UPSC CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION NOTIFICATION 2024

The Union Public Service Commission conducts the IAS examination, once a year. Candidates who want to appear for the UPSC 2024 exam should prepare in advance to improve their exam-clearing chance with a higher score. Every year, millions of aspirant give the exam however, few of them make it out. Let’s take a look at the UPSC 2024 exam overview first –

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024	Highlights
Notification Availability	UPSC released the official notification in February 14, 2024, in both English and Hindi.
Availability of Application Form	February 14, 2024 to March, 05, 2024
Modification for application form	06.03.2024 to 12.03.2024.
UPSC 2024 Stages	Prelims, Mains and Interview
UPSC 2024 Vacancy	1056
Notification Link	Click Here
Application Link	Click Here
Official Website	https://upsc.gov.in/

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Exam Dates

The UPSC calendar for session 2024 is released now. The candidates who want to appear for the exam should keep track of the exam events with the dates. However, the exam dates have been released. Here we have enlisted the important dates for the candidates, take a look at it –

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Important Events	Schedule
Availability of UPSC 2024 Notification	February 14, 2024
UPSC Form Date 2024	February 14, 2024
UPSC Application Last Date 2024	March 05, 2024
UPSC 2024 Prelims Date	May 26, 2024
UPSC Mains 2024 Exam Date	September 15, 2024

UPSC Civil Service Mains Exam Schedule 2024 and Interview

UPSC Mains 2024 Exam Dates (Tentative)	Morning Shift (9 AM – 12 PM)	Afternoon Shift (2 PM – 5 PM)
20 September 2024	Essay Paper	-
21 September 2024	Paper-II General Studies-I	Paper-III General Studies-II
22 September 2024	Paper-IV General Studies-III	Paper-V General Studies-IV
23 September 2024	Paper-A Indian Language	Paper-B English
24 September 2024	Paper-VI Optional Subject-Paper-1	Paper-VII Optional Subject-Paper-2

Interview Date	To be announced
Final Results for UPSC 2024	To be announced

UPSC Civil Service Examnation Eligibility Criteria 2024

In the official notification, the candidates can get the complete eligibility criteria for appearing in the examination. The candidates need to check the UPSC Eligibility Criteria 2024 to apply for the same. If the candidates are not eligible for the exam but they still apply for the same then there will be issues later on.

Also, for the UPSC 2024 exam, 3 factors are important in terms of eligibility such as age, qualification and nationality. There is no minimum percentage required in graduation to appear for the UPSC 2024 exam.

UPSC Age Criteria – The age limit for the UPSC 2024 must be calculated as of August 1, 2024.

Category	Minimum Age for UPSC 2024	Maximum Age
For General Candidate	21 year	32 year
For OBC candidates	21 year	35 year
For SC/ST	21 year	37 year

UPSC Civil Service Examnation Age Relaxation 2024

UPSC provides age relaxation for different categories. The candidates must check the age relaxation details for the exam.

Category	Age Relaxation
SC/ST	5 years
OBC	3 years
Defense Services Personnel	3 years
Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs	5 years
Hearing problem, deaf, low vision, ex-servicemen, blindness, muscle deformity	10 years

Nationality for the UPSC Civil Service Examnation

A candidate should be –

Citizen of India
Citizen of Nepal
Citizen of Bhutan
Any Tibetan refugee (should be settled here before Jan 1st, 1962)
Migrated from Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zaire.

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Required Educational Qualification

The UPSC exam does not need a big certificate of educational qualification from the applicants. The candidates should have any graduation level degree from any government recognized university or UGC-approved university. The graduation could be done in any branch. Those who are in their final year of graduation are also eligible to apply for UPSC. However, their graduation result should be declared before the final exam of UPSC.

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Application Process

The candidates who are willing to apply for the UPSC 2024, can follow the following steps – Open the official website of UPSC.

Click on the UPSC Notification and download the same.
Find the UPSC 2024 Application Form link and click on the Apply button.
Start filling out the application form with all the required information.
Cross-check the details once before submitting the UPSC application form/

Instruction in respect of uploading of Photograph while filling up online application
form :
(a) The photograph, uploaded by candidate should not be more than 10 days old from the start of the online application process (i.e. the application commencement date).
(b) Ensure that the name of candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are clearly mentioned on the photograph.
(c) The candidate’s face should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph.
(d) The candidates must ensure that their appearance must match with their photograph at each stage of the Examination Process i.e. at the time of Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. For instance, If a candidate uploads a bearded photograph, he must appear with the same look in the Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. Same would be the case with spectacles, moustaches, etc.

Sample Picture

Guidelines while filling out the UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Application For

Scan the picture and signature properly.
Fill out the application form for UPSC as soon as possible.
Do not forget to pay the UPSC Application Form Fee.
Give the details of any one of the government IDs such as Aadhar card, Voter Card, PAN, Passport, DL, etc.

