The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Servants of the Government of India, including IAS, IFS, IPS and IRS. It is conducted in three phases – Preliminary Examination consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper II also popularly known as Civil Service Aptitude Test), and Main Examination consisting of four General Studies Papers, Compulsory Essay Paper and Optional Subject Paper I & II and Qualifying Paper on Indian Languages and English, followed by Interview Test.