Exam Detail

UPSC ESE/IESEngineering Service Exam

  • Test Level-: National Level
  •     Eligibility-: Graduation
  • Duration-:5 Hours
  • Stream-: Engineering
  • Medium-: Multiple
  • Examination Mode-: Offline
  • Total Questions-: 500

Union Public Service Commission conduct the Engineering Service Exam (ESE) which is popularly called as the IES exam. The IES is the name of the Indian Engineering Service. Full form of ESE is Engineering Service Examination. The official exam name is Engineering Service Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission. 

The Engineering Services Examination is conducted for four branches of engineering namely:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering

In the past, they had conducted this exam under the Indian Engineering Services (IES) exam. The IES exam is considered one of the toughest examinations in the country. Nearly, two lakh candidates appear for the examination every year. The Engineering Services Exam or IES exam recruits Group A and Group B officers for technical positions for the Government of India. The IES exam is a three-stage recruitment process - IES Preliminary, IES Main and Personality Test. Based on the merit of candidates in the IES exam, they are recommended to the Union Government for the posts. The nature of work for an engineering officer selected through the IES exam depends on the engineering branch and the cadre s/he is recruited.

ESE 2024 Exam Highlights

IES 2024 Exam Highlights

Exam name

Engineering Service Exam (ESE), 2024

Conducting body

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)

Exam level

National

Vacancies

167

Exam Date

18-Feb-2024

No. of applicants

Approximately 3.5 Lakh

No. of applicants appeared in the exam

Approximately 2 lakh

Exam frequency

Once a year

Exam mode

Offline - pen and paper mode

Exam stages

Prelims - Mains (written) - Mains (interview)

Application fee(Prelims)

INR 200

Exam helpdesk no.

011-23098543 / 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098591

Official website

Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2024 | UPSC

 

It is mandatory for candidates to comply with the eligibility norms as prescribed by UPSC in order to appear for the Engineering Services Examination. The admissions at all three stages of the examination will be purely provisional and are subject to fulfilling the eligibility norms.

Criteria

Eligibility

Nationality

Candidates should be:

  • A citizen of India/ A subject of Nepal, Bhutan or Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962.
  • A person of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Ethiopia or Vietnam, intending to stay in India.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

Age Limit

Aspirants must have attained an age of 21 years and must not have attained an age of 30 years on January 1, 2024. Candidates should not be born earlier than January 2, 1994, and not later than January 1, 2003.

Physical Examination

Candidates must be physically fit for the admission to Engineering Service Examination as per the guidelines mentioned 

Educational Qualification

A candidate must possess:

  • Degree in Engineering from a recognised university
  • Passed Sections A and B of the Institution Examinations of the Institution of Engineers (India)
  • Obtained a degree/diploma in Engineering from such foreign University college which is recognised in India
  • Passed Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers
  • Passed Associate Membership Examination Parts II & III or Sections A & B of the Aeronautical Society of India
  • Passed Graduate Membership Examination of the Institution of Electronics & Radio Engineers, London held after November 1959

For Naval Armament Service – MSc degree or its equivalent with Wireless Communication Electronics, Radio Physics or Radio Engineering as a special subject.

For Indian Radio Regulatory Service – MSc degree or its equivalent with Wireless Communication Electronics, Radio Physics or Radio Engineering as a special subject or MSc with Physics and Radio Communication or Electronics or Telecommunication as a special subject.

Age Limit

The upper age limit of 30 years is relaxable up to 35 years with government servants serving in the following categories:

Department/Office under the control of the authorities mentioned in the below table:

Column 1

Column 2

  Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)

 IRSE /IRSME /IRSEE /IRSSE /IRSS

  Directorate General Ordnance Factories

 IOFS Group ‘A’

  Central Electricity Authority

CPES  Gr ‘A’ & CPES  Gr ‘B’

  Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Central Engineering Service (Roads) Gr. ‘A’ 

  Ministry of Telecommunication and

  Information Technology, Deptt. of Telecommunication 

Engineer in Indian Radio Regulatory Service  Gr ‘A’ Indian  Telecommunication Service Group ‘A’,  J.T.O. (G.C.S. Gr. ‘B’)

 Central Water Commission

 Central Water Engineering Service Gr ‘A’

 Border Roads Organisation

 BRES Gr. ‘A’

 Military Engineer Services

Indian Defence Service of Engineers (lDSE) Group ‘A’

 The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Min of Defence.

AEE Gr ‘A’(Elect. Engg. Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence. 

 Min of Defence, Deptt. of Defence Production, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance

Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service(DAQAS) Gr ‘A’

 Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship

Indian Skill Development Services

 Indian Navy         

Indian Naval Armament Service, Asstt. Naval Store Officer Grade-I

Note: Relaxation will not be considered to probationary officers appointed against a permanent post. However, relaxation in case of probation will be considered if the officer appointed already retains a lien on a permanent post in a Department/Office under the control of authorities as listed above.

Age Relaxation in Case of Railways

Officers serving Indian Railways will also be treated at par with the Indian Railways officers for age relaxation. The upper age limit for various categories is given below:

Category

Age Relaxation

SC/ST

Upto 5 years

OBC

Upto 3 years

Jammu and Kashmir domicile during

Upto 5 years

Defence Services personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area, and released as a consequence thereof

Upto 3 years

ECOs/SSCOs served for 5 years in Military services (Completed the assignment or assignment has been extended and the Ministry of Defence has permitted him to apply for Civil Services)

Upto 5 years

Deaf/Mute and Orthopedically handicapped person

Upto 10 years

Note: Candidates belonging to the reserved category and from any of the mentioned ex-servicemen categories will get cumulative age relaxation. 

How to Apply Online for UPSC ESE 2024?