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Admit Card

The Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC IAS 2024 admit card on the official website. The hall ticket will be released in the online format. The commission will release the hall ticket separately for prelims and mains examination. UPSC will release the prelims admit card first and the candidates who clear the exam will be able to sit in the mains. They will receive the Mains admit card at their official website. At the exam time, the candidates need to bring the hall ticket to the exam centre along with a valid ID card. Without the UPSC IAS 2024 hall ticket and original ID proof, the candidates will not be allowed to sit at the examination.

Details mentioned on UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Admit Card

On the UPSC 2024 admit card, the relevant and requisite information will be mentioned on the UPSC 2024 admit card. The candidates need to check all the details printed on the UPSC IAS 2024 hall ticket. In case of any discrepancy on the hall ticket, the candidates should immediately contact the authorities to resolve it at hand. The details will be mentioned in the admit card are as follows

Name of the candidate
Roll Number of the candidate
Gender
Category of the candidate
Date of birth
Exam date and timings
Exam Centre name
Exam centre address and other details
Photo of the candidate
Signature of the candidate
Exam day guidelines

UPSC Civil Service Examnation Pattern 2024

The candidates need to understand the UPSC exam pattern is an important part of the exam preparation. Getting a good insight into the UPSC Exam Pattern will surely help you to gain more marks.

UPSC Civil Service Examnation Prelims Exam Pattern 2024

The UPSC prelims exam pattern consists of the following details regarding the exam pattern and marking scheme

Exam is subjective
UPSC Prelims exam is divided into papers one and two.
GS Paper 1 has topics such as History, Geography, Economics, Polity, and Current Affairs,
GS Paper 2 has topics related to basic quantitative reasoning, logical reasoning, comprehension, and DI.
UPSC Prelims has a negative marking too. For every wrong answer, there will be a deduction of 0.33.
GS Paper 2 is qualifying in nature, which needs only 33% to score for the candidates.

UPSC Civil Service Examnation Prelims 2024 Paper	Marks	Questions	Duration
GS Paper 1	200	100	2 hours
GS Paper 2 (CSAT)	200	80	2 hours

UPSC Civil Service Examnation 2024 Mains Exam Pattern

Paper	Subject	Marks
Paper A	Indian Language	300
Paper B	English	300
Paper I	Essay	250
Paper II	GS I (General Studies)	250
Paper III	GS II	250
Paper IV	GS III	250
Paper V	GS IV	250
Paper VI	Optional Subject I	250
Paper VII	Optional Subject II	250

Detailed Notification

1. Candidates to Ensure their Eligibility for the Examination:

All candidates (male/female/transgender) are requested to carefully read the Rules of Civil Services Examination notified by the Government (Department of Personnel and Training) and this Notice of Examination derived from these Rules. The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to examination. Their admission to all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. Mere issue of e-Admit Card to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission. The Commission takes up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/Personality Test.

2. How to Apply:

Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. It is essential for the applicant to register himself/herself first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commission’s website, and then proceed for filling up the online application for the examination. OTR has to be registered only once in life time. This can be done anytime throughout the year. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway for filling up the online application for the examination.

2.1. Modification in OTR Profile:
In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. The change in OTR profile data shall be available till expiry of 7 days from the next day after the closure of application window of his/her first final application for any Examination of the Commission. In the case, the candidate after registration of OTR applies for the first time in this examination last date of modification of OTR would be 12.03.2024.

2.2 Modification in application form (Other than OTR Profile):

The Commission has also decided to extend the facility of making correction(s) in any field(s) of the application form for this examination from next day of the closure of the application window of this Examination. This window will remain open for 7 days from the date of opening of the same, i.e., from 06.03.2024 to 12.03.2024. In case a candidate wants to carry out any change in his/her OTR profile during this period, then he/she should login to the OTR platform and do the needful accordingly. In other words, no change in the OTR profile can be made by visiting the window for Modification in application form.

2.3 The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same.

2.4 Candidate should have details of one Photo ID Card viz. Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving Licence/Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government. The details of this Photo ID Card will have to be provided by the candidate while filling up the online application form. This Photo ID Card will be used for all future reference and the candidate is advised to carry this Photo ID Card while appearing for Examination/Personality Test.

3. Last Date for Receipt of Applications:

The online Applications can be filled upto 5th March, 2024 till 6:00 PM. The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card on the last working day of the preceding week of the date of examination. The e-Admit Card will be made available in the UPSC website [ https://upsconline.nic.in ] for downloading by candidates. No Admit Card will be sent by post.

4. Penalty for Wrong Answers:
Candidates should note that there will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.

5. Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep):
The Commission has introduced a time frame of 7 days (a week) i.e. from the next day of the Examination Date to 6.00 p.m. of the 7th day is fixed for the candidates to make representations to the Commission on the questions asked in the Papers of the Examination. Such representation must be submitted through the “Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep)” only by accessing the URL http://upsconline/nic/in/miscellaneous/QPRep/. No representation by email/post/hand or by any other mode shall be accepted and the Commission shall not involve into any correspondence with the candidates in this regard. No representation shall be accepted under any circumstances after this window of 7 days is over.

6. Facilitation Counter For Guidance of Candidates:

In case of any guidance/information/clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. candidates can contact UPSC’s Facilitation Counter near gate ‘C’ of its campus in person or over Telephone No. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 on working days between 10.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs.

7. Mobile Phones Banned:

(a) The use of any mobile phone (even in switched off mode), pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc. or camera or blue tooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories either in working or switched off mode capable of being used as a communication device during the examination is strictly prohibited. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.

8. Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned items including mobile phones/pagers to the venue of the examination, as arrangement for safe-keeping cannot be assured.

9. Instruction in respect of uploading of Photograph while filling up online application form :-
(a) The photograph, uploaded by candidate should not be more than 10 days old from the start of the online application process (i.e. the application commencement date).
(b) Ensure that the name of candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are clearly mentioned on the photograph.
(c) The candidate’s face should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph.
(d) The candidates must ensure that their appearance must match with their photograph at each stage of the Examination Process i.e. at the time of Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. For instance, If a candidate uploads a bearded photograph, he must appear with the same look in the Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. Same would be the case with spectacles, moustaches, etc.

10. The candidates should reach the venue of the Examination well in time at least 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each session of the Examination. No late entry will be allowed inside the Exam-venue under any circumstances.

Preliminary Examination of the Civil Services Examination for recruitment to the Services and Posts mentioned below will be held by the Union Public Service Commission on 26th May, 2024 in accordance with the Rules published by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 14th Feb, 2024. All candidates must carefully read the Civil Services Examination-2024 Rules together with all the Appendices along with the Annexures thereof and this Examination Notice derived from the CSE Rules-2024 in entirety for gaining awareness of the current Rules and Regulations as changes may have been incorporated since the previous Examination Rules.

(i) Indian Administrative Service
(ii) Indian Foreign Service
(iii) Indian Police Service
(iv) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
(v) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
(vi) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’
(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
(viii) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’
(ix) Indian Information Service, Group ‘A’
(x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’
(xi) Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’
(xii) Indian Railway Protection Force Service, Group ‘A’
(xiii) Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) Group ‘A’
(xiv) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group ‘A’
(xv) Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Grade III)
(xvi) Indian Railway Management Service, Group ‘A’
(xvii) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)
(xviii) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS), Group ‘B’
(xix) Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service (DANIPS), Group ‘B’
(xx) Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS), Group ‘B’
(xxi) Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS), Group ‘B’

The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 1056 which include 40 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category, i.e. 06 Vacancies for candidates of (a) blindness and low vision; 12 Vacancies for (b) deaf and hard of hearing; 09 Vacancies for (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and 13 Vacancies for (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (c) including deaf-blindness. The final number of vacancies may undergo change after getting firm number of vacancies from Cadre Controlling Authorities. Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes. Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

As per the decision taken by the Government for increasing the access of unemployed to job opportunities, the Commission will publicly disclose the scores of the candidates (obtained in the Written Examination and Interview/Personality Test) through the public portals. The disclosure will be made in respect of only those willing candidates who will appear in the Interview/Personality Test for the Civil Service Examination and are not finally recommended for appointment. The information shared through this disclosure scheme about the non recommended candidates may be used by other public and private recruitment agencies to appoint suitable candidates from the information made available in the public portal.

Candidates will be required to give their options at the time of Interview/Personality Test, while downloading the e-Summon Letter from the Commission’s website for the interview. A candidate may opt out of the scheme also and in that case his/her details will not be published by the Commission.

Besides sharing of the information of the non-recommended willing candidates of this examination, the Commission will not assume any responsibility or liability for the method and manner in which information related to such candidates is utilized by public/private organizations.

2. (A). Centres of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination:

The Centres and the date of holding the examination are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission. Applicants should note that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the Centres, except Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. Allotment of Centres will be on the "first-apply-first allot" basis, and once the capacity of a particular Centre is attained, the same will be frozen. Applicants, who cannot get a Centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones. Applicants are, thus, advised that they may apply early so that they could get a Centre of their choice.

Notwithstanding the aforesaid provision, the Commission reserves the right to change the Centres at its discretion if the situation demands. All the Examination Centres for Civil Services (Preliminary), Examination, 2024 will cater to examination for Persons with Benchmark Disability in their respective Centres. Candidates admitted to the examination will be informed of the time table and place or places of examination. The candidates should note that no request for change of Centre will be entertained.

(B). Plan of Examination:

The Civil Services Examination will consist of two successive stages
(i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and
(ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts noted above.

