The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The IPS was formed in the year 1948. The cadre controlling authority for the IPS is the Ministry of Home Affairs.
IPS Exam
The Indian Police Service examination is a part of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) each year.
IPS Officer
An IPS (Indian Police Service) officer carries out his/her responsibilities by
An IPS (Indian Police Service) officer carries out his/her responsibilities by safeguarding public
IPS Officer serves for the state & central as well. Their primary duty is to maintain peace among public
The IPS gives more importance to law and order, which, at the district level, is a collective responsibility of IPS and IAS officers; detecting and preventing crime; and traffic control, preventing drug, accident prevention, and management etc.
Their main role is to lead and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) etc., Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories
Branches in IPS
In order to fulfil these functions efficiently, responsibly and systematically, the IPS service is divided into various functional departments such as Crime Branch, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Home Guards, Traffic Bureau.
IPS Exam Highlights
The Indian Police Service (IPS) selection will be made through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conduct by the UPSC along with more than 20 services. The application process and selection process is common for all the services. Approximately, over eight lakh candidates apply for the IPS exam every year.
The selection process for the IPS includes the preliminary, main examination and an interview/personality test. Every year, the selection process will begin in the month of June with Preliminary and conclude in April. The final merit list for the CSE will be released in May.
Exam
Civil Services Examination
Exam level
National
Organising body
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam type
Pen and paper-based (offline)
Number of services
24
Number of attempts
6 attempts
Number of Vacancies
Approximately 800
Expected registration
Approximately 8 lakh
IPS Exam 2022 Important Dates
The UPSC has released the Civil Services Examination (CSE) notification on February 02, 2022. Candidates can apply for the examination until February 24, 2022. The CSE preliminary exam was held on June 05. 2022 and the Main exam in the month of September 16, 2022.
Civil Services Examination (CSE) notification
February 02, 2022
IPS online application form
February 02 to 22, 2022
IPS Preliminary admit card
3nd week of May
IPS exam date
June 05, 2022
IPS Preliminary result
August 2022
IPS Main exam date
September 9, 2022 (5 days)
IPS Main exam result
October 2022
IPS personality test/ interview
November 2022
IPS final result
December 2022
Eligibility Criteria
Physical Criteria
The physical criteria for eligibility of the IPS officer is as follows:
Minimum Height – Men –165cm Women – 150cm
Relaxable minimum height is 160cm (men) and 145cm (women) for candidates belonging to ST and races such as Gorkhas, Garhwalias, Assamese, Kumaonis, Nagaland Tribals, etc.
Minimum Chest Girth – Men/Women: 84cm79cm
Myopia (including cylinder) should not exceed minus 4.00D
Hypermyopia (including cylinder) should not exceed plus 4.00D
The presence of Squint is a disqualification
Spectacles are permitted
Distant vision for better eye(Corrected Vision) should be 6/6 or 6/9
Distant vision for the worse eye(Uncorrected Vision) should be 6/12 or 6/9
Near vision should be J1 and J2 respectively
High grade color vision is required and Binocular vision is needed
Nationality:
Nationality of a candidate must be either of the following:
Citizen of India
Subject of Nepal
Subject of Bhutan
A Tibetan refugee who came to India before January 1, 1962 for permanent settlement in India.
Migrant from any of the following countries for permanently settling in India:
Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda,the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam
Educational Qualification:
A candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree from any of the universities recognised by the UGC or possess an equivalent qualification.
Age Limit :
Candidate should fulfill the age limits mentioned below:
Minimum age 21 years
Maximum age 32 years as on 1st of August in the year of examination.
Relaxable age limit is as follows:
Up to max. 5 years for SC/ST candidates.
Up to max. 3 years for OBC candidates.
Up to max. 5 years for a candidate from the State of Jammu & Kashmir
Up to max. 5 years for Defence Services personnel
Up to max. 5 years for Ex-servicemen including Commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least 5 years Military Service and have been released.
Up to max. 5 years for ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of 5 years of Military Service.
Up to max. 10 years for Blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons
Number of attempts:
Restriction on the maximum number of attempts is effective since 1984:
For General Candidates: 6 attempts (Up to 32 Years)
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Candidates (SC/ST): No Limits (Up to 37 Years)
Other Backward Classes (OBC): 9 attempts (Up to 35 Years)
Physically handicapped- 9 attempts for general and OBC, while unlimited for SC/ST
Roles and Responsibilities
To fulfill duties based on border responsibilities, in the areas of maintenance of public peace and order, crime prevention, investigation, and finding, collecting of intelligence reports, taking care of VIP security, counter-terrorism, border patroling, railway policing, working towards preventing smuggling, drug trafficking, economic offences, corruption, playing a key role in disaster management, enforcement of socio-economic legislation, bio-diversity and defending of environmental laws etc.