To apply online for UPSC ESE 2024, candidates need to follow the following steps given below:

Step 1 – Visit the UPSC official website of UPSC i.e. www.upsc.gov.in

Step 2 – Go to the What’s New section on the home page and click on the ‘Indian Engineering Services Examination 2024’ link.

Step 3 – A new window will be opened on the screen with the ESE Notification 2024.

Step 4 – Download the UPSC ESE Notification 2024 PDF and read it carefully.

Step 5 – Now, Click on the ‘New Registration’ tab, to complete your One Time Registration (OTR).

Step 6 – Enter all the essential details and upload the required documents (photograph, signature, etc.) in the prescribed format and size.

Step 7 – Go for online payment of application fees. After paying the application fees, click on the final submit button.

Step 8 – Take a printout of the application form for future reference

Syllabus for ESE

Standard & Syllabi

The standard of paper in General Studies and Engineering Aptitude (Preliminary Stage-I Examination) will be such as may be expected of an Engineering/Science Graduate. The standard of papers in other subjects will approximately be that of an Engineering Degree Examination of an Indian University. There will be no practical examination in any of the subjects.

General Studies and Engineering Aptitude (Preliminary Examination/Stage-I, Paper I, Objective type, Common to all Candidates)

1. Current issues of national and international importance relating to social, economic and industrial development
2. Engineering Aptitude covering Logical reasoning and Analytical ability
3. Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis
4. General Principles of Design, Drawing, Importance of Safety
5. Standards and Quality practices in production, construction, maintenance and services
6. Basics of Energy and Environment: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Climate Change, Environmental impact assessment
7. Basics of Project Management
8. Basics of Material Science and Engineering
9. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based tools and their applications in Engineering such as networking, e-governance and technology based education.
10. Ethics and values in Engineering profession.

Note: The paper in General Studies and Engineering Aptitude will include Knowledge of relevant topics as may be expected from an engineering graduate, without special study. Questions from all the 10 topics mentioned above shall be set. Marks for each Topic may range from 5% to 15% of the total marks in the paper.

Civil Engineering

Contents for syllabi of both the Papers together for Preliminary Examination/Stage-I (objective type Paper-II) and separately for Main/Stage-II Examination (Conventional type Paper-I and Paper-II).

PAPER – I

1. Building Materials:

Stone, Lime, Glass, Plastics, Steel, FRP, Ceramics, Aluminum, Fly Ash, Basic Admixtures, Timber, Bricks and Aggregates: Classification, properties and selection criteria;

Cement: Types, Composition, Properties, Uses, Specifications and various Tests; Lime & Cement Mortars and Concrete: Properties and various Tests; Design of Concrete Mixes: Proportioning of aggregates and methods of mix design.

2. Solid Mechanics:

Elastic constants, Stress, plane stress, Strains, plane strain, Mohr’s circle of stress and strain, Elastic theories of failure, Principal Stresses, Bending, Shear and Torsion.

3.Structural Analysis:

Basics of strength of materials, Types of stresses and strains, Bending moments and shear force, concept of bending and shear stresses; Analysis of determinate and indeterminate structures; Trusses, beams, plane frames; Rolling loads, Influence Lines, Unit load method & other methods; Free and Forced vibrations of single degree and multi degree freedom system; Suspended Cables; Concepts and use of Computer Aided Design.

4. Design of Steel Structures:

Principles of Working Stress methods, Design of tension and compression members, Design of beams and beam column connections, built-up sections, Girders, Industrial roofs, Principles of Ultimate load design.

5. Design of Concrete and Masonry structures:

Limit state design for bending, shear, axial compression and combined forces; Design of beams, Slabs, Lintels, Foundations, Retaining walls, Tanks, Staircases; Principles of pre-stressed concrete design including materials and methods; Earthquake resistant design of structures; Design of Masonry Structure.

6. Construction Practice, Planning and Management:

Construction - Planning, Equipment, Site investigation and Management including Estimation with latest project management tools and network analysis for different Types of works; Analysis of Rates of various types of works; Tendering Process and Contract Management, Quality Control, Productivity, Operation Cost; Land acquisition; Labour safety and welfare.

 

PAPER – II

Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power:

(a) Fluid Mechanics, Open Channel Flow, Pipe Flow:

Fluid properties; Dimensional Analysis and Modeling; Fluid dynamics including flow kinematics and measurements; Flow net; Viscosity, Boundary layer and control, Drag, Lift, Principles in open channel flow, Flow controls. Hydraulic jump; Surges; Pipe networks.

(b) Hydraulic Machines and Hydro power -

Various pumps, Air vessels, Hydraulic turbines – types, classifications & performance parameters; Power house – classification and layout, storage, pondage, control of supply.

2. Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering:

Hydrological cycle, Ground water hydrology, Well hydrology and related data analysis; Streams and their gauging; River morphology; Flood, drought and their management; Capacity of Reservoirs.

Water Resources Engineering : Multipurpose uses of Water, River basins and their potential; Irrigation systems, water demand assessment; Resources - storages and their yields; Water logging, canal and drainage design, Gravity dams, falls, weirs, Energy dissipaters, barrage Distribution works, Cross drainage works and head-works and their design; Concepts in canal design, construction & maintenance; River training, measurement and analysis of rainfall.

3. Environmental Engineering:

(a) Water Supply Engineering:

Sources, Estimation, quality standards and testing of water and their treatment; Rural, Institutional and industrial water supply; Physical, chemical and biological characteristics and sources of water, Pollutants in water and its effects, Estimation of water demand; Drinking water Standards, Water Treatment Plants, Water distribution networks.

