What is IES Exam?
Indian Engineering Services (IES) or Engineering Services Examination (ESE) comprise of engineers who work under the government of India and designated as Class – 1 officer. They administer a large segment of the public sector economy, which constitutes of Indian Railways, Power, Telecommunications, Central Water engineering, Defence service of Engineers, Central Engineering Service, namely.
The nature of work performed by these bureaucrats largely depends on their engineering branch and the service or cadre they are recruited in. The career progression goes smoothly attaining high esteem. The first position offered is that of Asst. Executive engineer and the hierarchy ends at the position of Chairman/ Managing Director.
Important Facts
| Exam | Engineering Services Examination (ESE) |
| Conducted by | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Exam level | National |
| Frequency | Once in a year |
| Educational qualifications | Engineering |
| Age limit | 21-30 years |
| Number of vacancies | 495 |
| Selection process | Preliminary, Main Exam & Interview |
| Preliminary exam | Objective-type |
| Main exam | Conventional |
| Admit card availability | 3 weeks before the exam |
| Withdrawal of application | Yes |
| Application fee | Rs 200 |
| Official website | www.upsc.gov.in |
| IES Vacancy 2020 | Vacancies |
| Vacancies excluding PWD | 474 |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) | |
| (i) Low vision | 3 |
| (ii) Locomotor disability | 11 |
| (iii) Hard of hearing | 7 |
| Total | 495 |
Note: Reservation is also provided for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and Physically Disabled categories.
A combined competitive examination is conducted by the UPSC for recruitment to the Indian Engineering Services. The recruitment of qualified candidates is made under the following categories:
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering Electronics &
- Telecommunication Engineering
| Category | Group-A Services/Posts |
| Category I | Indian Railway Service of Engineers |
| Civil Engineering | Indian Railway Stores Service (Civil Engineering Posts) |
| Central Engineering Service | |
| Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group-A (Civil Engineering Posts) | |
| Survey of India Group ‘A’ Service | |
| AEE (Civil) in Border Road Engineering Service | |
| Indian Defence Service of Engineers | |
| AEE (QS&C) in MES Surveyor Cadre | |
| Central Water Engineering (Group ‘A’) Service. | |
| Indian Skill Development Service. | |
| Category II | Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers |
| Mechanical Engineering | Indian Railway Stores Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts) |
| AEE in GSI Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ | |
| Indian Defence Service of Engineers. | |
| Indian Naval Armament Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts) | |
| Asstt. Naval Store Officer Grade-I (Mechanical Engineering Posts) in Indian Navy | |
| AEE (Elec & Mech) in Border Roads Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts). | |
| Central Water Engineering (Group ‘A’) Service. | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Mechanical Engineering Posts). | |
| Indian Skill Development Service. | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘B’ (Mechanical Engineering Posts). | |
| Category III | Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers |
| Electrical Engineering | Indian Railway Stores Service (Electrical Engineering Posts) |
| Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering Posts) | |
| Indian Defence Service of Engineers | |
| Asstt. Naval Store Officer Grade-I (Electrical Engineering Posts) in Indian Navy. | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Electrical Engineering Posts). | |
| Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electrical). | |
| Indian Skill Development Service. | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘B’ (Electrical Engineering Posts). | |
| Category IV | Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers |
| Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering | Indian Railway Stores Service (Telecommunication/Electronics Engineering Posts) |
| Indian Radio Regulatory Service Gr ‘A’ | |
| Indian Telecommunication Service Gr ‘A’ | |
| Indian Naval Armament Service (Electronics and Telecom Engineering Posts) | |
| Asstt. Naval Store Officer Grade-I(Electronics and Telecom Engg. Posts) in Indian Navy. | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Electronics & Telecom Engineeering Posts). | |
| Indian Skill Development Service. | |
| Junior Telecom Officer Gr ‘B’ . | |
| Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘B’ (Electronics & Telecom Engineering posts). |
We have described the IES registration steps briefly. Candidates can refer the IES Application Forms and Procedure page for detailed information.
- Visit the official website of UPSC – www.upsc.gov.in
- Go to ”Apply Online”
- Click on ”Online Application for Various Examinations”
- Find the ESE online application form.
- Start filling-up all the details such as name, address, age, etc. in the Part I registration.
- Under the Part-II registration, upload the documents such as photograph and signature.
- Pay the prescribed application fee amount.
- Submit the IES application form. D
- ownload the ESE application form and take a printout of the same for future reference.
IES Application Fee:
Candidates are required to pay Rs 200 as application fee to successfully submit the application form. One can pay IES application either by depositing the money in any SBI branch by cash or through an online payment. Female/ SC/ ST/ PH candidates are exempted from the payment of IES application fee.
Note: In the case of withdrawal of the application, the fees will not be refunded.
Examination Pattern
Engineering Services Examination 2020 shall be conducted according to the following plan: The examination shall be conducted according to the following plan:
(i) Stage-I: Engineering Services (Preliminary/Stage-I) Examination (Objective Type Papers) for the selection of candidates for the Stage-II: Engineering Services (Main/Stage-II) Examination;
(ii) Stage-II: Engineering Services (Main/Stage-II) Examination (Conventional Type Papers) and;
(iii) Stage-III: Personality Test.
The Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination will consist of two objective type (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 Main/Stage-II Examination.
The Marks obtained in Preliminary/Stage-I Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main/Stage-II Examination will be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main/Stage-II Examination will be about six to seven-time the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
Note:
- The Commission will draw a list of candidates to be qualified for Engineering Services (Main/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.
- There will be penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type question papers.
- 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 penalty
- 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
- If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question
The Engineering Services (Main/stage-II) Examination will consist of two conventional type papers in Engineering Discipline specific with duration of three hours and maximum marks of 600 (300 Marks in each paper).
The Personality Test carrying 200 Marks and 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.
The examination comprises of two papers
| 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 | |
| Category-II Mechanical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 Hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 | |
| Category-III Electrical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 Hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Electrical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 | |
| Category-IV Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) | 2 Hrs | 200 |
| Paper-II (Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 500 |
The examination comprises of two papers
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Category-I Civil Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Civil Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Civil Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 | |
| Category-II Mechanical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Mechanical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 | |
| Category-III Electrical Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Electrical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Electrical Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 | |
| Category-IV Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering | ||
| Paper-I (Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Paper-II (Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering) | 3 Hrs | 300 |
| Total | 600 |
The 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.
The Engineering Services examination consists of three stages: Preliminary, Main, Personality test. In the Preliminary exam there will be two papers carrying a maximum of 500 marks: Paper-I will be of General Studies and Engineering Aptitude. Paper-II will be of Civil/Mechanical/Electrical & Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. The Engineering Services (Main/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). The General Studies and Engineering Aptitude for Preliminary Examination/Stage-I, Paper I, Objective type, is common to all Candidates. The exam comprehends of subjects current affairs, Engineering along with logical reasoning and analytical ability, mathematics, numerical analysis, general principals of design, drawing, the importance of safety. The second paper is based on the respective engineering field and covers all the topics which can be seen in the exam pattern.