The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) is the conducting body for various Civil Services Examinations. The Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Service exam (UPPCS exam) is conducted for the recruitment of candidates for Group A and Group B civil services of the UP State Government.
This article talks about the UPPCS exam, eligibility criteria, educational qualification, vacancy, salary structure, and other important details.
Topics covered
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Some Facts
- The Provincial Civil Service Exam or the PCS exam is officially known as the Combined State/ Upper Subordinate Services Examination.
- The UP PSC conducts these examinations for the appointment for entry-level appointments to various civil services of Uttar Pradesh.
- The selected PCS officers via the UP PCS exam can also be promoted to IAS officers in their careers.
- Click here to keep track of all the latest notices/ advertisements announced by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission.
- The Department of Appointment and Personnel (DoAP) forms and regulates the service rules and regulations of the government officers. It is also the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), the Provincial Civil Service (PCS).
Examinations conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC)
For recruitment to various UPPCS posts, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission conducts the following examinations:
- Provincial Civil Service PCS exam (Combined State/ Lower Subordinate Examination)
- Review Officer (R.O)/ Assistant Review Officer (ARO) Examination
- Additional Private Secretary (A.P.S) Examination
- Assistant Registrar Examination
- Combined State Engineering Examination
- U.P. Judicial Services (Junior Division) Examination/ UP NyayicSeva Examination
- Assistant Prosecuting Officers Examination
- U.P. Palika (Centralized) Health Services: Food and Sanitary Inspector Examination
- Combined Junior Engineer Examination
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Eligibility Criteria & Educational Requirements
- To be eligible for the posts included in Combined State/ Upper Subordinate Services Examination, the candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in any subject.
- To be eligible for UPPCS posts that have certain specific educational qualifications, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission specifically announces educational qualifications for different posts. Candidates must look at the following table:
- For the Direct recruitment for candidates for the post of Assistant Conservator of Forest, the preferential qualification is-A candidate who has (1) served in the Territorial Army for a minimum period of two years, or (2) obtained a “B” certificate of N.C.C. is given preference in the matter of direct recruitment.
- For the direct recruitment for candidates for the post of Range Forest Officer, the preferential qualification is- A candidate who has: (1) served in the Territorial Army for a minimum period of two years, or (2) obtained a ‘B’ Certificate of National Cadet Corps, or (3) represented the state in any game is given preference in the matter of direct recruitment.
- For details regarding the physical fitness and other criteria for the above two posts, please refer to the Page-2 of the advertisement released by the UP PSC.
- Apart from the above UPPCS posts mentioned in the table, the PCS exam also offer posts for D.S.P, District Commandant Home Guards, Superintendent Jail, Excise Inspector, Deputy Jailor, District Youth Welfare and Pradeshik Vikash Dal Officer. Please refer to the following tables for fitness and eligibility requirements:
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Age limit
As per the guidelines under the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, below is the defined age limit for various UPPCS posts to be eligible for the PCS examinations:
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Selection Process
The examination for Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services Examination and Assistant Conservator of Forest / Range Forest Officer Services Examination is inclusive of three stages for the recruitment of Group A and Group B civil services of UP State Government.
The candidates who clear all three stages of the UPPCS exam conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, are then recruited for various UPPCS posts. Look at the following tables to understand the exam pattern and selection process:
Stage 1: Preliminary examination
- The UP PSC Preliminary examination consists of two compulsory papers: Paper-I and Paper-II.
- The prelims exam is conducted offline in pen and paper mode.
- The paper is of 200 marks each and of two hours durations. Both the papers are objective type and MCQ based.
- Paper-II of the prelims exam is a qualifying paper with 33% as minimum qualifying marks.
Stage 2: Mains examination
- The UP PSC Mains exam is descriptive in nature; candidates need to write answers in essay form.
- The written exam has a total of eight papers and is held over the duration of one week; each paper is for three hours.