Exchanging information with the Indian Intelligence Agencies like R&AW, IB, CID, CBI
Leading the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF) and being in touch with them on a regular basis
Interact and coordinate with the Indian Revenue services (IRS), Indian Armed forces, primarily with the Indian Army
Serve the people of the country with full integrity, honesty and whole hearted dedication
Examination Pattern
Civil Service Examination Pattern
The pattern of Civil services examination has been designed to test the academic expertise of a candidate and that candidate’s ability to present himself/herself in a systematic and coherent manner. The examination pattern intends to assess the overall intellectual traits and understanding level of the candidates.
The UPSC Civil Services Exam 2022 is conducted in two stages namely, Prelims and Mains, which are then followed by an interview.
Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examinations are as follows:
The IAS Preliminary exam consists of two papers – General Studies and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions).
The duration of the exam is two hours.
Paper-2 (CSAT) in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
The Prelims consists of two papers of 200 marks each
The question papers will be set in both Hindi and English. However, questions related to English Language Comprehension skills would be provided only in English.
Blind candidates would be allowed an extra 20 minutes of time for each paper
UPSC Civil Services Main Exam Pattern (2025 Marks)
Candidates who qualify Preliminary exam are called for the Main exam and on the basis of marks secured in the Main exam, they will be called for Interview
The total marks of the Main exam and Interview sum up to produce the final result
The written examination consists of the following papers:
Paper
Subject
Total Marks
Paper A
One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution
300 Marks
Paper B
English
300 Marks
Papers to be counted for Merit (Ranking)
Paper-I
Essay
250 Marks
Paper-II
General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
250 Marks
Paper-III
General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)
250 Marks
Paper-IV
General Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
250 Marks
Paper-V
General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
250 Marks
Paper-VI
Optional Subject-Paper 1
250 Marks
Paper-VII
Optional Subject-Paper 2
250 Marks
Sub Total (Written Test)
1750 Marks
Personality Test
275 Marks
Grand Total
2025 Marks
Note:
Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects mentioned below:
Language
Script
Assamese
Assamese
Bengali
Bengali
Gujarati
Gujarati
Hindi
Devanagari
Kannada
Kannada
Kashmiri
Persian
Konkani
Devanagari
Malayalam
Malayalam
Manipuri
Bengali
Marathi
Devanagari
Nepali
Devanagari
Odia
Odia
Punjabi
Gurumukhi
Sanskrit
Devanagari
Sindhi
Devanagari or Arabic
Tamil
Tamil
Telugu
Telugu
Urdu
Persian
Bodo
Devanagari
Dogri
Devanagari
Maithili
Devanagari
Santhali
Devanagari or Olchiki
For Santhali language, the question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.
List of optional subjects for Main Examination:
Subject
Agriculture
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
Anthropology
Botany
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Commerce and Accountancy
Economics
Electrical Engineering
Geography
Geology
History
Law
Management
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science and International Relations
Psychology
Public Administration
Sociology
Statistics
Zoology
Literature of any one of the following languages: (Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English)
Syllabus
UPSC Syllabus
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam Syllabus is divided into three categories, namely Preliminary, Mains and Interview.
The Preliminary syllabus is mainly designed to assess a candidate’s comprehension of current affairs and aptitude within the stipulated time. The preliminary paper is a compulsory and qualifying paper.
The Mains syllabus is basically designed to judge a candidate’s academic expertise in his/her specialised subject. The syllabus also focuses on testing aspirants’ ability to present knowledge in a clear and coherent manner.
The main examination has 9 papers and the syllabus is designed according to the subjects specified. The Preliminary and Mains syllabus is designed for the written test. Candidates, who emerge successful in the Preliminary and Main examination, can appear for the interview.
IAS Prelims Syllabus
The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) to shortlist the candidates for various posts such as IAS, IPS and IFS. The Preliminary Examination is the first round of the selection process. Aspirants should appear for two general studies papers of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. They should note that General Studies Paper-II is also known as Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
General Studies
No Of Questions
No of Marks
Duration
Paper-I
100
200
120 minutes (2 hours)
Paper-II
80
200
120 minutes (2 hours)
Total
180
400
240 minutes (4 hours)
IAS Prelims Syllabus For General Studies Paper 1
Current events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
General Science
IAS Prelims Syllabus For General Studies Paper 2
Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
Decision making and problem solving.
General mental ability.
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level).
IAS Mains Syllabus
The Commission will release the list of candidates shortlisted for the Civil Services Main Exam based on merit and reservation. Around 12-13 times the total number of vacancies will be shortlisted to take the Main Exam. Aspirants should understand that the Main Exam is the crucial phase in IAS selection procedure. This phase tests the candidates on various subjects. The Main Exam consists of nine conventional (descriptive) papers out of which two are qualifying.
