IES 2021 Exam Pattern, Marking Scheme, Exam Duration, Syllabus and Model Papers
Updated On -
Mar 19, 2021
Content Curator
IES/ESE Exam Pattern 2021 has been released by Union Public Service Commission. IES recruitment exam will be conducted through three stages – Preliminary, Main Exam and Personal Interview round. IES 2020 Prelims and Main exam will be held on January 5 and June 28, 2020.
- Indian Engineering Service examination is conducted in offline mode.
- ESE Preliminary Exam has 2 objective papers whereas the Main exam has 2 conventional papers.
- IES Prelims Paper 1 is common for every student while Paper 2 is candidate’s opted engineering discipline amongst Civil/ Mechanical/ Electrical and Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. Read IES Syllabus
- IES Main exam is completely based on candidate’s opted engineering discipline.
- The medium of both the examination is English only.
- For every wrong answer, one-third marks will be deducted in prelims IES 2020 Prelims exam.
Highlights of IES Exam Pattern 2020
The following infograph depicts the highlights about the IES Exam Pattern:
Download Free IES Question Papers Here
IES/ ESE Exam Pattern in Detail
There are three stages in IES recruitment exam:
- Stage 1: It is also known as IES Preliminary exam. It has two objective papers of total 500 marks. Candidates have to clearoverall cutoff as well as cutoffofboth the papers separately in order to qualify the exam.
- Stage 2: It is also referred to as IES MainExam. Only candidates qualifying in prelims will be eligible to appear in this stage. It has two descriptive papers of 300 marks each.
- Stage 3: Personal Interview or Personality Test is the final stage of IES 2020 exam. It is of 200 marks.
Candidate must obtain more marks than specified IES Cutoff in each exam to qualify for the next stage. Candidates’ scores in the Preliminary exam, main exam, and interview round will together determine IES Final Merit List. IES Exam Pattern for each stage along with model question papers, marking scheme, duration and syllabus is presented below:
IES Exam Pattern for Prelims (Stage 1)
- IES Prelims exam will be conducted in offline mode i.e. it is a pen and paper-based test.
- There will be two papers in the prelims exam. Both papers will have multiple-choice questions.
- Candidates are provided OMR sheets for both the papers, wherein the correct answer needs to be colored.
- For each wrong answer, one-third mark is deducted.
- IES Prelims Exam Pattern Scheme is tabulated below:
| Papers | Number of Questions | Duration of Exam | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (General Studies & Engineering Aptitude) | 100 | 2 hours | 200 |
| Paper 2 (Engineering Discipline) | 150 | 3 hours | 300 |
| Total | 250 Questions | 5 hours | 600 marks |
IES/ ESE Official Question Papers PDF (Prelims)
| IES Prelims Papers | Download Links |
|---|---|
| Paper 1 | General Studies & Engineering Aptitude |
| Paper 2 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | |
| Electrical Engineering | |
| Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering |
IES Exam Pattern for Main Exam (Stage 2)
IES Main Exam is conducted in offline mode i.e. it is a written examination.
- IES Stage 2 will have two papers. Both the papers will have questions from the opted Engineering discipline (Civil Engineering/ Mechanical Engineering/ Electrical/ Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering).
- There will be 8 questions as an option, out of which you will have to attempt 5 questions.
- There will be no negative marking in this exam.
- Candidates have to answer in English language only.
- Up to 5% marks may be deducted in case of illegible handwriting.
- Credit will be given for exact, to the point answer using an economy of words.
IES Main Exam Pattern scheme is tabulated below:
| IES Main Papers | Number of Questions | Duration of Exam | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (Engineering Discipline) | 5 out of 8 Optional Questions | 3 hours | 300 |
| Paper 2 (Engineering Discipline) | 5 out of 8 Optional Questions | 3 hours | 300 |
| Total | 10 Questions | 6 hours | 600 marks |
IES/ ESE Official Question Papers PDF (Main)
| IES Main Exam Papers | Download Links |
|---|---|
| Civil Engineering | Paper 1 |
| Paper 2 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | Paper 1 |
| Paper 2 | |
| Electrical Engineering | Paper 1 |
| Paper 2 | |
| Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering | Paper 1 |
| Paper 2 |
IES Personal Interview (Stage 3)
- This stage is also known as Personality Test.
- It is the final stage in IES recruitment exam.
- Only candidates qualifying the written exams are called for the interview round.
- The candidates are scored out of 200 marks.
- In IES Interview round, the following skills of the candidates areassessed:
- Suitability of candidate for a career in the public service sector
- Mental caliber or Mental alertness
- Leadership Qualities
- Initiative & Intellectual Curiosity,
- Mental & Physical energy and
- Other social traits and interestsin current affairs.
Read How to crack IES Interview?
