UPSC IPS Exam 2022 – Roles and Responsibilities, Schedule, Eligibility, Application, Syllabus & Vacancies

UPSC IPS Exam 2022 Important Dates

The UPSC had previously released the application notification on 2nd February 2022 and had invited applications from all the eligible candidates. The last date for receipt of applications was 22nd February 2022. The preliminary exam is scheduled to be held on 5th June 2022. However, the Commission couldn’t carry out the procedure due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The schedule for the exam is mentioned under:

Earlier Announced Exam Timetable of Civil Services (IPS) Main Examination – 

UPSC IPS Main Exam Timetable –

UPSC IPS Exam 2022 Pattern & Syllabus

UPSC Civil Services Examination (IPS) Exam Pattern 2022

The Union Public Service Commission administers the Civil Services Examination broadly in two stages – Preliminary and Mail. Applicants appearing for any post or service of Civil Services will have to clear both Preliminary Examinations (Objective Type) and Main Examination (Written and Interview). The Indian Police Service, too, has to follow the same pattern.

• The UPSC IPS Preliminary Exam is conducted for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination.
• The UPSC IPS Main Examination is conducted for the selection of candidates for various ranks.

UPSC IPS Preliminary Exam Pattern –

The preliminary examination only serves as a screening test and candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified for the exam will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination. Candidates have to appear for the Main Examination in the same year. The Prelims exam will have two papers, carrying a maximum of 400 marks.

Note:

• The General Studies Paper-II is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks of 33%.
• It is mandatory to appear for both papers. Failing to do so will result in the rejection of your candidature.
• There will be negative marking for incorrect answers.
• One-third (0.33) of the marks will be deducted as a penalty.
• A penalty will apply to the candidates who give more than one answer.
• Unattempted questions deserve no penalty.

UPSC IPS Main Examination Pattern –

The Main Examination comprises a written examination and an interview. There will be 9 papers. All of them are of conventional essay types.

Written Test –

Personality Test –

Also known as the Interview Test, the Personality Test will assess the personal suitability of the applicants for a career in public service. It will be conducted by the Board where candidates will be asked questions on matters of general interest. Some of the traits to be judged are clear and logical explosion, critical powers of assimilation, variety and depth of interest, intellectual and moral integrity, the ability for social cohesion and leadership, mental alertness and balance of judgment.

The personality test or interview will be held for 275 marks. The total for the Main Examination is 2025 marks.

List of Optional Subjects for Main Examination – Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Agriculture, Botany, Anthropology, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Economics, Geology, Geography, Law, History, Mathematics, Management, Medical Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Philosophy, Psychology, Political Science and International Relations, Sociology, Public Administration, Zoology, Statistics, Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Gujarati, Dogri, Kannada, Hindi, Konkani, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Maithili, Marathi, Manipuri, Odia, Nepali, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Sindhi, Santhali, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu and English.

UPSC Civil Services Examination (IPS) Exam Syllabus 2022

The syllabi for the Preliminary and Main Examinations are given below.

Preliminary Examination Syllabus –

Some Key Points:

• The Paper-II of the Preliminary Examination (UPSC IPS) is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
• Candidates will have objective-type questions.
• Applicants should appear for both papers.

Main Examination Syllabus –

The Main Examination will “assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates”. It will also test the candidates’ general awareness of a wide range of topics and subjects. The pattern would be –

• Comprehension of given passages
• Short Essays
• Precis Writing
• Usage and Vocabulary
• Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa

The Main Exam will have the following syllabus.

• Paper – I: Essays on Multiple Topics.
• Paper – II: General Studies – I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
• Paper – III: General Studies – II (Constitution, Governance, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)
• Paper – IV: General Studies – III (Economic Development, Technology, Environment, Bio-Diversity, Security and Disaster Management)
• Paper – V: General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
• Paper – VI & VII: Optional subjects.

UPSC IPS Exam 2022 Eligibility

To ensure you are eligible to appear in the examination, you have got to check your eligibility. Below, you will find information related to your academic requirements, nationality, age limits, physical criteria, etc.

Nationality –

• You must be an Indian citizen.

Age Limits –

• Minimum Age Limit: The minimum age limit of an IPS aspirant to appear for the exam is 21 years.
• Maximum Age Limit: The maximum age limit of an IPS aspirant to appear for the exam is 32 years as of the 1st of August 2022. He shouldn’t have been borne earlier than 2nd August 1990 and not later than 1st August 2001.

Age Relaxation –

If you belong to other categories including SC, ST, OBC, etc., the upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable.

When it comes to accepting the age qualification, the Commission will only consider the date of birth mentioned in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate or Matriculation. The official notification maintains, “The date of birth, accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate. These certificates are required to be submitted only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, Service records and the like will be accepted.”

