Millions of Indians wish to be part of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The same is applicable for services such as the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), among others. A standard exam called the UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted to recruit for 24 services, including IAS, IPS, and IFS (CSE).
 
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the body in charge of the entire recruiting process.
 

How should you start IAS preparation?

The UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) is divided into 3 stages. The stages are as follows:
 

• Preliminary Exam (objective)
• Main Exam (written)
• Interview (personality test)

 
In this era of the internet, self-study and online preparation will help you pass the IAS exam. It is not necessary to receive classroom coaching. 
 

Steps to start preparing for the IAS exam 

 
Step 1: Read the whole syllabus thoroughly at least once. Analyse and examine which sections seem simple and difficult to assign your time accordingly.
 
Step 2: Allocate your time properly. It is important to divide your time to ensure that you have ample preparation time, revision time, and time to solve previous year’s papers and mock exams. 
 
Step 3: Refer to effective books and study material. This will help you understand the topics properly. 
 
Step 4: Prepare for the UPSC Mains and the UPSC Prelims at the same time. Certain topics are only relevant for Mains (for example, Ethics, Internal Security, World History etc.).
 
Step 5: Mock Exams are just as relevant for Mains as they are for Prelims. To structure your answers in a time-constrained environment, you’ll need proper answer writing practice. Experts can assess the answers and give suggestions for improvement.
 
Step 6: Your UPSC interview’s most critical part is your bio-data (Detailed Application Form or DAF). Try to derive the possible questions from the DAF.
 

UPSC Exam Dates

The Civil Services Preliminary Exam is usually conducted in June by the UPSC. The Main Exam takes place in September. The Personality Test takes about three months to finish. The CSE interview (or personality test) is held by UPSC between February and April.
 

UPSC 2020

The UPSC exam cycle of 2020 has already begun. Here are the important dates for UPSC 2020. 
 

• UPSC CSE 2020 Prelims Date: 4th October 2020
• UPSC CSE 2020 Mains Date: 8th January 2021
• UPSC CSE 2020 Interview Date:  March-May 2021 (Tentative)
• UPSC CSE 2020 Final Result Date: End of May 2021 (Tentative)

UPSC 2021

The UPSC Civil Services Examination notification for 2021 will be announced by February 10, 2021. You can register for the Civil Services Exam 2021 from 10th February 2021 onwards – to 2nd March 2021. 

• UPSC CSE 2021 Prelims Date: 27th June 2021
• UPSC CSE 2021 Mains Date: 17th September 2021
• UPSC CSE 2021 Interview Date:  January-March 2022 (Tentative)
• UPSC CSE 2021 Final Result Date: April 2022 (Tentative)