UPSC Syllabus: Prelims, Mains & Interview

Contents

1 UPSC Syllabus

The UPSC syllabus is the foundation of your preparation journey, and understanding it is crucial to cracking the Civil Services Examination. Our comprehensive guide to the UPSC syllabus provides a detailed breakdown of the topics, subjects, and exam patterns for the Preliminary, Mains, and Personality Test stages. Get familiar with the exam requirements, focus on the most important areas, and create a study plan that helps you stay ahead of the competition.

Dive into our in-depth analysis of the UPSC syllabus and take the first step towards achieving your dream of becoming a civil servant.

UPSC Syllabus

UPSC Prelims Syllabus

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test is the first phase of the preliminary examination of UPSC. The Civil Services Preliminary exam comprises two compulsory papers of 200 marks each (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II – CSAT). The preliminary examinations are just for qualifications, the marks will not be counted in the final ranking.

The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type. In the CSAT Paper 2 of Civil Services preliminary Exam, the candidates will have to score a minimum 33 percent of marks, whereas, the marks of General Studies Paper-I will be taken into account for ranking in the prelims based on which the candidates will qualify in UPSC Mains Exam (written).

The first stage of the exam, i.e., the Civil Services Preliminary Exam is only a screening test and is conducted to shortlist candidates for the Main Examination. Marks secured in the Preliminary Exam are not taken into account while preparing the final merit.

Preliminary Exam consists of two papers of objective type carrying a maximum of 400 marks.

No. of Papers	2 compulsory papers
Type of Questions	Objective (MCQ) type
Total Maximum Marks	400 (200 each paper)
Duration of Exam	2 hrs. each (20 minutes per hour extra time for blind candidates & candidate with Locomotor Disability & Cerebral Palsy [minimum 40% impairment])
Negative Marking	1/3rd of the marks assigned to a question
Medium of Exam	Bilingual (Hindi & English)

UPSC Prelims Syllabus

General Studies Paper-I Syllabus

It has 100 questions broadly covering the following topics, carrying a maximum of 200 marks to be solved in 2 hours.

Current events of National & International importance.
History of India & Indian National Movement.
Indian & World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India & the World.
Indian Polity & Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic & Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity & climate change – that do not require subject specialization.
General Science.

UPSC Syllabus for General Studies Paper-II

It comprises of 80 questions from the following topics carrying a maximum of 200 marks to be solved in 2 hours.

Comprehension.
Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
Logical reasoning & analytical ability.
Decision making & problem solving.
General mental ability.
Basic numeracy (numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level)

UPSC Mains Syllabus

The final ranking of UPSC Civil Service Exam is prepared based on marks obtained in the Main exams and the Interview. The main exam has 1750 marks while the interview has 275 marks.

The written examination (main) will consist of the following nine papers, but only 7 papers will be counted for final merit ranking. For the rest two papers, the candidate should secure the minimum marks prescribed by UPSC each year for qualification.

The candidate must appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of the Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Qualifying Papers	Subject	Marks
Paper-A	One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution	300
Paper-B	English	300
Papers to be Counted for Merit
Paper-I	Essay	250
Paper-II	General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)	250
Paper-III	General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)	250
Paper-IV	General Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)	250
Paper-V	General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)	250
Paper-VI	Optional Subject – Paper 1	250
Paper-VII	Optional Subject – Paper 2	250
Sub Total (Written Test)		1750
Personality Test		275
Grand Total		2025

Qualifying Papers: Not counted for final ranking:

The paper aims to test the candidates’s ability to read and understand serious discursive prose and to express their ideas clearly and correctly, in the English and Indian languages concerned.

Paper – A Indian Language Syllabus. (One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. This paper will not be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.) 300 Marks.
Paper ‐ B: English Language Syllabus 300 Marks.

Papers to be counted for merit ranking:

Paper‐I Essay – Syllabus 250 Marks
Paper‐II General Studies – I Syllabus 250 Marks. (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society).
Paper‐III General Studies – II Syllabus.250 Marks. (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations).
Paper‐IV General Studies – III Syllabus 250 Marks. (Technology, Economic Development, Bio‐diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management).
Paper‐V General Studies – IV Syllabus 250 Marks. (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude).
Paper‐VI Optional Subject – Paper 1 – 250 Marks.
Paper‐VII Optional Subject – Paper 2 – 250 Marks.

Syllabi for Optional Subjects:

Candidates may choose any one of the ‘Optional Subjects’ from the list of subjects given below:

Stage 3: Interview (Vocal Section)

The candidate who successfully clears the UPSC Mains Exam will have to appear for the Personality Test (also known as “Interview”). The candidates will be interviewed by the Board who will have the candidates’ resumes. Some of the qualities evaluated during the personality test are mental alertness, clear and logical exposition, critical powers of assimilation, variety and depth of interest, balance of judgement, intellectual and moral integrity ability for social cohesion and leadership, etc. The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate.

Candidates can give interviews in their preferred language as UPSC will arrange the translators.

The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposeful conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

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UPSC Eligibility	UPSC Books
UPSC Answer Key	UPSC Mock Test
UPSC Prelims	UPSC Mains
IAS Interview	UPSC Previous Year Papers

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