Civil services examination

The Indian Civil Services Examination is a nation-wide competitive examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India for the administrative services of the Government of India
This is reputed to be among the toughest and the most competitive exam in the world.Candidates have to pass through a three phase process with the success rate being around 0.1% of the total applicants (UPSC Annual Reports). In 2006 around 400,000 candidates applied for fewer than 500 vacancies (of which 50% are reserved) and around 7,500 got through the first phase and appeared in the Mains exam (UPSC Annual Reports).
The Indian Civil Service, as it was once called, is the backbone of the Indian government machinery & constitutes all the major departments which run the state & central administration. Today this service is better known by the various ministries and departments that it helps manage. A highly competitive and challenging area, it involves a variety of jobs in different departments. The service has a lot of prestige attached to it. The salary, allowances and facilities like healthcare, housing, conveyance etc. also make it a lucrative profession.
Civil Services Examination is conducted in 3 phases:-
Phase - I : Civil Services Exam (Preliminary) - Held in the month of May every year.
Phase - II : Civil Services Exam (Main)- held in October/November every year.
Phase - III: Interview - Held in April/May every year.
The Services recruited through Civil Services Examination:-
'All India Services'
Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Indian Police Service (IPS)
Central Civil Services - Group "A"
Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) - Income Tax
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) - Customes & Central Excise
Indian Audits & Accounts Service (IA&AS)
Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)
Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
Indian Defence Estate Service (IDES)
Indian Information Service (IIS)
Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
Railways Protection Force (RPF)
Central Civil Services - Group "B"
Union Territories Administrative Service
Union Territorries Police Service
Central Secretariat Service
Defence Secretariat Service

Important sites:
About UPSC & Indian Civil Services
The Official site of the UPSC
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
Department of Personnel and Training

From wikipedia:The free Encyclopedia.