FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Ques. What is the IAS Exam?

Ans. IAS basically stands for Indian Administrative Service. It is a civil services exam that is conducted by UPSC every year. It contains 3 stages viz. Prelims, Mains and Interview. See Pattern of IAS Exam.

Ques. What is the salary of an IAS officer?

Ans. The 7th Pay Commission recommendations were approved by Cabinet on June 29, 2016. Now the basic pay of entry level IAS officers is INR 56100. Allowances like Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Travel Allowance (TA) will be extra. The salary will increase as experience increases. The basic pay of Cabinet Secretary is fixed at INR 2,50,000 per month.

Ques. What are some useful websites to prepare for IAS?

Ans. Candidates preparing for IAS can take help from websites such as insightdelhi.com, Baliyans.com, insightiasacademy.com, Byjus.com, Visionias.in, insightsonindia.com, iasbaba.com, gktoday.in, iasscore.in, pib.gov.in, etc. Check Sample Notes.

Ques. What are the minimum qualifying marks for clearing IAS interview?

Ans. There are no minimum marks to qualify the interview round. However, the interview round carries 275 marks and anything below 135 is considered bad.

Ques. What are the number of vacancies available through IAS each year?

Ans. The number of available vacancies is noted in each of the advertisements. They vary every year. However, in the last 4 years, the number of vacancies has varied between 700-1050.

Ques. When does IAS Notification come out?

Ans. UPSC releases IAS Notification for Prelims in the February this year it came on 02.02.2022, for the exam which is held in June. The applications are for the same are accepted till 22.02.2022. 

Ques. I have studied from an Open University? Can I apply for IAS?

Ans. Yes, you can apply given it is a recognized university and you possess the educational qualifications prescribed for the exam.

Ques. How many times can I appear for IAS?

Ans. A candidate from General Category can sit for IAS max 6 times. Candidates from reserved categories can sit as many times as they want. There is no restriction. But there is age limit. As of now the upper age limit for UPSC Civil Services Exam is 32 years for General Category. It is 35 for OBC, and 37 years for SC/ST. However, NITI Aayog has recommended that the UPSC upper age limit for the civil services should be brought down to 27 years for the general category in a phased manner by 2022-23.

Ques. I don’t have my class X and XII Marksheet. Can I still sit for IAS?

Ans. Yes you can, provided the graduation has been completed from a recognized University and you possess the educational qualifications prescribed by UPSC for the IAS exam.

Ques. When will the notification for IAS exam release and who is responsible for releasing it?

Ans. The notification for IAS exam was released in February and UPSC is responsible for releasing it.

Ques. How and when will the students able to fill the IAS 2022 application form?

Ans. Students will be able to fill the IAS 2022 Application form until 22^nd February 2022 in online mode only. Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website https://upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions for filling up online applications are available on the above-mentioned website. Brief Instructions for filling up the "Online Application Form" given in Appendix-IIA.

Ques. When and what are the different phases in which the IAS 2022 exam conducted?

Ans. The IAS 2022 exam will be held in two different phases i.e., Prelims and Mains. Prelims will be conducted on June 05, 2022, and Mains will be held on September 16, 2022. See Pattern of IAS Exam.

Ques. If students are unable to clear the Phase II exam can they able to appear for the interview round?

Ans. No, students qualifying IAS Mains exam will only be called for interview round.

Ques. Are 12th pass candidates eligible to appear for the IAS 2022 examination?

Ans. No, for appearing in the IAS 2022 Exam, the student must possess graduation degree from a recognized college or university.

Ques. What should be the students maximum and minimum age required to fill the IAS 2022 Application form?

Ans. Student’s minimum age should be 21 years and maximum age should be 32 years as on August 1, 2022.

Ques. In which year students must be born so that they are able to fill the application form?

Ans. Students must have been born not earlier than August 2, 1990, and not later than August 1, 2000.

The age limit for different categories is as:

Ques. Other than Indian students who else can apply for the IAS 2022 exam?

Ans. Except for Indian Students, a citizen of Nepal or Bhutan or a Refugee from any other country can apply for IAS 2022 Exam but they must have a permanent plan to settle in India.

Ques. What are the important details that students need to provide while filling the application form?

Ans. The details that students need to provide while filling the application form are applicants name, fathers name, mothers name, address, contact no., and email ID etc.

Ques. What are the documents that students need to bring along with them on the exam day?

Ans. On the examination day, students need to bring their admit card and ID proof along with them.

Ques. How much is the IAS 2022 Application fee and what are the methods to pay the fees?

Ans. For general category, male candidates have to pay INR 100/- as application fees and SC/ ST/ PWD/ Female candidates don’t have to pay the application fees. Online or offline are both the mode to pay the application fees.

Ques. Other than Visa Card/ Debit Card or Credit card is there any other method for paying the online application fees.

