Indian Engineering Services (IES)
About IES
A combined competitive examination is conducted by the UPSC for recruitment to the Indian Engineering Services
(IES).
The test is conducted in June every year at centres across India, namely: Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizwal, Allahabad,
Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Delhi, Dharwar, Dispur (Guwahati), Gangtok, Hyderabad,
Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kochi, Kohima, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa),
Patna, Portblair, Raipur, Sambalpur, Shillong, Simla, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Udaipur and
Vishakapatnam.
However, the commission may alter this list of centres. Recruitment to Group - A Services / Posts and Group - B
Services / Posts are made under the following categories of Engineering:
CATEGORY I - CIVIL ENGINEERING
CATEGORY II - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
CATEGORY III - ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
CATEGORY IV - ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATION ENGG.
CATEGORY-I (CIVIL ENGINEERING)
Group - A Services / Posts
Indian Railway Service of Engineers
Indian Railway Stores Service (Civil Engineering posts)
Central Engineering Service
Military Engineer Service (IDSE - Building and Roads cadre)
Military Engineer Service (Surveyor of Works cadre)
Survey of India Service, Group - A (Civil Engineering posts)
Central Water Engineering Service (Civil Engineering posts)
Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group - A, (Civil Engineering posts)
Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in Border Roads Engineering Service, Group - A
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Engineering Branch) (Civil Engineering posts)
CATEGORY-II (MECHANICAL ENGINEERING)
Group - A Services / Posts
Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers
Indian Railway Stores Service (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Central Water Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Central Power Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Engineering Branch) (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Indian Naval Armament Service (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Military Engineer Service (IDSE - Electrical and Mechanical Cadre) (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering posts)
Assistant Executive Engineer (Electrical and Mechanical) (Mechanical Engineering posts) Border Roads
Engineering Service, Group - A
Drilling Engineer (Junior) Group - A in Geological Survey of India
Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group - A, (Mechanical Engineering posts)
CATEGORY-III (ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING)
Group - A Services / Posts
Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers
Indian Railway Stores Service (Electrical Engineering posts)
Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering posts)
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Engineering Branch) (Electrical Engineering posts)
Indian Naval Armament Service (Electrical Engineering posts)
Central Power Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering posts)
Military Engineering Service (IDSE - Electrical and Mechanical Cadre) (Electrical Engineering posts)
Assistant Executive Engineer Group - A (Electrical Engineering posts) in the Corps of E.M.E., Ministry of Defence
CATEGORY-IV (ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
Group - A Services / Posts
Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers
Indian Railway Stores Service (Telecommunication / Electronics Engineering posts)
Engineer in Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing / Monitoring organisation; Ministry of Communication
(Department of Telecommunications)
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Engineering branch) (Electronics Engineering posts)
Indian Naval Armament Service (Electronics Engineering posts)
Central Power Engineering Service (Telecommunications Engineering posts)
Survey of India Service, Group - A, (Electronics and Telecom Engineering posts)
Assistant Executive Engineer, Group - A, (Electronics Engineering posts) in the Corps of E.M.E., Ministry of
Defence
Group-B Services / Posts
Assistant Engineer, Group - B (Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering posts) in the Corps of E.M.E.,
Ministry of Defence
A candidate may apply for admission to all or any of the Services / Posts mentioned. The current number of vacancies
is approximately 500 and is liable to alteration.
Academic Eligibility
An Engineering graduate from a University incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or
other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be a Deemed University under
section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956; or
Passed Sections A and B of the institutional examinations of the Institution of Engineers (India); or
A Degree / Diploma in Engineering from such foreign University / College / Institution and under such
conditions as may be recognised by the Government for the purpose from time to time; or
Passed the Graduate Membership Examination of the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers
(India); or
Passed Associate Membership Examination Parts II and III / Sections A and B of the Aeronautical Society of
India;
or
Passed Associate Membership Examination (Sections A and B) of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(India); or
Passed the Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics and Radio Engineers, London,
held after November, 1959.