(b) Waste Water Engineering:

Planning & design of domestic waste water, sewage collection and disposal; Plumbing Systems. Components and layout of sewerage system; Planning & design of Domestic Waste-water disposal system; Sludge management including treatment, disposal and re-use of treated effluents; Industrial waste waters and Effluent Treatment Plants including institutional and industrial sewage management.

(c) Solid Waste Management:

Sources & classification of solid wastes along with planning & design of its management system; Disposal system, Beneficial aspects of wastes and Utilization by Civil Engineers.

(d) Air, Noise pollution and Ecology:

Concepts & general methodology.

4. Geo-technical Engineering and Foundation Engineering :

(a) Geo-technical Engineering:

Soil exploration - planning & methods, Properties of soil, classification, various tests and interrelationships; Permeability & Seepage, Compressibility, consolidation and Shearing resistance, Earth pressure theories and stress distribution in soil; Properties and uses of geo-synthetics.

(b)Foundation Engineering:

Types of foundations & selection criteria, bearing capacity, settlement analysis, design and testing of shallow & deep foundations; Slope stability analysis, Earthen embankments, Dams and Earth retaining structures: types, analysis and design, Principles of ground modifications.

5. Surveying and Geology:

(a) Surveying:

Classification of surveys, various methodologies, instruments & analysis of measurement of distances, elevation and directions; Field astronomy, Global Positioning System; Map preparation; Photogrammetry; Remote sensing concepts; Survey Layout for culverts, canals, bridges, road/railway alignment and buildings, Setting out of Curves.

(b) Geology:

Basic knowledge of Engineering geology & its application in projects.

6. Transportation Engineering:

Highways - Planning & construction methodology, Alignment and geometric design; Traffic Surveys and Controls; Principles of Flexible and Rigid pavements design.
Tunneling - Alignment, methods of construction, disposal of muck, drainage, lighting and ventilation.
Railways Systems – Terminology, Planning, designs and maintenance practices; track modernization. Harbours – Terminology, layouts and planning.
Airports – Layout, planning & design.

Mechanical Engineering

PAPER – I

1. Fluid Mechanics:

Basic Concepts and Properties of Fluids, Manometry, Fluid Statics, Buoyancy, Equations of Motion, Bernoulli’s equation and applications, Viscous flow of incompressible fluids, Laminar and Turbulent flows, Flow through pipes and head losses in pipes.

2. Thermodynamics and Heat transfer:

Thermodynamic systems and processes; properties of pure substance; Zeroth, First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics; Entropy, Irreversibility and availability; analysis of thermodynamic cycles related to energy conversion: Rankine, Otto, Diesel and Dual Cycles; ideal and real gases; compressibility factor; Gas mixtures. Modes of heat transfer, Steady and unsteady heat conduction, Thermal resistance, Fins, Free and forced convection, Correlations for convective heat transfer, Radiative heat transfer – Radiation heat transfer coefficient; boiling and condensation, Heat exchanger performance analysis

3. IC Engines, Refrigeration and Air conditioning:

SI and CI Engines, Engine Systems and Components, Performance characteristics and testing of IC Engines; Fuels; Emissions and Emission Control. Vapour compression refrigeration, Refrigerants and Working cycles, Compressors, Condensers, Evaporators and Expansion devices, Other types of refrigeration systems like Vapour Absorption, Vapour jet, thermo electric and Vortex tube refrigeration. Psychometric properties and processes, Comfort chart, Comfort and industrial air conditioning, Load calculations and Heat pumps.

4. Turbo Machinery:

Reciprocating and Rotary pumps, Pelton wheel, Kaplan and Francis Turbines, velocity diagrams, Impulse and Reaction principles, Steam and Gas Turbines, Theory of Jet Propulsion – Pulse jet and Ram Jet Engines, Reciprocating and Rotary Compressors – Theory and Applications

5. Power Plant Engineering:

Rankine and Brayton cycles with regeneration and reheat, Fuels and their properties, Flue gas analysis, Boilers, steam turbines and other power plant components like condensers, air ejectors, electrostatic precipitators and cooling towers – their theory and design, types and applications;

6. Renewable Sources of Energy:

Solar Radiation, Solar Thermal Energy collection - Flat Plate and focusing collectors their materials and performance. Solar Thermal Energy Storage, Applications – heating, cooling and Power Generation; Solar Photovoltaic Conversion; Harnessing of Wind Energy, Bio-mass and Tidal Energy – Methods and Applications, Working principles of Fuel Cells.

 

PAPER – II

7. Engineering Mechanics:

Analysis of System of Forces, Friction, Centroid and Centre of Gravity, Dynamics; Stresses and Strains-Compound Stresses and Strains, Bending Moment and Shear Force Diagrams, Theory of Bending Stresses-Slope and deflection-Torsion, Thin and thick Cylinders, Spheres.

8. Engineering Materials:

Basic Crystallography, Alloys and Phase diagrams, Heat Treatment, Ferrous and Non Ferrous Metals, Non metallic materials, Basics of Nano-materials, Mechanical Properties and Testing, Corrosion prevention and control

9. Mechanisms and Machines:

Types of Kinematics Pair, Mobility, Inversions, Kinematic Analysis, Velocity and Acceleration Analysis of Planar Mechanisms, CAMs with uniform acceleration and retardation, cycloidal motion, oscillating followers; Vibrations –Free and forced vibration of undamped and damped SDOF systems, Transmissibility Ratio, Vibration Isolation, Critical Speed of Shafts. Gears – Geometry of tooth profiles, Law of gearing, Involute profile, Interference, Helical, Spiral and Worm Gears, Gear Trains- Simple, compound and Epicyclic; Dynamic Analysis – Slider – crank mechanisms, turning moment computations, balancing of Revolving & Reciprocating masses, Gyroscopes –Effect of Gyroscopic couple on automobiles, ships and aircrafts, Governors.

