UPSC Civil Services: Here’s the list of institutes that provide scholarships, free coaching to aspirants.

To help budding civil service aspirants pursue their dream, many private and government led/funded institutions provide free civil services coaching to aspirants.

Each year, nearly a million candidates appear for the UPSC civil services exam belonging to diverse economic and educational backgrounds. With an abundance of study material, references, online portals and Youtube videos available, an aspirant often encounters perplexing questions on how and where to begin from. Right guidance plays an important role in decoding the preparation strategy. But not everyone can spend a hefty tuition fee to access these facilities.  

To help such budding civil service aspirants pursue their dream, many private and government led/funded institutions provide free civil services coaching to aspirants. The criteria of admission to these institutions might be different, but their aim is to make coaching and guidance available to all. Below is a list of institutions that provide UPSC civil services coaching by charging no fees.

Jamia Millia Islamia residential coaching academy, New Delhi

The Jamia Millia Islamia RCA provides free coaching with hostel facility to 200 candidates belonging to minorities, SCs, STs and women (of all communities) for preparation of civil services (preliminary-cum-main). Scholarships to 20 per cent admitted students at Rs 2000 per month are also provided on means-cum-merit basis. 

RCA conducts entrance examinations for coaching in 12 cities across the country. A total of 34 students of RCA, JMI cleared civil services (mains) 2020 exam held in January 2021.

How to apply: Interested and eligible candidates can download the application form from the official website – jmi.ac.in. 

State Institute for Administrative Careers, Mumbai.

In order to encourage the participation of state’s youth towards civil services and to enhance their performance, the State Institute for Administrative Careers (SIAC) was instituted in 1976 by the government of Maharashtra. The setting up of the SIAC fulfilled the need for a full time residential institute devoted to conducting free training programmes round the year equipping the Maharashtrian youth to face confidently the challenges posed by the CSE. 

How to apply: The training program is open for Maharashtra youth and the candidates are selected through entrance tests held once a year. For more information visit their official website: siac.org.in on the entrance dates and forms. 

Sardar Patel institute of public administration, Ahmedabad

Government of Gujarat started central government recruitment study centre in April, 2013 at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) Ahmedabad for imparting training to the youth of Gujarat who aspire to join central government class 1-2 service. 

There is no coaching fee but candidates have to pay Rs 2000 as library deposit and Rs 5000 as training deposit. The admission for training is through an entrance test and only candidates whose mother tongue is Gujarati or first degree of graduation is from Gujarat or ordinarily a resident of Gujarat will be entitled to apply for admission. 

How to apply: Applicants need to pay Rs 300 as application fees. Candidates can apply at spipa.gujarat.gov.in. 

Jamia Hamdard residential coaching academy, New Delhi

The academy provides free coaching to civil services exam aspirants. This facility is exclusively open for candidates belonging to minority, scheduled caste, and scheduled tribe category. Women candidates are also eligible to avail this opportunity. The selected students are provided free accommodation, library facility, classroom teaching, practice sets, study materials, 24×7 library facility and Wi-Fi. 

The admission is through a written test, and only the shortlisted candidates are called for the test. Upon successfully qualifying the test, the candidates need to appear for an interview. Only candidates with a completed graduation degree are eligible to apply. Admission are expected to begin in September 2021. 

All India coaching for civil services, Chennai

All India civil services coaching centre is a unit of Anna institute of management. Every year, the institute takes in 325 aspirants (225 residential and 100 non-residential) who undergo intensive, free-coaching with free boarding and food for preliminary examination. 225 candidates are trained for main examination conducted by UPSC.

Model personality sessions are also organised for the candidates who have cleared the mains examination. The coaching is exclusively for the youth of Tamil Nadu. To avail the coaching facility, candidates need to qualify an entrance test conducted at 17 centres in Tamil Nadu. To apply for the coaching facility, candidates need to appear for the entrance test. Check the notification on civilservicecoaching.com.

UP Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana 2021, Uttar Pradesh

Abhyudaya Yojana, is a scheme launched by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to provide free coaching facilities for various competitive exams to the state’s youth. Applicants who are going to apply for this scheme must be the permanent resident of Uttar Pradesh.

Financially weak and students belonging to BPL families are eligible to avail this scheme. The coaching is provided through both online and offline modes. Students need to register at the official website to avail the scheme benefits. For more information visit – abhyuday.up.gov.in.

 Aligarh Muslim university residential coaching academy, Aligarh

AMU’s merit-cum-means freeship programme provides free coaching and residential facilities to 100 aspiring students every year. The program is open for minorities, SCs, STs and women candidates only. The selection process is done through a merit based test and family income less than eight lakh per annum. AMU provides library access, separate accommodation to men and women, coaching facilities for all three stages of the civil service exam. Eligible candidates can check the official website of AMU for the registration process. 

Apart from these, there are several other private, funded and government aided institutions that provide scholarships and free coaching services to the needy students. Many coaching institutions in the country have come to the aid of financially disadvantaged aspirants and provide scholarships based on their economic background.