IES/ ESE Syllabus 2020
UPSC prescribes the syllabus for Engineering Services Examination. Syllabus for Paper 1 in the Prelims exam which is common for every candidate is of graduate-level and tests a candidate’s awareness about the current issues and basic engineering knowledge. The other papers are based on the engineering discipline chosen by the exam taker. Syllabus for Prelims and Main is the same, the difficulty level may differ.
| Papers | Topics | IES Syllabus PDFs |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies & Engineering Aptitude | Current issues of national and international importance relating to social, economic and industrial development | Download |
| EngineeringAptitudecoveringLogical reasoningandAnalyticalability, EngineeringMathematicsandNumericalAnalysis, General Principles of Design,Drawing,ImportanceofSafety,StandardsandQualitypracticesinproduction, construction, maintenance, andservices, BasicsofEnergyandEnvironment:Conservation,environmentalpollution, anddegradation, ClimateChange,Environmentalimpactassessment,BasicsofProjectManagement, BasicsofMaterialScienceandEngineering, InformationandCommunicationTechnologies (ICT)based toolsand theirapplicationsinEngineeringsuchasnetworking,e-governance, andtechnology-basededucation, Ethics, andvaluesin the Engineeringprofession. | ||
| Civil Engineering | Building Materials, Solid Mechanics, Structural Analysis, Design of steel structure, concrete and masonry structures, construction practice, planning and management, Flow of fluids, hydraulics machines and hydropower, Hydrology and water resources engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering, Surveying and Geology, Transportation Engineering | Download |
| Mechanical Engineering | Fluids Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Heat transfer, IC Engines, Refrigeration and Air conditioning, Turbo Machinery, Power Plant Engineering, Renewal Sources of Energy, Engineering Mechanics, Engineering Materials, Mechanisms and Machines, Design of Machine Elements, Manufacturing, Industrial and Maintenance Engineering, mechatronics and Robotics | Download |
| Electrical Engineering | Engineering Mathematics, Electrical Materials, Electric Circuits and Fields, Electrical and Electronic Measurements, Computer Fundamentals, Basic Electronics Engineering, Analog and Digital Electronics, Systems and Signal Processing, Control Systems, Electrical Machines, Power Systems, Power Systems, Power Electronics and Drives | Download |
| Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering | Basic Electronics Engineering, Basic Electrical Engineering, Material Science, Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation, Network Theory, Analog and Digital Circuits, Analog and Digital Communication Systems, Control Systems, Computer Organization and Architecture, Electro Magnetics, Advanced Electronics topics, Advanced communication topics | Download |
IES 2020 Exam Guidelines
Following are important instructions to be taken into account by applicants regarding IES 2020 exam:
- Candidates should attempt questions in accordance with directions given in question paper.
- Candidates should abide by instructions printed on Question Paper and Answer Book givenin the exam hall.
- Candidates must use only black ball pen to darken the circles on the OMR sheet.
- Electronic gadgets like mobile phone, Bluetooth, and other communication devices are not allowed inside the exam hall.
- The particulars allowed inside the exam hall are non-programmable calculators, other engineering drawing instruments.
- There is a provision for negative marking in IES 2020 exam, so candidates have to keep this in mind while attempting answers.
- Unfair exam practices are strictly prohibited inside the examination hall and will lead to immediate cancellation of candidature of applicant involving in such malpractices and hence that candidate will not be allowed to attend the examination.
- Candidates are not allowed to leave the exam hall before the prescribed finishing time of the exam.
IES FAQs
Ques. How many stages are there in IES recruitment exam?
Ans. There are three stages- Preliminary exam, Main Exam and Personal Interview round.
Ques. What marking scheme is followed in IES 2020 exam?
Ans. IES Prelims exam is of 500 marks and Main exam carries 600 marks. Candidates are awarded up to 200 marks in the interview round.
Ques. What is sectional cutoff and is it applicable in IES exam?
Ans. The sectional cutoff is the minimum marks as prescribed by UPSC for each section/ paper. Yes, it is applicable to the IES exam. Candidates have to clear both overall cutoff and cutoff of each paper in prelims and main exam.
Ques. Is negative marking applicable in IES exam?
Ans. Yes, one third marks will be deducted for each wrong answer in IES Prelims exam. However, there is no negative marking in Main exam.
Do candidates have to follow any word limit while writing answers in Main exam?
Ans. No, there is no word limit restrictions, however, credit is given for short, precise answers using economy of words and no mark is given for only superficial knowledge.
Ques. Is the final merit list based on Main exam and Interview round only?
Ans. No, IES Final Merit List is based on candidates’ performance in all three stages that are Preliminary exam, main exam and Interview round.
Ques. Can a candidate write the answers in Hindi?
Ans.No, IES exam is completely held in English language, question papers will be set in English only in both prelims and main exam and candidates are supposed to write their answers in Main exam in English only.
Ques. What Engineering disciplines can be chosen for IES 2020 exam?
Ans. The Engineering disciplines that can be opted by the applicants are- Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.