Ans. No, online application fees can only be paid via Visa Card/ Credit Card or Debit card through net banking of SBI branches throughout India.

Ques. Except for the branches of SBI bank can students pay the application fees to other banks?

Ans. No, the application fees can only be paid at SBI branches.

Ques. Name the subjects from which the questions will be asked in IAS 2022 Prelims exam?

Ans. In IAS 2022 Prelims exam, the questions will be asked from the subjects namely General Studies and Aptitude Test. See IAS Exam Syllabus.

Ques. In how many sections the IAS 2022 Mains exams is divided and name the subjects from which the questions will be asked.

Ans. The IAS 2022 Main exam is divided into 9 sections and the subjects from which the questions asked are Modern Indian Language Skills, English Language Skills, Essay Writing, General Studies – I, General Studies – II, General Studies – III, General Studies – IV, Optional Subject Paper – 1, and Optional Subject Paper – 2. See Pattern of IAS Exam.

Ques. In which medium the exam is conducted and what is the total time duration to complete the paper?

Ans. The exam is conducted in both the English and Hindi medium. For Prelims exam, total time duration given to complete per paper is 2 hours and for Mains, to complete per paper 3 hours will be given. Attempt Test Series before appearing in the final Exam to understand the level of preparation and accuracy for selection in the final list.

Ques. What are the types of questions asked in the both the Prelims and Mains exam?

Ans. The questions in the prelim exam are of objective type and for mains exam; the questions are of both objective and subjective type. Check and Join Test Series for more clarification. 

Ques. What is the marking scheme of IAS 2022 Prelims exam? Is there is any marks deduction for wrong answers?

Ans. In IAS 2022 Prelims exam, each question in General Studies carries 2 marks and Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) carries 2.5 marks. For every incorrect answer, 1/3rd marks will be deducted as penalty, that is, 0.67 in GS Paper-I and 0.83 in CSAT Paper-II.

Ques. How many marks will students get for every correct answer in IAS 2022 Mains exam? Will the marks have deducted for wrong answers?

Ans. In IAS 2022 Prelims exam, each question in General Studies Paper-I carries 2 marks and Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) Paper-II carries 2.5 marks. For every incorrect answer, 0.67 in GS Paper-I and 0.83 in CSAT Paper-II is deducted as penalty.

Ques. If students are unable to submit the filled in application form, will they be able to download the admit card?

Ans. No, only those students are able to download the admit card who have successfully submitted their application form.

Ques. When and who will release the IAS 2022 Admit card and what is the mode to download it?

Ans. The admit card will be released on the official website in the last week of May 2022. It can be downloaded through online mode only from the UPSC website https://upsconline.nic.in. No Admit Card is sent by post.

Ques. What if students did not bring the admit card on the examination day?

Ans. Those who did not bring the admit card will not be able to sit for the exam.

Ques. What information do students need to enter for downloading the admit card?

Ans. Students need to enter their registration number and date of birth for downloading the admit card

Ques. Where to report if the students found any discrepancy in the admit card?

Ans. In the case of any discrepancy in the admit card, students have to instantly report the higher authorities.

Ques. Why the cut off marks are so important in the recruiting process and who will consider it?

Ans. Cut off are important in recruiting process for short listing the students. UPSC board will consider the cut off marks.

Ques. List down the impact of cut off marks in all the stages while short listing the candidates?

Ans. At the time of prelims exam, cut off marks is applicable to shortlist the candidates for IAS Mains exam Cut off of mains exam helps to select students for the personal interview

Ques. When is the result of IAS 2022 Prelims exam announced? Who is responsible for declaring it?

Ans. The IAS 2022 Prelims result will be announced in July and it will be declared by Commission on the official website.

Ques. How many rounds that students have to clear for their final selection?

Ans. For the student’s final selection they have to clear the three rounds i.e., Preliminary exam, Main exam and Personal Interview round.

Ques. How will the final merit list be prepared and when is merit list declared?

Ans. For preparing the final merit list, both the marks of written test and final interview will be taken into consideration and merit list will be prepared after the declaration of the result.

Ques. How many times can students appear for an IAS exam? Is there any kind of restriction that students need to face for appearing in the exam?

Ans. General category candidates can sit for the exam for maximum 6 times. There is no restriction for reserved category candidates (OBC- NCL category- 9 attempts), they can appear as many times as they want.

Ques. What is the total number of vacancies available for IAS and who will release it?

Ans. The total number of vacancies are released by the UPSC every year. This year for civil services the vacancies are 861.

Ques. If a student writes the exam in English can they interview in Hindi or any other language?

Ans. No, if a student writes the exam in the English language, they can give the interview in the same language only.

Ques. Can final year students of graduation apply for IAS 2022 examination?

Ans. Yes, final year students of graduation can apply for IAS 2022 but they have to give their passing proof.