10. Design of Machine Elements:

Design for static and dynamic loading; failure theories; fatigue strength and the S-N diagram; principles of the design of machine elements such as riveted, welded and bolted joints. Shafts, Spur gears, rolling and sliding contact bearings, Brakes and clutches, flywheels.

11. Manufacturing ,Industrial and Maintenance Engineering:

Metal casting-Metal forming, Metal Joining, Machining and machine tool operations, Limits, fits and tolerances, Metrology and inspection, computer Integrated manufacturing, FMS, Production planning and Control, Inventory control and operations research - CPM-PERT. Failure concepts and characteristics-Reliability, Failure analysis, Machine Vibration, Data acquisition, Fault Detection, Vibration Monitoring, Field Balancing of Rotors, Noise Monitoring, Wear and Debris Analysis, Signature Analysis, NDT Techniques in Condition Monitoring.

12. Mechatronics and Robotics:

Microprocessors and Microcontrollers: Architecture, programming, I/O, Computer interfacing, Programmable logic controller. Sensors and actuators, Piezoelectric accelerometer, Hall effect sensor, Optical Encoder, Resolver, Inductosyn, Pneumatic and Hydraulic actuators, stepper motor, Control Systems- Mathematical modeling of Physical systems, control signals, controllability and observability. Robotics, Robot Classification, Robot Specification, notation; Direct and Inverse Kinematics; Homogeneous Coordinates and Arm Equation of four Axis SCARA Robot

Electrical Engineering

PAPER – I

1. Engineering Mathematics

Matrix theory, Eigen values & Eigen vectors, system of linear equations, Numerical methods for solution of non-linear algebraic equations and differential equations, integral calculus, partial derivatives, maxima and minima, Line, Surface and Volume Integrals. Fourier series, linear, nonlinear and partial differential equations, initial and boundary value problems, complex variables, Taylor’s and Laurent’s series, residue theorem, probability and statistics fundamentals, Sampling theorem, random variables, Normal and Poisson distributions, correlation and regression analysis.

2. Electrical Materials

Electrical Engineering Materials, crystal structures and defects, ceramic materials, insulating materials, magnetic materials – basics, properties and applications; ferrities, ferro-magnetic materials and components; basics of solid state physics, conductors; Photo-conductivity; Basics of Nano materials and Superconductors.

3. Electric Circuits and Fields

Circuit elements, network graph, KCL, KVL, Node and Mesh analysis, ideal current and voltage sources, Thevenin’s, Norton’s, Superposition and Maximum Power Transfer theorems, transient response of DC and AC networks, Sinusoidal steady state analysis, basic filter concepts, two-port networks, three phase circuits, Magnetically coupled circuits, Gauss Theorem, electric field and potential due to point, line, plane and spherical charge distributions, Ampere’s and Biot-Savart’s laws; inductance, dielectrics, capacitance; Maxwell’s equations.

4. Electrical and Electronic Measurements:

Principles of measurement, accuracy, precision and standards; Bridges and potentiometers; moving coil, moving iron, dynamometer and induction type instruments, measurement of voltage, current, power, energy and power factor, instrument transformers, digital voltmeters and multi-meters, phase, time and frequency measurement, Q-meters, oscilloscopes, potentiometric recorders, error analysis, Basics of sensors, Transducers, basics of data acquisition systems

5. Computer Fundamentals:

Number systems, Boolean algebra, arithmetic functions, Basic Architecture, Central Processing Unit, I/O and Memory Organisation; peripheral devices, data represenation and programming, basics of Operating system and networking, virtual memory, file systems; Elements of programming languages, typical examples.

6. Basic Electronics Engineering:

Basics of Semiconductor diodes and transistors and characteristics, Junction and field effect transistors (BJT, FET and MOSFETS), different types of transistor amplifiers, equivalent circuits and frequency response; oscillators and other circuits, feedback amplifiers.

PAPER – II

1. Analog and Digital Electronics:

Operational amplifiers – characteristics and applications, combinational and sequential logic circuits, multiplexers, multi-vibrators, sample and hold circuits, A/D and D/A converters, basics of filter circuits and applications, simple active filters; Microprocessor basics- interfaces and applications, basics of linear integrated circuits; Analog communication basics, Modulation and demodulation, noise and bandwidth, transmitters and receivers, signal to noise ratio, digital communication basics, sampling, quantizing, coding, frequency and time domain multiplexing, power line carrier communication systems.

2. Systems and Signal Processing :

Representation of continuous and discrete-time signals, shifting and scaling operations, linear, time-invariant and causal systems, Fourier series representation of continuous periodic signals, sampling theorem, Fourier and Laplace transforms, Z transforms, Discrete Fourier transform, FFT, linear convolution, discrete cosine transform, FIR filter, IIR filter, bilinear transformation.

3. Control Systems:

Principles of feedback, transfer function, block diagrams and signal flow graphs, steady-state errors, transforms and their applications; Routh-hurwitz criterion, Nyquist techniques, Bode plots, root loci, lag, lead and lead-lag compensation, stability analysis, transient and frequency response analysis, state space model, state transition matrix, controllability and observability, linear state variable feedback, PID and industrial controllers.

4. Electrical Machines :

Single phase transformers, three phase transformers - connections, parallel operation, auto-transformer, energy conversion principles, DC machines - types, windings, generator characteristics, armature reaction and commutation, starting and speed control of motors, Induction motors - principles, types, performance characteristics, starting and speed control, Synchronous machines - performance, regulation, parallel operation of generators, motor starting, characteristics and applications, servo and stepper motors.

