For eligibility to answer UPSC exam, you need to be an Indian citizen, be a degree-holder and be of age 21-32 years old.

There are three rounds of examinations which are held.

First is the preliminary round. This has two written exams of 200 marks each. For paper-1, you need to have a very in-depth knowledge of India and her culture, mythology, art, geography, political systems etc. for paper-2, one needs to have excellent reasoning and logical sense along with English Proficiency.

Second comes the Mains round. It consists of a nine-paper written examination on General Studies 1, 2, 3, 4, English, Essay, one Indian language from a list provided and two papers on a subject to be selected by the candidate.

The interview, also called the "Personality Test", very minutely measures the candidate's professional conduct and decorum.

Upon passing this rigorous ordeal, the candidate is granted a job in one of the Indian Administrative Services.