What is IES Exam?

Indian Engineering Services (IES) or Engineering Services Examination (ESE) comprise of engineers who work under the government of India and designated as Class – 1 officer. They administer a large segment of the public sector economy, which constitutes of Indian Railways, Power, Telecommunications, Central Water engineering, Defence service of Engineers, Central Engineering Service, namely.

The nature of work performed by these bureaucrats largely depends on their engineering branch and the service or cadre they are recruited in. The career progression goes smoothly attaining high esteem. The first position offered is that of Asst. Executive engineer and the hierarchy ends at the position of Chairman/ Managing Director.

A combined competitive examination is conducted by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to the Indian Engineering Services. The Examination constitutes of a written examination followed by an interview for the personality test. The recruitment of qualified candidates is made under the following categories:

• Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering

The candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfil all eligibility conditions for admission to the examination. Their admission at all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.

UPSC IES Exam Important Dates

The UPSC is conducting the IES exam for the academic year 2018 and the exact dates according to the UPSC calendar are mentioned below:

Note:

The examination shall be conducted according to the following plan:

Stage-I: Engineering Services (Preliminary/Stage-I) Examination (Objective Type Papers) for the selection of candidates for

Stage-II: Engineering Services (Main/Stage-II) Examination; Stage-II: Engineering Services (Main/Stage-II) Examination (Conventional Type Papers) and

Stage-III: Personality Test

1. Centres of Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination:

2. Centres for Engineering Services (Main) Examination:

UPSC IES 2019:

The UPSC has released the tentative dates of Engineering Services Exam 2019. The accurate dates will be updated subsequently. According to the UPSC calendar, the UPSC IES Prelims Exam 2019 will take place on January 1, 2019. The IES Main Exam will be held on June 30, 2019.

Note:

The dates of notification, commencement, and duration of examinations may be changed if there is a need to be changed.

Take a look at the below to know more about the important dates and academic exam timetable details:

Eligibility Criteria

1. Physical Criteria

   1. Medical Examination

   • Candidates finally recommended by the Commission on the basis of Engineering Services Examination, 2018 shall be required to undergo a medical examination.
   • Every candidate, on being finally recommended by Commission will be required to undergo a medical examination as and when so decided by the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) irrespective of the fact that he/she has appeared for such medical examination in the past and found the fit/unfit on the basis of earlier examination.
   • The medical examination will be conducted at various Railway Hospitals under the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board). Other additional instructions for candidates are listed in the official notification of UPSC. The findings of the Railways Medical Board will be taken as final and binding for all allotment purposes

   2. Physical standards

   • Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Engineering Services Examination, 2018 as per guidelines are mentioned in official notification of the Rules for the Engineering Services Examination, 2018 published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 27-09-2017

    

2. Nationality:

   A candidate must be either:

   (a) a Citizen of India, or
   (b) a subject of Nepal, or
   (c) a subject of Bhutan, or
   (d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962, with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
   (e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka or East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or from Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

   Note:

   • Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India
   • A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India

3. Educational Qualification:

   A candidate must have:

   • Obtained a degree in Engineering from a university incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as universities under section-3 of the university grants commission act, 1956 or
   • Passed Section A and B of the Institution Examinations of the Institution of Engineers (India) or
   • Obtained a degree/diploma in Engineering from such foreign University/College/Institution and under such conditions as may be recognised by the Government for the purpose from time to time or
   • Passed Graduate Membership Examination of the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (India) or
   • Passed Associate Membership Examination Parts II and III/Sections A and B of the Aeronautical Society of India or
   • Passed Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics and Radio Engineers, London held after November 1959
   • Provided that a candidate for the post of Indian Naval Armament Service (Electronics Engineering Posts and Engineer Group 'A' in Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing/Monitoring Organization) may possess any of the above qualifications or the qualification mentioned below namely: M.Sc. degree or its equivalent with Wireless Communication, Electronics, Radio Physics or Radio Engineering as a special subject
   • For Indian Radio Regulatory Service - M.Sc. degree or its equivalent with Wireless Communication Electronics, Radio Physics or Radio Engineering as a special subject or Master’s Degree in Science with Physics and Radio Communication or Electronics or Telecommunication as a special subject

4. Age Limit :

   A candidate for this examination must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on the 1st August, of the exam year.

   The upper age limit of 30 years will be relaxable up to 35 years in the case of Government servants of the following categories, if they are employed in a Department/Office under the control of any of the authorities mentioned in column 1 below and apply for admission to the examination for all or any of the Service(s)/Posts mentioned in column 2, for which they are otherwise eligible.

