UPSC recruits candidates across India to various posts like IAS, IPS, IFS, CAPF etc. The recruitment process is conducted in three stages. The prelims, mains and interview. All these examinations are conducted by UPSC in the form of Civil service examinations (CSE). Considering the global pandemic that has hit the world, UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) has postponed the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) 2020 exam. The new dates for the IAS prelims exam will be announced on June 5, 2020. At least one month timeline will be provided for the candidates to make arrangement for the examination. This year UPSC has notified 796 vacancies. In this article let us check the UPSC eligibility criteria and the qualifications to become an IAS officer.
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IAS Exam Important Details
| Parameter | Description |
| Name of the exam | IAS Exam 2020 |
| Organization conducting the exam | Union Public Service Commission |
| Level of the examination | National |
| Frequency of the examination | Once in a year |
| Official website | https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
| Number of vacancies | 796 |
| Exam conducting languages | English and Hindi |
UPSC Eligibility Criteria 2020
In this article let us check for the qualifications to become an IAS Officer. The following are the factors that needs to be checked before considering yourself eligible to appear for the examination.
- Nationality
- Age limit
- Educational Qualification
- Number of attempts
- Physical standards
IAS Eligibility – Nationality
Few examinations strictly permit only Indians to be considered eligible. But IAS exam provides flexible opportunities as follows.
The candidate should be a either
- A citizen of India
- Or a subject of Nepal
- Or a subject of Bhutan
- Or a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with tan intention of permanently settling in India.
- or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Candidates must note that if you belong to (b), (c), (d) or (e) then you will have to produce a certificate of eligibility issued by the government of India
IAS Eligibility – Age limit
The minimum age limit is 21 years and the maximum age is 32 years to be considered eligible to apply for IAS examination.
The UPSC will consider the date of birth as mentioned in the High school certificate to validate the candidate against the age mentioned in the application.
Age relaxation details provided by the UPSC for different categories of IAS applicants are as follows
| Category | Age Relaxation |
| SC/ ST | 5 Years |
| OBC | 3 Years |
| Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof | 3 Years |
| Ex-servicemen including commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years of military service as on August 1, 2020 and have been released | 5 Years |
| Person with disabilities
(blindness and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, locomotor disability ) |
10 years |
| Economically weaker section | No relaxation |
IAS Eligibility – Educational Qualification
- Candidates must hold a graduation degree in any stream from any university established under the act passed by the Parliament of India or State legislature.
- Candidates pursuing the last year of graduation and waiting for the results are also eligible as long as they submit the proof of passing before applying for mains exam
- MBBS candidates can apply even though they have not completed their internship. But candidate needs to ensure that he should submit a certificate from the concerned university stating that the candidate has passed final professional medical exam
- Candidates with professional and technical qualifications recognised by the Government as equivalent to professional and technical degrees can also appear for Civil Services Examination.
IAS Eligibility Criteria- Number of attempts
The number of attempt for the candidates are limited to a certain number in the IAS exam. But as the exemption in the age limit, the exemption in the number of attempts is also provided to the reserved category candidates.
The number of attempts and exemptions are as follows
| Category | Maximum Number of Attempts Allowed |
| General | 06 attempts |
| Other Backward Classes | 09 attempts |
| SC/ST | Unlimited – till the age limit |
| Person with Disabilities | For general and OBC candidates 9 attempts for SC/ST candidates till age limit |
| Economically weaker section | 06 attempts |
IAS Eligibility – Physical standards
Once the candidate has completed the interview, he/she has to undergo a medical test at the assigned medical centre. The candidate has to qualify the medical test.
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