What Is Indian Civil Service?

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. It is conducted in three phases - a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II also popularly known as Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT), and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay writing) type, followed by a personality test (interview).

About Civil Services Examination (India)

Civil Services in India is the steel frame on which the governance of the whole nation is structured on. Governance of a democratic country like ours is managed by the bureaucrats irrespective of the type of government in power. The country may have an elected government (of any party or coalition), or a dictator or a king or a military regime at the helm of affairs or it may be under the President’s rule, but the civil services would certainly be in place and the government machinery would continue to function as per the policies formed.

Thus it is actually the people in the civil services who implement the crucial policy decisions of the government in power. Hence it is of utmost importance to have sincere, dedicated, patriotic and intelligent people with a national sprit, in these services so that the country heads in the right direction. Our young generation is the ones to run the country’s and thus the world’s governance in the future. Hence they need to be molded and nurtured in the most appropriate manner to accomplish this task.

The most prestigious appointment a citizen of India can get is in to the Civil services. It is the President of the country who appoints the candidates in the A grade civil services of the country. The power, prestige, social status and financial benefits in addition to the innumerable opportunities to be working with the top brass of the country and often of other countries as well, makes these the most prestigious positions everyone vies for.

Want to Know how to prepare for UPSC CSE Exam?

We understand your confusion, and let us tell you, it's absolutely normal to not know how to prepare for IAS. There must be a hundred questions in your mind from ‘the right time to start preparing’ to ‘how to crack your personal interview?’ Read the given below articles – The Beginner’s Guide to Clear IAS Exam.