What comes to your mind when you first listen to the word UPSC? I am sure, you think about IAS. Mostly, UPSC is associated with the CSE. CSE here stands for the civil services exam. Simply, it is the exam popularly conducted to recruit IAS officers. However, the exam is meant not just for IAS officers, but for many other services. But, we Indians, mostly link UPSC to IAS and IAS to CSE. If you are preparing for this exam, you need to know almost all about it. No doubt IAS is a reputed service. But, there are many other professions you can pursue. In today’s article, we will talk about the list of exams conducted by UPSC. Hence, firstly we will look at the UPSC exams list. Then, we will figure out how many exams are there in UPSC.
About the Article
After writing the CSE exam, you can get any service available. However, your service choice is listed in your application. But, ofc it isn’t sure that you will get the service of your choice. It totally depends on the current vacancies. Moreover, your rank also influences the service you get. Apart from CSE, there are many other popular technical and non-technical services. UPSC conducts exams for such services. Moreover, you are still a govt employee if you pass any exams conducted by UPSC. Mostly, candidates feel that these services aren’t much accepted. However, this is not true. They are equally respected. Moreover, some services can also give better career prospects than the popular three All India Services.
Further, the cons of the All India Services make the other services favorable for some. Hence, this article is for those who wish to explore the other side of UPSC exams. Moreover, it is also for those who are looking at technical career prospects. It is also for candidates looking out for professional govt services. Like you can see, an IAS has very general data. The CSE prep is based on generic info. Hence, he is a master of none, but a jack of all trades. Thus, here are some amazing exams conducted by UPSC for those who wish to master in a field. Let us now begin. Firstly, we will look at the UPSC exams list.
List of Exams Conducted by UPSC
UPSC CSE |
ESE |
CMS Exam |
CDS Exam |
NDA Exam |
Naval Academy Examination |
Special Class Railway Apprentice |
Indian Forest Service Exam |
IES/ISE Exam |
Combined Geoscientist & Geologist Exam |
CAPF(Asst. Commandant) Exam |
Totally, there are eleven exams under UPSC. Hence, now the question of how many exams are there in UPSC is solved. Now, let us look at the details of each of the exams. Let us go one by one.
UPSC CSE – Most Popular among other exams conducted by UPSC
The civil services exam recruits civil servants for various posts. The most cherished one is the Indian Administrative Service. Secondly, there are the Indian Police Services. Another one is the Indian Foreign Services. The third one is not an All India Service. However, an IFS gets more salary and works at par with an IAS. The exam takes place in three stages. It starts with a preliminary stage. Then, it moves ahead to the main exam. Lastly, it tests candidates via an interview test. Each level has its own importance. The exam carries a total of 1750 marks. Moreover, the exam is a national-level exam. It is open for everyone above 21 years of age. Moreover, you should hold a university degree before applying. Anyone in their last year of degree can also apply. Provided that they fulfill other imp criteria.
Further, the UPSC CSE follows a definite calendar. However, due to the recent pandemic, there are slight changes in the latest exams. But, we will take a look at the regular UPSC calendar. Usually, the application starts in February. The application closes in March. Thus, there is a window of at least one month to apply for the exam. Further, the prelims exam is scheduled for June or August. Then, the mains exam takes place in December. Moreover, the results are out by February. Lastly, the interview stage takes place in April/May/June.
Engineering Services Exam – ESE
The ESE is one of the next popular exams conducted by UPSC. Like UPSC CSE, even the ESE exam is held in three different stages. The exam is held for Indian Engineering Services. There are both technical and managerial posts. The exam application form is usually out by September. The application closes by October. Further, the prelims exam is held in January. The mains test takes place in August. Lastly, the interview test is organized in November. In the prelims stage, there are two papers. The first one is the GS and Engineering aptitude paper. It lasts for two hours and carries 200 marks. Paper two is the Engineering Discipline, Specific Paper. This paper’s duration is three hours. Moreover, the paper carries a total of 300 marks. Hence, the first stage is of a total of 500 marks.
