How to Become an IAS Officer in India?

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is obtained through the Civil Services Examination offered by the Union Public Service Commission. It is divided into 3 distinct stages: Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and Personality Test (interview). Applicants should have a bachelor's degree and be at least 21 years old during the application. Recruitment is exercised only among those who achieve the necessary ranks at every level. Successful applicants will train at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration after post-selection. In this way, commitment, hard work, and the uncompromised commitment to service are the decisive requirements to enter this noble and challenging career path.

You must crack the UPSC Civil Services Exam to become an IAS Officer in India. The basic eligibility criteria to appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam are a graduation degree from a recognised university. 

Download Last 10 Years UPSC Prelims & Mains Question Papers!

How to Become an IAS Officer?

Becoming an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is a dream for many aspiring individuals. Careful planning and focused preparation are required to turn this dream into reality. The below information gives How to Become an IAS Officer Step by Step process:

Step 1 - Meet the IAS Eligibility Criteria

The first and foremost step to becoming an IAS officer is to meet the eligibility criteria set by the UPSC Commission.

How to become an IAS Officer: Age Limit?

• The minimum age criteria for appearing for the UPSC CSE exam is at least 21.
• The maximum age limit for a candidate to become an IAS officer for the general category is 32 years.
• The maximum limit for the OBC category is 35 years, and for the SC/ST category is 37 years.

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Educational Qualification

• A candidate must graduate from any recognised university to become an IAS officer and pass the UPSC CSE exam.
• This exam is open to candidates in their final year of graduation.
• Candidates who have completed a correspondence education programme are also qualified to take this exam.
• This examination is open to both professionals and non-professionals.
• This examination is also open to medical students. But only if he has finished his degree and is enrolled in an internship programme.
• Candidates who have passed the CA, ICWA, and ICSI exams can also apply.

Number of Attempts

• For the general category, the candidate is limited to 6 attempts.
• For OBC, the candidate has a limit of 9 attempts.
• SC/ST candidates have no limit up to 37 years.

Step 2 - Apply for Civil Services Examination

The Second Step involves getting an application form, which the Union Public Services Commission releases every year, to take the entrance examination for the civil services exam. Candidates who aspire to get into their services should read the newspapers daily or visit the official site of UPSC to learn about such advertisements.

Also, read the UPSC IAS Application Form in detail here.

Step 3 - Clear the Preliminary Exam

The UPSC Preliminary Exam is the qualifying exam, usually in June. This exam comprises two compulsory papers with 200 marks each: general studies paper I and general studies paper II, more popularly known as CSAT. Both papers are objective. The time provided for each paper is two hours. The final ranking does not include the marks of this exam.

Go through IAS Prelims Syllabus Topic wise in detail and get thorough with your strategy!

Step 4 - Fill Out the DAF Form For the Mains Exam

Once the Prelims results are out, candidates will understand whether they have cleared this stage and are shortlisted for the mains exam. You must complete the UPSC DAF Form for the Mains exam and submit it online on the official UPSC website. It is mandatory to fill out this DAF form if you want to appear for the Mains exam.

Step 5 - Clear the UPSC Mains Exam

After filling out the DAF Form, you must appear for the UPSC Mains exam, usually in September or October. This exam will consist of a compulsory Indian language, an English Paper, an Essay Paper, four General Studies Papers and two Optional Papers. In total, 9 papers will be there for the UPSC Mains Exam. As the Mains exam stage is subjective, you need good practice in Mains Answer Writing.

Choosing right optional is always confusing for candidates. Find out Which Optional Subject is Best for UPSC?

Step 6 - Crack the Final Interview Round

This is the last stage of the Civil Services Exam. After the UPSC Mains Exam, the Commission conducts a Personality Test, 275 Marks. The interview is a long process, and the panel consists of subject matter experts, psychologists, bureaucrats, educationists and the board chairperson.

The final ranking depends on the marks obtained in the mains and the interview. IAS officers are selected based on the final ranking.