   The upper age limit prescribed above will be further relaxable:

   (i) Up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe.
   (ii) Up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to OBC category.
   (iii) Up to a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the state of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1989.
   (iv) Up to a maximum of three years in the case of defence service personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area, and released as a consequence thereof.
   (v) Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, and have been released (a) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (b) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service or (c) on invalidment;
   (vi) Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Services as on 1st August, and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
   (vii) Up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons.

   Column 1	Column 2
   Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)	I.R.S.E. I.R.S.M.E. I.R.S.E.E. I.R.S.S.E. I.R.S.S.
   Directorate General Ordnance Factories	I.O.F.S. Group ‘A’
   Central Electricity Authority	C.P.E.S. Gr ‘A’ & C.P.E.S. Gr ‘B’
   Ministry of Road Transport and Highways	Central Engineering Service (Roads) Gr. ‘A’
   Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, Dept. of Telecommunication	Engineer in Indian Radio Regulatory Service Gr ‘A’ Indian Telecommunication Service Group ‘A’,  J.T.O. (G.C.S. Gr. ‘B’)
   Central Water Commission	Central Water Engineering Service Gr ‘A’
   Border Roads Organisation	BRES Gr. ‘A’
   Military Engineer Services	Indian Defence Service of Engineers (lDSE) Group ‘A’
   The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical  Engineering, Ministry of Defence	AEE Gr ‘A’(Elect. Engg. Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
   Ministry of Defence, Dept. of Defence Production, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance	Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service(DAQAS) Gr ‘A’
   Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship	Indian Skill Development Service
   Indian Navy	Indian Naval Armament Service, Asstt. Naval Store Officer Grade-I

    

Roles and Responsibilities

• In the starting of their career after selection, they are designated as an Assistant Executive Engineer or Assistant Director
• After the experience of 3 to 4 years, they are promoted to executive engineer, director or work manager. In completion of 8 years of services, they become deputy general manager or joint director
• Over 13 years of experience, they are able to get promoted to joint general manager or chief engineer of level 2
• After 20 years of experience is enough to become a chief engineer or additional general manager
• Providing 30 years of services to the government of India able them to be in the position of senior general manager or engineer-in-chief
• The best performance of the IES officers with experience of 34 years leads them to become chairman or managing director of a governmental organisation

Civil Service Examination Pattern

The pattern of Civil services examination has been designed to test the academic expertise of a candidate and that candidate's ability to present himself/herself in a systematic and coherent manner. The examination pattern intends to assess the overall intellectual traits and understanding level of the candidates.

The UPSC Civil Services Exam 2019 is conducted in two stages namely, Prelims and Mains, which are then followed by an interview.  

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examinations 2019 are as follows:

1. Preliminary Examination (400 Marks)

(This is also called Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) and is a common test for all applicants)

• The Prelims consists of two papers of 200 marks each
  
• Both the question papers are of the objective type (multiple choice questions) of two hours each
• The question papers will be set in both Hindi and English. However, questions related to English Language Comprehension skills would be provided only in English.
• Blind candidates would be allowed an extra 20 minutes of time for each paper 
  

2. Main Examination (2025 Marks)

• Candidates who qualify Preliminary exam are called for the Main exam and on the basis of marks secured in the Main exam, they will be called for Interview
• The total marks of the Main exam and Interview sum up to produce the final result

The written examination consists of the following papers:

 Note:

Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects mentioned below:

 For Santhali language, the question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.

List of optional subjects for Main Examination:

UPSC Application Forms and Procedure

The application procedure for the Civil Services Examination has been changed from the year 2015. Applications for UPSC exams can be submitted online only. No other mode of application is allowed. In order to submit applications for all UPSC exams, candidates are required to apply online, on the following website: www.upsconline.nic.in.

How To Apply For Civil Services Examination 2019?

• Candidates are required to apply online on the website www.upsconline.nic.in
• Applicants are advised to submit a single application only.
• In certain unavoidable situations, if more than one application is made, the applicant must make sure that the application with higher RID (Registration ID) is complete in all respects.
• Candidates already in Government Service, Government owned industrial undertakings or other similar organisations or in private employment should submit their applications direct to the Commission.
• Candidates already in Government Service, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity or as work-charged employees other than casual or daily rated employees or those serving under the Public Enterprises are, however, required to submit an undertaking that they have informed in writing to their Head of Office/Department that they have applied for the Examination.
• Candidates should note that in case a communication is received from their employer by the Commission withholding permission to the candidates applying for/appearing at the examination, their application will be liable to be rejected/candidature will be liable to be cancelled.

Note 1: Applicants who are submitting multiple applications should note that only the applications with higher RID (Registration ID) shall be entertained by the Commission and fee paid against one RID shall not be adjusted against any other RID.

