There are Different services that are there that help the government to perform the task which it has to perform. UPSC conducts close to a dozen exams for recruitment of people for different services like Civil services, Forest services, Engineering Services, Combined Defence services, Combined Medical Services, Economic/Statistical Services etc. There are different examinations which are conducted by UPSC for these different services and selects people. For civil services, CSAT followed by mains/interview is conducted. For forests services, Indian forest services are the examination that is conducted. Similarly, for defence services, CDS is conducted and so on. CSAT is the first stage for recruitment into different posts within civil services. In the context of Civil Services, each year, every state sends requirement in terms of the number of vacant posts which need to be filled up. Those requirements could be in terms of the number of collectors, sub collector, magistrates, etc. The total number of vacancies for various civil service posts increased quite significantly from 453 in 2004 to 1037 in 2012. Each state has to identify its requirement for various categories of officers and send their requirement to UPSC. UPSC consolidates those figures and arrive at the number of posts. Typically, there is a phase lag of about two years. For example if a state gives its requirement considering the number of districts, number of posts then UPSC consolidates these figures and that will reflect in about 2 years. This phase lag will be there because of the procedures and processes the government has to follow. Almost more than 2.5 lakh candidates write the examination every year to bag one of the coveted seats. For example, in 2010, 2.69 lakh candidates appeared for the examination. The number of candidates who are called for MAINS is approximately 12-15 times the number of posts. Approximately 12491 candidates made it to mains from the preliminary stage in year 2010. The competition, no doubt, is tough. And in order to emerge a champion in an examination like civil services, it is required that the candidate’s preparation takes place in a very systematic manner. There are approximately 200 seats in top 3 services. To grab one of the seats out of them, the success rate is it turns out to be 0.1%. 1 person out of every 1000 persons. In order to be successful in an exam like this, you need to be have a clear focus on what exactly you want to achieve in life. Is it that, you aspire to be an IAS officer, or IFS officer or IPS officer. The goal clarity has to start at this level. It is important that you remember, that the set of 2-3 lakh people does not just include those who are writing for the first time. It includes people who have already cleared Civil services (prelims, mains, and interview) but let's say, they have got posting into IPS or IRS, Customs deptt, Indian revenue service or into other group A or Group B service. The competition is extremely tough. This implies that you have to put in that extra bit of effort to get to a level where you are extremely comfortable with an exam like this. It calls for dedication, determination, and discipline. Till the time, you get into IAS or IFS or into one of your dream career; you need to keep working hard.