UPSC Civil Services: FAQs about the preliminary exam

from old blog/post-

For a candidate belonging to SC/ST category: Unlimited (there is no restriction on number of attempts for SC/ST category).

Q. Can the IAS exam be cleared without taking coaching?

There have been many instances where candidates have cleared the exam without actually taking any coaching and spending sleepless nights. But still, this varies from person to person. If you are disciplined enough with your schedule and won't get distracted at home, self-studying may yield a good result.
On the other hand, taking a coaching will help you interact with fellow students, discuss problems and get your doubts cleared by the professor on the spot.
Q. What is the structure of UPSC Civil Service prelims exam?
Paper-I- General Studies - This paper will be counted for qualifying to write the Civil Services Mains exam.
Paper- II (CSAT)- Aptitude test (CSAT) - This paper is of qualifying nature, but candidate must score at least 33 per cent marks in this paper. However, marks of this paper are not counted for writing the Mains examination.
Q. What is the structure of the Civil Service Examination?
The Civil Services Examination (CSE) comprises of two successive stages:
Civil Services (Preliminary) examination
Civil Services (Main) examination (written and interview)
Q. What is the scheme of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination?
The examination shall comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each
Both the question papers will be of objective type (multiple choice questions)
The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English
Details of the syllabi will be provided in the examination notice and gazette notification published by the government
Each paper will be of two hours duration.