Have a glance at the competition. Every year, nearly 10 lakh aspirants apply for the exam. Only two-thirds of them actually appear in the Prelims. Of them, some 15,000 (depending on the number of vacancies arising in that year) are selected for the Mains. They are among the brightest in the country. Out of them, nearly 2000 are called to the interview and finally around a thousand may get appointed to various services.