UPSC Pattern & Syllabus

All you need to know

The UPSC Exam pattern is officially divided into three stages i.e Prelims, Mains and Interview. Prelims is objective type stage in which there will be 2 objective type papers. Candidate who clears the Prelims are eligible for Mains Examination, which is subjective in nature and candidates who clear the Mains Examination reach the Interview stage.

Stage 1: Prelims

The Prelims Examination is usually conducted in the months of May or June.

Paper	Type	No. of Questions	Total marks	Time Alotted	Negtive Marks
General Studies I	Objective	100	200	2 Hours	Yes
General Studies II	Objective	80	200	2 Hours	Yes
Total UPSC marks for Prelims	400 ( Where GS paper II is qualifying in nature with Minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%)

Stage 2: Mains

The UPSC exam pattern for the Mains stage consists of 9 papers conducted over 5-7 days. The Mains Examinations are usually conducted in the month of October. Only those candidates who secure at least the declared cut off in General Studies I and 33% in General Studies II in Prelims will be allowed to appear for the Mains Examination.

UPSC CSE Exam Pattern – Mains

Papers	Subject	Duration of the Test	Maximum Marks
Paper A	Indian Language (Atleast 25% marks required)	3 Hrs	300
Paper B	English (Atleast 25% marks required)	3 Hrs	300
Paper I	Essay	3 Hrs	250
Paper II	General Studies I	3 Hrs	250
Paper III	General Studies II	3 Hrs	250
Paper IV	General Studies III	3 Hrs	250
Paper V	General Studies IV	3 Hrs	250
Paper VI	Optional I	3 Hrs	250
Paper VII	Optional II	3 Hrs	250

Stage 3: Interview

This is the final stage of the IAS Exam before the final results are declared. Officially it is called the Interview/Personality Test and counted as a part of the Mains Examination for merit ranking purposes. The Interview stage carries 275 marks.

UPSC Syllabus for CSE Prelims:

UPSC Syllabus for GS Paper (Prelims Paper I)

Current events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.
General Science

UPSC Syllabus for CSE Prelims:

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

UPSC Syllabus for Mains

Essay

Mains GS-I

Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times
Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues.
The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India
Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Effects of globalization on Indian society.
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
Salient features of world’s physical geography.
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India)
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone. etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Mains GS-II

Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity
Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Issues relating to poverty and hunger
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
Role of civil services in a democracy.
India and its neighbourhood- relations.
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Mains GS-III

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Government Budgeting.
Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
Land reforms in India
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc
Investment models
Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Disaster and disaster management.
Linkages between development and spread of extremism
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; moneylaundering and its prevention.
Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

IAS Syllabus for Mains GS-IV

Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics inhuman actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values
Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and nonpartisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections
Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.
Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
Case Studies on the above issues.

IAS Syllabus for Essay and Language Papers

Essay Paper

Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep close to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

All you need to know