What is CSE ?
Union Public Service Commission of Government of India conducts what is popularly known as Civil Services Examination every year to recruit All India Services Officers ( IAS and Allied Services ) as per the requirement of that year. The Exam is conducted in two stages : Preliminary and Mains, followed by personality Test as the concluding stage. More than 10 lakh candidates (13.4 lakh candidates in 2024) appear for preliminary exam out of which only around 1% (in 2024, out of 13.4 lakh candidates only 14,627 qualified for the Mains) qualify for the Mains. This shows how tough is the competition of the exam. Those who prepare for the exam intelligently and systematically succeeded the competition. The purpose of this write up is to guide you to prepare for the exam in such a way that you pass this exam.
CSE : Key Points
Before starting the preparation you should know what to prepare and how to prepare. Our objective here is to tell you first, how to qualify for the Mains (i.e; how to pass the Prelims ) and next, how to clear the Mains.
Preparing for the Prelims
CSE prelims have two papers . They both are compulsory , of objective type (multiple choice questions), carrying 200 marks each, of 2 hours duration. The papers are General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II ( CSAT )
General Studies Paper I
This paper has 100 questions of general knowledge nature reflecting the given syllabus. The passing marks of this paper may vary from 70 marks to 100 marks (i.e; from 35 % to 50% ) . For example, the passing mark in 2019 was 98 and it was 75 in 2023. So the guidance from these figure is that if you target for 55% marks will be more than enough to clear this paper. There is negative marking at the rate of 0.33 marks for every incorrect answer.
General Studies Paper II ( CSAT )
This paper has 80 questions, objective type, to be answered in 2 hours carrying a total marks of 200. This is only a qualifying paper meaning you have to compulsorily clear this paper and the score of this paper will not be included in the cut off marks for the Mains. The minimum qualifying marks is 33% ( preferably 67 marks). There is negative marking at the rate of 0.33 marks for every incorrect answer.