Civil service Examination Time and Marks

The Civil Services Examination schedule
Stage 1: Preliminary Examinations (Prelims)
Objective type examination . Two papers: (1) General Studies (150 Marks); (2) Optional subject (300 marks). Duration of each paper: 2 hours.
   No negative marking . Prelims score does not affect the ranking in the final merit list.
Stage II: Main Examinations (Mains)
Nine papers
Paper 1-Indian Language-300 marks-3hours;
PaperII-English-300 marks -3hours. (Only those who fulfill minimum standards in paper I& II will be evaluated for the other papers.)
No negative marking. Prelims score does not affect the ranking in the final merit list
Stage II: Main Examination (Mains)
Nine papers
Paper I-indian language-300 marks -3 hours;
Paper II –English-300 marks-3 hours. (Only those who fill minimum standards in paper I&II will be evaluated for the other papers).
Paper III – Essay-200 marks-3 hours;
Paper IV&V General Studies-300 marks each -3 hours;
Paper VI & VII- Optional Subject-300 marks each -3 hours;
Paper VIII and IX –Optional Subject 2 -300 marks each -3 hours.
  The optionals for the main examination are to be chosen from a given list of 25 subjects. They are Agriculture, management, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, mathematics, anthropology, Mechanical Engineering, Botany, Medical Science, Chemistry, Philosophy, Civil Engineering, Physics Commerce& Accountancy, Political Science and International Relations, Economics, Psychology, Electrical Engineering, Public Administration, Geography, Sociology, Geology Statistics , History, Zoology, Law, Literature of one of the following languages: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Nepali,Oriya,Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telegu, Urdu.

Stage III: Interview
The Interview carries 300 marks. The objective of the interview is to assess the personality, leadership qualities , judgment, and moral integrity of the candidate and evaluate his overall fitness for public service.
   The aggregate score in the mains & Interview decides the position of the candidate in the merit List. If he secures a high position , the candidate is entitled to select the service of his choice; but if he ranks low, he will have to settle for the service offered him