Civil Service Exam and Eligibility

Can you tell me about the eligibility requirement for different Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission?

[shikha]

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS).


Eligibility

Nationality
For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, one must be a citizen of India.

For the Indian Revenue Service, one must be one of the following:
A citizen of India
A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India
For other services, a candidate must be one of the following:
A citizen of India
A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan
A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India


Education
One must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications:

A degree from a Central, State or Deemed university
A degree received through correspondence or distance education
A degree from an open university
A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above

The following candidates are also eligible, but must submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main exam, failing which not be allowed to attend the exam.

One who has appeared in an examination, the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points
One who has passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed an internship
One who has passed the final exam of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), ICSI and ICWAI
A degree from a private university
A degree from any foreign university recognized by the Association of Indian Universities


Age
One must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on August 1 of the year of examination.

Prescribed age limits vary with respect to caste reservations. For other backwards castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35, and for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) the limit is 37 years.

The upper age limit is relaxed for certain candidates who are backward with respect to other factors and physically handicapped people.

Numbers of Attempts
The number of attempt the exam is limited as follows:

General category candidates = 5
OBC category candidates = 7
SC/ST candidates = unlimited attempts till 37 years of age
Appearing to attempt one of the papers in the preliminary exam is counted as an attempt, including disqualification/ cancellation of candidature. However, applying to sit the exam but failing to attend is not counted as an attempt.