To be qualified to sit the IAS exams, you must first hold a bachelor’s degree, and this is just one of the qualifying requirements.
There are numerous more intricacies involved with the UPSC eligibility requirements; therefore, before enrolling for the IAS test online, you should thoroughly review the complete UPSC Eligibility Criteria 2022- as given in the official UPSC 2022 release.
To be eligible to take the UPSC exam, you must first ensure that you have the necessary educational requirements.
UPSC IAS Exam Eligibility: Nationality
To appear for the UPSC IAS & IPS exams you need to be a citizen of India, for all other services, you must be either:
- A citizen of India,
- Or a subject of Nepal,
- Or a subject of Bhutan,
- Or a refugee from Tibet that came to India before the 1st of January 1962 with the intention of settling in India permanently.
- Or an individual with Indian origin who has migrated from Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, East African countries of Uganda, Zambia, Zaire, Kenya, the united republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, & Vietnam, with the purpose of settling permanently in India. If you belong to categories b), c), d), and e), then you’d need a certificate issued by the govt. of India to be eligible. Also belonging to the b), c), d), and e). Categories will bar you from being eligible to be appointed to the Indian Foreign Services.
UPSC IAS Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit
Long story short – Gen: should not have touched age of 32 years, OBC: should not have touched age of 35 years, SC/ST: should not have touched age of 37 years, PwBD: should not have touched age of 42 years as of 01st August 2021.
It is well known that only a small percentage of students are able to pass the UPSC IAS exams on their first attempt.
Well, that’s excellent, but remember that starting early gives you the advantage of being able to take the UPSC CSE numerous times if necessary before reaching the upper age restriction for IAS eligibility.
The age limit criteria were last changed by UPSC in 2015. With that in mind, let’s look at the age requirements for each category.
If you are a general category candidate, you must be at least 21 years old and not have reached the age of 32 by August 1st of the examination year.
Candidates for the UPSC CSE in 2022 must have been born between the 2nd of August 1990 and the 1st of August 2001.
Various age limit relaxations have been allowed for the various groups of SC/ST/OBC/others, which we will look into in the next section.
UPSC IAS Eligibility Criteria:Â Minimum Educational Qualification
I have written the UPSC eligibility based on educational qualifications in detail below:
You must have proof of graduation from a centrally or state-recognized university to sit for the UPSC IAS test. This means you must have a bachelor’s degree certificate from any university established by an Act of the State and Central Legislatures of India, or any institute of education established by an Act of the Parliament of India, or one declared a deemed university under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act of 1956, or a qualification equivalent to it.
In the case that you possess a professional or technical bachelor’s degree like BE or MBBS recognized by the govt, you’d be considered eligible to appear for the UPSC exam.
UPSC IAS Eligibility Criteria: Medical and Physical Standards
You must ensure that you are physically fit and capable of performing such a demanding job as an IAS officer. You must meet the physical requirements for admission to the Civil Services Examination in 2021 in order to do so.
These recommendations are included in Appendix-III of the Rules for Examination, which was published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary on March 4, 2021.
According to the IAS eligibility mentioned in the UPSC notification for the given year, the minimum age limit for candidates is 21 years, irrespective of the category that he/she might belong to.
However, the upper age limit for IAS eligibility differs from candidate to candidate. The upper age limit for IAS eligibility for General candidates is 32 years, whereas for OBC candidates it is 35 years, for SC/ST it is 37, and the upper age limit for IAS eligibility for PwBD candidates is 42 years.
To be eligible for the IAS exam, a candidate needs to have a graduation degree. That is the most basic level of educational qualification necessary to appear for the IAS exam. Now, the degree can be in any stream.
Also, to note is that the degree that the candidate holds should be of a university recognized by the Government of India as a legitimate university.
Nope,that’s a negative. A diploma holder is not eligible to appear for the UPSC Civil services exam, because the UPSC demands that applicants have at least a graduation degree before applying for the exam.