UPSC ESE Exam Pattern:
Table of Contents
Engineering Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is consists of two sections of written examination and Personality Test. Exam patterns of Engineering Services Examination are given below….
UPSC ESE Exam Pattern:
Engineering Services Examination comprises of two stages:
1. Written Examination
2. Personality Test
Written Examination:
The written examination will comprise of three stages.
(i) Stage-I: Engineering Services (Preliminary/ Stage-I) Examination (Objective Type Papers) for the selection of candidates for the Stage-II: Engineering Services (Mains/ Stage-II) Examination.
(ii) Stage-II: Engineering Services (Mains/ Stage-II) Examination (Conventional Type Papers) and
(iii) Stage-III : Personality Test
2. The Engineering Services (Preliminary/ Stage-I) Examination will consist of two objective types (multiple choices) questions papers and carrying a maximum of 500 marks (Paper 1 – 200 Marks & Paper II – 300 Marks). Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary/ Stage-I Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Mains/ Stage-II Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Mains/ Stage-II Examination. The Marks obtained in the Preliminary/ Stage-I Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Mains/ Stage-II Examination will be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Mains/ Stage-II Examination will be about six to seven times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
Note I :
The Commission will draw a list of candidates to be qualified for Engineering Services (Mains/Stage-II) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks in General Studies and Engineering Aptitude Paper (Paper-I) and Engineering Discipline specific paper (Paper-II) of Preliminary/Stage-I Examination.
Note II: There will be a penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type question papers.
(i) There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as a penalty.
(ii) If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happens to be correct and there will be the same penalty as above for that question.
(iii) If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.
3.1 The Engineering Services (Mains/stage-II) Examination will consist of two conventional type papers in Engineering Discipline specific with a duration of three hours and maximum marks of 600 (300 Marks in each paper).
3.2 Stage-III will consist of Personality Test carrying 200 Marks.
4.1 Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the Stage-I: Engineering Services (Preliminary/Stage-I) and StageII: Engineering Services (Mains/Stage-II) Examination as may be fixed by the Commission as per its discretion, shall be summoned bythem for Stage-III (Personality Test). The number of candidates to be summoned for the Personality Test will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The Personality Test will carry 200 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).
4.2 Marks obtained by the candidates in the Stage-I:(Preliminary/Stage-I) Examination, Stage-II:(Mains/Stage-II) Examination and Stage-III (Personality Test) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preference expressed by them for the various services/posts.
5. Candidates are advised to read carefully special instructions to candidates for conventional type tests and objective type tests given in Appendix-III (Part A and Part B) including the procedure regarding filing in the Answer Sheet of objective type tests in the Examination Hall uploaded on the Commission’s website (www.upsc.gov.in) on 07.04.2021.
6. In the Personality Test special attention will be paid to assessing the candidate’s capacity for leadership, initiative and intellectual curiosity, tact and other social qualities, mental and physical energy, powers of practical application and integrity of character.
7. Conventional papers must be answered in English. Question paper will be set in English only.
8. Details of the syllabi for Stage-I: (Preliminary/stage-I) and Stage-II :(Mains/Stage-II) are at Section III
Stage-I (Preliminary/ Stage-I) Examination:
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-I Civil Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Civil Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-II Mechanical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-III Electrical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Electrical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-IV Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II ( Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 |
B. Stage-II(Mains/Stage-II) Examination:-
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-I Civil Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Civil Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Civil Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-II Mechanical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-III Electrical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Electrical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Electrical Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 |
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-IV Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 |
(C) Stage-III (Personality Test) – 200 Marks.
Note: Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the answers for them. However, blind candidates and candidates with Locomotor Disability and Cerebral Palsy where dominant (writing) extremity is affected to the extent of slowing the performance of function (minimum of 40% impairment) will be allowed to write Engineering Services Examination with the help of a scribe.
1. Compensatory time of twenty minutes per hour shall be permitted for the blind candidates and candidates with Locomotor Disability and Cerebral Palsy where dominant (writing) extremity is affected to the extent of slowing the performance of function (minimum of 40% impairment) will also be allowed in the Engineering Services Examination.
2. The Commission have discretion to fix minimum qualifying marks in any or all the papers of the examination.
3. Marks will not be allotted for mere superficial knowledge.
4. Deduction upto five per cent of the maximum marks for the written papers will be made for illegible handwriting.
5. Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined with due economy of words in the conventional papers of the examination.
6. In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used. Note.—Candidates will be supplied with standard tables/charts in SI units in the Examination hall for reference purpose, wherever considered necessary.
7. Candidates are permitted to bring and use battery operated pocket calculators for conventional (essay) type papers only. Loaning or inter-changing of calculators in the Examination Hall is not permitted. It is also important to note that candidates are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type papers (Test booklets). They should not therefore, bring the same inside the Examination Hall.
8.Candidates should use only International form of Indian numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.) while answering question papers.