UPSC Civil Services 2016 Preliminary Exam: Eligibility Criteria!

The UPSC has mentioned a set of instructions clearly defining the eligibility of candidates for the Civil Services examination 2022. The Candidates who are applying for the exam should make sure that they fulfill all the conditions for admission to the examination.

Following is the eligibility criteria for students appearing in the Civil Services exam 2022:-

        1. Age Limit and Number of Attempts

• A candidate must have attained the age of 21 and must not be older than 32 years.
• For general category candidates,  the maximum number of attempts is 6.
• For OBC Category candidates, the age limit is relaxed by 3 years and the maximum number of attempts is 9.
• For SC/ST Category candidates, the age limit is relaxed by 5 years while the number of attempts is unlimited.
• For Physically Handicapped candidates, the age limit is relaxed by 10, 13 and 15 years for General, OBC and SC/ST categories respectively while the number of attempts is 9 for General and OBC and unlimited for SC/ST category candidates.

        2. Nationality

• For IAS and the IPS, a candidate must be a resident of India.
• For other services, a candidate must be either-
• A resident of India, or
• A subject of Nepal, or
• A subject of Bhutan, or
• A refugee from Tibet who came to India before 1^st January, 1962 with the intent to settle in India permanently. Or
• A person who has migrated from Sri Lanka, Burma, Pakistan, East African countries of Zaire, Uganda, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Kenya and is of Indian origin with the intent to settle in India permanently.

       3. Educational Qualification

Candidate must have a graduate or an equivalent degree from any of the affiliated universities . Final year students who are awaiting results are also eligible to apply for the preliminary examination. However, they have to submit proof of passing the respective qualification along with the detailed application form of Civil Services Main examination.

       4. Restrictions on applying

A candidate who is already in the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the basis of an examination held previously and continues to be a member of that service shall not be eligible to write the examination.