The Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) is an important agency of the government responsible for the management of defence land across the country. The IDES is responsible for many key functions like maintenance of defence land records, evolving policies on land management, ascertaining land requirements for defence projects, managing revenue land assets, etc. To fulfill these functions, the IDES recruits professionals through a competitive examination, the syllabus of which is given below.
The IDES examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). There are two stages of the examination, preliminary and main. The preliminary examination consists of two papers, General Studies and Aptitude, which test the basic knowledge and analytical skills of the candidates. The syllabus for these papers is common to other civil services examinations conducted by UPSC.
The main examination of the IDES consists of a written test and an interview. The written test has four papers and all of them are compulsory. The syllabus for each paper is as follows:
Paper-I: General English – This paper tests the language skills of the candidate and includes essay writing, comprehension, precis writing, grammar, etc.
Paper-II: General Knowledge – This paper tests the general knowledge of the candidate and includes topics like current affairs, history, geography, economics, etc.
Paper-III: Engineering (Civil/Mechanical/Electrical) – This paper tests the technical knowledge of the candidate and includes topics like mechanics, materials science, thermodynamics, electrical circuits, etc.
Paper-IV: Management – This paper tests the management skills of the candidate and includes topics like organizational behavior, human resource management, financial management, marketing management, etc.
The interview carries a weightage of 200 marks and tests the personality traits of the candidate. The interview panel evaluates the candidate’s communication skills, leadership qualities, problem-solving abilities, and other qualities necessary for the job.