Note :

(i) The papers on Indian languages and English (Paper A and paper B) will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.

(ii) Evaluation of the papers, namely, ‘Essay’, ‘General Studies’ and Optional Subject of all the candidates would be done simultaneously along with evaluation of their qualifying papers on ‘Indian Languages’ and ‘English’ but the papers on Éssay’, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance who attain 25% marks in ‘Indian Language’ and 25% in English as minimum qualifying standards in these qualifying papers.

(iii) The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

(iv) The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for Candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disability (only Hearing Impairment sub-category) provided that they have been granted such exemption from 2nd or 3rd language courses by the concerned education Board/University. The candidate needs to provide an undertaking/self declaration in this regard in order to claim such an exemption to the Commission.

(v) Marks obtained by the candidates for the Paper I-VII only will be counted for merit ranking. However, the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all of these papers.

But is this enough? No. The UPSC CSE exam is considered a marathon, not a sprint. One needs to invest a lot of time in it as the exam is conducted only once a year. Thus, what is the most important trait one needs to develop to ace the exam? It is the right attitude. Winston S. Churchill had said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”  One must develop a strong mindset to deal with challenges, and face numerous setbacks & failures in the course of preparation, with the realization that it will help them improve in the long run. An aspirant must be open to constructive criticism, be willing to learn from others & be optimistic. Cultivating a winning & resilient attitude will go a long way in helping one succeed. The UPSC CSE notification states that “The Interview is intended to judge the mental caliber of a candidate. Some of 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.” Thus, one also needs to develop a well-rounded personality to ace the exam. Developing good hobbies and interests will be beneficial to an aspirant.

It is tough to crack it because of the huge competition. The 71st Annual Report released by UPSC states that the number of applicants for the UPSC CSE Prelims(including IFoS(P)) exam in 2020-21 was 10,56,835 & the number of aspirants who appeared was 4,86,952. The number of applications received for it in 2019-20 was 11,54,769 & 5,74,980 appeared that year; out of which only 2302 made it to the interview stage & 922 were finally recommended. Sounds mind-boggling & tough?