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UPSC provides reservation benefits as per the policies of the Government of India. In this article, students will get to know the UPSC CSE reservation scheme, how to claim reservations, the category-wise break up of UPSC CSE vacancies and much more.
The UPSC reservation quota is given in the table below.
| Category | UPSC Reservation Percentage |
| SC | 15% |
| ST | 7.5% |
| OBC | 27% |
| EWS (Economically Weaker Section) | 10% |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities | 4% |
Records from earlier exams show that an average 9.15 per cent OBC, SC and ST candidates secure enough to qualify in the General Category. This means 58.65 seats go to SC, ST and OBC candidates. After adding the 10 per cent EWS quote this number will go up to 68.65 per cent leaving just 31.35 per cent for general merit.
Data revealed by the UPSC show that number of OBC/SC/ST qualifying in General category is going down. While it was 10.21 and 11.52 per cent in 2008 and 2009 it has gone down to 9.09 and 6.34 per cent in 2016 and 2017.
Many OBC candidates get as much marks as their general category counterparts but very few ST qualify without reservation. For example, in 2017, 67 OBC candidates qualified without quota but just one ST candidate could do it. 9 SC candidates also qualified without reservation.
Year Wise Number of Vacancies-Civil Services Exam- OBC,SC & ST, General Category
| Year | Total Vacancies | OBC qualified as General | SC qualified as General | ST qualified as General | OBC/SC/ST qualified as General | % of Total OBC/SC/ST qualified as General |
| 2008 | 881 | 74 | 11 | 5 | 90 | 10.21 |
| 2009 | 989 | 88 | 18 | 8 | 114 | 11.52 |
| 2010 | 1043 | 94 | 23 | 4 | 121 | 11.60 |
| 2011 | 1001 | 72 | 12 | 7 | 91 | 9.09 |
| 2012 | 1091 | 75 | 11 | 6 | 92 | 8.43 |
| 2013 | 1228 | 88 | 13 | 4 | 105 | 8.55 |
| 2014 | 1364 | 105 | 19 | 3 | 127 | 9.31 |
| 2015 | 1164 | 74 | 8 | 4 | 86 | 7.38 |
| 2016 | 1209 | 87 | 20 | 3 | 110 | 9.09 |
| 2017 | 1056 | 57 | 9 | 1 | 67 | 6.34 |
How Does the UPSC Reservation System Work?
1: Which one of the following is not a Harappan site?
Below shows the reservations offered by UPSC in the UPSC CSE exam:
| UPSC CSE Reservations policy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Reservation | Maximum age limit | Number of attempts | Comments |
| General | NA | 32 | 6 | OBC Creamy Layer are included in the General category. |
| EWS | 10% | 32 | 6 | Same as General Category. |
| OBC (NCL) | 27% | 35 | 9 | 3 years of age relaxation. |
| SC | 15% | 37 | Unlimited till age. | 5 years of age relaxation. |
| ST | 7.5% | 37 | Unlimited till age. | 5 years of age relaxation. |
| PwD | 4% | 42 | 09 for GL/EWS/OBC and Unlimited for SC/ST. | 10 years of age relaxation. |
| Defense Services Personnel | As per the category of the candidate. | 35 to 37 | As per the category of the candidate. | 3 years of age relaxation if disabled in action. 5 years of age relaxation for ECOs and SSCOs, who have rendered at least 5 years of service. |
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How to Apply for UPSC Reservation?
The category field on the application form must be filled out by students. You will receive UPSC reservation advantages according to the category you choose. The original certificates will be verified at the time of the IAS interview. The guidelines to claim the reservation in UPSC are given below.
- Only if a candidate’s caste is listed on the central government’s list of reserved communities would they be eligible for UPSC reservation benefits.
- If an applicant develops a physical disability while being considered, the candidate will be required to present a legal document to the Commission, who will then make a decision.
- A student in the General category cannot have their category changed to a reserved category, and requests to do so will never be granted.
- Students who fall under the category of physically challenged students must also abide by the same guideline.
Reservation in UPSC For EWS
The Indian government declared 10% EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation in UPSC for people who are not covered by the existing Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes reservations plan on February 5, 2020. There is no exception available for such in terms of age, the number of tries, costs, etc.
The Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of society are eligible for UPSC reservation under the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act 2019, which was approved by the Indian Parliament. The concerned State will determine whether or not to offer EWS reservation for employment to State Government jobs and for admission to State Government educational institutions.
| Age Limit | No Relaxation/ Same as General Category
Minimum – 21 Maximum – 32 |
| Number of Attempts | 06 |
| Application fees | ₹100/- |
| Cutoff: Mains | 687 |
| Cutoff: Prelims | 77.55 |
Eligibility for UPSC Reservation under EWS
The eligibility conditions for UPSC reservation under EWS are given below:
- A general category candidate who is not eligible for SC, ST, or OBC reservations.
- The family’s gross annual income for the previous financial year should have been less than Rs. 8 lakhs.
- Families with parents, siblings, or spouses who are younger than 18 should not own agricultural property with a size of 5 acres or more.
- Additionally, the family should not own a residential apartment that is 1000 square feet or larger.
- The family is also not permitted to own a home plot in notified municipalities with an area of 100 square yards or more or less than 200 square yards.
IAS Reservation: Category-Wise Vacancy Break-Up
The category-wise break-up of UPSC CSE vacancies 2021 is given below, which students should use to plan their preparation for the UPSC CSE exam.
| Service | CSE-2021 VACANCIES BREAKUP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR | Total | Vacancies for PwBD | |||||
| LDCP | VI | HI | MD | Total | |||||||
| IAS | 27 | 14 | 49 | 18 | 72 | 180 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| IFS | 6 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| IPS | 26 | 20 | 51 | 20 | 83 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IA&AS | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| ICAS | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ICLS | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| IDAS | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| IDES | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| IIS | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IPoS | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| IP&TAFS | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| IRPFS | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IRS (C&IT) | 6 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| IRS (IT) | 9 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 23 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| ITS | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| AFHQ CS | 8 | 4 | 16 | 5 | 23 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| DANICS | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DANIPS | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PONDICS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 105 | 60 | 203 | 72 | 308 | 748 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 26 |
Apart from reservations many other facilities like exemption from prelims and mains fees is also provided. Female, SC, ST, and PwD candidates are exempted from UPSC CSE fee payment. Students can go through the UPSC CSE notification to know the complete details.
| Important Links | |
| UPSC Question Paper 2022 | UPSC Question Paper 2021 |
| UPSC Prelims Notification 2023 | UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2023 |
| UPSC Civil Mock Test 2022 | Best Books for UPSC Preparation |
FAQ’s
Q. Is there any reservation in UPSC?
Ans: IAS reservations are applicable in the form of age, number of attempts, eligibility, and other relaxations. The UPSC reservation is based on various categories applying for the civil services exam.
Q. How reservation works in UPSC?
Ans: UPSC reserves 16% to 25% of the available seats for students who fall under the SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories. The interview portion of the exams is followed by the announcement of the category-wise results for all UPSC exams.
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