The mains stage also has two papers. Both are related to engineering. They are descriptive-type papers. Each paper lasts for three hours and carries 300 marks each. Thus, the mains stage carries a total of 600 marks. The third test is an interview test. This test carries a total of 200 marks. Thus, the exam totally carries 1300 marks.
CMS Exam
Third, on the list of exams conducted by UPSC is the CMS exam. It has two papers. Each paper carries around 250 marks. The first paper has General medicine questions. Moreover, it also questions from Cardiology, Neurology, Derma, and Psychiatry. These topics make up 60 % of this paper. The rest 40% of the questions are from Surgery including ENT, Ophthalmology, Traumatology, and Orthopedics. After this, there is paper two. In this paper, the exam follows the 20-40-40 ratio. Here, 20% of questions are from Pediatrics. 40% are from Gynaecology & Obstetrics. The rest 40% are from Preventive & Social Medicine. Check the exams conducted by UPSC here: Read Now.
CDS Exam
The combined defense service is one of the most popular exams. The CDS exam is conducted by UPSC. Unlike other exams, this exam takes place twice a year. The first CDS exam is held in February. Moreover, the second CDS exam is held in October. The results are out by December followed by an interview round. It recruits candidates for the Indian Military/Air Force/Naval Academy. The exam is objective type in nature. There are three papers in the CDS exam. Firstly, there is an English paper. Then, there is a GK paper. Lastly, there is elementary math. Each paper is of 100 marks. Hence, this stage has a total of 300 marks. Further, there is an OTA stage. There are two papers in the OTA. That is Officer’s Training Academy. They are English and GK. These are for 100 marks each. Hence, this stage carries a total of 200 marks.
NDA, SCRA, IFoS, IES, and other exams conducted by UPSC
NDA is one of the top exams on the list of exams conducted by UPSC. The exam has two papers. Firstly, there is a math paper for 300 marks. Secondly, there is a General Ability Test. The first one carries 300 marks. However, the second one carries 600 marks. Hence, the exam carries total of 900 marks. Each paper lasts for two and a half hours. Further, the Indian Naval Academy Exam is conducted twice a year. You can write the exam either in April or September. The written exam has two papers. The exam scheme is the same as the NDA exam. However, here there is an SSB interview of 900 marks as well.
Further, there is an SCRA exam conducted by UPSC. It has three papers of 200 marks each. Firstly, there is a General Ability Test. Then, there is a Physical Science Test. Lastly, there is a Math test. Each paper lasts for two hours. Moreover, the exam is of a total of 600 marks. The IFoS is similar to the UPSC CSE exam. However, there are some minor differences as well. For the IES exam, the papers are mostly related to economics. There are six papers in the IES exam. Each paper lasts for three hours. Further, the Combined Geoscientist and Geologist exam have two stages. Moreover, the CAPF exam has three stages. To read more on CAPF: click here.
FAQs
There is a total of eleven exams in UPSC. Mostly, their exam patterns are different. However, the subjects or topics to study are more or less overlapping. But this is not the case with technical and medical services.
No. Usually, competitive exams are conducted only once a year. However, some exams take place twice a year like the CDS exam. But, no such exam takes place more than twice a year on the list of exams under the UPSC list.
You can simply visit the official UPSC website to check the latest updates on all of the exams under UPSC. Moreover, you can also download the previous year’s question papers on this website.
Editor’s Note | Exams Conducted by UPSC
Here, we will conclude our article. In today’s article, we answered how many exams are there in UPSC. Thus, we learned that there is a total of eleven exams conducted by UPSC. Moreover, each exam has a different pattern and syllabus. You should refer to their official website for the latest details. You should prepare a separation strategy for every exam. Only then you can easily crack these tests. Moreover, you can take help from some reference notes as well. Therefore, do not hesitate to plan out your strategy in advance. Make your own notes and start your preparation today.