UPSC Prelims & Mains Syllabus in brief

Preliminary Examination

The Civil Service (Prelims) Examination consists of two papers of General Studies (GS) containing only multiple-choice objective type questions, each with 100 questions and 200 maximum marks, combined together to be 400 marks.

General Studies Paper – I, 200 marks, Duration - 2 hours

👉 National and International Current affairs,

👉 Indian History and Indian National Movement,

👉 World and Indian Geography

👉 Indian Polity and Governance,

👉 Economy,

👉 Environment and Ecology,

👉 General Science.

General Studies Paper - II (CSAT – Civil Services Aptitude Test), 200 Marks, Duration -2 hours, qualifying nature with 33% Minimum Marks

👉 Comprehension,

👉 Interpersonal Skill including Communication skill,

👉 Logical Reasoning,

👉 Decision Making and problem Solving,

👉 General Mental ability,

👉 Basic Numeracy,

👉 Data Interpretation.

Paper 'A' (any Indian Language) and Paper 'B' (English) both are in the nature of qualifying and carry a maximum of 300 marks each.

✒️Paper – I: Essay

✒️Paper – II: General Studies-I
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.

✒️Paper – III: General Studies-II
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and Internation Relations.

✒️Paper – IV: General Studies-III
Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.

✒️Paper – V: General Studies-IV
Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude.

✒️Paper – VI: Optional Subject Paper-I

✒️Paper – VII: Optional-2 Subject Paper-II

Each of the paper consists of 200 marks

The syllabus of General Studies in the Mains Examination is similar to the Preliminary Examination, some Important differences are:
   1. History of the World and Society added,
   2. International Relation added,
   3. Security and Decision Management added,
   4. New Paper of 250 marks of Ethics, Aptitude and Integrity.

While the Prelims Exam consists of Multiple-Choice Objective Questions, the main Examination contains only subjective type questions which requires good quality and precise expression and economy of words.