Applications are now invited for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination only. The Candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will have to apply online again and submit on-line Detailed Application Form-I [DAF-I] along with scanned documents/certificates in support of date of birth, category {viz. SC/ST/ OBC (without OBC Annexure) /EWS [Economically Weaker Sections] (without EWS Annexure) /PwBD / Ex-Serviceman} and educational qualification with required Examination Fee. Any delay in submission of DAF-I or documents in support beyond the prescribed date will not be allowed and will lead to cancellation of the candidature for the CSE 2024.

The candidates who are declared to have qualified Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to mandatorily indicate order of preferences only for those services participating in the Civil Services Examination for the year, for which he is interested to be allocated to, in the on line Detailed Application Form-II [DAF-II], before the commencement of Personality Tests (Interview) of the examination. Further, the candidates who wish to indicate IAS/IPS as their Service preference are advised to indicate all the Zones and Cadres in the order of preference in their on-line DAF-II as per the extant Cadre Allocation Policy applicable for the Civil Services Examination, 2024. With this DAF-II, a candidate will also be required to upload documents/certificates for higher education, achievements in different fields, service experience, OBC Annexure (for OBC category only), EWS Annexure [for EWS Category only], etc. Any delay in submission of DAF-II or documents in support beyond the prescribed date will not be allowed and will lead to cancellation of the candidature for the CSE-2024.

3. Eligibility Conditions:

(I) Nationality

(1) For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
(2) For other services, a candidate must be either:
(a) a citizen of India, or

(b) a subject of Nepal, or
(c) a subject of Bhutan, or
(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
(e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India.

(II). Age Limits:
(1) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2024 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1992 and not later than 1st August, 2003.

(2) The upper age-limit prescribed above will be relaxable:
(a) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
(b) up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates;
(c) up to a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof;
(d) up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2023 and have been released:
(i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2024, otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency); or
(ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or
(iii) on invalidment.
(e) up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service as on 1st August, 2024 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
(f) up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories viz.
(i) blindness and low vision;

(ii) deaf and hard of hearing;
(iii) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;
(iv) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness;
(v) multiple disabilities from amongst person under clauses (i) to (iv) including deaf-blindness.

Note-I: Candidates belonging to either the SC or the ST or the OBC category who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(II)(2) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen or PwBD, will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both categories.

Note-II: The term Ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as Ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.

Note-III: The age concession under para 3(II)(2) (d) and (e) will be admissible to Ex servicemen i.e. a person who has served in any rank whether as combatant or non-combatant in the Regular Army, Navy and Air Force of the Indian Union and who either has been retired or relieved or discharged from such service whether at own request or being relieved by the employer after earning pension.

Note-IV: Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under para 3(II) (2) (f) above, candidates of PwBD category will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if they (after such Medical Examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) are found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services to be allocated to the candidates of PwBD category by the Government.

Note-V: Save as provided under para 3(II) (2) above, the age-limits prescribed can in no case be relaxed.

(3) The date of birth, accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary examination certificate or an equivalent examination certificate. The certificate in support of the date of birth is required to be submitted by a candidate only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, Service records and the like will be accepted.

Note-I: Candidate should note that only the date of birth as recorded in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in an equivalent certificate as mentioned in para 3(III) (3) above and issued prior to the date of submission of application will be accepted by the Commission, and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.

Note-II: Candidates should also note that once a date of birth has been submitted by them in the application form and entered in the records of the Commission for the purpose of admission to an Examination, no change will be allowed subsequently or at any other Examination of the Commission on any grounds whatsoever.

Provided that in case of an inadvertent/unintentional/ typographical error committed by a candidate in indicating the date of birth in the Online Application Form, the candidate may make a request to the Commission for subsequent rectification along with supporting documents, as specified in the Rule 5(3) of the Examination and the request may be considered by the Commission if the same is made latest by the date of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 which is 26.05.2024.

All communication in this regard should contain the following particulars:-
1. NAME AND YEAR OF THE EXAMINATION
2. REGISTRATION I.D. (RID)
3. ROLL NUMBER (IF RECEIVED)
4. NAME OF CANDIDATE (IN FULL AND IN BLOCK LETTERS)
5. COMPLETE POSTAL ADDRESS AS GIVEN IN THE APPLICATION.
6. VALID AND ACTIVE EMAIL-ID.

(III) Minimum Educational Qualification:
A candidate must hold a Graduate degree of any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 or possess an equivalent qualification.

Note-I: Candidates who have appeared at a qualifying examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s Examination but have not been informed of the result as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination along with their application (i.e. Detailed Application Form-I) for the Main Examination, failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. Such proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination should have been issued latest by the closing date of Detailed Application Form-I of the Main Examination.

Note-II: In exceptional cases, the Commission may treat a candidate who does not have any of the foregoing qualifications as a candidate, provided that the candidate has passed an examination conducted by any other institution the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies the admission to the Civil Services Examination.

