Civil Services main exam begins today. This year Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the agency which spearheads civil services recruitment, will conduct the exam till October 7. Last year the exam was held in October-November 2017. The exam will be held in two sessions, except today. Mains candidates appeared for Essay paper in the first session today which was held from 9.00 am to 12 noon. On September 29 and 30, UPSC will conduct exam for GS paper I, II, III and IV.
Read: In A First, UPSC Allows Candidates To Withdraw Online Applications
Exam for optional papers will be held on October 7. Last year, the top 25 candidates had opted for optional papers like Anthropology, Commerce & Accountancy, Economics, Geography, Law, Maths, Physics, Political Science & International Relations, Sociology, and Malayalam Literature. Durishetty Anudeep, the Civil Services 2017 topper, had Anthropology as his optional subject. Anu Kumari was the second topper and the female topper in the exam.
Last year, a total of 13,366 candidates qualified for the Civil Services main exam out of 4,56,625 candidates who took the exam in June. 9,57,590 candidates had registered for the exam.
19% of the candidates who took the main exam in 2017, qualified for the personality test round. 990 candidates were recommended by the Commission for recruitment to various services.
Close to 10 lakh candidates register for the Civil Services exam every year. The exam conducted by UPSC includes: prelims, mains and interview/ personality test.
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