Union Public Service Commission exams are conducted every year to hire civil servants under the Indian Government. This exam is the bridge to all the jobs related to civil services in India, out of which the three primary services are IAS, IPS, and IFS. Vacancies are released every year as per the need of the government.
Have a Look at the Stages You have to Clear for Grabbing the Seat
Stage One
Objective-type question; known as preliminary exam (in short prelims). Two papers are conducted in this stage—Paper-I and Paper-II.
The syllabus for the paper-I involves the following topics:
- National and international current affairs
- Facts about Indian politics and government. These include the constitution, human rights, etc.
- Geography (social, economic, and physical geography of the whole world, especially India)
- Indian National Movement and Indian history
- Environmental and general science like environmental science, ecology, etc.
- Social development and economic
The syllabus for paper-II involves the following topics:
- Analytical ability and logical reasoningnciencies
- Comprehensive ability
- Interpersonal skills especially communication
- Mental ability skills
- Problem-solving and decision making skill
- Numerical ability
Stage Two
Subjective-type question; known as the main examination. Nine exams are conducted in this stage within four to five days. Out of all these papers, seven papers are merit-based. The other two are compulsory English paper and Indian language paper, which everyone can qualify.
- Paper One: In this paper, you are given various topics to write essays. The essays should be detailed and able to convey your message aptly.
- Paper Two: In this paper, questions related to Indian history, heritage, and geography are asked.
- Paper Three: Questions related to Indian polity, constitution, and International relations are asked.
- Paper Four: Economic development, disaster and security management, and environment-related questions are asked in this paper.
- Paper Five: Questions relevant to aptitude and ethics are asked.
- Paper Six: This is the optional paper I.
- Paper Seven: This is the optional paper II.
Stage Three
The qualified candidate’s personality is tested through personal interviews after the first two UPSC exams. This is a rank-making test for the candidates. This will decide whether they’ll be able to become an IAS, IPS, IFS. The interview is unbiased and is held under strict surveillance. It helps the recruiter to unfold the traits and various capabilities of a candidate and the ability to handle the job with enthusiasm is pointed out in the interview.
Do you know that only 50% of them sit for the exams out of one lakh aspirants? And out of this 50%, only four to five per cent of candidates make it through the prelims. That means your chances to grab the seat becomes higher.
Once the prelims are cleared, candidates become more confident, and that’s why almost everyone appears for the main exams, out of which two to three per cent clears it. In the last stage, the candidates get selected as per the number of total vacancies.
There is another type of civil service in India: IES, especially for engineering graduates. One who wants to continue his or her journey in the engineering field under the government can give the exam. You have to choose the subjects according to your branch, for example civil, mechanical, computer science, and electrical.
Eligibility Criteria
- Age: For general criteria—21 years to 32 years, for OBC—21 years to 35 years, for S.C. and ST—21 years to 37 years.
- The number of attempts: For general—six, OBC—nine, and for SC/ST, it is unlimited until 37 years.
- Educational qualification: Graduate degree from any recognised college. I should have cleared the graduation exams with passing marks.
- Nationality: For IAS, IPS, and IFS, the nationality should be Indian, and for other services, migrants or refugees from other Asian and East African countries as per the government of India.
Total Vacancy in UPSC 2021
Usually, the total vacancy varies each year depending upon the requirement of different ministers. Out of lakhs of students, roughly thousands of them get selected after clearing all the three stages of the exam.
Have a look at the vacancies for the past ten years:
| Year | Total Vacancies |
| 2010 | 1,043 |
| 2011 | 1,001 |
| 2012 | 1,091 |
| 2013 | 1,228 |
| 2014 | 1,364 |
| 2015 | 1,164 |
| 2016 | 1,209 |
| 2017 | 980 |
| 2018 | 759 |
| 2019 | 896 |
| 2020 | 796 |
The Union Public Services Commission advertises the total vacancies. As it is visible from the table, it’s been four years since it has announced 1,000 seats. The highest vacancy was recorded in 2014 with 1,364 seats, and in 2020, the lowest number of seats were recorded.
How Many Vacancies in UPSC 2021?
Do you know from the year 2017, the total vacancies are decreasing every year and went down to 796 in 2020? This year total vacancies are only 712. The Union Public Service Commission announced this on 4th March 2021.
Seats are reserved for candidates of the following disabilities:
- Hearing problem or deaf
- Low vision and blind
- Candidate having multiple disabilities
- Movement disability like leprosy, dwarfism, etc.
The total number of seats reserved for candidates with disabilities:
- Hearing problem or deaf: Six
- Low vision and blind: Five
- Candidate having multiple disabilities: Five
- Movement disability like leprosy, dwarfism: Six
List of Civil Services
The civil services you can get selected for after clearing the exam are as follows:
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
- Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
- Indian Police Service (IPS)
- Indian Accounts & Finance Service
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service
- Indian Defence Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service
- Indian Postal Service
- Indian Civil Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Traffic Service
- Indian Railway Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Personnel Service
- Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force
- Indian Defence Estates Service
- Indian Information Service
- Indian Trade Service
- Indian Corporate Law Service
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service
Past Vacancies Service-wise are as Follows
| Service | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| IAS | 180 | 180 | 180 |
| IPS | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| IFS | 42 | 30 | 24 |
| Indian customs and Account service | 25 | 25 | 41 |
| Indian Accounts & Finance Service | 29 | 17 | 17 |
| Indian Audit and Accounts Service
Indian Revenue Service |
25 | 25 | 28 |
| Indian Defence Accounts Service | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| Indian Revenue Service (I.T.) | 180 | 65 | 75 |
| Indian Ordnance Factories Service | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Indian Postal Service | 25 | 22 | 20 |
| Indian Civil Accounts Service | 12 | 16 | 18 |
| Indian Railway Traffic Service | 63 | 71 | 78 |
| Indian Railway Accounts Service | 31 | 34 | 33 |
| Indian Railway Personnel Service | 27 | 28 | 42 |
| Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force | 15 | 8 | 14 |
| Indian Defence Estates Service | 19 | 9 | 4 |
| Indian Information Service | 65 | 8 | 23 |
| Indian Trade Service | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| Indian Corporate Law Service | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service | 67 | 48 | 74 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service | 22 | 4 | 36 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service | 31 | 4 | 25 |
| Pondicherry Civil Service | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pondicherry Police Service | 1 | 0 | 0 |
By looking at the given table, you can estimate what rank you have to secure for grabbing a particular post.
Conclusion
Each year, the total vacancy of UPSC changes according to the requirement of Indian ministers.
The three primary services, i.e., IAS, IFS, and IPS, have almost the same number of seats every year.
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