Frequently asked questions

To start your journey with VidyarthiICS, fill in the contact form with your details, and we will reach out to you with the next steps. Simply click on "Join Us", and provide the details. 

There is no membership fee to become a member of Vidyarthi ICS. Any one can become a member of Vidyarthi ICS and avail a free mentorship session with Mr. Vidyarthi. There is a fee for members who want to avail the Mentorship Plus program or anthropology coaching.

There are 2 programs available to members of Vidyarthi ICS:

1. Mentorship Plus program
2. Anthropology (Optional Subject) Coaching.

All members get a free mentorship session with Mr. Vidyarthi.

All mentorship sessions and anthropology coaching will take place online. Members will be provided an online meeting link for sessions with Mr. Vidyarthi. 

Civil services examination is conducted in an offline mode. The selection procedure is an elaborate process, comprising the following three stages:  

A. Prelims

(a) Objective in nature: Prelims consist of 2 papers – General Studies and Civil Services Aptitude Test (“CSAT”). Both the papers are objective in nature.  

(b) Total marks:  Both the papers are of 200 marks each, which makes the total 400 marks.  

(c) Time duration: A total of 120 minutes (2 hours) is allotted to complete each paper.                                            

The CSAT paper is qualifying in nature. The total marks are 200 and candidates need to score at least 33% marks to qualify for the next round. This comes up to attaining approx. 66 marks out of 200. 

B. Mains Examination 

(a) Descriptive in nature: Mains examination consists of 9 (2 + 7) papers and all the papers contain descriptive based questions. It comprises nine descriptive papers out of which two papers namely, Paper A and Paper B are the language papers. Both these papers are compulsory (except Paper A for candidates from the northeast) and are qualifying in nature. This means that their marks are not counted towards the final tally in the merit ranking, but the candidates are required to secure a minimum qualifying mark. 

(b) Total marks: All the remaining 7 papers constitute a total of 1750 marks in the examination.   

(c) Time duration: The time duration allotted to complete each paper is 3 hours.  

C. Interview 

(a) Nature of questions: The interview would ordinarily comprise questions relating to the candidate’s personal details and educational background, current affairs, and social and political events.

(b) Total marks: The interview would carry a total of 275 marks

The number of permitted attempts for the civil services examination varies based on the category of the candidate: 

Category: Age Limit / Number of Attempts

General category – 32 age / 6 attempts

OBC category – 35 age /9 attempts

SC/ST category – 37 age / unlimited attempts (up to the age limit)

Disabled Defence Services Personnel – 35 age / 9 attempts

Ex-Servicemen – 37 age / 9 attempts

Persons with Benchmark Disability – 42 age / 9 attempts

A motivated, hardworking, and focused candidate can successfully clear the civil services examination through self-study, without relying on any external coaching institute. 

Mentorship however either through friends, colleagues, or professionals, who have prior experience of succeeding in the examination, can be extremely beneficial. The long journey of preparation, full of challenges, can be daunting and difficult to navigate. What one often hears is that civil services preparation is not a sprint but a marathon. However, what often goes unheard is that, without the right strategy, one would be running this marathon in a confusing maze. This is primarily why aspirants often take multiple attempts to understand what works best for their preparation. This not only leads to loss of precious time but also financial resources. The right mentorship can provide you with:

(a) Proper guidance and support during the taxing journey of the civil services examination.

(b) Assistance to identify the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

(c) Assistance to develop a personalized study plan, with due regard to candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. 

(d) Valuable insights about exam pattern, question trends, and key topics to focus on.

(e) Motivation and reinvigoration throughout the preparation process.

The above is what Mr. Pankaj Vidyarthi and Vidyarthi ICS, through the mentorship program, aspire to provide to its members. Having said that, with self-discipline, dedication, and a structured study plan, it may be possible for candidates to navigate the above challenges, self-prepare for the examination and achieve success without any external assistance. 

Candidates need to understand that success in the civil services examination is not necessarily determined by past academic performance or background. This is also manifest in the fact that UPSC only requires a bachelor’s degree as the educational eligibility for the candidates. 

While a good educational background can certainly assist, what matters more is the candidate's ability to conceptualise, think critically, and communicate effectively. These are skills that can be successfully learned by candidates through dedication, commitment, and appropriate guidance/mentorship. 

