UPSC Prelims Examination Syllabus
Millions of candidates attend attending UPSC Civil Service Examination every year to fulfil their dream of becoming a civil servant. They might be preparing themselves for facing this crucial day for one whole year. However, kickstarting preparation without a proper understanding of the syllabus might be a major pitfall you might face while taking your UPSC Civil Service Examination. Thus, it is mandatory to be well-versed in the IAS examination pattern and syllabus. For that, you are at the right place. Here, at Fortune IAS Academy, you will find a detailed UPSC Civil Service Examination syllabus for all stages of the examination, including:
- Prelims- General Studies & CSAT
- Mains – 9 Theory Papers (GS I-IV, Language Papers, Essay & Optional)
- Personal Test – Interview
Civil Service Exam Preliminary Syllabus
UPSC Preliminary examination, properly known as Prelims examination, is the first hurdle civil service aspirants need to cross to reach their dream destination. Above 13 lakh candidates appeared for Prelims 2024. On the other hand, approximately 11 lakhs and 10 lakhs in the years 2023 and 2022 respectively, appeared for the civil service prelims examination.
The Civil Service prelims examination is a screening test to select candidates for the Mains examination. Thus, it is crucial to have a proper understanding of the IAS prelims syllabus. In other words, before moving on with the preparation for the examination, the candidates should be familiar with the IAS examination pattern as well as the syllabus for the examination.
The aspirants who want to take UPSC 2025 must start their preparation in February 2024. The candidates need one year of preparation time to secure a high score in UPSC 2025. During this time, you need to have a proper timeline for preparation. Proper planning would help the candidate to conduct a smooth preparation phase where you can build a strong foundation for your concepts as well as clarify your doubts related to the UPSC topics including the subjects in UPSC prelims.
Exam Pattern & Syllabus for UPSC Prelims | |
Two Compulsory Papers | General Studies Paper – 1 |
General Studies Paper – 2 (CSAT) | |
No: of Questions in GS Paper 1 | 100 |
No: Of Questions in CSAT (GS Paper 2) | 80 |
Total No: of Marks | 400;
|
Negative Marks | Will deduct 1/3rd from the total for each wrong answer. |
Time Allotted | Two Hours Each GS Paper 1: 2 Hours (9:30 am – 11: 30 am) GS Paper 2: 2 Hours (2:30 pm to 4:30 pm) |
Medium of examination | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
Read further regarding the two papers of the UPSC Prelims examination in detail.
- Civil Service Prelims General Studies
- Civil Service Prelims General Studies paper or GS is the first paper in the Prelims Examination
- The goal of the Civil Service Prelims General Studies paper is to measure the general awareness of the candidates in a plethora of subjects including Indian Polity, Geography, History, Indian Economy, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology, International Relations and Current Affairs.
2. Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT)
- The Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT paper aims to evaluate the ability of the candidate to solve aptitude questions like Reasoning and Analytical, other than ‘Reading Comprehension’ and ‘Decision-making’
- Generally, Decision-making questions are exempted from negative marks.
Important Points to Remember.
- The Civil Service preliminary examination is a screen test for the candidates to find out the eligible candidates for the later stages of the UPSC Civil Service Examination.
- The marks obtained in the Civil Service Prelims examination will not be considered to determine the final rank.
The subjects included in the Civil Service Prelims Examination are common to all candidates. However, they have an option for selecting a few subjects when they enter into the phase of UPSC Mains.
Before starting, you need to know the detailed list of subjects in UPSC prelims to fuel your preparation process to achieve a high rank in the examination.
IAS Prelims Paper 1 Syllabus
The topics covered in the IAS prelims paper 1 syllabus or General Studies are given below in detail:
- Contemporary issues or events that gain importance at the National or International level
- History of India or Indian National Movement.
- National and World Geography: Physical, social and economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance- constitution political system, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, right issues and so on.
- General problems on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change, that do not require subject specialisation.
- General Science
IAS Prelims Paper 2 Syllabus (CSAT)
The Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT is the second paper in the Civil Service Prelims examination. The paper 2 UPSC prelims syllabus includes:
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal Skills including Communication skills
- Decision Making and Problem-solving
- General Mental Ability
- Basic Numeracy (numbers and their relation, orders of magnitude etc- Class X Level)
- Data Interpretation (Charts, groups, tables, data sufficiency etc – Class X Level)
It is recommended to practice the questions that appeared in the previous years’ Civil Service prelims examination to help the candidates familiarise themselves with the exam pattern and the type of questions. In addition, working out the previous year’s questions would help you to score higher rank in the examination.