Hi Anand,

The IAS examinations are held in three phases:

• The prelims- this round will have two papers, both worth 200 marks each and of two hours duration

1. Topics will be Current Affairs, India's and the world's history/ geography/biodiversity, Art, Culture, Indian Politics etc.
2. Topics will be comprehension skills, English proficiency, Logical reasoning , communication, mental ability etc.

• Mains- There are nine papers. The first two are required for qualification and are worth 500 marks each. The remaining seven are more ranking purposes and hold 250 marks each. You get 3 hours for each paper:

1. Any one of  the Indian Regional languages which will be selected by the candidate from a given list.
2. English
3. Essay
4. India's culture and history, World geography
5. Politics, international Relations, Governments and constitutions.
6. Biodiversity, technological and economic development.
7. Integrity, aptitude and ethics.
8. Any one subject which is to be selected by the candidate from a list of given subjects.
9. Another paper on the same subject as the last one.

• Personality Interview- This examination is to check the thinking capacity of the candidate and also the way that the candidate conducts themselves. The standards of this Interview are extremely high.