Paper
Subject
Marks
Paper-A (Qualifying Paper)
Indian Language (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution)
300
Paper-B (Qualifying Paper)
English
300
Paper-I
Essay
250
Paper-II
General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
250
Paper-III
General Studies -II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)
250
Paper-IV
General Studies -III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
250
Paper-V
General Studies -IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
250
Paper-VI
Optional Subject – Paper 1
250
Paper-VII
Optional Subject – Paper 2
250
Sub Total
Written Test
1750
Personality Test (Interview)
275
Grand Total
2025
IAS Mains Syllabus – Indian Language & English
The aim of the paper is to test the candidates’ ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian language concerned.
The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows:
Comprehension of given passages
Precis Writing
Usage and Vocabulary
Short Essays
Indian Languages
Comprehension of given passages
Precis Writing
Usage and Vocabulary
Short Essays
Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.
Note: The syllabus for Indian Language and English will be of matriculation or equivalent standard. These papers are of qualifying nature and marks obtained will not be counted for final merit. Aspirants should answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved).
IAS Mains Essay – Paper-I
Aspirants should write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
IAS Mains General Studies-I Syllabus – Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society
Indian Heritage: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Modern Indian History: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issues. The Freedom Struggle its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country. Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
World History: History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
Indian Society: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies. Effects of globalization on Indian society. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
Geography: Salient features of world’s physical geography. Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India). Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
IAS Mains General Studies-II Syllabus – Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations
Indian Constitution: Historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Indian Polity: Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries. Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the polity. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Social Justice: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Indian Governance: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. Role of civil services in a democracy.
International Relations: India and its neighborhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
IAS Mains General Studies-III Syllabus – Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
Indian Economy: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting. Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers. Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issue of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing. Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. Land reforms in India. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Investment models.
Science and Technology: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Disaster Management: Disaster and disaster management.
Security: Linkages between development and spread of extremism. Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention. Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
IAS Mains General Studies-IV Syllabus – Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
Aptitude: Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non- partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections.
Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption. Case Studies on above issues.
IAS Mains Optional Subject Syllabus
Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of optional subjects. Aspirants can also choose one Indian language as an optional subject amongst the list.
Candidates who have qualified in the Civil Services Main Examination will be called for the final stage of the selection process, i.e., Personality Test (Interview). It will carry a total of 275 marks. The number of candidates will be called shortlisted for an interview is twice the number of vacancies. The board will test the candidates on various areas starting from his/her career to general interest.
The assessment will be on the intellectual qualities along with their social traits and his interests in current affairs. It will also assess the candidate’s mental caliber. The qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.
The official CSE notification reads, “The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.”
It also added, “The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own State or Country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well-educated youth.”
Note: There is no specific syllabus for IAS Interview, hence, we advise candidates to work more on their personality. The final merit will be based on marks obtained in the Main Examination and Personality Test.
Question Papers
UPSC Question Paper (Prelims & Main)
The Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) conducts exams for the citizens every year to induce them into the civil services of the country. In order to get into the UPSC, aspirants must take up the respective exam for the particular area of specialisation in UPSC that they are looking for and clear it.
Usually, the exam is divided into two parts. First, a preliminary exam with objective type questions is conducted. Here, a good number of aspirants are filtered. Then, a main exam comprising essay type questions for the eligible candidates is conducted, after which candidates will be selected on the basis of an interview.
UPSC Prelims Question Papers
The preliminary examination of UPSC is for screening purpose only. The marks obtained in the UPSC prelims examination will be a qualification to take the UPSC Main examination and will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
The Preliminary examination consists of 2 papers with objective type questions.
Both papers carry 200 marks each and it serves as a screening test only.
CSAT is the Paper-II of Preliminary Exam the candidate will have to score a minimum 33% of marks for qualifying in Mains (written).
Paper-I of prelims includes mainly the current affairs, while Paper-II or CSAT is the aptitude test.
Note: A candidate qualified for mains in a particular year will be eligible to appear for main exams of that particular year only.
The Civil Services Main examination is designed to test the academic talent of the aspirant, also his/her ability to present his/ her knowledge in a clear and coherent manner.
The pass percentage of this exam is very less due to the difficulty level and the seriousness of the civil services positions. UPSC is conducted for the recruitment of officers into IAS, IFS, CDS, IPS, IAAS, IRTS, IDAS, IRS, ITS and IRAS departments.
Rigorous preparation for this exam is mandatory in order to crack it. General Knowledge is a prime requirement and to test oneself before appearing for the exam is the best method to boost the candidate’s confidence level before appearing for it. This can be done through practising the previous years question papers published by The Jusrists Academcy.
Old question papers help candidates identify the important and frequently asked questions and give them a good practise for their aptitude and knowledge. In the last few months prior to the exams, it is sufficient for candidates to simply keep practising these questions in order to gain mastery over the subjects studied. Not only the candidate’s confidence level, but also their scores will show good improvement upon following it.