Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is body which every year conducts several exams to recruit personnel for Central Services. Same task is done at Maharashtra State-level by Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC).
For selecting IAS/IFS/IPS officers, UPSC every year conducts Civil Service Examination. Any aspirant for IAS/IFS/IPS needs to pass this exam for getting selected.
He examination is conducted in three stages– Preliminary, Mains and Personality Test. The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 200 marks each. One paper is on General Studies and other is of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT). The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi. Mains Exam is descriptive in nature and consists of 9 papers: Compulsory English, Compulsory Indian Language, Essay, General Studies I, General Studies II, General Studies III, and General Studies IV. Besides you need to choose one Optional subject on which you will have 2 papers. Personality Test of successful candidates will be conducted.
As per revised rules, any person from General category more than 21 and less than 32 years of age is eligible to appear for the above mentioned exam. The upper age limit is relaxed up to a maximum of five years for candidates belonging to SCs or STs Categories and up to a maximum of three years for candidates of OBC category among others.
As per revised rules, a candidate belonging to General category can take upto 6 attempts; those belonging to OBC can take up to 9 attempts. There is no limit on number of attempts available for candidates belonging to SC and ST communities. For more details visit the UPSC website: http://www.upsc.gov.in/