Appendix-I Section-I

Plan of Examination
The competitive examination comprises two successive stages :
(i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (Objective Type) for
the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and (ii) Civil
Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the
selection of candidates for the various services and posts.
2. The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of
Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum
of 400 marks in the subjects set out in sub-section (A) of SectionII.
This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the
marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates
who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination
will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The
number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will
be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number
of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to
have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be
eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year
provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main
Examination.
Note I: The Commission will draw a list of candidates to be
qualified for Civil Service (Main) Examination based on the
criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies
PaperII of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination and total
qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of Civil Services
(Preliminary) Examination as may be determined by the
Commission

Note II: There will be negative marking for incorrect answers (as
detailed below) for all questions except some of the questions
where the negative-marking will be inbuilt in the form of different
marks being awarded to the most appropriate and not so
appropriate answer for such questions. (i) There are four
alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question
for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, onethird (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be
deducted as penalty. (ii) If a candidate gives more than one
answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the
given answers happen to be correct and there will be same
penalty as above for that question. (iii) If a question is left blank,
i.e. no answer is given by the candidate; there will be no penalty
for that question.

3. The Main Examination will consist of written examination and

an interview test. The written examination will consist of 9 papers
of conventional essay type in the subjects set out in sub-section
(B) of Section II out of which two papers will be of qualifying in
nature. Also see Note (ii) under Para I of Section II (B). Marks
obtained for all the compulsory papers (Paper-I to Paper-VlI) and
Marks obtained in Interview for Personality Test will be counted for
ranking.
4.1. Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the
written part of the Main Examination as may be fixed by the
Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for
an interview for a Personality Test, vide sub-section 'C' of Section
II. The number of candidates to be summoned for interview will be
about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview
will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).

4.2. Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main

Examination (written part as well as interview) would determine
their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various
services keeping in view their ranks in the Examination and the
preferences expressed by them for the various services and posts.
Section-II Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main
Examinations. A. Preliminary Examination The Examination shall
comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each. The
Examination shall comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200
marks each.

B. Main Examination
The written examination will consist of the following papers :
Qualifying Papers :
Paper-A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the
candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth
Schedule to the Constitution). 300 Marks
Paper-B English 300 Marks Papers to be counted for merit
Paper-I Essay 250 Marks
Paper-II General Studies-I 250 Marks (Indian Heritage and
Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
Paper-III General Studies -II 250 Marks (Governance,
Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)
Paper-IV General Studies -III 250 Marks (Technology,
Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security
and Disaster Management)

Paper-V General Studies -IV 250 Marks (Ethics, Integrity and

Aptitude) Paper-VI Optional Subject - Paper 1 250 Marks
Paper-VII Optional Subject - Paper 2 250 Marks
Sub Total (Written test) 1750 Marks Personality Test 275
Marks Grand Total 2025 Marks

Section-III Syllabi for the Examination

NOTE : Candiates are advised to go through the Syllabus
published in this Section for the Preliminary Examination and
the Main Examination, as periodic revision of syllabus has
been done in several subjects.
Part-A Preliminary Examination Paper I - (200 marks)
Duration : Two hours Current events of national and
international importance. History of India and Indian National
Movement. Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social,
Economic Geography of India and the World. Indian Polity and
Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj,
Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Economic and Social
Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion,
Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc. General issues
on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change that do not require subject specialisation General Science.

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

Comprehension Interpersonal skills including communication
skills; Logical reasoning and analytical ability Decision-

making and problemsolving General mental ability Basic

numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude,
etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs,
tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)
Note 1 : Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum
qualifying marks fixed at 33% Note 2 : The questions
will be of multiple choice, objective type. Note 3: It is
mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the
Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the
purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be
disqualified in case Employment News 23 - 29 May 2015
www.employmentnews.gov.in 53 he/she does not appear in
both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.
Part-B Main Examination
The main Examination is intended to assess the overall
intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates
rather than merely the range of their information and
memory. The nature and standard of questions in the General
Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a welleducated person will be able to answer them without any
specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a
candidate's general awareness of a variety of subjects, which
will have relevance for a career in Civil Services. The
questions are likely to test the candidate's basic
understanding of all relevant issues and ability to analyze and
take a view on conflicting socio- economic goals, objectives
and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful
and succinct answers. The scope of the syllabus for optional
subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is

broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than

the bachelors' degree and lower than the masters' degree. In
the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level
corresponds to the bachelors' degree. Syllabi of the papers
included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination
are given as follows:- QUALIFYING PAPERS ON INDIAN
LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH The aim of the paper is to test the
candidates ability to read and understand serious discursive
prose, and express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English
and Indian Language concerned. The pattern of questions
would be broadly as follows :- (i) Comprehension of given
passages (ii) Precis Writing (iii) Usage and Vocabulary (iv)
Short Essays Indian Languages :- (i) Comprehension of given
passages (ii) Precis Writing (iii) Usage and Vocabulary (iv)
Short Essays (v) Translation from English to the Indian
language and vice-versa. Note 1 : The Papers on Indian
Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent
standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks
obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. Note
2 : The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian
Languages papers in English and the respective Indian
language (except where translation is involved).
PAPER-I Essay:
Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple
topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of
the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion and to
write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact
expression.
PAPER-II General Studies- I: Indian Heritage and Culture,
History and Geography of the World and Society. Indian

culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature

and Architecture from ancient to modern times. Modern
Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth
century until the present- significant events, personalities,
issues The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and
important contributors /contributions from different parts of
the country. Post-independence consolidation and
reorganization within the country. History of the world will
include events from 18th century such as industrial
revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries,
colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like
communism, capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect
on the society. Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of
India. Role of women and women's organization, population
and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues,
urbanization, their problems and their remedies. Effects of
globalization on Indian society Social empowerment,
communalism, regionalism & secularism. Salient features of
world's physical geography. Distribution of key natural
resources across the world (including South Asia and the
Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of
primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various
parts of the world (including India) Important Geophysical
phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity,
cyclone etc., geographical features and their locationchanges in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of
such changes.
PAPER-III General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution,
Polity, Social Justice and International relations. Indian
Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features,

amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States,
issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure,
devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and
challenges therein. Separation of powers between various
organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of
other countries Parliament and State Legislatures - structure,
functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and
issues arising out of these. Structure, organization and
functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and
Departments of the Government; pressure groups and
formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
Salient features of the Representation of People's Act.
Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers,
functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
Government policies and interventions for development in
various sectors and issues arising out of their design and
implementation. Development processes and the
development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various
groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and
other stakeholders Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections
of the population by the Centre and States and the
performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws,
institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and
betterment of these vulnerable sections. Issues relating to
development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues
relating to poverty and hunger. Important aspects of
governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential;

citizens charters, transparency & accountability and

institutional and other measures. Role of civil services in a
democracy. India and its neighborhood- relations. Bilateral,
regional and global groupings and agreements involving India
and/or affecting India's interests Effect of policies and politics
of developed and developing countries on India's interests,
Indian diaspora. Important International institutions, agencies
and fora- their structure, mandate.
PAPER-IV General Studies-III:
Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity,
Environment, Security and Disaster Management. Indian
Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of
resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive
growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting.
Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country,
different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage,
transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues
and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and
minimum support prices; Public Distribution Systemobjectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of
buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions;
economics of animal-rearing. Food processing and related
industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream
and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
Land reforms in India. Effects of liberalization on the
economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on
industrial growth. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads,
Airports, Railways etc. Investment models. Science and
Technology- developments and their applications and effects
in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science &

technology; indigenization of technology and developing new

technology. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers,
robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating
to intellectual property rights. Conservation, environmental
pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Disaster and disaster management. Linkages between
development and spread of extremism. Role of external state
and nonstate actors in creating challenges to internal
security. Challenges to internal security through
communication networks, role of media and social networking
sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security;
money-laundering and its prevention Security challenges and
their management in border areas; linkages of organized
crime with terrorism Various Security forces and agencies and
their mandate
PAPER-V General Studies- IV:
Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude This paper will include
questions to test the candidates' attitude and approach to
issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his
problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts
faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise
the case study approach to determine these aspects. The
following broad areas will be covered. Ethics and Human
Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics
in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and
public relationships. Human Values - lessons from the lives
and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators;
role of family, society and educational institutions in
inculcating values. Attitude: content, structure, function; its
influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and
political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. Aptitude

and foundational values for Civil Service , integrity,

impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to
public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards
the weaker-sections. Emotional intelligence-concepts, and
their utilities and application in administration and
governance. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers
from India and world. Public/Civil service values and Ethics in
Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns
and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws,
rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical
guidance; accountability and ethical governance;
strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance;
ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate
governance. Probity in Governance: Concept of public
service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity;
Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to
Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen's
Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization
of public funds, challenges of corruption. Case Studies on
above issues.

PAPER-VI & PAPER VII Optional Subject Papers I & II

Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst
the list of Optional Subjects given in para 2.