Note 2: While filling in his/her Application Form, the candidate should carefully decide about his/her choice of the centre for the Examination. If any candidate appears at a centre other than the one indicated by the Commission in his/her Admission Certificate, the papers of such a candidate will not be evaluated and his/her candidature will be liable to cancellation.

Note 3: Candidates are not required to submit along with their applications any certificate in support of their claims regarding Age, Educational Qualifications, Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes and Physically disabled etc. which will be verified at the time of the Main examination only. The candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfil all the eligibility conditions for admission to the Examination.

• Their admission at all the stages of examination for which they are admitted by the Commission viz. Preliminary Examination, Main (Written) Examination and Interview Test will be purely provisional, subject to their satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.
• If on verification at any time before or after the Preliminary Examination, Main (written) Examination and Interview Test, it is found that they do not fulfil any of the eligibility conditions, their candidature for the examination will be cancelled by the Commission.
• If any of their claims is found to be incorrect, they may render themselves liable to disciplinary action by the Commission in terms of Rule 14 of the Rules for the subject

Withdrawal Of Applications:

No request for withdrawal of candidature received from a candidate after he/she has submitted his/her application will be entertained under any circumstances.

Civil Service Admit Card

The Prelims examination is going to be conducted on June 02, 2019, whereas the Mains examination will be held on September 9, 2019. Aspirants can download the Civil Services prelims e-admit card by logging on to the below link.

Candidates shall be issued an e-Admission Certificate 3 weeks before the date of examination. Admit Card for Civil Services Main Exam and Preliminary Exams is made available on the official website, i.e. www.upsc.gov.in

Candidates who have successfully submitted the online application along with a fee can download the UPSC admit card from the above website.

The UPSC Admit card contains details like roll number, name, examination timing and centre of examination assigned of the candidate. The UPSC Commission will provide separate admit cards for the prelims and main exams.

Note 1: No Admission Certificate will be sent by post.

Note 2: Check the e-Admit Card carefully and bring discrepancies, if any, to the notice of UPSC immediately.

Note 3: Bring this e-Admit Card in each session to secure admission to Examination Hall. e-Admit Card may be preserved till the declaration of written result as its production before Service Selection Boards is necessary.

Note 4: You are responsible for safe custody of the e-Admit Card and in the event of any other person using this e-Admit Card, the onus lies on you to prove that you have not used the service of an impersonator.

Note 5: If you appear at a centre / sub-centre other than the one indicated by the Commission in your e-Admit Card, your answer scripts will not be evaluated and your candidature is liable to be cancelled.

Note 6: Candidates who do not have clear photographs on the e-admit card/signatures on the Scannable Attendance Lists will have to bring a photo identity proof viz. Aadhar Card, Driving Licence, Passport, Voter I Card etc. and three passport size photographs one for each session for appearing in the examination with an undertaking.

Aspirants Can Clarify Doubts By Following Steps:

In case of any guidance/information/clarification regarding candidates applications, candidature etc., candidates can contact UPSC’s Facilitation Counter near Gate ‘C’ of its campus in person or over Telephone Nos. 011 ‐ 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098543 on working days between 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The Commission also has Website at address, i.e. www.upsc.gov.in over which the candidates can obtain details of the examination as well as information about registration of their applications, venue of the examination and results etc.

Civil Service Selection Procedure

The UPSC Selection process happens in 3 stages:  Civil Services (Preliminary) Examinations (Objective Type) and Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written) and Interview (Personality Test)

UPSC Prelims Examination

• Preliminary Exam will be a 4-hour Objective Type paper.
• It comprises of two papers of multiple choice questions of maximum 200 marks each from various subjects including General Awareness, English Language, Numerical Aptitude, Reasoning, etc.

UPSC Mains Examination

• Candidates who have qualified in the Prelims round will only be called to attend the Mains round.
• The mains round consists of written exam which is followed by personality test.
• Candidates who have cleared the mains round will be appointed as civil servants.
• Mains exam involves written exam and personality test.

The examination consists of

Qualifying papers:

• Paper I - An Indian language selected by the candidates
• Paper II – English

Papers to be counted for merit:

• Essay (Paper III)
• General Studies (Paper IV-VII)
• Optional Subjects (Paper VIII-IX)

UPSC Civil Services Exam 2018: Check Selection Process, Cut-off Marks, Exam Dates, Preparation Tips

Interview

Officially called the "Personality Test", the objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to evaluate the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only a candidate's intellectual qualities, but also social traits and interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, and intellectual and moral integrity.

The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination, but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation that is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

The interview is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidate, which has been already tested through written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study, but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of all well-educated youth.