The Indian Revenue Service is one of the most prestigious services in the country. The IRS officers are posted in departments such as Income Tax, Central Excise and Service Tax as well as in Customs. In this way they are entrusted with the task of border control as well as assessing the tax returns. The IRS needs people with a high sense of morality and zeal to serve the nation.

Exam Pattern:

The Union Public Service Commission is entrusted with the task of conducting the exam for recruitment of IRS Officers. The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination every year through which the selection for the service is made. The exam is a three stage process.

The first stage is the Prelims. It consists of two objective tests. One is of General Studies and the other one on a subject of the candidate’s choice from a given list of about forty subjects. The forty subjects range from Medicine to Chinese Literature. So the candidate has a vast choice of subjects. This stage is entirely eliminatory in nature.

The second stage is the Mains. This exam consists of nine papers of which only two are of qualifying nature. The candidates have to choose two optional subjects. The General Studies has two papers. There are two optional papers-optional I and optional II and also one essay paper.

Out of the 5000-6000 candidates who sit for the mains, around 1200 clear it and are called for the next stage which is the Interview. The interview is targeted to judge the suitability of the candidate for the post.

Links:

1. http://www.iaspapers.info/2009/07/19/786240/ias-papers-ias-history-paper-main-2005/index.html
2. http://www.iaspapers.info/2008/12/14/78692/ias-papers-civil-services-preliminary-exam-2009/index.html
3. http://www.onestopias.com/ias-sample-paper/
4. http://www.iaspapers.info/2009/11/14/786327/ias-papers-general-studies-paper-2006/index.html
5. http://www.indicareer.com/competitive-exams/civil-services-ias-sample-question-set-general-studies-mains-01.html