UPSC is India's central agency which conducts exams like Civil Services Exam (CSE) to recruit candidates into top government services like IAS, IPS, IFS etc. UPSC recruits candidates to both civil services as well as defence services.
There are 3 stages in the UPSC Civil Services Exam – (1) Preliminary Exam (Objective Test) (2) Main Exam (Written Test) (3) Personality Test (Interview). 1. Prelims : Objective Test The Civil Services Preliminary exam comprises two compulsory papers of 200 marks each (General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II). The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type. The marks in prelims will not be counted for final ranking, but just for qualification for the main exam. 2. Mains : Written Test The written examination (main) will consist of nine papers, but only 7 papers will be counted for the final merit ranking. For the rest two papers, the candidate should secure minimum marks prescribed by the commission each year. 3. Interview : The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his/her career. He/she will be asked questions on matters of general interest.