Minimum Educational Qualifications –

• The IPS aspirants should hold a degree from institutions “incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.”
• Candidates, who are appearing in the qualifying examination and are confident about securing the minimum percentage that would render them educationally qualified for the IPS exam, would also be eligible for admission to the Prelims exam.

Note: Such candidates will be required to provide proof of passing the qualifying exam along with their application for the Main Examination. If they don’t produce the required documents, admission to the Main Examination will not be permitted. “In exceptional cases, the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who does not have any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he/she has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his/her admission to the examination.”

• If the interested candidates have passed the final examination of any Medical Examinations, including professional M.B.B.S. but couldn’t complete their internship by the time of submission of the Main Examination applications, they will be considered for the examination provisionally. However, such candidates will have to submit a copy of pass certificate (final professional medical examination) from the concerned Institution or University along with their application. Moreover, they will have to produce a certificate or Degree from the same concerned authority that they had completed the internship and other requirements for the award of the Degree.
• Aspirants boasting technical skills and professional qualifications (recognized by the government) equivalent to a technical and professional degree would be considered eligible for admission to Civil Services Examinations.

Number of Attempts –

• The maximum number of attempts that an eligible candidate appearing at the examination can avail himself of is six.

Relaxation in Number of Attempts –

There are exceptions to the candidates who don’t belong to the general category.

• The restriction on the number of attempts will not apply to candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Candidates belonging to the OBC category can attempt the UPSC Civil Services Examinations 9 times.
• Candidates belonging to the Physically Handicapped (General) category can attempt the UPSC Civil Services Examinations 9 times.
• Aspirants belonging to the Physically Handicapped (OBC) category can attempt the examination 9 times.
• Candidates belonging to the Physically Handicapped (SC/ST) category can attempt the examination as many times as they want.

Note: If candidates appearing in the UPSC IPS preliminary examination, it will be counted as one attempt. If they clear the preliminary, they are eligible to appear in the main exam in that year only. Candidates whose candidatures are canceled or disqualified, will still be counted as one attempt.

Physical Standards for UPSC IPS Exam –

Your exceptional academic results may not come in handy if you are physically unfit. As per the official statement, “Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2022.”

Take a look at the following table –

Medical Test –

The Union Public Service Commission is also serious about a candidate’s medical conditions. One should meet the medical requirements and must clear the medical test to get into the Indian Police Service.

Underneath, take a look at the standards for the near and distant vision for the UPSC IPS exam 2022.

Other Medical Conditions –

• Blood Pressure:
  • Below 25 years – Systolic Pressure (100 – 130 mm) and Diastolic Pressure (< 90 mm)
  • Above 25 years - Systolic Pressure (110 – 140 mm) and Diastolic Pressure (< 90 mm)
• Candidates shouldn’t stutter while speaking
• They must have great listening skills

Note: If the aspirant is a female, she shouldn’t be pregnant at the time of the medical test.

Restriction on Applying for UPSC IPS Examination – Who Can’t Appear?

Not everyone is eligible to apply for the UPSC Indian Police Service exam. Let’s learn who can’t compete at this exam –

• Someone who is appointed to the IAS or IFS on the results of a previous exam and continues to play that role of the same service will be considered ineligible for the IPS exam.
• If he or she is appointed to the IAS or IFS and continues to be a member of that service after the prelims of CSE 2022 is over, he/ she cannot appear in the Civil Services (Main) exam 2022 – despite the fact he/ she has cleared the IPS preliminary examination 2022.
• If a candidate is appointed to the Indian Foreign Service or the Indian Administrative Service after the commencing of the Main examination 2022 but before the declaration of the result and is a member of that service, the concerned candidate will be considered ineligible for the IPS.
• If a candidate is already appointed to the IPS based on an earlier exam and continues to play the same role of that service, he/ she will not be considered eligible to opt for the IPS in Civil Services Examination 2022.

UPSC IPS Exam 2022 Application Process

The Union Public Service Commission carried out the application process of the UPSC IPS 2022 exam. It began the form filling process from 2nd February 2022 and was completed on 22nd February 2022 till 18.00 hours.

How to Apply – General Instructions

To apply for the Union Public Service Commission IPS, you have to visit the website www.upsconline.nic.in. Go through the detailed instructions for filling up an online application.

