Expected Registration | Approx. 3 lakh |
| No. of Vacancies | Nearly 700 |
IAS 2019 important dates to remember
| Event | Date |
| Release of Application Form | February 19 – March 18, 2019 |
| Availability of Admit cards | May 2019 |
| IAS Preliminary Exam | June 2, 2019 |
| Announcement of Preliminary Exam Result | August 2019 |
| IAS Main Exam 2019 | September 20, 2019 |
| Announcement of Main Exam Result | January 2020 |
Age limit and educational qualifications for IAS 2019
Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria set for taking the exam by the authorities. The rules of eligibility are based on nationality, age limit, educational qualifications, number of attempts and physical standards. The eligibility criteria for the IAS Exam are given below:
Nationality For IAS and IPS the student must be a citizen of India.
- Other exams you must one of the following
- Must be Citizen of India or,
- Subject of Nepal
- Or must be a Subject of Bhutan
- Tibetan refugee who came to India before January 1, 1962
- An Indian from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam
Age limit
- The lower age limit for IAS Exam 2019 is 21 years while the upper age limit is 32 years
- The special categories can enjoy relaxation according to the below schedule
- SC/ST– Up to 5 years
- OBC– 3 years
- Defense Services Personnel disabled in operations during hostilities– 3 years
- Ex-servicemen– Up to 5 years
- ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of five years of Military Service– Up to 5 years
- PwD candidates- Up to 10 years
Qualifications for IAS 2019
The candidates must hold a degree from a reputed university.
Number of attempts one can give
A candidate is allowed to make an attempt for only 6 times.
IAS 2019 online application process
Interested candidates can fill out the examination application form on the upsconline.nic.in official website. Candidates clearing the Preliminary Exam must apply separately for the Main Exam.
Also read SBI PO 2019, application, process and important dates
How to fill IAS 2019 form?
Follow the below given steps to fill the form
- Visit the official website
- Download the form
- Enter all your details and submit
- A new page will open that will ask for the payment details
- Select your preferred payment option
- Click on pay now and complete the payment process.
After this you will be asked to complete your registration
- Upload your fee receipt on the form page
- Enter the choice of exam center
- Enter your qualification details
- Upload the documents that are required
At last click on agree and submit your form.
Posts offered under IAS 2019
A total number of 782 vacancies have been declared for the IAS 2019 attempt.
Group A services
| Indian Administrative Service | Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service |
| Indian Audit and Accounts Service | Indian Postal Service |
| Indian Civil Accounts Service | Indian Railway Accounts Service |
| Indian Corporate Law Service | Indian Railway Personnel Service |
| Indian Defence Accounts Service | Indian Railway Traffic Service |
| Indian Defence Estates Service | Indian Revenue Service (Custom and Central Excise) |
| Indian Foreign Service | Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) |
| Indian Information Service (Junior Grade) | Indian Trade Service (Gr. III) |
| Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration) | Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force |
| Indian Police Service | — |
Group B services
| Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services (Section Officer’s Grade) | Pondicherry Civil Service |
| Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Services. | Pondicherry Police Service |
| Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar haveli police services. | — |
IAS 2019 admit card
The admit card will be made available on the UPSC website for both examinations. The Main Exam admit card will be released in August 2019. Candidates can download their admission cards by following the following steps:
- Visit the official website.
- Click on the link ‘Download IAS Prelims/Main Admit Card 2019’.
- click ‘Yes’.
- Enter Registration ID or Roll Number followed by Date of Birth of the candidate.
- Submit after entering the captcha in the given blank field.
- Print IAS Admit Card
IAS 2019 exam pattern
IAS Exam 2019 has three stages: Preliminary, Main and Personal Interview. Each examination has different patterns and questions about different numbers.
| Specification | Preliminary | Mains |
| Mode | Offline | Offline |
| Medium | Bilingual (English and Hindi) | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| Number of qualifying papers | 2 | 7 |
| Total weight age | 400 Marks (200 each) | 1750 Marks |
| Type of questions | Objective | Both Objective and Subjective |
| Negative marking for each incorrect answer | one-third (0.33) | one-third (only for objective type questions) |
| Duration of exam | 2 Hours per Paper | 3 Hours per Paper |
Cut off for IAS 2019
| Category | Preliminary | Main | Final |
| General | 150-200 | 660-679 | 860-889 |
| OBC | 140-201 | 600-631 | 809-845 |
| ST | 103-180 | 610-620 | 800-815 |
| SC | 101-185 | 615-633 | 815-835 |
| PH 1 | 101-170 | 550-615 | 800-820 |
| PH 2 | 89-120 | 550-630 | 780-835 |
| PH 3 | 60-125 | 450-515 | 690-726 |
IAS 2019 selection process
- IAS Exam’s selection process is a 3-stage process in which candidates must appear for Prelims, Mains and Personal Interview.
- The preliminary examination is essentially a test involving more than 15 lakh candidates.
- In IAS Exam 2019 Prelims, there are two papers for students to try compulsorily.
- The basic requirement for clearing this stage is for the General Science section to secure at least 33 percent marks.
- In addition, candidates register for the Mains exam on the basis of the results of the IAS Exam 2019 for prelims.
- IAS Exam 2019 Mains will cover 9 papers of the type of essay, 2 of which are optional.
- The selection of candidates is based on the Mains exam and interview session.
- After the IAS Exam 2019 Mains exam of 1750 marks, candidates must clear the cut off as UPSC has decided.
- The interview session is called for those who clear the cut-off.
- Marks from a total of 275 marks obtained in a personal interview will also be considered during the preparation of the list of finally selected candidates.