📚 UPSC CSE · Complete Syllabus

UPSC Syllabus —
Prelims & Mains

The official UPSC Civil Services Examination syllabus — Prelims GS1 & CSAT, Mains GS1–4, Essay, qualifying papers and optional subjects. Download PDFs for offline reference.

3Stages

9Mains Papers

📄 Download Syllabus PDFs

Official UPSC syllabus for offline study & reference.

📄Prelims SyllabusPrelims

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📄GS Paper 1 SyllabusMains

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📄GS Paper 2 SyllabusMains

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📄GS Paper 3 SyllabusMains

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📄GS Paper 4 SyllabusMains

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UPSC Syllabus

📝 Prelims

✍️ Mains

📚 Optional Subjects

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The Civil Services Preliminary Exam is a screening test to shortlist candidates for the Main Examination. Marks secured in Prelims are not counted in the final merit list.

GS Paper II (CSAT) is qualifying in nature — a candidate must secure 33% marks to pass. It consists of two objective-type papers carrying a maximum of 400 marks.

Exam Structure

No. of Papers	2 compulsory papers
Type of Questions	Objective (MCQ) type
Total Maximum Marks	400 (200 marks each paper)
Duration of Exam	2 hours each paper
Negative Marking	1/3rd of marks assigned to a question
Medium of Exam	Bilingual — Hindi & English
GS Paper II (CSAT)	Qualifying paper — minimum 33% marks required

GS Paper I · 200 Marks · Merit Paper

General Studies Paper I

Current events of national & international importance
History of India & Indian National Movement
Indian & World Geography — physical, social, economic
Indian Polity & Governance — Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues
Economic & Social Development — sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity & Climate Change (no subject specialization required)
General Science

GS Paper II (CSAT) · 200 Marks · Qualifying

General Studies Paper II — CSAT

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 (Class X level)
Data interpretation — charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency (Class X level)

📚 Study Notes for Prelims GS Paper I

📚 Polity 📚 Economy 📚 Environment 📚 International Relations 📚 Geography 📚 Science & Technology 📚 History & Culture 🗺 Mapping

The Mains Examination is the second stage of UPSC CSE. It consists of 9 papers, of which 2 are qualifying. The written exam carries 1750 marks and the Personality Test carries 275 marks, making a grand total of 2025 marks.

Marks Structure

Paper	Subject	Marks
Paper A	One Indian Language (Eighth Schedule)	300
Paper B	English	300
Paper I	Essay	250
Paper II	General Studies I — Indian Heritage, Culture, History & Geography	250
Paper III	General Studies II — Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & IR	250
Paper IV	General Studies III — Technology, Economy, Biodiversity, Environment, Security	250
Paper V	General Studies IV — Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude	250
Paper VI	Optional Subject — Paper 1	250
Paper VII	Optional Subject — Paper 2	250
Sub Total (Written Test)		1750
Personality Test (Interview)		275
Grand Total		2025

⚠ Paper A & B are qualifying papers — marks are NOT counted for merit ranking. Minimum 25% required in each to be eligible for evaluation of Papers I–VII.

Essay · Paper I · 250 Marks

Essay

Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics
Must keep closely to the subject — arrange ideas in orderly fashion, write concisely
Credit given for effective and exact expression

GS Paper 1 · Paper II · 250 Marks

Indian Heritage & Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society

Indian culture — salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature & Architecture (ancient to modern)
Modern Indian history from mid-18th century — significant events, personalities, issues
The Freedom Struggle — various stages and important contributors
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization
History of the world — 18th century onwards (Industrial Revolution, World Wars, colonization, political philosophies)
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India
Role of women, population issues, poverty, urbanization, globalization effects
Salient features of world’s physical geography
Distribution of key natural resources; location of industries across the world
Important geophysical phenomena — earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, cyclones

GS Paper 2 · Paper III · 250 Marks

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations

Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, basic structure
Functions and responsibilities of Union & States, federal structure, devolution of powers
Separation of powers, dispute redressal mechanisms
Comparison of Indian constitutional scheme with other countries
Parliament & State legislatures — structure, functioning, powers & privileges
Structure & functioning of Executive and Judiciary; pressure groups
Government policies & interventions for development; role of NGOs, SHGs
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; social sector issues
Governance, transparency, accountability, e-governance, citizens’ charters
India and its neighbourhood relations; bilateral, regional & global groupings
Important international institutions, agencies & fora

GS Paper 3 · Paper IV · 250 Marks

Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security & Disaster Management

Indian Economy — planning, mobilization, growth, development, employment
Inclusive growth; government budgeting; agriculture & farm issues
Food processing; land reforms; liberalization; infrastructure; investment models
Science & Technology — developments, applications, indigenization
IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology, IPR
Conservation, environmental pollution & degradation; environmental impact assessment
Disaster & disaster management
Internal security challenges — extremism, cyber security, money laundering
Security forces & agencies and their mandate

GS Paper 4 · Paper V · 250 Marks

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

Ethics & Human Interface — essence, determinants and consequences of ethics in human actions
Human Values — lessons from great leaders, reformers and administrators
Attitude — content, structure, function; social influence and persuasion
Aptitude & foundational values for Civil Service — integrity, impartiality, objectivity, empathy
Emotional intelligence — concepts, utilities and application in governance
Contributions of moral thinkers & philosophers from India and world
Public/Civil service values & ethics in public administration
Probity in Governance — transparency, RTI, codes of ethics, citizen’s charters
Case Studies on all above issues

Qualifying Papers · Not Counted for Merit

Paper A — Indian Language & Paper B — English

Comprehension of given passages
Precise Writing
Usage and Vocabulary
Short Essays
Translation from English to Indian Language and vice-versa (Indian Language paper)
Minimum qualifying standard: 25% marks in each

✍️ Study Notes for Mains GS Papers

📚 GS Paper 2 Notes 📚 GS Paper 3 Notes 📚 GS Paper 4 (Ethics) Notes 📚 GS Paper 1 Notes

A candidate may opt for any one Optional Subject from the list below. Each optional subject has 2 compulsory papers carrying 250 marks each (total 500 marks).

Optional Subjects (26 + Literature)

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Anthropology

Botany

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Commerce & Accountancy

Economics

Electrical Engineering

Geography

Geology

History

Law

Management

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Medical Science

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science & IR (PSIR)

Psychology

Public Administration

Sociology

Statistics

Zoology

Literature — 24 languages (Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English & more)

Download the official UPSC syllabus PDFs for offline reference. These are the exact syllabi as prescribed by UPSC for the Civil Services Examination.

📄Prelims