5. Power Systems :

Basic power generation concepts, steam, gas and water turbines, transmission line models and performance, cable performance, insulation, corona and radio interference, power factor correction, symmetrical components, fault analysis, principles of protection systems, basics of solid state relays and digital protection; Circuit breakers, Radial and ring-main distribution systems, Matrix representation of power systems, load flow analysis, voltage control and economic operation, System stability concepts, Swing curves and equal area criterion. HVDC transmission and FACTS concepts, Concepts of power system dynamics, distributed generation, solar and wind power, smart grid concepts, environmental implications, fundamentals of power economics.

6. Power Electronics and Drives :

Semiconductor power diodes, transistors, thyristors, triacs, GTOs, MOSFETs and IGBTs - static characteristics and principles of operation, triggering circuits, phase control rectifiers, bridge converters - fully controlled and half controlled, principles of choppers and inverters, basis concepts of adjustable speed dc and ac drives, DC-DC switched mode converters, DC-AC switched mode converters, resonant converters, high frequency inductors and transformers, power supplies.

Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering


PAPER – I

1. Basic Electronics Engineering:

Basics of semiconductors; Diode/Transistor basics and characteristics; Diodes for different uses; Junction & Field Effect Transistors (BJTs, JFETs, MOSFETs); Transistor amplifiers of different types, oscillators and other circuits; Basics of Integrated Circuits (ICs); Bipolar, MOS and CMOS ICs; Basics of linear ICs, operational amplifiers and their applications-linear/non-linear; Optical sources/detectors; Basics of Opto electronics and its applications.

2. Basic Electrical Engineering:

DC circuits-Ohm’s & Kirchoff’s laws, mesh and nodal analysis, circuit theorems; Electro-magnetism, Faraday’s & Lenz’s laws, induced EMF and its uses; Single-phase AC circuits; Transformers, efficiency; Basics- DC machinesinduction machines, and synchronous machines; Electrical power sources- basics: hydroelectric, thermal, nuclear, wind, solar; Basics of batteries and their uses.

3. Materials Science:

Electrical Engineering materials; Crystal structure & defects; Ceramic materials-structures, composites, processing and uses; Insulating laminates for electronics, structures, properties and uses; Magnetic materials, basics, classification, ferrites, ferro/para-magnetic materials and components; Nano materials-basics, preparation, purification, sintering, nano particles and uses; Nano-optical/magnetic/electronic materials and uses; Superconductivity, uses.

4. Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation:

Principles of measurement, accuracy, precision and standards; Analog and Digital systems for measurement, measuring instruments for different applications; Static/dynamic characteristics of measurement systems, errors, statistical analysis and curve fitting; Measurement systems for non-electrical quantities; Basics of telemetry; Different types of transducers and displays; Data acquisition system basics.

5. Network Theory:

Network graphs & matrices; Wye-Delta transformation; Linear constant coefficient differential equations- time domain analysis of RLC circuits; Solution of network equations using Laplace transforms- frequency domain analysis of RLC circuits; 2-port network parameters-driving point & transfer functions; State equations for networks; Steady state sinusoidal analysis.

6. Analog and Digital Circuits:

Small signal equivalent circuits of diodes, BJTS and FETs; Diode circuits for different uses; Biasing & stability of BJT & JFET amplifier circuits; Analysis/design of amplifier- single/multi-stage; Feedback& uses; Active filters, timers, multipliers, wave shaping, A/D-D/A converters; Boolean Algebra& uses; Logic gates, Digital IC families, Combinatorial/sequential circuits; Basics of multiplexers, counters/registers/ memories /microprocessors, design& applications.

PAPER – II

1. Analog and Digital Communication Systems:

Random signals, noise, probability theory, information theory; Analog versus digital communication & applications: Systems- AM, FM, transmitters/receivers, theory/practice/ standards, SNR comparison; Digital communication basics: Sampling, quantizing, coding, PCM, DPCM, multiplexing-audio/video; Digital modulation: ASK, FSK, PSK; Multiple access: TDMA, FDMA, CDMA; Optical communication: fibre optics, theory, practice/standards.

2. Control Systems:

Classification of signals and systems; Application of signal and system theory; System realization; Transforms& their applications; Signal flow graphs, Routh-Hurwitz criteria, root loci, Nyquist/Bode plots; Feedback systems-open &close loop types, stability analysis, steady state, transient and frequency response analysis; Design of control systems, compensators, elements of lead/lag compensation, PID and industrial controllers.

3. Computer Organization and Architecture:

Basic architecture, CPU, I/O organisation, memory organisation, peripheral devices, trends; Hardware /software issues; Data representation& Programming; Operating systems-basics, processes, characteristics, applications; Memory management, virtual memory, file systems, protection & security; Data bases, different types, characteristics and design; Transactions and concurrency control; Elements of programming languages, typical examples.

4. Electro Magnetics:

Elements of vector calculus, Maxwell’s equations-basic concepts; Gauss’, Stokes’ theorems; Wave propagation through different media; Transmission Lines-different types, basics, Smith’s chart, impedance matching/transformation, S-parameters, pulse excitation, uses; Waveguides-basics, rectangular types, modes, cut-off frequency, dispersion, dielectric types; Antennas-radiation pattern, monopoles/dipoles, gain, arrays-active/passive, theory, uses.

5. Advanced Electronics Topics:

VLSI technology: Processing, lithography, interconnects, packaging, testing; VLSI design: Principles, MUX/ROM/PLA-based design, Moore & Mealy circuit design; Pipeline concepts & functions; Design for testability, examples; DSP: Discrete time signals/systems, uses; Digital filters: FIR/IIR types, design, speech/audio/radar signal processing uses; Microprocessors & microcontrollers, basics, interrupts, DMA, instruction sets, interfacing; Controllers & uses; Embedded systems.

