UPSC CSAT 2016 : Programme, Qualifications and Schedule

UPSC conducts Preliminary Examination of the Civil Services Examination which is also known as UPSC CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test). Initiating from 2011, CSAT is being held as a combination of two papers ( General Studies and General Aptitude). The combined score in those two papers is  used to select candidates who can appear for Civil Services (Mains) Exam. The candidates who  score well in the Civil Services (Mains) Exam and the subsequent Interview, are appointed for the prestigious IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IPS (Indian Police Service), IFS (Indian Foreign Service), IRS (Indian Revenue Service) and other Central Services  posts in accordance with the Rules published by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.

UPSC Civil Services 2016 Exam Schedule

  • Civil Services CSAT 2016 Prelims

Date of Notification – 27.04.2016

Last Date for Receipt of Applications – 27.05.2016

Exam Date : 07.08.2016 ( Sunday )

Duration : 01 Day

  • Civil Services CSAT 2016 Mains

Exam Date : 03.12.2016 (Saturday)

Duration : 05 days

When will CSAT 2016 be held?

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced that CSAT 2016 would be held on August 07, 2016 (Sunday). CSAT is traditionally conducted every year in May. CSAT paper 1 will be conducted in the morning session and CSAT paper 2 will be conducted in the afternoon.

Must Read: Union Public Service Commission

Who is eligible to appear for CSAT 2016?

Indian nationalities who have attained the age of 21 years, and not have attained the upper age limit of 32 years on 1st August of the year, in which he/she attempts the exams, are eligible. UPSC Commission takes up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview / Personality Test.

Educational Qualification for CSAT 2016

The candidate must hold bachelor’s degree in any discipline from any recognized university. Final year degree students who will obtain the degree by August 1, 2016 are also eligible for CSAT 2016 Exam. The degree can be of any class (distinction, first, second etc.). Degree obtained from any recognised distance education/open university is also eligible.

No. of Attempts allowed in CSAT 2016 Exams

Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six attempts at the examination. Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates who are otherwise eligible.

For some candidates there is a limit on the number of times they can attempt the Civil Services Exams. Even attending to one paper of CSAT (Prelim Exam) counts as an attempt. Applying for CSAT (Prelim Exam) but not attending to any paper does not count as an attempt.

Read Also: Civil Services Examination

How to Apply online for CSAT 2016 Exam?

Candidates are required to apply Civil Services Exam Online by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions for filling up Civil Services Exam Online applications are available on the above mentioned website.

UPSC allows online application and the process is very simple, secure and reliable as electronic acknowledgement ensures that application process remain error-free. The application website will open after the notification is issued in 27th April, 2016. Online application process for CSAT 2016 will start from 27.04.2016. The last date for filling the online application for CSAT 2016 is 27.05.2016 till 11.59 P.M. after which the link will be disabled.

About 3,00,000 people are expected to take the test and about 11,000 – 12,000 people will be qualified for the Civil Services ( Mains ) Exam.

UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016 Application Fee

Candidates (excepting Female / SC / ST / PH candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay fee of Rupee 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only) either by remitting the money in any Branch of SBI by Cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India / State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur / State Bank of Hyderabad / State Bank of Mysore / State Bank of Patiala / State Bank of Travancore or by using Visa / Master Credit / Debit Card.

How much is the pass score in CSAT 2016 to Qualify for Mains?

CSAT has 2 papers – Paper I (General Studies and Current Affairs) which is generally very tough and Paper II (General Aptitude) which is generally very easy. Assuming those difficulty levels, a combined score (total score from both the papers) of about 50% is good for general category candidates to qualify for Mains.

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UPSC CSAT 2016 Syllabus

The UPSC CSAT 2016 will have two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours duration each. All questions are of objective type. The marks scored in the CSAT 2016 are used for determining qualified candidates for the Civil Services (Mains) Exam 2016 only. The CSAT 2016 score will not be carried over to the next stage (Civil Services Mains Exam 2016).

Paper I – ( 200 marks ) Duration : Two hours.

  • 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.

Paper II – ( 200 marks ) Duration : Two hours.

  • 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.), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc.)

Also Read: NCERT books for IAS Exam Preparation – PDF Free Download

Important Notes for UPSC Examination 2016 are:

  • The eligible candidates shall be issued an e-Admission Certificate three weeks before the commencement of the Civil Services Preliminary examination 2016. The e-Admission Certificates for Civil Services Preliminary Exam will be made available in the UPSC website (www.upsc.gov.in) for downloading by candidates. No Admission Certificate for Civil Service Exam 2016 will be sent by post.
  • Candidates should note that there will be negative marking for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.
  • In case of any guidance / information / clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. Candidates can contact over Telephone No. 011-23385271 / 011-23381125 / 011-23098543 on working days between 10.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs.
  • Mobile phones, pagers or any other communication devices are not allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.
  • Candidates are required to apply only through online mode no other mode for submission of UPSC IAS applications is allowed.
  • Before initiating the process of filling up of IAS Online Application, a candidate must have his / her photograph and signature duly scanned in the jpg. format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 40 KB and must not be less than 3 KB in size for the photograph and 1 KB for the signature.
  • Applicants should avoid submitting multiple applications. However, if due to any unavoidable circumstances, any applicant submits multiple applications then he / she must ensure that the applications with higher RID is complete in all respects and fee paid against one RID shall not be adjusted against any other RID.
  • The applicants must ensure that while filling their IAS Application Form, they are providing their valid and active E-Mail IDs as the Union Public Service Commission may use electronic mode of communication while contacting them at different stages of Civil Services Examination process. The applicants are advised to check their emails at regular intervals and ensure that the email address ending with @ nic.in are directed to their inbox folder and not to the Spam folder or any other folder.

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