What Is UPSC & How To Become An IAS Officer?

You might have heard of UPSC as one of the most prestigious and toughest exams in the country. You are almost right, but UPSC, CSE & IAS are different terms with different meanings. In this article, we will discuss the actual meaning of these terms and understand how to become an IAS or an Indian Administrative Service officer.

What is UPSC?

UPSC stands for Union Public Service Commission. In short, it is a constitutional body of the government created to recruit officers for central services. Its history predates to the British era, however, it is presently a body that conducts various national-level examinations to hire people for a number of services. CSE or Civil Services Examination is conducted to hire people for ‘A’ and ‘B’ group services, including hiring for the post of Indian Administration Service.

If you have decided to become an Indian Administrative Service Officer, you first have to crack the UPSC Civil Services Examination.

How to become an IAS? Or most importantly, how to crack the UPSC CSE?

Choosing to become an IAS comes at a much later stage of the UPSC CSE examination. You can decide which field you want to choose in advance, but your first focus must be on clearing all the stages of the exam. Here is how you go about it:

1. Familiarize Yourself With The Exam:

The civil service examination is an extremely information-heavy examination. Just understanding the exam pattern, stages and civil services exam syllabus could take days if not weeks, especially if you are a beginner.

● Understand the stages of exam: The UPSC CSE is conducted in three stages, Prelims, Mains and Interview. Each stage with a different syllabus, requiring a different strategy.

● Research the technicalities: If you are a serious candidate, you must be well-versed in the logistical part of the exam, apart from the studies. Be familiar with the release date of the forms, the months in which each stage is conducted, the nature of the exam, and other similar things.  

2. Memorize The Syllabus:

As already mentioned above, the UPSC exam or the civil service exam has an exhaustive syllabus. This exam requires an unexplained amount of patience, so you must spend enough time on every step.

● Start slow: At first, take just one stage of the exam and research its syllabus. We recommend going through Prelim’s syllabus first, then Mains and then the Interview strategy. Do not jump directly on Mains, you might get overwhelmed. Also, no need to memorize the syllabus at first glance, just skim through it.

● By heart, each detail: Now that you have a general idea of what the syllabus is, there is no need to directly jump into preparation. You must have realized that the pool of syllabi is deep, so you must take your time with it. One by one, fit every bit of the syllabus in your mind. You must be actively able to recall the syllabus of any stage, subject, or topic when asked.  

3. Go Through The PYQs:

If you give yourself enough time to memorize the UPSC syllabus, this stage will be really smooth for you. Going through the previous years’ question papers is a non-negotiable part of the process. If you skip it, clearing the civil services exam might become impossible. You can use two strategies here:

● Subject-wise: For starters, you can pick the PYQ of the subject you find the most interesting. It can either be Prelims or Mains. Once you have picked the subject, go through at least the past 10 years’ question papers. You don’t have to try to solve them; just familiarize yourself.

● Year-wise: If the subject-wise approach is overwhelming or boring for you, you can just go year by year. Firstly, look at the question papers of the latest exam for each subject and try to understand the pattern. This approach will be helpful to understand Prelim’s PYQs.

4. Build A Strategy:

Now that you have done your basic research, understood the technicalities of the exam, checked the dates of the exams on the UPSC online website, and by hearted the syllabus, you can start building a strategy or decide on a specific approach for the exam. You can take a few different routes:

● Self-study: If you are confident in your self-study skills, you can build your strategy, keeping in mind your own strengths and weaknesses. Even with external help, self-study is the way to go for this exam. However, you will have to lay out a definite plan and stick to it if you want to use this approach.

● UPSC coaching: If you can, it is recommended that you join coaching classes for UPSC CSE. A teacher or a mentor can guide you in the right direction and save time that you otherwise would have spent on trial and error by studying on your own.

Follow these strategies and stick to them. With discipline, grit, and motivation, you can absolutely crack the UPSC civil services examination and become an IAS officer!