Note-III: Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services Examination.

Note-IV: Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S or any other equivalent professional examination leading to a medical degree or certificate but have not completed their internship by the time of submission of their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Civil Services Examination, provided they submit along with their application a copy of certificate from the concerned authority of the University/Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview the original degree or a certificate from the concerned competent authority of the University/Institution that they had completed all requirements (including completion of internship) for the award of the Degree.

(IV) Number of attempts:

Every candidate appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six (6) attempts at the CSE. However, relaxation in the number of attempts will be available to the SC/ST/OBC and PwBD category candidates who are otherwise eligible. The number of attempts available to such candidates as per relaxation is as under:

Note-I: The terms – GL for General, EWS for Economically Weaker Sections, SC for Scheduled Castes, ST for Scheduled Tribes, OBC for Other Backward Classes and PwBD for Persons with Benchmark Disability – are used for denoting the categories of candidates taking an attempt at the Examination.

Note-II: An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Civil Services Examination.

Note-III: If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, it will be deemed that the candidate has made an attempt at the Examination.

Note-IV: Notwithstanding any subsequent disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the Examination will count as an attempt.

(V) Restrictions on applying for the examination:
(1) A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service will not be eligible to appear at the Civil Services Examination-2024. In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2024 is over and the candidate continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 notwithstanding having qualified in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024. If such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 but before the result thereof is declared by the Commission and continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be considered for appointment to any Service/Post on the basis of the result of the CSE-2024.

(2) A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service shall not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service on the basis of the result of the CSE-2024.

(VI) Medical and Physical Standards: Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2024 as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 1st Feb, 2024.

4. FEE: Candidates (Except Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay fee of Rs. 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only) either by remitting the money in any Branch of State Bank of India by cash or by using Net Banking facility of any bank or by using Visa/Master/RuPay/Credit/Debit Card/ UPI Payment.

Applicants who opt for "Pay by Cash" mode should print the system generated Pay-in-slip during part II registration and deposit the fee at the counter of SBI Branch on the next working day only. "Pay by Cash” mode will be deactivated at 11.59 P.M. of 4th March, 2024 i.e. one day before the closing date; however applicants, who have generated their Pay-in- Slip before it is deactivated, may pay at the counter of SBI Branch during banking hours on the closing date. Such applicants who are unable to pay by cash on the closing date i.e. during banking hours at SBI Branch, for reasons whatsoever, even if holding valid pay-inslip will have no other offline option but to opt for available online Debit/Credit Card/UPI Payment or Internet Banking payment mode on the closing date i.e. till 06:00 P.M. of 5th March, 2024.

For the applicants in whose case payments details have not been received from the bank they will be treated as fictitious payment cases and a list of all such applicants shall be made available on the Commission website within two weeks after the last day of submission of online application.These applicants shall also be intimated through e-mail to submit copy of proof of their payment to the Commission at the address mentioned in the e-mail. The applicant shall be required to submit the proof within 10 days from the date of such communication either by hand or by speed post to the Commission. On receipt of documentary proof, genuine fee payment cases will be considered and their applications will be revived, if they are otherwise eligible. In case, no response is received from the applicants their applications shall be summarily rejected and no further correspondence shall be entertained in this regard.

All female candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe/ Persons with Benchmark Disability categories are exempted from payment of fee. No fee exemption is, however, available to OBC/EWS candidates and they are required to pay the prescribed fee in full.

Persons with Benchmark Disability are exempted from the payment of fee provided they are otherwise eligible for appointment to the Services/Posts to be filled on the results of this examination on the basis of the standards of medical fitness for these Services/Posts (including any concessions specifically extended to the Persons with Benchmark Disability). A candidate of Persons with Benchmark Disability claiming fee concession will be required by the Commission to submit along with their Detailed Application Form - I, a certified copy of the Certificate of Disability from a Government Hospital/Medical Board in support of his/her claim for belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability.

NB: Notwithstanding, the aforesaid provision for fee exemption, a candidate of Persons with Benchmark Disability will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if the candidate (after such physical examination as the Government or the Appointing Authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/Posts to be allocated to candidates of Persons with Benchmark Disability by the Government.

Note I: Applications without the prescribed Fee (unless remission of Fee is claimed) shall be summarily rejected.

Note II: Fee once paid shall not be refunded under any circumstances nor can the fee be held in reserve for any other examination or selection.

Note III: If any candidate who took the Civil Services Examination held in 2022 wishes to apply for admission to this examination, he/she must submit his/her application without waiting for the results or an offer of appointment.

Note IV: Candidates admitted to the Main Examination will be required to pay a further fee of Rs. 200/- (Rupees Two hundreds only).

5. How to Apply:

(a) Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. It is essential for the applicant to register himself/herself first at One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commission’s website, and then proceed for filling up the online application for the examination. OTR has to be registered only once in life time. This can be done anytime throughout the year. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway for filling up the online application for the examination.

