IES Exam Pattern For 2021 | Detailed Stages and Marking Scheme

IES Exam Pattern: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) organizes the Indian Engineering Services (IES) or Engineering Services Examination (ESE) every year to hire candidates across India for various management positions in the government of India.

IES Exam Pattern for the year 2021 is designed to be tough as thousands of aspirants compete for the few available positions and the board wishes to pick out the best of the best. Therefore, before registering in ESE 2021 Application Form, you must check the IES Exam Pattern to know the important topics that will be covered in the Prelims and Mains Exam so as to prepare accordingly. 

Read the entire article to find the complete details on ESE 2021 Exam Pattern!

UPSC IES Exam Pattern 2021

The IES 2021 exam pattern pdf released by the official government page covers all the four branches and also the General Studies and Engineering Aptitude (GS & EA) exam which is common and compulsory for all the Engineering Services aspirants, irrespective of the subject they have chosen. 

No matter what branch of engineering the candidates are trained in, they’re allowed to take the UPSC ESE 2021 examination only in four branches,

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

To answer all your doubts related IES Exam Pattern, we have put across a detailed explanation of how the IES Selection Process happens and all the stages the examination is conducted in. Check out an overview for IES 2021 Exam Pattern from the table below:

Stages	Examination	Max. marks
Stage 1	Preliminary Examination	500
Stage 2	Main Examination	600
Stage 3	Personality Test	200
Stage 1 + Stage 2 + Stage 3	Grand Total	1,300

Check out one-by-one. how the IES exam is conducted in three stages: 

Stage 1: IES Preliminary Examination Exam Pattern

The Preliminary Examination is usually conducted in the month of January, but this time it is going to be conducted on July 18th, 2021, and it marks the beginning of the selection process. The IES preliminary examination consists of two papers and is conducted in two sections. 

Paper 1 – General ability objective papers 

The first paper will be common for all the aspirants, irrespective of the branch of engineering they have chosen. The paper will concentrate on the General Studies and Engineering Aptitude (GS&EA) of the candidates.

It comprises 10 topics that cover both technical and nontechnical knowledge in the field of engineering that must be known to every engineering graduate. Due to its relevance, it is compulsory for all the applicants. 

Paper 2 – Engineering Discipline – Objective Paper 

The second paper in IES Exam Pattern depends on the branch of engineering chosen by the candidate.

The paper tests the specific knowledge and expertise that the candidate posses in their chosen branch of engineering may it be Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Electronics, and Telecommunication Engineering.

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IES Marking Scheme for Preliminary Examination 

There will be one-third negative marking in IES Exam Pattern for Prelims 2021. Check out the detailed pattern for Prelims from the table below:

Paper	Name of the Paper	Time Duration	Max. Marks
Paper 1	General Studies and Engineering Aptitude (GS&EA)	2 hours	200
Paper 2	Engineering Discipline – Objective Paper	3 hours	300
Paper 1 + Paper 2	Grand Total	5 hours	500

Stage 2: IES Mains Examination Exam Pattern

The main examination is the second step in the selection process and it is usually conducted in the months of June or July. The IES Exam pattern for mains consists of two papers and is conducted in two sections. 

Paper 1 and 2 – Engineering Discipline – Specific subjective papers. 

The first and second paper of the main examination concentrates solely on the subjective expertise of the candidate. The candidates will receive the question papers designed to test their knowledge and learning in the branch of engineering that they chose.

The IES pattern for Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering will be the same as the IES exam pattern for mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering. 

IES Marking Scheme the Mains Examination

Check out the detailed pattern for UPSC 2021 ESE Mains from the table below:

Paper	Name of the paper	Time Duration	Max. Marks
Paper 1	Engineering Discipline- Specific Paper 1	3 Hours	300
Paper 2	Engineering Discipline- Specific Paper 2	3 Hours	300
Paper 3	Grand Total	6 Hours	600

Crack The Exam Easily and Chase Your Dream

Download UPSC IES Ultimate Study Materials to Boost Preparation
UPSC IES Study Packages	UPSC IES Study Combos
UPSC IES Practice Paper	UPSC IES Sample Papers
UPSC IES Test Series

Stage 3: Personal Interview

The personal interview is the final deciding stage of the IES examination and this is usually conducted in the months of November and December. The IES paper pattern for this stage consists of a personality test with a max. marks of 200 to add on to the aspirants’ performance. 

The best candidates with the highest grand total in all the three stages combined get hired for some of the esteemed positions in various departments of the Indian government. 

Get Other Highly Important Essentials for UPSC IES Exam

UPSC IES 2021 Syllabus

The students must check the UPSC IES 2021 Syllabus to know the topics that will be covered in the Prelims and Mains Exam so as to prepare accordingly. It will help in enhancing the students’ probability to score high.

We have covered a detailed guide on the IES Exam Pattern 2021. If you have any queries related to UPSC, feel free to ask us in the comment section below.

FAQ- IES 2021 Exam Pattern