With the right approach and a strong will to succeed, many candidates with average academic backgrounds, successfully clear the civil services examination and become noted civil servants. Vidyarthi ICS, through its mentorship program, will seek to assist you to learn the necessary skills that can increase your chances of success and bridge any advantage that aspirants with brilliant education backgrounds might possess.

When venturing into an unknown territory, with slippery terrains, one not only has to be vigilant but also highly determined and self-motivated. Vidyarthi ICS strongly believes that the decision to pursue civil services should be considerately taken, and once taken, should be treated as final. 

The candidate should choose an optimal optional subject at the earliest. The choice of the optional subject should be made after giving due consideration to your aptitude and interest, and its relevance in preparing for the other essential subjects in the examination. It is also essential to cover the basics of the general studies at the nascent stages of your preparation, i.e., through reading NCERT books and regularly following the current affairs through newspapers and visual mediums. The goal should be to become an informed citizen. The qualifying papers, namely CSAT for Prelims and language papers for Mains, should be brushed up in the initial stage of preparation. This will allow you to fully concentrate on the effective papers at the later stages of your preparation.

Vidyarthi ICS, through its mentorship program, will assist candidates to navigate through their preparation strategies, and help them devise the best approach which suits their traits, needs, abilities, and characteristics.

There is no gainsaying that making the right decision about your choice of optional subject is instrumental. A considerate and thoughtful decision can significantly increase your chances of success in the exam. The optional subject carries 500 marks and represents a share of approx. 28 % total marks in the exam. However, its bearing on your final result will effectively increase to approx. 40 %, if you closely analyse the average marks that a candidate secures in the optional subject in comparison to general studies and the essay paper.   
 
Having spoken to a plethora of civil servants in his time as a bureaucrat, Mr. Pankaj Vidyarthi has noted that candidates commonly make the mistake of hastily choosing their optional subject. They often blindly pick a subject which they’ve read in their undergraduate studies or one that is generally seen as favourably marked or regarded, without meticulously examining the suitability of the subject for their skills and abilities.
 
Majority students fail to appreciate the mismatch with their optional subject, which is key for final selection in the exams. It is therefore imperative that you secure early and appropriate guidance to help you make the correct decision and enhance your chances of success. Once the optimum selection has been made, candidates should then stick to their choice even if the outcome is unsatisfactory in the initial attempts at the examination. One should only subsequently change their optional subject in exceptional circumstances such as when a big stone surfaces while drilling a water pump, and despite all attempts, the stone cannot be broken. 
 
Vidyarthi ICS, through its mentorship program, will guide you to make an optimum choice of your optional subject, upon a holistic pros and cons analysis of your profile, strengths, and weaknesses

Anthropology as an optional subject in the civil services examination is one of the popular choices for candidates. In Mr. Pankaj Vidyarthi’s experience, candidates who do not prefer to pick the subject that they’ve studied in undergraduate studies, often find success with anthropology as their optional subject.
 
The number of candidates who take up anthropology as their optional subject is not as high as subjects like public administration or geography. However, anthropology enjoys a relatively high success rate in comparison to other subjects. Upon a preliminary review, Vidyarthi ICS understands that, on an average, approx. 500 candidates study anthropology as their optional, and the average success rate is more than 10%. Notably, Vidyarthi ICS understands that this includes more than 90% candidates who do not have any prior background whatsoever in the subject. 
 
Anthropology is particularly a good option for candidates with a science or engineering background, if they do not wish to take their graduation subject as their optional subject for the examination. In addition, anthropology is interesting and lively as the syllabus revolves around our past and present. The subject is conceptual in nature. Vidyarthi ICS believes that candidates who can build an anthropological lens to think and view the society, would successfully score very high marks in the subject. Anthropology, as a subject, also allows the candidates to make their answers explicit and appealing using diagrams and flowcharts. This approach can be very handy at the time of final revision before examination. 
 
It should also be noted that reading anthropology as your optional subject also directly and indirectly aids your ability to do well in the general studies and essay papers. Topics like social problems and social justice, welfare of weaker sections, insurgency, internal security, national integration, among others, become easier to follow with knowledge of anthropology. Further, once the candidates build an anthropological lens to analyse issues and events, they would be better placed to rationally answer many current affairs questions from a different perspective. This would improve your chances to secure higher scores. For instance, questions on issues like cow slaughter ban, reservations, communal and caste conflicts, planning, implementation, and evaluation of development plans, etc., could be answered with an anthropological insight.