(i) Modification in OTR Profile:

In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. The change in OTR profile data shall be available till expiry of 7 days from the next day after the closure of application window of his/her first final application for any Examination of the Commission. In the case, the candidate after registration of OTR applies for the first time in this examination last date of

modification of OTR would be 12.03.2024.

(ii) Modification in application form (Other than OTR Profile):
The Commission has also decided to extend the facility of making correction(s) in any field(s) of the application form for this examination from next day of the closure of the application window of this Examination. This window will remain open for 7 days from the date of opening of the same, i.e., from 06.03.2024 to 12.03.2024. In case a candidate wants to carry out any change in his/her OTR profile during this period, then he/she should login to the OTR platform and do the needful accordingly. In other words, no change in the OTR profile can be made by visiting the window for Modification in application form.

(iii) The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same.

(b) All candidates, whether already in Government Service, Government owned industrial undertakings or other similar organizations or in private employment should submit their applications direct to the Commission.

Persons already in Government Service, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity or as work charged employees other than casual or daily rated employees or those serving under the Public Enterprises are however, required to submit an undertaking that they have informed in writing to their Head of Office/Department that they have applied for the Examination. Candidates should note that in case a communication is received from their employer by the Commission withholding permission to the candidates applying for/appearing at the examination, their application will be liable to be rejected/candidature will be liable to be cancelled.

NOTE 1: While filling in his/her Application Form, the candidate should carefully decide about his/her choice of centre for the Examination. If any candidate appears at a centre other than the one indicated by the Commission in his/her Admission Certificate, the papers of such a candidate will not be evaluated and his/her candidature will be liable to cancellation.

NOTE 2: The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the categories of blindness, locomotor disability (both arm affected – BA) and cerebral palsy will be provided the facility of scribe, if desired by the person. In case of other category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities as defined under section 2(r) of the RPWD Act, 2016, the facility of scribe will be allowed to such candidates on production of a certificate to the effect that the person concerned has physical limitation to write, and scribe is essential to write examination on behalf, from the Chief Medical Officer/ Civil Surgeon/ Medical Superintendent of a Government Health Care institution as per proforma at Appendix – IV. The candidates have discretion of opting for his/her own scribe or request the Commission for the same. The details of scribe i.e. whether own or the Commission’s and the details of scribe in case candidates are bringing their own scribe, will be sought at the time of filling up the application form online. Suitable provisions in Online Application have been made.

NOTE 3: The qualification of the Commission’s scribe as well as own scribe will not be more than the minimum qualification criteria of the examination. However, the qualification of the scribe should always be matriculate or above.

NOTE 4: The Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the category of blindness, locomotor disability (both arm affected – BA) and cerebral palsy will be allowed Compensatory Time of twenty minutes per hour of the examination. In case of other categories of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, this facility will be provided on production of a certificate to the effect that the person concerned has physical limitation to write from the Chief Medical Officer/ Civil Surgeon/ Medical Superintendent of a Government Health Care institution as per proforma at Appendix – IV.

NOTE-5: Candidates appearing in Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 will be required to indicate information such as (a) detail of Centres for Civil Services (Main) Examination and Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination (b) Optional subject to be selected for the examination, (c) Medium of examination for Civil Services (Main) Examination, (d) Medium of Examination for Optional Subject if he/she chooses any Indian Language as the Medium of Examination for Civil Services (Main) Examination and (e) compulsory Indian Language for Civil Services (Main) Examination at the time of the filling up online application itself.

No request for changes in these details once online application is submitted shall be entertained by the Commission.

NOTE 6: Candidates are not required to submit alongwith their applications any certificate in support of their claims regarding Age, Educational Qualifications, Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes/ Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability etc. which will be verified at the time of the Main examination only.

The candidates applying for the Civil Services Examination should ensure that they fulfil all the eligibility conditions for admission to the Examination. Their admission at all the stages of Examination for which they are admitted by the Commission viz. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, Civil Services (Main) Examination – either Written or the Interview/Personality Test – will be purely provisional, subject to their satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. If on verification at any time before or after the Preliminary Examination, Main Examination (Written) and Interview/Personality Test, it is found that they do not fulfil any of the eligibility conditions, their candidature for the Examination will be cancelled by the Commission. The decision of the Commission as to the eligibility or otherwise of a candidate for admission to the Examination shall be final.