UPSC Interview is the most dicey stage of IAS Journey, Get to Know How to Prepare for UPSC IAS Interview Stage in this detailed article!

Step 7 - Complete the IAS Training at LBSNAA

After getting through all the above-mentioned stages, Candidates undergo intensive training at LBSNAA ( Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie). The total duration of the LBSNAA training period is 2 years, which is divided into different phases.

IAS Officer Selection Process

To become an IAS officer, you must pass the Civil Services Examination held annually by the UPSC. The exam is held to select civil officials for approximately 25 different services, including the IAS, IPS, IFS, Central government services, and other affiliated services. Each year, around January-February, UPSC issues a notification requesting applications, and the first part, or preliminary examination, takes place around the end of May or the beginning of June.

UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination in three phases, namely:

• Preliminary Examination
• Civil Services (Main) Examination
• Personality Test or Interview.

IAS Officer Selection Rounds

The process of IAS officer selection passes through three main parts: 1) Preliminary Examination - The preliminary examination is also called objective-type screening test; 2) Mains Examination - The main examination consists of written descriptive papers in general studies, optional subjects and language papers; 3) Candidate Test (Interview) - It is the oral examination of the candidate to gauge their suitability, communicational skills, leadership qualities and decision-making ability. Applicants pass through the processes one after another, and the last stage of selection will depend on the number of marks obtained in the Mains and the Interview process.

Round - 1: UPSC Prelims

There are two papers in this round. The details regarding the IAS prelims are mentioned in the table given below.

Round - 2: UPSC MAINS

In this case, you need to submit 9 descriptive papers. It has four General Studies papers, two optional papers, two language papers (English and Indian language) and an essay paper. The details could be checked in the following table:

Out of the 9 papers, the language papers (English and Indian language) qualify and are not involved in the merit ranking. The optional subjects have a list to be selected by the UPSC individually, and one of the papers is to be taken as an optional. An Anu will appear for a personality test at the UPSC when you get the necessary cut-off marks on the exam.

Download Key Takeaways on Becoming an IAS Officer After 12th – UPSC Notes PDF.

Round - 3: UPSC Personality Test

In this last stage of the IAS exam interview, you are to be interviewed by the UPSC board. You are to be evaluated based on factors other than knowledge, such as leadership skills, clarity of thoughts and words, handling stressful situations, a grasp of the problem, general awareness, etc. If you pass this round, you will be included in the last merit list published by the UPSC. Then, you will be assigned to a service and cadre based on your rank, category and available vacancies. The IAS needs an excellent rank, as this is the most sought-after service among all the services.

The final step in Stage 2 is going through the latest syllabus of UPSC. This will give you the impression of the topics you need to revise to take the exam, and the degree to which you must go through them. In addition, do not forget to revise the UPSC question papers from the last years. This will open your eyes to the questions asked in the IAS exam. When a combination of the past question papers and the UPSC syllabus is examined, it will be found that the UPSC asks about virtually all the questions in the syllabus, but with a current affairs twist to it.

Learn more about How to join the Indian Forest Service!

Responsibilities of an IAS Officer

IAS officers' duties depend on the sort of assignment they are allotted. There are three types of assignments given to them:

Also, Get to Know How to Become an IAS Officer After 12th!

Conclusion

To become an IAS officer, one needs to clear the UPSC Civil Services Examination, which has three phases: Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. Candidates have to play by the rules, such as requirements that they are Indian citizens, aged 21, and have a bachelor's degree. Officers are selected and amalgamated into tough training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). The career in IAS is associated with gradual administrative work through job developments as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate and up the ladder to higher government posts. This distinguished position requires commitment, lifelong learning and talents to guide administration in the society towards national growth. The perseverance and desire to serve the people in society are indicators of success in this career.

After reading this article, we hope all your doubts about "how to become an IAS officer" have been addressed. The textbook provides comprehensive notes on civil services and various other competitive examinations. It has always ensured the quality of its products, such as content pages, live tests, GK, current affairs, mocks, and so on. Ace your UPSC preparation with the Testbook. Download the Testbook App now!