6. Advanced Communication Topics:

Communication networks: Principles /practices /technologies /uses /OSI model/security; Basic packet multiplexed streams/scheduling; Cellular networks, types, analysis, protocols (TCP/TCPIP); Microwave & satellite communication: Terrestrial/space type LOS systems, block schematics link calculations, system design; Communication satellites, orbits, characteristics, systems, uses; Fibre-optic communication systems, block schematics, link calculations, system design.

 

Download

Best Books 

Civil Engineering Books 

S.No

Subject / Book Name

Author Name

1

Strength of Materials /Mechanics of
Structure

Gere & Goodno, L. Singer

2

Theory of Structures/ Analysis of Structure

L.S. Negi & Jangit, Gupta & Pandit,
C.S. Reddy

3

Construction Planning &Management
(i) PERT -CPM
(ii)Engineering Economy & unsolved
Problems on PERT-CPM
(iii) Equipment

B.C. Punamia

U.K. Shrivastav

Robert Peurifoy

4

Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering.

R.F.Craig , Muni Budhu

5

Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Machines

Modi & Seth, R. K. Bansal, Cengel and
Cimbala, K.Subramanyam, Jagdish Lal.

6

Environmental Engineering

G.O.I Manual , S.K. Garg (Part-I & II),
Peavy and R owe, Metcalf & Eddy

7

Highway Engineering

Khanna & Justo, Kadiyali

8

Railway Engineering

Saxena & Arora

9

Airport Engineering

Saxena & Arora

10

Docks & Harbors

Rangwala

11

Building Materials

Rangwala, M.L. Gambhir

12

R.C.C. Design

Pillai and Menon, A.K. jain, H.J.Shah

I.S. Code-456---2000

13

Steel Design

Arya & Ajmani, L.S. Negi,

I.S. Code-800

14

Plastic Analysis

Manicka Selvam

Mechanical Engineering

S.No

Subject / Book Name

Author Name

1

Engg. Thermodynamics

P.K Nag , Cengel & Boles

2

Strength of Materials

Gere & Timoshenko

Sadhu Singh

E.J Hern

3

Industrial Engg.

O P Khanna , Ravi Shankar

Buffa & Sarin

4

Production Engg.

Kalpkjian Schmid

Amitabh Ghosh

AK Malik

5

Material Science

WD Callister

IP Singh ,V Raghvan

6

Machine Design

Shigley

V.B Bhandari

7

Mechanical Vibration

Grover

8

Theory of Machines

RS Khurmi , S.S Rattan

Malik & Ghosh

9

Fluid Machinery

Jagdish Lal

R.K.Bansal

10

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

CP Arora

Domukundwar

11

Heat Mass And Transfer

D.S.Kumar

12

Compressible Flow

S.M.Yahya

13

Fluid Mechanics

Modi & Seth

R.K.Bansal

14

Gas Turbine & Propulsive Systems

V Ganeshan

P.K Nag

15

I.C.Engine

Sharma Mathur,

V. Ganeshan

16

Operations Research

Taha , S.D Sharma

Kanti Swarup

 

Electrical Engineering (paper 1)

 

S.No.

Subject/Book Name

Author Name

1

Electrical Materials

A.J. Dekker

S.P. Seth

2

Electrical Circuits

Van Valkenberg

D. Roy choudhary

A.K. Chakraborty

Schaum series

3

Electro Magnetic field

W.H Hayt

Mathewd N.O. Sadikku

K.D. Prasad

Schaum Series

4

Electrical and Electronic Measurements

A.K. Sawhney

Helfric & Cooper

J.B. Gupta

David A. Bell

H.S. Kalsi

5

Computer Fundamentals

Abraham silberschatz, Galvin

William stallings

6

Computer Networking

Tanenbaum

Forouzon

William stallings

7

Digital logic

M. Morris Mano

8

Computer Organization and architecture

Carl hamacher

William stallings

Morris Mano

9

Programming & data structures

Yashavant Kenetkar (Understanding pointers in C)

Schaum’s

D. Ritchie

10

Basic Electronic Engineering

S.M. sze.

Streetman & Banerjee

Millman & Halkias

 

Electrical Engineering (paper 2)

 

S.No.

Subject/Book Name

Author Name

1

Analog & Digital communication

Simon Haykin B.P. Lathi
Taub & Schilling
Singh & Sapre
P. Ramakrishna Rao-Analog communication
P.Ramakrishna Rao-Digital communication
H.P. Hsu-Schaum Series
Kennedy

2

Control Systems

Nagrath & Gopal
B.C. Kuo
K. Ogata
B.S. Manke
Schaum series

3

Computer Organization & Architect

To be taken from computer facul

4

Electro-Magnetics

W.H. Hayt
Mathew N.O. Sadiku
K.D. Prasad
Schaum Series
Samuel Liao-for waveguide
Pozar-for waveguides
Harish Sachdananda-For antenna wave propogat
Kennedy-For Antenna

5

Advanced Electronics Topic

D.V. Hall
SM Sze-VLSI Technology
Plummer-Silicon VLSI Technology
Muhmmad N. Mazidi-Microcontrollers.
Proakis & Manolokis-DSP
Ramesh Babu C Durai-DSP

6

Advanced Communication Topics

Forouzan-Communication Network
Carl Hamacher
John M Senior-Optical Fiber Communication
Pratt & Boastian-Satellite Communication

Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering

S.No.