• You must note that a candidate can submit only a single application.
• In case of any unavoidable situation, if an eligible aspirant submits more than one application, he or she needs to “ensure that application with the higher Registration ID (RID) is complete in all respects like applicant’s details, examination center, photograph, signature, photo ID, fee, etc.”
• The Commission will entertain the applications with higher RID.
• Also, note that the “fee paid against one RID shall not be adjusted against any other RID”.
• Before filling in the online form, you must get your signature and photograph ready beforehand.
• The photograph and signature should be in the proper format (.jpg) and should meet the required size (between 20 kb and 300 kb)
• Details of one photo ID should be ready beforehand (PAN card, Aadhar Card, Driving License, Passport, Voter Card and any other photo ID card issued by the Central/ State Government).
• Also, you need to upload the scanned copy of the Photo ID whose details you have provided in the form. While appearing for the exam, the Commission wants you to carry the same Photo ID. It will use the same for all future references.
• The Online Application Form contains two stages – Part I and Part II.
• While filling in the online application form, you need to carefully decide about your choice of center for the IPS examination.
• The papers of candidates will not be evaluated if they appear at a different center than the one allotted to them by the Commission. The candidatures of such candidates will be liable to cancellation.
• You are encouraged to provide a valid email address for easy communication through electronic mode. The Union Public Service Commission will keep you informed about everything related to the exam.
• Keep checking your email from time to time so that you don’t miss out on anything ending with @nic.in. Also, check your SPAM folder in case you don’t see emails from the Commission in the inbox.

UPSC IPS Application Fee –

Candidates are required to pay a fee of ₹ 100/- either by using RuPay/ Master/ Visa/ Credit/ Debit Card or by visiting any branch of SBI or by using Internet Banking of SBI. If you opt for “Pay by Cash” mode, get a print of the “system-generated Pay-in-slip during part II registration and deposit the fee at the counter of SBI Branch on the next working day only”.

Applications submitted without fee payment will be rejected. There are, however, cases when applicants make the payment but don’t receive details from the bank. The Commission will treat them as fictitious payment cases. It will release a list of all such candidates on its official website within two weeks after the submission of the online application.

Further, these candidates will be notified or intimated through their registered email address to submit a copy of proof of their payment. They can do that via either speed post or hand. Failing to do so will result in the rejection of their candidature.

Fee Exemption –

The following applicants will not have to remit the UPSC IPS application fee.

• Female/ SC/ ST/ Persons with Benchmark Disability

Note:

• Fee once paid will not be refunded or held in reserve for any other exam or selection.
• Applications without the prescribed fee will be rejected.
• Applicants admitted to the Main Exam will have to remit a further fee of ₹ 200/-.
• Candidates who attempted the CSE exam in 2022 and want to apply for admission to this exam, can submit applications without waiting for the results or an offer of appointment.

UPSC IPS Exam 2022 Other Details

IPS Exam Admit Card 2022

The release date of the admit card for the UPSC IPS exam 2022 will be announced on the official website. The Commission has issued the e-admit card for the preliminary exam two weeks before the exam. The exam will be conducted on 5th June 2022. The admit card for the Main exam was released 10 days before the exam.

The admit card will have all the details such as the name of the candidate, date and time of the exam, center of the exam, etc. Reach out to the Board in case of any wrong information or details mentioned on the admit card.

UPSC IPS Exam Centres 2022

IPS Cadre Allocation –

The IPS Cadre allocation is done based on the ranks of the candidates, availability of vacancies and their preferences. The IPS cadres are grouped into five zones.

UPSC IPS Training –

The candidates who clear all the exam stages will have to be on a two-year probationary or training period at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad. The recruits will be on the Foundation Course, i.e. of 3 months at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie.

The training also comprises the following –

Salary and Ranks of UPSC IPS Officers –

The IPS Officers get paid as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendation. Below, take a look at the ranks and the average (approx.) salary of the respective officers.

UPSC Indian Police Services (IPS) 2022 Result –

The result of the UPSC IPS 2022 Preliminary exam will be announced on the official website. The Main exam result is scheduled to be released in January 2023. Separate results are released after the successful completion of the Preliminary and Main examinations. 

UPSC IPS Exam Preparation Tips –

The UPSC IPS exam is believed to be one of the toughest competitive examinations in the country. Hence, extra efforts are required to ace the exam. Here we bring you some of the expert-recommended preparation tips for the Union Public Service Commission IPS exam 2022.

• Read NCERT Books: You have got to follow the NCERT Books of Class 6th to 12th. Those who wish to appear in Hindi should refer to IAS books in the Hindi medium.
• Writing Practice: You need to write a lot as it is important to improve your writing skills. The Main examination demands a lot of patience in writing. Set a time limit and see how you perform.
• Previous Years’ Question Papers: Focus more on previous years’ question papers. You will have an idea of how the questions will be. This will further save you a lot of time.
• Mock Test: Count on the mock test and give online mock test as much as possible. This way, you can evaluate your strength and weakness.
• Read Newspaper: Make it a habit to read daily newspapers. It is important to stay updated on current affairs.

Are you all set to appear in the upcoming UPSC IPS examination?