Dear Saraswathi, for any IAS aspirants the minimum eligibility criteria is that he/she should be a graduate in any discipline. But the University should be recognised by the State and Central Legislatures. Prelims, Mains and Interview are the three stages of UPSC civil service exam. For this exam, it is important that you keep yourself updated with every happening topic in the world and places around you. You should have good communication skills to convey your thoughts to the Interviewer. Just to answer your question, any graduation can help you with IAS exams.

That depends on her wish because to become an IAS atleast there should be UG graduation.

Now since I don't know your friend's field you can refer from following accordingly :-

• If a student has interest in engineering field and has taken Science in 11th and 12th standards then he/she can give entrance exmas such as JEE Main to take admission in any of the branches in engineering across India.
• If a student has interest in pure sciences then he/she can go for BSc in subjects such as Mathematics, Chemistry, Microbiology, Botany, Zoology or any other subject wherever his/her interest lies.
• If a student has interest in Medical field then he/she can go for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) , BDS(Bachelor of Dental Surgery) or any other medical course by giving entrance exam such as NEET.
• If a student has interest in building applications , programming , etc then he/she can go for courses such as BSc in Information Technology or BSc in Computer Science , etc.
• If a student is from Commerce background and wants to continue inn Commerce field itself then  he/she can opt for courses such as B.Com (Bachelor of Commerce) , BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies) or any other similar courses.
• If a student is from Arts field then he/she can go for courses such as B.A (Bachelor of Arts),etc.

The above courses are which that can be taken after 12th Standard with respect to of field and interest.



Now for IAS the eligibilty criteria is as follows :-

• The minimum age to appear for IAS Exam is 21 years.
• Upper age limit for General category is 32 years. That means if a candidate has crossed 32 years of age then he/she cannot give the exam. There is relaxation in upper age limit for reserved categories.
• Number of attempts for general category student is 6 attempts till 32 years of age.
• The eligibilty regarding the degree of the student is as follows :- The candidate must hold a Bachelor's Degree from any of the recognised Universities. Students with degree in egineering , medical (for example :- MBBS) can also apply for the entrance exam.Students from other graduation courses can also apply for the exam. So you can choose your graduation course according to your interests.

Now examination conducted by UPSC for IAS is consists of three parts which are :- Prelims , Mains , and Interview.



For Preliminary Exam :- This paper comprises of two papers for 200 marks each. The questions will be of the form multiple choice. The two papers are General Studies Paper 1 and General Studies Paper 2.

• General Studies Paper 1 (200 marks)  consists of current events of national and international importance ; history of India and Indian National Movements ; Indian and world geography ; economic and social development ; sustainable development ; poverty ; issues on environment ; general science and such similar topics on current happenings around the world.
• General Studies Paper 2 (200 marks) consists of comprehension ; communication skills ; writing skills ; decison-making ; general mental ability ; problem-solving ; basic numericlas ; data interpretation ; tables ; graphs and charts.

A student has to qualify in Prelims to get an opportunity to give the Mains Exam. (Note :- Prelims marks are required to qualify for Mains but they are not counted for the merit rank.)



For Mains exam :- The Mains exam comprises of 1750 marks. The written examination will consist of the following nine papers out of which only the marks of 7 of them will be counted for final merit ranking. For the rest of the 2 papers out of 9 a student must score a minimum number of marks decided by UPSC each year.



The 2 papers which are not counted for final merit rank but a student  is required to qualify them  are :- Paper A Indian Language Syllabus which is for 300 marks ; Paper B English Language Syllabus for 300 marks.



The 7 Papers whose marks are to be conuted for Merit Ranking are :- Paper 1 (Essay Syllabus - 250 marks) ; Paper 2 (General Studies- 1 Syllabus - 250 marks) ; Paper 3 (General Studies- 2 Syllabus - 250 marks) ; Paper 4 (General Studies -3 Syllabus - 250 marks) ; Paper 5 (General Studies -4 Syllabus 250 Marks) ; Paper 6 and Paper 7 are the optional subjects which a student can select with each of the paper for 250 marks.



Portion for Papers of General Studies is as follows :-

• Paper 2 (General Studies 1) :- Indian Heritage and Culture , History annd Geography of the  World and Society.
• Paper 3 (General Studies  2) :- Governance ; Constitution ; Polity ; Social Justice ; International Relations.
• Paper 4 (General Studies 3) :- Technology ; Economic Development ; Bio-diversity ; Environement ; Security and Disaster Management.
• Paper 5 (General Studies 4) :- Ethics ; Integrity and Aptitude.

For Interview :- A student must have self-confidence. Knowledge of the student is tested. Problem-solving skills are tested. How he/she would react to different situations are tested. The Interview is of 275 marks.



Total Marks = 1750 + 275 = 2025 Marks.



You can explain these things to your friend.The student can start preparing for current affairs from now itself as there are many different things happening around world which a student must know. Reading newspapers , magazines , books can help a student know about the current affairs. The 2 Papers ( 6 and 7 ) in which subject is to be chosen by the student is to be prepared from on on.



If you still have any other queries feel free to ask in the comment section down below.

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