Subject/Book Name

Author Name

1

Basic Electronics Engineering

Millman & Halkias
Boylested & Nashelsky
Sedra & Smith
Streetman & Banerjee
S.M. Sze

2

Basic Electrical Engineering

• B.L. Thareja

3

Material Science

A.J. Dekker
S.P. Seth

4

Electronic Measurements & Instrumentation

A.K. Sawhney
Helfric & Cooper
J.B. Gupta
David A.Bell
H.S. Kalsi

5

Network Theory

Van Valkonberg
D.Roy Choudhary
A.K. Chakraborty
Schaum Series

6

(a) Analog Electronics

Milman & Halkias Bolysted & Nashelsky
Sedra & Smith
Behzad Razavi –Introduct to Micro-electronics

7

(b) Digital Electronics

Morris Mano R.P. Jain
Tocci

8

(c) Microproccesors

R.S. Gaonkar B. Ram
D.V. Hall

 

 

Preparation strategy for UPSC Engineering Services Examination

IES is among the most prestigious and coveted career options that are available for engineers encompassing private, public and government sectors. Just like the Civil Services, the candidates recruited for the IES are highly honored by the government and the society. 
Since there are many opportunities for engineers in the public sector like Indian Railways, Central Engineering, Military Engineering, Telecommunications, Central Water Services and many other departments, the IES is a highly desired job where candidates get to play an important role in the development of the country.


The keys to success in the IES or any other exam will always be hard work, relentless efforts and perseverance. However, a smart approach involving systematic planning is also crucial to achieve targets. A thorough knowledge of the subject including clarity of basic concepts along with awareness about current affairs, general knowledge add to the advantages of hard work. A smart and mature persona is also a prerequisite for successfully cracking this exam. 

You can use these tips to get a fair idea of these exams and develop your own personal strategy:

You must understand and acquaint yourself with the latest pattern and syllabus of the examination. The previous year's question papers can be a great help. You can screen them thoroughly to identify the repeat topics and questions and prepare accordingly. 

Use reference books to understand concepts but prefer to understand one topic from one good book to avoid confusion and waste of time. However, you can use different books for different topics.

 Time management is a very crucial factor during preparation and even writing this exam. One must chalk out a proper strategy and time table. Each subject from the technical section must be devoted at least 3 hours daily to get best results. English and General Studies should also be given 1 hour each so that you can get a cutting edge in exam. 

To avoid boredom and maintain enthusiasm distribute the subjects well in your time table for studying. You can alternate between General Ability and Technical sections to make studying enjoyable. 

You must segregate short-term and long term study goals, and work accordingly to succeed.

Short notes are very helpful especially in technical subjects. Make short notes of important topics and also a list of formulae and revise them daily. 

Practice of questions helps to assess your understanding and level of concepts. Practice as many as possible from books and previous question papers.

Since time is a crucial factor while attempting the exam candidates can time themselves while practicing questions. Ensure to complete the tasks within the stipulated time.

Candidates can also practice questions with the help of OMR sheets so that they get acclimatized to using them during the exam. 
For English, you can learn 20 new words daily from previous years question papers or other sources.

You can also solve 10 to 15 questions of English daily, based on rearranging sentences and finding errors.

Reading the newspaper, watching the news, surfing the net will help to prepare for the general ability exam. Knowledge of Current Affairs of 45 days prior to the exam will help to sail through this exam.
Daily practice of at least of 5 questions from the previous year papers of conventional exam will enhance writing skills and presentation.

Practice of mock tests that include all sections of the exam within a limited time frame will help you to sail through and succeed in these exams.

Time plays a very crucial role during all exams including the ESE. So, it is a must that you optimally utilize the allotted time.

There are 120 questions in Objective Paper I, evenly based on General Studies and English. Since Comprehension and questions based on rearrangement of sentences are time consuming, candidates can solve those after completing the rest of the exam.

Ensure that you read the Comprehension thoroughly before attempting the questions. This will give you a better idea for answering correctly.

 Attempt the questions you find easy before moving on to the difficult ones.

 echnical theory questions are best attempted before the numerical since you may take long to attempt numerical which also carry negative marking, so a well attempted theory gives you stronger chance of scoring well and covering up for negative marks. 

Remember to write the formula in the numerical problems, along with S.I units of quantities involved and also specify the answer.

There are two conventional papers on the third day. Attempt the easy questions first after reading the paper thoroughly and keep the difficult ones for the end.

Make sure the presentation of your answer sheet is neat, systematic and well organized with properly labeled diagrams if required. An orderly answer sheet with exact expression within proper word limit is credited for especially in the conventional papers.


Consistency, Perseverance and self motivation are the key ingredients of success.

Enhance your memory power and efficiency by indulging in recreational activities, to keep your mind healthy and rejuvenated. 

Keep the documents related to examination such as hall ticket, acknowledgment of application, application number and other details safely to avoid any hassles.

The last day before the exam must be spent in relaxing and revising only important topics and notes. You must also sleep for at least 6 hours to wake up fresh and rejuvenated for the exam. 

Remember to carry sharpened pencils, pens, eraser and your hall ticket on the day of the exam. 

Make sure that you reach the exam centre well before time and avoid studying during traveling.

PREPARATION STRATEGY

Preparation for the ESE requires both, clarity of concepts as well as problem solving skills, since the written exam has objective and subjective sections. A few key points will have you sailing through.


Begin with awareness of exam pattern, percentage of technical questions & non-technical ones, weightage of each section to streamline your studying strategy. Use Previous year question papers as guide to make smart decisions regarding your study plan. 

Use Reference books for understanding theory, concepts, derivations and equations etc. and make your basics strong.

You can practice previous year question papers to analyze your weak areas. Identify the weak topics and revise them thoroughly. Time yourself as you solve the papers to get an idea of your speed so that you can focus on that too.

The General Ability section carries 200 marks and is important even for the Personal interview. Keep your General Knowledge updated for this section through news papers, news channels or surfing websites. 