- Compulsory subjects are:
- Optional subjects are:
Stage 3: Personality Test
The Personal Interview or Personality Test attempts to assess the suitability of a candidate for the State Civil Services. It assesses the following attributes in a candidate (these are only indicative and do not comprise all the criteria):
- Analytical and logical abilities
- Critical abilities
- Deductive & Inductive Reasoning abilities
- Ethical thinking
- Integrity & morality
- Intellectual abilities
- Interpersonal abilities
The district centres where the preliminary examinations take place are:
- Agra
- Ayodhya
- Azamgarh
- Barabanki
- Bareilly
- Ghaziabad
- Gorakhpur
- Jaunpur
- Jhansi
- Kanpur Nagar
- Lucknow
- Mathura
- Meerut
- Mirzapur
- Moradabad
- Prayagraj
- Rae Bareli
- Sitapur
- Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam:
Recruitment of PCS officers
- The recruitment for PCS officers is made via the UPPSC examinations. The selected candidates join in as PCS officers
- The PCS officers are directly appointed to the Deputy Collector rank
- Most of the recruitment to this service is made by the examination and the other posts are filled by promotion from the Uttar Pradesh Lower Provincial Service (Tehsil Cadre) and are referred to as promotee PCS officers.
- PCS officers are responsible for collecting land revenue and function as courts in matters of revenue and crime, maintaining law and order, and executing the State Government Policies at the grass-root levels with respect to their postings at various field positions.
Career Trajectory of PCS officers
- The career progression for PCS officers is as follows: PCS officers serve at the tehsil level as sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and are later promoted as City magistrate and then to Additional District Magistrate. After having acquired a few years in service at ADM, they are promoted to the Chief Development Officer (CDO).
- At the Divisional level, PCS officers are posted as Additional Divisional Commissioners, at the State Secretariat level, PCS officers serve as Special Secretaries, Joint Secretaries.
- In municipal corporations, PCS officers serve as Municipal Commissioners and Additional Municipal Commissioners.
- In development authorities and corporations, PCS officers serve as Secretaries. The officers also serve as Deputy CEOs and Additional CEOs in Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway.
- PCS officers on having completed two decades of service, who were directly recruited by the UPPSC, are promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after confirmation by the Department of Personnel and Training GOI.
Salary Structure of PCS officers
- According to the 7th pay commission, initially, the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Additional City Magistrate, Deputy Municipal Commissioner earns around Rs.56, 100- 1, 32, 000 per month at Junior time scale (pay level 10).
- With 5 or more years in service, the Additional District Magistrate, Additional Municipal Commissioner earns around Rs.67, 700 – 1, 60, 000 at the senior time scale (pay level 11).
- With 8 years in service or more, at junior administrative grade (pay level 12), they earn around Rs.78, 800- 1, 91, 500 per month.
- At the Senior administrative grade (above super time scale ) pay level -14, Special secretary in State Secretariat, the earnings for ADMs, CDOs range around Rs1, 44, 200- 2, 18, 200 per month.
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Syllabus of Prelims & Mains
As per the guidelines under the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, the syllabus for UPPCS exam both prelims and mains of the Combined State/ Upper Subordinate Services Examination and Assistant Conservator of Forest / Range Forest Officer Services Examination, is as follows:
Syllabus for Prelims examinations:
Syllabus for Mains examination:
Essay: There are three sections in the question paper of the Essay. Candidates have to select one topic from each section and write an essay in 700 words on each topic. The topics for each section are as follows:
General Studies Paper-I:
General Studies Paper-II:
General Studies Paper-III:
General Studies Paper-IV:
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) PCS Exam: Direct links for Latest News and Notifications
- For latest notifications/ advertisements by the UPPSC- Click here
- For online notices by the UPPSC- Click here
- To know about your registration number- Click here
- To know about your roll number- Click here
- To know the detailed syllabus of various other subjects, please refer to Appendix-5 page number 6 here.
Summing up
The preparation and planning for the PCS examinations conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission can get a bit overwhelming. So if you need help or want a second opinion on how to go about your preparations for the UPPCS exam, then you can talk to expert career counselors and make the right choice for your career!
Seek expert advice from trained educational counselors.
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Shruti Verma has an experience of around 2+ years in research and analysis of careers, jobs, and industries. She has a knowledge of diverse fields spanning from career counselling, management consulting, engineering, and technology to science, finance, and humanities.