A candidate for the posts of Engineer, Group - A, in Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing / Monitoring
Organisation, Ministry of Communications and Indian Broadcasting (Engineers) Service (Electronics
Engineering posts) may possess any of the above qualifications or the qualification of an M.Sc degree or its
equivalent with Wireless Communications, Electronics, Radio Physics or Radio Engineering as a special subject.
Candidates who have appeared for a qualifying examination and are awaiting results may also apply provided
proof of having passed the said examination is produced after qualifying in the Written Paper of the IES test.
Till such time, the admission will be considered provisional.
Candidates with equivalent qualification other than those given above or with a degree from a foreign university
may be admitted at the discretion of the commission.
Other Eligibility Conditions
(i) Nationality - A candidate must be either of the following:
a. a citizen of India, or
b. a subject of Nepal, or
c. a subject of Bhutan, or
d. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in
India, or
e. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Burma,Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda,
United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam, Zaire or Zambia with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Candidates belonging to either of the categories of b., c., d., or e., must produce an eligibility certificate
issued by the Government of India.
(ii) Age Limit
a. The candidate's age must lie between 21 and 30 years on August 1 of the year of examination. The upper age
limit is relaxed by 5 years for SC/ST candidates and by 3 years for OBC candidates.
b. Further, the age limit is relaxed in the case of others, some of which are:
o By 5 years for candidates ordinarily domiciled in Jammu & Kashmir during January 1, 1980 to
December 31st, 1989.
o By 3 years for defence personnel disabled during hostilities with a foreign country or in a disturbed
area and consequently released.
o By 5 years for ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs / SSCOs fulfilling certain
criteria.
o By 10 years for blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons. Details regarding the
extent of relaxation for departmental candidates and others are specified by the UPSC in their
notification.
(iii) Physical Standards - Candidates must ensure that they satisfy the physical standards that are mentioned in the
Rules for the Engineering Services Examination published in the Gazette of India on January 27, 2001.
Scheme of the Examination
The examination is conducted in two stages:
(i) Written Test (1000 marks).
(ii) Interview (200 marks).
Written Test: The entire format can be summarised as follows:
MAXIMUM
DURATION
SUBJECT MARKS
Section I -Objective Papers
2 Hours 200
General Ability Test
(Part A: General English)
(Part B: General Studies)
Civil/Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics
& Communication Engineering
2 Hours 200
Paper I
2 Hours 200
Paper II
Section II- Conventional Papers
Civil/Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics &
Communication Engineering
Paper I
3 Hours 200
Paper II
3 Hours 200
Total 1000
The standard of the questions is approximately on the level of an Engineering Degree Examination of an Indian
University with both sections covering the entire syllabus of the respective Engineering disciplines. The medium of
Conventional Papers is English only.
Interview : This is to assess the personality of those who obtain minimum qualifying marks in the Written
Examination. Subsequently, successful candidates are appointed to the services according to merit, based on their
aggregate marks.
Application Procedure
The Application Form, an Information Bulletin, the Acknowledgement Card and an Envelope for sending completed
applications can be purchased for Rs. 20/- from designated Head Post Offices / Post Offices. The examination fee is Rs.
100/-. It should be in the form of a Single Central recruitment Fee Stamp and affixed to the application. Only SC/ST and
physically handicapped candidates are exempted from the payment of this fee.
Contact Information
The UPSC operates a Facilitation Counter near 'C' gate of its campus. Any information regarding the application /
candidature can be sought between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. in person or over telephone at 011 - 23385271 /
23381125.
In case of difficulty in procuring the application form or the central recruitment fee stamp, the concerned postmaster or
UPSC's Forms Monitoring Cell (Ph: 011 - 23389366. Fax: 011 - 23387310).
For more details regarding syllabi and other information, interested candidates are advised to check the notification issued
during January - February in the Employment News and in the website http://www.upsc.gov.in