Writing the Exam

Smart writing skills, good presentation, proper explanations, theoretical reasoning, derivations, related equations and diagrams will help you cover the subjective section.


Short Cut Techniques: Solve numerical using short techniques rather than traditional methods to save time.
Beware of marks per question, negative marking and exam duration while attempting the paper.

Personal Interview Your all round personality is the focal point of personal interviews. A Positive attitude, Smart body language, Proper communication and Knowledge about current affairs reflect a great Persona. Along with this Sound technical knowledge can create a great impression in personal interviews. You must prepare to answer queries about your strong and weak traits.

 

How to check UPSC ESE (IES) Cutoff 2023?

The candidates can check The UPSC ESE Cutoff 2023 in the following manner:

  • Go to the official website of UPSC – upsc.gov.in
  • Click on the ‘Examination’ tab given at the top
  • A drop list will appear, Click on the Cutoff link appearing on the list
  • The ESE Cutoff PDF link will appear in the list
  • Click on the link and get the ESE cutoff for all the categories and phases

UPSC ESE (IES) Prelims Cutoff 2023

The Commission conducted the IES 2023 prelims exam in February but its cutoff is yet to be released. The Commission will release the Category-wise Cutoff for all the streams soon on its official website -upsc.gov.in.

UPSC ESE(IES) Tie Principle

Tie-principle will be implemented when two or more candidates secure the same marks. The UPSC ESE (IES) tie principle is explained below:

1. The candidates with more marks in subject/technical papers plus marks of Personality Test may be ranked higher;

2.  In case the total marks in the subject/technical papers plus marks of Personality Test are equal, the candidate who is senior in age may be ranked higher.

IES Cut of Previous Years

The candidates can see here the IES cutoff of previous years

IES Cutoff 2021

The Union Public Service Commission released the UPSC IES 2021 Cutoff on April 4, 2022. The Commission mentioned the category-wise cutoff for all the engineering streams. separately. The candidates can se and download the IES cutoff 2021 pdf as released by the Commission.

IES 2021 Prelims Cutoff

Though the IES cutoff is different every year it gives the idea of approximate marks required to clear the exam. The candidates can take the average of the last five years' cutoff and get an idea of the preparation required for each of the engineering streams. The IES cutoff for 2021 is given below:

Branch

Category

2020

[Out of 500]

Civil

 

General

249

EWS

246

OBC

243

SC

196

ST

213

Mechanical

General

247

EWS

247

OBC

247

SC

213

ST

214

Electrical

General

235

EWS

225

OBC

235

SC

199

ST

230

Electronics & Telecommunication

General

208

EWS

200

OBC

208

SC

205

ST

202

IES 2021 Main Cutoff 

The candidates can see the marks required to clear the UPSC ESE (IES) main exam 2021 (Main and Interview)

UPSC ESE (IES) Civil Engineering Cutoff 2021

Following are the cut off marks for IES exam 2021 (Civil Engineering):

Category

Main

[Out of 1,100]

Marks secured by last recommended candidate

[Out of 1,300]

General

617

804

EWS

581

772

OBC

582 

762

SC

484

642

ST

519

667

UPSC ESE (IES) Mechanical Engineering Cutoff 2021

Following are the cut off marks for IES exam 2021 (Mechanical Engineering):

Category

Main

[Out of 1,100]

Marks secured by last recommended candidate

[Out of 1,300]

General

597

761

EWS

532

749

OBC

555

739

SC

477

688

ST

563

719

UPSC ESE (IES) Electrical Engineering Cutoff 2021

Following are the cut off marks for IES exam 2021 (Electrical Engineering):

Category

Main

[Out of 1,100]

Marks secured by last recommended candidate

[Out of 1,300]

General

567

746

EWS

534

633

OBC

522

717

SC

484

651

ST

508

684

UPSC ESE (IES) Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Cutoff 2021

Following are the cut off marks for IES exam 2021 (Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering):

Category

Main

[Out of 1,100]

Marks secured by last recommended candidate

[Out of 1,300]

General

449

617

EWS

428

579

OBC

449

606

SC

403

553

ST

358

482

IES Cutoff 2020

IES Cut off 2020 was released by UPSC on April 15. The IES cut off was released for all the groups separately. In addition to the engineering branch, the IES cutoff was released for all the categories separately. The IES cutoff 2020 was highest for the Civil Engineering branch. The lowest among them all was for Electronic and Tele-communication. The candidates should analyse the dynamics between the number of IES vacancies, the difficulty level of the paper and the IES cut off. This will help them to arrive at the quantum of preparation effort required for the selection in the IES exam. The Union Public Service Commission released the IES cut off for all the engineering branches and categories. We have summarised the IES Prelims cutoff 2020.

Branch

Category

2020

[Out of 500]

Civil

 

General

238

EWS

238

OBC

238

SC

202

ST

227

Mechanical

General

262

EWS

255

OBC

250

SC

214

ST

202

Electrical

General

238

EWS

226

OBC

229

SC

187

ST

194

Electronics & Telecomm.

General

245

EWS

226

OBC

245

SC

205

ST

202

 

How to download ESE(IES) 2023 Admit Card online?

The candidates can download the UPSC ESE(IES) 2023 admit card for main exam in the manner given below.

Step 1: Visit the official website of https://upsc.gov.in/

Step 2: Navigate to the “E-Admit cards” link for various UPSC exams

Step 3: Select IES 2023 exam admit card link

Step 4: Carefully read the instructions mentioned and take a printout of the same

Step 5: Now, submit the details as required and press enter

Step 6: IES 2023 admit card will be displayed on the screen

Step 7: Download IES 2023 admit card and take two printouts of it