The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the civil services preliminary examinations across the country on Sunday, June 3. More than three lakh students will be appearing for the UPSC exams this year. The civil services examination is conducted by the commission in three stages—preliminary, main and interview—through which officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others are selected.
With less than 24 hours left for the first major milestone in the exam that has three rounds, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Date and time
The UPSC civil services prelims will be held in two sessions on Sunday, June 3. The first session—Paper 1 or General Studies—will be held between 9:30-11:30 am. Paper 2 will access the General Aptitude of the candidates and will start at 2:30 pm and conclude by 4:30 pm. Each paper will be for a duration of two hours.
Entry into the examination venue will be closed 10 minutes before the scheduled commencement of the examination, i.e. 9:20 am for the morning exam and 2:20 pm for the afternoon exam.
2. Admit card
Candidates apprearing for the UPSC civil services prelims should download their admit cards from http://www.upsc.gov.in. From this year, candidates appearing for the preliminary examination of the civil services have not been issued a physical copy of their admit card.
3. Photograph
Ensure that your photograph on the admit card is clear enough. If not, candidates should keep in handy 2 identical photographs with a valid ID proof (Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter ID card).
4. Venue
Your exam centre details will be printed on the admit card. Candidates will not be allowed to appear at any other examination venue except that mentioned in their respective e-admit card.
5. Pens
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Candidates will be permitted to use only black ball point pens for the UPSC prelims exam.
6. Don't carry these items
Mobile phones (even in switched off mode), calculator, pager or any electronic equipment or programmable device or storage media like pen drive, smart watches etc, or camera or Bluetooth devices or any other equipment or related accessories are banned inside the examination hall. Other valuable/costly items and bags are also not allowed inside the examination venue.
7. Negative marking
Candidates should keep in mind that there is negative marking for wrong answers. Hence, try to attempt only those answers that you're sure of.