If any of their claims is found to be incorrect, they may render themselves liable to disciplinary action by the Commission in terms of Rule 19 of the Rules for the Civil Services Examination, 2024 reproduced below:

(1) A candidate who is or has been declared by the Commission to be guilty of :-
(a) Obtaining support for candidature by the following means, namely :-
(i) offering illegal gratification to; or
(ii) applying pressure on; or
(iii) blackmailing, or threatening to blackmail any person connected with the conduct of the examination; or
(b) impersonation; or
(c) procuring impersonation by any person; or
(d) submitting fabricated/incorrect documents or documents which have been tampered with; or
(e) uploading irrelevant or incorrect photo/signature in the application form in place of actual photo/signature; or
(f) making statements which are incorrect or false or suppressing material information; or
(g) resorting to the following means in connection with the candidature for the examination, namely :-
(i) obtaining copy of question paper through improper means; or
(ii) finding out the particulars of the persons connected with secret work relating to the examination; or
(iii) influencing the examiners; or
(h) being in possession of or using unfair means during the examination; or
(i) writing obscene matter or drawing obscene sketches or irrelevant matter in the scripts; or
(j) misbehaving in the examination hall including tearing of the scripts, provoking fellow examinees to boycott examination, creating a disorderly scene and the like; or
(k) harassing, threatening or doing bodily harm to the staff employed by the Commission for the conduct of the examination; or
(l) being in possession of or using any mobile phone, (even in switched-off mode), pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc. or camera or bluetooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories (either in working or switched-off mode) capable of being used as a communication device during the examination; or
(m) violating any of the instructions issued to candidates along with their admission certificates permitting them to take the examination; or
(n) attempting to commit or, as the case may be, abetting the commission of all or any of the acts specified in the foregoing clauses;
In addition to being liable to criminal prosecution, shall be disqualified by the Commission from the Examination held under these Rules; and/or shall be liable to be debarred either permanently or for a specified period :-
(i) by the Commission, from any examination or selection held by them;
(ii) by the central government from any employment under them; and shall be liable to face disciplinary action under the appropriate rules if already in service under Government; Provided that no penalty under this rule shall be imposed except after :-
(i) giving the candidate an opportunity of making such representation in writing as the candidate may wish to make in that behalf; and
(ii) taking the representation, if any, submitted by the candidate within the period allowed for this purpose, into consideration.

(2) Any person who is found by the Commission to be guilty of colluding with a candidate(s) in committing or abetting the commission of any of the misdeeds listed at the clauses (a) to (m) above will be liable to action in terms of the clause (n) in Rule 19 (1) above.

6. LAST DATE FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

The Online Applications can be filled upto 05.03.2024 till 6:00 P.M. after which the link will be disabled. Detailed instructions regarding filling of online application is available at Appendix- II.

7. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE COMMISSION:
The Commission will not enter into any correspondence with the candidates about their candidature except in the following cases:
(i) The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admit Card three weeks before the commencement of the examination. The e-Admit Card will be made available on the UPSC website [www.upsc.gov.in] for downloading by candidates. No Admit Card will be sent by post. If a candidate does not receive his e-Admit Card or any other communication regarding his/her candidature for the examination three weeks before the commencement of the examination, he/she should at once contact the Commission. Information in this regard can also be obtained from the Facilitation Counter located in the Commission’s Office either in person or over phone Nos. 011-23381125/011- 23385271/011-23098543. In case no communication is received in the Commission's Office from the candidate regarding non-receipt of his/her e Admit Card at least 3 weeks before the examination, he/she himself/herself will be solely responsible for non-receipt of his/her e- Admit Card. No candidate will ordinarily be allowed to take the examination unless he/she holds an eAdmit Card for the examination. On downloading of e-Admit Card, check it carefully and bring discrepancies/errors, if any, to the notice of UPSC immediately.

The candidates should note that their admission to the examination will be purely provisional based on the information given by them in the Application Form. This will be subject to verification of all the eligibility conditions by the UPSC.
The mere fact that an e-Admit Card to the Examination has been issued to a candidate, will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission or that entries made by the candidate in his/her application for the Preliminary examination have been accepted by the Commission as true and correct. Candidates may note that the Commission takes up the verification of eligibility conditions of a candidate, with reference to original documents, only after the candidate has qualified for Civil Services (Main) Examination. Unless candidature is formally confirmed by the Commission, it continues to be provisional.

The decision of the Commission as to the eligibility or otherwise of a candidate for admission to the Examination shall be final. Candidates should note that the name in the Admit Card in some cases, may be abbreviated due to technical reasons.
(ii) In the event of a candidate downloading more than one Admit Card from the Commission's website, he/she should use only one of these Admit Card for appearing in the examination and report about the other(s) to the Commission's Office.
(iii) Candidates are informed that as the Preliminary Examination is only a screening test, no marks sheets will be supplied to successful or unsuccessful candidates and no correspondence will be entertained by the Commission, in this regard.
(iv) Candidates must ensure that their emails IDs given in their online application are valid and active.

Important: All communications to the Commission should invariably contain the following particulars.
1. Name and year of the examination.
2. Registration ID (RID)
3. Roll Number (if received)
4. Name of candidate (in full and in block letters)
5. Complete postal address as given in the application.
6. Valid and Active E-mail ID.

