The post of IPS (Indian Police Service) is a high post in the Indian Police. To become IPS Officer, you have to give the civil service exam conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), for which you have to work hard day and night.
If you also have a dream to become an IPS, then for that you need complete information related to IPS like- how to prepare for IPS after 10th, what is the qualification to become an IPS ?
The post of IPS is the most prestigious post after IAS (Indian Administrative Service), whose work is not limited to the state or the center only, but they work at both the level.
However, the eligibility, examination and application process for IAS, IRS, IFS and IPS are exactly the same.
All the candidates whose dream is to become an IPS officer, then I have brought this article for those students who want to know how to become IPS Officer, So read full article till the end to get complete information.
Table of Contents
What is IPS
Indian Police Service i.e. IPS is one of the three All India Services of Government of India IRAS (Indian Railway Account Service), IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IFS (Indian Forest Service).
IPS was formed in the year 1948. The Cadre Controlling Authority for IPS is with the Ministry of Home Affairs. An IPS officer can be employed by both the central government and the state government.
Eligibility to become IPS Officer
To appear in the IPS exam, the candidate has to fulfill all the mandatory qualifications, such as eligibility to become an IPS, age limit, nationality, physical criteria, etc., which are given below.
Education Qualification to become IPS Officer
To apply in the IPS exam of Civil Services Exam, the applicant should have a graduation from any recognized university. But the students who are waiting for the final year result are also eligible to apply in this exam.
Nationality to become IPS Officer.
It is mandatory for the applicant to be an Indian citizen to become IPS officer.
Age required to become IPS Officer.
The minimum age limit to become an IPS officer is 21 years and maximum age limit is 32 years. if your are in general category and rest age relaxation according to below table followed.
| No. | Category | Age | ATTEMPT |
| 1 | General | 21 – 32 Years | 6 Attempt |
| 2 | OBC | 21 – 35 Years | 9 Attempt |
| 3 | SC / ST | 21 – 37 Years | No Limit |
Physical Standards to become IPS Officer
- Height : The height of men should be at least 165 cm (5 feet 5 inches) and the height of women should be at least 150 cm (4 feet 12 inches).
- Chest : The chest of male candidates should be at least 84 cms and for female candidates the chest should be 79 cms.
- Eye Sight : The vision of healthy eyes should be 6/6 or 6/9 and the vision of weak eyes should be 6/12 or 6/9. Binocular vision is essential. The farthest numbers on the eyes should not exceed -4.00D and the near numbers should not exceed +4.00D.
How to become IPS
Pass 12th class in any Stream
The first step to become an IPS officer is to pass 12th class with good marks. You can do 12th from any subject in which you have interest.
Complete your graduation from any stream
After completing 12th class, you will have to complete your graduation from any recognized university, because without graduation you cannot apply for UPSC Civil Services Exam.
So if you have not completed your graduation till now then first of all complete your graduation from any stream (Arts, Science, Commerce or Math’s) in which you are interested.
Apply for UPSC Exam
Now apply online website for IPS exam from UPSC official website https://upsc.gov.in./ As we told you that the IPS exam is conducted by UPSC.
This exam and the entire selection process is divided into three phases based on the IPS exam pattern set by the UPSC.
- Preliminary Exam
- Main Exam
- Interview
The candidate who completes these three stages is appointed to the post of IPS officer.
Crack UPSC Preliminary Exam to become IPS
Preliminary exam is the first stage to become IPS officer and also called qualifying paper.
It is organized between the months of June to August. In this, all the questions are of objective type i.e. 4 options are given for the answer of each question.
It consists of 2 papers which are of 200-200 marks. So it is a total exam of 400 marks. There is also negative marking in this.
Its question papers are in both Hindi and English language. Only after clearing this exam you can sit in the main exam of IPS.
clear the main exam
There are total 9 papers in the main exam which are of descriptive type. In this, 7 papers are of merit and 2 are of language.
There are 2 types of questions in it, Descriptive / Essay paper and Optional paper.
Only after clearing both these exams the candidate is called for interview.
clear the interview
This is the final stage of becoming an IPS officer. In this, the interview of the candidates invited by the reputed officials of UPSC is conducted.
This interview carries 275 marks. It lasts for about half an hour to 45 minutes.
In this, the candidate’s confidence, ability to present himself, thoughts, personality, attitude etc. are tested.
Now finally complete the training of IPS
Only after clearing these three stages the candidate is considered eligible for the training of IPS.
The training of IPS is of three years, in which every small to big things of administration and policing are taught.
After those three years, the candidate is appointed to the post of IPS and the oath of office is administered.
IPS Exam Syllabus
IPS Preliminary Exam Pattern & Syllabus:
The Preliminary Exam consists of two papers of 200-200 marks in total, for which 2 hours are given to solve. Both the papers are of objective type which is the qualifying paper for the main exam.
| S. No | Preliminary Exam Paper-1 (GENERAL STUDIES) | Preliminary Exam Paper-2 (CSAT GENERAL STUDIES) |
| 1 | Current Affairs | Comprehension |
| 2 | History of Indian National Movement | Interpersonal and communication skills |
| 3 | Indian and World Geography | Logical and Analytical Skills |
| 4 | Economic and social development | General mental ability |
| 5 | Polity and governance | Decision power and problem solving ability |
| 6 | current environmental activities | General Mathematics (up to class X) |
IPS Main Exam Pattern & Syllabus:
In the main exam of IPS, out of total 9 papers, there are 2 language papers. One of them is of the language chosen by you and the other is of English and both the papers are of 300 marks.
The remaining 7 papers are of General Studies, out of which the last two papers are of your chosen main subject. Essay writing is important in this exam.
| S. No. | Exam Type | Maximum Marks |
| 1 | 1 General Essay Type Paper | 200 Marks |
| 2 | 1 Essay Type Indian Language Qualifying Paper | 300 Marks |
| 3 | 1 English Language Qualifying Paper | 300 Marks |
| 4 | 2 General Studies Papers | 300 Marks |
| 5 | 4 Objective Subject Paper | 300 Marks |
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