The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the notification for UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2021. Candidates can now apply for UPSC Civil Service Preliminary Examination 2021. The last date to apply is March 24. Candidates can apply till 6 PM on March 24. The preliminary examination of UPSC Civil Services Exam 2021 will be conducted on June 27, 2021. Eligible candidates can apply for the exam on the official website of UPSC i.e. upsc.gov.in The total number of vacancies, as announced in the official notification are 712.
Source: livelaw.in
UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021: Important Information
| Conducting Organization | Union Public Service Commission |
| Offical Website | |
| Exam | UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021 |
| Release of Notification | upsc.gov.in |
| Start Date To Apply | 4th March, 2021 |
| Last Date To Apply | 24th March, 2021 |
| UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam Date | 27th June, 2021 |
| UPSC CSE Main Exam Date | To Be Announced |
| Total Vacancies | 712 |
UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021: List of Centres
List Of Centres for Preliminary Examination
The preliminary examination will be held across all of the following centres across the country:| Agartala | Gorakhpur | Patna |
| Agra | Gurgaon | Port Blair |
| Ajmer | Gwalior | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| Ahmedabad | Hyderabad | Puducherry |
| Aizwal | Imphal | Pune |
| Aligarh | Indore | Raipur |
| Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) | Itanagr | Rajkot |
| Aurangabad | Jabalpur | Ranchi |
| Banglore | Jaipur | Sambalpur |
| Bareily | Jammu | Shillong |
| Bhopal | Jodhpur | Shimla |
| Bilaspur | Jorhat | Siligudi |
| Chandigarh | Kochi | Srinagar |
| Chennai | Kohima | Thane |
| Coimbatore | Kolkata | Thiruvananthpuram |
| Cuttak | Kozhikode | Tiruchirapalli |
| Dehradun | Leh | Tirupati |
| Delhi | Lucknow | Udaipur |
| Dharwad | Ludhiana | Varanasi |
| Dispur | Madurai | Vellore |
| Faridabad | Mumbai | Vijayawada |
| Gangtok | Mysore | Vishakhapatnam |
| Gaya | Nagpur | Warangal |
| Gautam Buddh Nagar | Navi Mumbai | |
| Ghaziabad | Panaji |
List of Centres for the Main Examination
| Ahmedabad | Delhi | Patna |
| Aizawl | Dispur | Prayagraj |
| Bengaluru | Hyderabad | Raipur |
| Bhopal | Jaipur | Ranchi |
| Chennai | Jammu | Shillong |
| Chandigarh | Kolkata | Shimla |
| Cuttack | Lucknow | Thiruvananthpuram |
| Dehradun | Mumbai | Vijayawada |
UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021: Exam Pattern
There are two stages in UPSC Civil Service Examination- Preliminary Examination,Main Examination and Interview.UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination
Civil Services Preliminary Examination is a objective type exam which is conducted to shortlist candidates for the Mains examination. It consists of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. Both the papers are qualifying in nature and the candidates who qualify these papers will be eligible for the Mains Examination.
- Paper I is of General Studies for which the cut off is decided every year.
- Paper II is CSAT paper, which is a qualifying paper for which candidates must score a minimum of 33% marks.
Preliminary exam is of a total of 400 marks. Each question carries 1 mark and there is negative marking for each wrong asnwer. One-third (0.33) marks are deducted as penalty for every wrong answer. The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
UPSC Civil Services Main Examination
Candidates who qualify the preliminary examination appear for Main examination. This is a written test followed by personality test and consists of different papers. The written test has teo different sets of papers- qualifying papers and papers to be counted for merit, which are as follows:
Qualifying Papers:
| Paper | Total Marks |
| 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 |
| Paper‐B English | 300 |
Papers To Be Counted For Merit:
| Paper | Marks |
| Paper‐I Essay | 250 |
| Paper‐II- General Studies‐I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 |
| Paper‐III General Studies ‐II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) | 250 |
| Paper‐IV General Studies ‐III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper‐V General Studies ‐IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper‐VI Optional Subject ‐ Paper 1 | 250 |
| Paper‐VII Optional Subject ‐ Paper 2 | 250 |
| Sub Total (Written test) | 1750 |
| Personality Test | 275 |
| Grand Total | 2025 |
Candidates can choose any of the optional subjects from the list of of subjects given below:
Agriculture
(ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
(iii) Anthropology
(iv) Botany
(v) Chemistry
(vi) Civil Engineering
(vii) Commerce and Accountancy
(viii) Economics
(ix) Electrical Engineering
(x) Geography
(xi) Geology
(xii) History
(xiii) Law
(xiv) Management
(xv) Mathematics
(xvi) Mechanical Engineering
(xvii) Medical Science
(xviii) Philosophy
(xix) Physics
(xx) Political Science and International Relations
(xxi) Psychology
(xxii) Public Administration
(xxiii) Sociology
(xxiv) Statistics
(xxv) Zoology
(xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
Agriculture
(ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
(iii) Anthropology
(iv) Botany
(v) Chemistry
(vi) Civil Engineering
(vii) Commerce and Accountancy
(viii) Economics
(ix) Electrical Engineering
(x) Geography
(xi) Geology
(xii) History
(xiii) Law
(xiv) Management
(xv) Mathematics
(xvi) Mechanical Engineering
(xvii) Medical Science
(xviii) Philosophy
(xix) Physics
(xx) Political Science and International Relations
(xxi) Psychology
(xxii) Public Administration
(xxiii) Sociology
(xxiv) Statistics
(xxv) Zoology
(xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
All the papers in the Main Examination are essay time and a total duration of 3 hours is allotted for each paper.
UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021: Eligibility
| Age Limit | Candidates must be betwen 21 and 32 years of age as on 1st August, 2021(both years of age included) |
| Educational Qualification | Candidates must have graduate degress from any of the recognised Universities or Institutions.
Candidates who are in the final year/semester of their respective degrees are also eligble to apply for the exam provided they can produce a proof of having passed their degress during the Main Examination. |
Age Relaxations:
The age limited as mentioned above has certain relaxations for candidates belonging to different categories which are as follows:| Category | Age Relaxation |
| SC/ST | Upto a maximum of 5 years |
| OBC | Upto a maximum of 3 years |
| Defence Services Personnel disables in operations of hostility | Upto a maximum of 3 years |
| Ex-servicemen | Upto a maximum of 5 years |
| PwBD | Upto a maximum of 10 years |
UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021: Number of Attempts
Every candidate who appears for UPSC Civil Services Examination is given a total of 6 attempts, however there are relaxations in number of attempts given to candidates belonging to different categories.
- Candidates belong to OBC category are permitted 9 attempts
- Candidates belonging to SC/ST cantegory are permitted unlimited number of attempts
- Candidates belonging to PwBD category who are further belong to Gen/EWS/OBC categories are permitted 9 attempts
- Candidates belonging to PwBD category who further belong to SC/ST category are permitted unlimited number of attempts
UPSC Civil Service Preliminary Examination 2021: Official Notification PDF
UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021: How To Apply
Interested and eligible candidates can currently apply for the preliminary examination. After the candidates are shortlisted for Main Examination, they have to again fill an online form for the Main Examination. Candidates can apply for UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021 by using the link given below:
Direct Link To Apply For UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021
Direct Link To Apply For UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021
Application Fees
Candidates other than those belonging to Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability categories have to pay an application fee of Rs. 100 while candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwBD and Female candidates are exempted from fee payment.
UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021: Withdrawl of Application
Candidates who apply for UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021 are allowed to withdraw their application. Candidates can withdraw their applications on any day between March 31, 2021 to April 6, 2021(till 6 PM).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I am in my final year of graduation. Can I apply for UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021?
A. Yes, if you are in your final year of graduation, you can apply for Civil Services Examination 2021 provided you are able to produce a proof of having completed your degree during the Main examination.
Q. What if I submit multiple appliation forms for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. In case a candidate submits multiple application forms because of any reason, then the application form with a higher registration ID is the one that is considered.
Q. Can I withdraw my application for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. Yes, you can withdraw your application for UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021 from March 31, 2021 to April 6, 2021.
Q. What is the last date to apply for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. The last date to apply for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021 is March 24.
Q. How many attempts are permitted to candidates belonging to Unreserved Category?
A. A total of 6 attempts are permitted to candidates belonging to Unreserved Category.
Q. What are the total number of vacancies announced for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. A total of 712 vacancies have been announced for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021.
A. Yes, if you are in your final year of graduation, you can apply for Civil Services Examination 2021 provided you are able to produce a proof of having completed your degree during the Main examination.
Q. What if I submit multiple appliation forms for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. In case a candidate submits multiple application forms because of any reason, then the application form with a higher registration ID is the one that is considered.
Q. Can I withdraw my application for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. Yes, you can withdraw your application for UPSC Civil Services Examination 2021 from March 31, 2021 to April 6, 2021.
Q. What is the last date to apply for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. The last date to apply for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021 is March 24.
Q. How many attempts are permitted to candidates belonging to Unreserved Category?
A. A total of 6 attempts are permitted to candidates belonging to Unreserved Category.
Q. What are the total number of vacancies announced for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021?
A. A total of 712 vacancies have been announced for UPSC Civil Service Examination 2021.