UPSC CSE 2021 Exam Date Eligibility, IAS Exam Pattern And Syllabus – The IAS Civil Services Examination (which is also known as CSE) is conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) each and every year all over India. The Notification for IAS exam has been released by union public service commission 04 March 2021 on its official website.
The Civil services prelims exam was earlier scheduled on 27th June 2021. But now it will be conducted on 10th October 2021. UPSC Mains exam will start on 7th January 2022 till 18th January.
Table of Contents
UPSC Civil Services 2021 Exam Highlights
| Name of the Exam | UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2021 |
| Conducted by | Union Public Service Commission |
| Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Annual |
| Mode of the Exam | Pen and Paper Mode/Offline |
| Test Centres | Across Nation |
| Exam Stages | 03 Stages- Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and Personality Test |
| Application Fee | 100/- |
| Official Website | https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
Important Dates for UPSC CSE 2021 Dates
UPSC CSE 2021 Exam Date – The calendar for IAS Exam 2021 was released by UPSC along with its notification. Updated Notice was released by Union Public Service Commission on 19th July. Please go through updated notice. In below table we are giving brief idea of calendar which will be followed for CSE 2021. Aspirants should regularly check UPSC CSE 2021 Exam Date Eligibility, IAS Exam Pattern And Syllabus.
| Event | Date |
| Release of Notification – UPSC CSE 2021 | 04.03.2021 |
| UPSC Online Registration for UPSC CSE 2021 (Begins on) | 04.03.2021 |
| Deadline to Apply For UPSC CSE 2021 | 24.03.2021 |
| UPSC CSE Prelims 2021 Exam | Sunday – 10th October, 2021 (Prelims 2020 was on 4th October 2020) |
| UPSC CSE Prelims 2021 Result | Will be announced later |
| UPSC CSE Mains 2021 Exam | 7th January 2022 onwards (exams for five days)(Mains 2020 took place between 8th and 17th January 2021) |
| IAS Exam Pattern | Prelims (MCQs), Mains (Descriptive papers) |
Preliminary Examination (IAS Prelims)
The UPSC Civil service prelims exam comprises two objective type question papers. First paper is called General Studies I and Second paper is called General Studies II or CSAT. Total weightage for these two papers is 400 marks. Both papers will be conducted in offline mode (pen – paper mode) on the same day. You can check UPSC CSE 2021 Exam Date in above table or check official notice released by UPSC.
| Sl. No. | Name of the Paper | Nature of the Paper | Duration of the Exam | Questions | Marks |
| 1 | IAS Exam Paper – I: General Studies | Merit Ranking Nature | 2 Hours | 100 | 200 Marks |
| 2 | IAS Exam Paper – II: General Studies (CSAT) | Qualifying Nature | 2 Hours | 80 | 200 Marks |
- The questions in the IAS Exam (Prelims) are of the objective type or Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
- There is ‘Negative Marking’ in the IAS Exam for each incorrect answer but only in the Prelims stage. The negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
- The GS Paper II (CSAT) in IAS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33 per cent in this paper to qualify to the next stage of the IAS exam i.e. the Mains.
- Blind candidates are given an extra time of 20 minutes for each paper in the IAS Exam (Prelims).
- It is mandatory for the candidates to appear in both the papers of civil services prelims exam for the evaluation.
- The marks scored by the candidates in the preliminary examination are not counted for the final score. It is only a screening test where candidates not securing the cut-off marks are eliminated.
UPSC Civil Services Main Examination
IAS Civil Service aspirants who clear the prelims exam are qualified to appear in the UPSC Mains examination. Please go through UPSC CSE 2021 Exam Date and syllabus. The important points about the Civil Services Mains examination are given in below table. It has nine theory/descriptive papers.
Out of these 9 papers in the IAS mains examination, two language papers are there (English & Regional Language) which are qualifying in nature – Weightage for each paper is 300 marks. There are 4 General studies papers – GS Paper 1, GS 2, GS 3 and GS 4 – Weightage for each GS paper is 250 marks. There is one essay paper for 250 marks and Two optional papers – optional paper 1 and paper 2 – Weightage for each paper is 250 marks.
IAS Mains Pattern
| Sl. No. | IAS Exam Paper | Name of the Paper | Nature of the Paper | Duration of the Exam | Marks |
| 1 | Paper – A | Compulsory Indian Language | QUALIFYING NATURE | 3 Hours | 300 Marks |
| 2 | Paper – B | English | 3 Hours | 300 Marks | |
| 3 | Paper – I | ESSAY | MERIT RANKING NATURE | 3 Hours | 250 Marks |
| 4 | Paper – II | General Studies I | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 5 | Paper – III | General Studies II | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 6 | Paper – IV | General Studies III | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 7 | Paper – V | General Studies IV | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 8 | Paper – VI | Optional Paper I | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 9 | Paper – VII | Optional Paper II | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| TOTAL | 1750 Marks | ||||
| Interview or Personality Test | 275 Marks | ||||
| GRAND TOTAL | 2025 Marks |
- The candidates can select their medium of writing the UPSC Civil Services IAS Mains Exam as Hindi or English or any other language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- The Indian Languages included in the IAS exam are as per languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- The candidates who score above the prescribed cut-off marks in the IAS exam (Mains) will get the summons for the Personality Test (last stage of the IAS exam).
- The final ranking of the candidates is on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Main Examination and Personality Test/Interview Round of the IAS exam.