N.B. I. Communication not containing the above particulars may not be attended to.
N.B. II. Candidates should also note down their RID number for future reference. They may be required to indicate the same in connection with their candidature for the Civil Services (Main) Examination.

8. Reservation against vacancies for Persons with Benchmark Disability:
The eligibility for availing reservation against the vacancies reserved for the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities shall be the same as prescribed in “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act, 2016)”. The candidates of Multiple Disabilities will be eligible for reservation under category (e)-Multiple Disabilities only of Section 34(1) of RPwD Act, 2016 and shall not be eligible for reservation under any other categories of disabilities i.e (a) to (d) of Section 34(1) of RPwD Act, 2016 on account of having 40% and above in any of these sub-categories of PwBD.
Provided further that the candidates from Persons with Benchmark Disability category shall also be required to meet special eligibility criteria in terms of Functional Classification and Physical Requirements (abilities/disabilities) (FC&PR) consistent with requirements of the identified Service/post as may be prescribed by its Cadre Controlling Authority.

Note-I: The details of Functional Classification (FC) and Physical Requirements (PR) of each Service participating in CSE-2023 are indicated in Para -1 of this Examination Notice which are identified and prescribed by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs) as per the provisions of Section 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. This list is also available in the Rules of Civil Services Examination, 2023 at Appendix – IV.

Note-II: Persons with Benchmark Disability with only those category(ies) of disability(ies) mentioned in Para-1 of this Examination Notice shall be eligible to apply for the Examination under PwBD category. Therefore, candidates concerned are advised to read it carefully before applying appropriately for admission to the Examination.
Note-III: Candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability category are likely to have been previously tested and in possession of related medical certificates even before applying for admission to the Examination. However, it is to be noted clearly that the prescribed Medical Examination as per these Rules, also including that for benchmark disability category(ies), shall be mandatory and only the results of the prescribed Medical Examination shall be deemed valid for assessing whether a PwBD category candidate meets the requirements to be appointed.

9. Eligibility for Availing Reservation:

(1) A candidate will be eligible to get the benefit of community reservation only in case the particular caste to which the candidate belongs is included in the list of reserved communities issued by the Central Government.

(2) The OBC candidates applying for CSE-2024 must produce OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate based on the income for the Financial Year (FY) 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022 2023 and issued on/after 01.04.2023 (after the completion of FY 2022-23) but not later than the closing date of the application for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 i.e. 5th March, 2024.

(3) A candidate will be eligible to get the benefit of the Economically Weaker Section reservation only in case the candidate meets the criteria issued by the Central Government and is in possession of requisite Income & Asset Certificate based on income for Financial Year (FY) 2022-2023 and issued on/after 01.04.2023 (after the completion of FY 2022-23 ) but not later than the closing date of the application for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 i.e. 5th March, 2024.

10. Candidates seeking reservation/relaxation benefits available for SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PwBD/ Exservicemen must ensure that they are entitled to such reservation/relaxation as per eligibility prescribed in the Rules/Notice. They should also be in possession of all the requisite certificates in the prescribed format in support of their claim as stipulated in the Rules/Notice for such benefits by the closing date of the application of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024.

11. The closing date fixed for the receipt of the application of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination - 2024 will be treated as the date for determining the OBC status (including that of creamy layer) of the candidates.

12. Change of Category: If the category indicated by a candidate in the application form for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination is Unreserved category but the candidate subsequently writes to the Commission to change the category to a reserved one, such request shall not be entertained by the Commission. Further, once a candidate has chosen a reserved category, no request shall be entertained for change to other reserved category viz. SC to ST, ST to SC, OBC to SC/ST or SC/ST to OBC, SC to EWS, EWS to SC, ST to EWS, EWS to ST, OBC to EWS, EWS to OBC. No Reserved category candidates other than those who qualified each stage of the Examination on General standard, shall be allowed to change (on their request or as decided by the Commission/Government based on the documents submitted by them) their category from reserved to unreserved or claim the vacancies (Service/Cadre) for unreserved category after the declaration of final result by UPSC. In cases where such candidates do not qualify on General Standard, their candidature shall be cancelled. Further, no candidate belonging to any sub-category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) shall be allowed to change the sub-category of disability.

While the above principle will be followed in general, there may be a few cases where there was a gap of not more than 3 months between the issuance of a Government Notification enlisting a particular community in the list of any of the reserved communities and the date of submission of the application by the candidate. In such cases, the request of change of category from Unreserved to Reserved may be considered by the Commission on merit.

In case of a candidate becoming a Candidate belonging to Person with Benchmark Disability during the course of the examination process, the candidate must produce valid document of acquiring a disability to the extent of 40% or more as defined under the RPwD Act, 2016 to conider drawing the benefits of reservation as available to the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) category.

13. Withdrawal of applications: The cadidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same.

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