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UPSC Indian Economic Service / Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS)

Evidence status: 🟢 official. Every number below was verified on 2026-09-30 against the official Examination Notice No. 07/2026-IES/ISS dated 11.02.2026, fetched directly with HTTP 200 from upsc.gov.in this run.

The Indian Economic Service (IES) and Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Examination is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit specialist economists and statisticians as Group A Gazetted Officers into ministries and departments of the Government of India.

At a glance
Conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Current cycle IES/ISS 2026 — notified 11 February 2026; last date for application 03 March 2026
Vacancies (2026) 44 total: Indian Economic Service (IES) 16, Indian Statistical Service (ISS) 28 (tentative)
Stages Written examination (1000 marks) → Viva voce / Interview (200 marks)
Total marks 1200 marks (Written 1000 + Interview 200)
Age (as on 1 August 2026) 21–30 years (born between 2 August 1996 and 1 August 2005); upper age limit relaxable for SC, ST, OBC, PwBD and other eligible categories as per rules
Qualification (IES) Post-graduate degree in Economics / Applied Economics / Business Economics / Econometrics from a recognised university
Qualification (ISS) Bachelor’s degree with Statistics/Mathematical Statistics/Applied Statistics as one of the subjects, or a Master’s degree in Statistics/Mathematical Statistics/Applied Statistics
Fee Rs 200 (exempt for female, SC, ST, and PwBD candidates)
Application portal Online via https://upsconline.nic.in/

Official sources

Exam pattern

The written examination comprises 6 papers totaling 1000 marks, followed by a 200-mark viva-voce personality test (total merit out of 1200 marks). All question papers must be answered in English only. Non-programmable scientific calculators are permitted in descriptive papers but not in objective papers. Negative marking (one-third of marks assigned) applies to objective papers.

A. Indian Economic Service (IES) Written Papers

Subject Maximum Marks Time Allowed Type
General English 100 3 hours Descriptive
General Studies 100 3 hours Descriptive
General Economics-I 200 3 hours Descriptive
General Economics-II 200 3 hours Descriptive
General Economics-III 200 3 hours Descriptive
Indian Economics 200 3 hours Descriptive

B. Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Written Papers

Subject Maximum Marks Time Allowed Type
General English 100 3 hours Descriptive
General Studies 100 3 hours Descriptive
Statistics-I (Objective) 200 2 hours Objective (80 questions)
Statistics-II (Objective) 200 2 hours Objective (80 questions)
Statistics-III (Descriptive) 200 3 hours Descriptive
Statistics-IV (Descriptive) 200 3 hours Descriptive

Syllabus

  • General English: Essay writing, comprehension, grammar, and precise writing (graduate standard).
  • General Studies: Current events, Indian polity and Constitution, history of India, geography, and general awareness.
  • General Economics (IES): Advanced microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, economic growth and development, public finance, international economics, money and banking, growth models, and quantitative methods in economics (Master's degree standard).
  • Indian Economics (IES): Planning, economic reforms, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, labour, foreign trade, public sector, and contemporary Indian economic problems.
  • Statistics (ISS): Probability, statistical inference, linear models, design of experiments, multivariate analysis, sample surveys, industrial statistics, econometrics, and applied statistics (Bachelor's and Master's degree standard).

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Master Core Discipline: For IES, master advanced economic theory (micro, macro, growth, public finance) using standard post-graduate textbooks; for ISS, build rigorous command over probability, statistical inference, and sampling methods.
  2. Government Publications & Reports: Rely heavily on government publications for Indian Economics and General Studies: the Economic Survey, Union Budget documents, and RBI bulletins.
  3. Practice Descriptive Writing: Since most papers are subjective/essay type, regular answer-writing practice under timed conditions is essential.
  4. Solve Previous Papers: Practice official previous years' question papers from UPSC to understand question depth and time management across objective and descriptive sections.

Free resources