Phase 1: Preliminary Examination
UPSC Prelims consists of two compulsory multiple-choice-question based papers of 200 marks each. Here’s a brief about the UPSC
Prelims paper pattern.
UPSC Syllabus for Prelims: Paper-I
The IAS Syllabus for UPSC Prelims Exam includes the following topics:
1. Current Events of National and International Importance.
2. History of India and Indian National Movement.
3. Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
4. Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
5. Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector
Initiatives, etc.
6. General Issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject
specialization General Science
UPSC Syllabus For Prelims: General Studies Paper-II
The GS-II in UPSC Prelims is also known as CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test. The following topics are included in
the IAS syllabus for this paper:
1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc., – Class X level), Data interpretation
(charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc., – Class X level)
Number of Papers 2 compulsory papers (GS Paper-I and GS Paper-II)
Type of Paper GS Paper-I (Merit)
GS Paper-II (Qualifying)
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 & candidates
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)
Phase 2: UPSC Civil Services Main Examination
UPSC Mains exam consists of nine papers that are held over 4-5 days. Out of these, only seven papers are meritoriented.
The rest two papers including the Compulsory Indian Language paper and Compulsory English paper are
qualifying in nature. Here’s a brief about UPSC Mains Paper:
