UPSC Exam Eligibility- Overview, Exam Eligibility, Latest Update

The UPSC Examination is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil servants of the Government of India, including IAS and IFS. The abbreviation as UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is India’s premier central recruiting agency for Group ‘A’ officers under the union government of Indian Government for Civil Services. Now, let’s look into the UPSC Exam Eligibility.

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UPSC Exam Eligibility – Latest Update

An extra chance in UPSC 2021 for the candidates who stayed away from their final shot at the civil services exams in 2020 has been consistently in the news. Recently, the Supreme court had allowed candidates to submit a representation before the Central government for what it termed as ‘lenient view’ over this appeal. However, the court denied sending any directions to the central government. “We are not expressing any opinion regarding resolution,” the Court noted.

UPSC Exam Eligibility Overview

IAS Exam Age Limit	21 to 32 years
Educational Qualifications	Graduation from any recognised university
Nationality	Indian Citizens Only
Age Relaxation	As per the category (from the Latest Notification) mentioned below.

UPSC Exam Eligibility for Age Limit – Minimum and Maximum Age for IAS

UPSC Exam: Age Limit For Exam 2021

Being a Civil Services Exam, the Age Limit is decided as between 21 years to 32 years of an aspiring candidate as of 1st August 2021, i.e. must have been born not before 2nd August 1989 and not after 1st August 2000.

UPSC Exam: Age Limit for Exam 2022

Before appearing in UPSC Exam or any civil services exams, the candidates must have attained the age of 21 years old but be less than 32 years of age as of 1st August 2022. The official notification will carry the details about the age for UPSC Exam 2022; thus, candidates applying for UPSC Exam should check the notification in detail while applying for it online.

UPSC Exam Eligibility – Age Limit and Number of Attempts (before and after the relaxation by Government) are mentioned below:

Category	Age Limit Minimum (without relaxation)	Age Limit Maximum (without relaxation)	Age Limit – Upper Relaxation is given in the notification	Number of Attempts
General	21	32	32	6
OBC	21	35	35	9
SC/ST	21	37	37	Unlimited (Up to the age limit)
Defense Services Personnel (Disabled)	–	–	35	9
Ex-Servicemen	–	–	37	9
EWS	21	32	42	9

UPSC Exam Eligibility – Nationality

For candidates aiming to rank IAS and IPS:

Every candidate’s nationality must be “the citizen of India”.

All other Civil Services(other than IAS and IPS):

Applicant requirement be either:-
The subject of India, The citizen of Nepal and country Bhutan, Tibit country refugee who reached to India proposing to reside in India enduringly before 1st of January 1962, PIO (Person of Indian origin) emigrated from some countries, and African countries intend to locate in India enduringly (as mentioned on the official website of UPSC Examination)
The applicants referring to categories other than Citizen of India should equip a certificate of acceptability published by the Indian Government. Such applicants may take the exam before receiving the said certificate of acceptability but would get the offer of appointment only after the Indian Government has assigned the certificate.
Note: A candidate referring to kinds other than a Citizen of India is not acceptable for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

UPSC Exam Eligibility – Physical Standards

Candidates who wish to seek employment at any post of All India Services have to appear for and clear a physical test which the commission conducts as per rules and regulations laid down by the Government of India.

The candidate must be physically fit to discharge duties and services efficiently.
And also, a candidate must be mentally fit to stand out in their job as civil services is a responsible job.
If the candidate fails to satisfy the mentally and bodily fit requirements to discharge duties, they will not be appointed.

UPSC Exam Eligibility – Educational Qualifications

The diverse academic requirements as per the UPSC Exam Eligibility Criteria are given below:

Minimum qualification for UPSC exam: The candidate must hold a degree from Government recognised Universities or possess an equivalent qualification.
This also includes the candidates in their final year or awaiting results who are also eligible to appear for the UPSC Preliminary Examination by submitting the proof of having passed the mentioned examination along with the application form of examination.
Candidates must have professional and technical qualifications, which are proportional to professional and technical degrees by the Government.
Medical learners who have passed the concluding year of their course but are still to complete their practice requirement also have acceptability for IAS but have to submit a certification of course conclusion (including basic practice proof) from the administration of the College they have completed their course along with the Main Examination application.

Conclusion

So, here is a brief overview of the UPSC Exam Eligibility according to various categories mentioned by the Central Government. The candidate should fulfil all the eligibility criteria for the UPSC Exam. And the candidates are requested to check the age limit and relation in detail on the UPSC exam official site.

FAQs

What is the UPSC Exam Eligibility age limit for general category candidates?

The age limit for the mentioned in the notification for the general category is as follows
Minimum Age of a candidate – 21 years
Maximum Age of a candidate – 32 years
One must also remember that there are no age limit relaxations for the general category candidates.

Can a candidate who has exhausted their number of attempts but is eligible based on the UPSC Exam Eligibility age limit apply for the civil services exam?

No, one must fulfill both the criteria of attempts mentioned and the cut-off age for IAS exams.

Do female candidates get any additional relaxation in UPSC Exams?

No separate relaxations are given for female candidates by the government. The UPSC age criteria are only dependent on the category.

What is the minimum education qualification required for a candidate to appear in the UPSC Exam?

There is no such particular percentage number mentioned in the eligibility candidate only needs to have graduated from a recognised university.

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