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The IAS/ UPSC Civil Services Exam requires extensive dedicated study atleast over a year to be able to crack it. The UPSC Exam syllabus serves as a comprehensive roadmap for the exam, outlining the topics and concepts that candidates are expected to know. By understanding the syllabus, candidates can focus their preparation efforts on the most relevant areas, avoiding the time and energy spent on irrelevant material.
The examination is done in three stages and each stage’s syllabus is provided separately and in details in the UPSC Examination Notification which comes out every year. The exam syllabus has been the same since 2014. The syllabus is designed to assess candidates' general awareness of a wide range of subjects, as well as their ability to think critically and analyze information.
Paper | Subject | Description |
---|---|---|
GS Paper I | Current Events | National and international importance events |
History | India and Indian National Movement | |
Geography | Indian and World’s Physical, Social and Economic Geography | |
Indian Polity & Governance | Topics like Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. | |
Economic & Social Development | Topics like Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. | |
Environment & Ecology | General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization. | |
General Science | Fundamental concepts of Physics, Technology, Biology etc. | |
Civil Services Aptitude Test | Comprehension, General Mental Ability, Logical Reasoning & Analytical abilities | |
Interpersonal Skills, Decision Making & Problem-Solving including communication skills. | ||
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level) |
Having the prelims syllabus on your tips will help you to streamline your preparation and stay focused. The syllabus is your bible and you should be thorough with it. While reading the newspaper, the knowledge of the syllabus will guide you to only read the relevant news.
There are two Papers at the Preliminary Stage, the GS Paper 1 and the Aptitude Test called the CSAT. GS Paper 1 has a vast syllabus covering topics from current affairs of over the last one year. History covers Indian history from ancient times to the present day, including political, social, economic, and cultural developments.Geography covers the physical and human geography of India and the world, including climate, drainage, vegetation, natural resources, population, demography, and settlements.Indian polity and governance covers the Constitution of India, the political system, the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and the major political parties. Economic and social development covers the Indian economy, its structure, growth, and development, as well as the key sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, and services. Environment and ecology covers general issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity, and climate change. General science covers fundamental concepts of physics, technology, and biology which are in news mostly or are from fundamental NCERTs.
CSAT has become tougher in the last couple years. Hence, it is important to do extensive practice for it.
You should print the Mains exam syllabus and put it up at a visible location and know it thoroughly. See the syllabus frequently. This will help you to streamline preparation and stick to the syllabus while reading current affairs, magazines and books. The exam syllabus is given in detail in the table below paper wise-
Paper | Subject | Syllabus |
---|---|---|
General Studies Paper I | Art & Culture | Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. |
History | Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present History of the world including political philosophies | |
Geography | Geophysical phenomena like earthquakes, distribution of resources and location of industries, effects of changes in geographical features like flora & fauna etc. | |
Society | India’s diversity, role of women, urbanization, poverty, globalization, secularism etc. | |
General Studies Paper II | Polity | Features of the Constitution, federalism, separation of powers, basic structure, important bodies etc. |
Welfare | Government Policies and Welfare Schemes, poverty and hunger issues, social services etc. | |
Governance | Development Industry, Pressure Groups, Accountability etc. | |
International Relations | International Institutions, India’s relations with its neighbours and in other global groupings, Indian diaspora etc. | |
General Studies Paper III | Economy | Growth & Resource Mobilisation, Government Budgeting, Investment & Infrastructure, Liberalisation etc. |
Agriculture | Policies on Irrigation, Minimum Support Price, Land Reforms, Cropping Patterns, Technology for Farmers, Food Processing Industry etc. | |
Environment & Ecology | Conservation, pollution, degradation, environmental impact assessment etc. | |
Disaster Management | Disasters and models of disaster management. | |
Internal Security | Extremism, Terrorism, Organised Crime, Role of Non-State Actors, Cyber security, Border Areas etc. | |
Science & Technology | Achievements of Indians, Indigenization of Technology, Awareness in IT, Space, Computers, Nano-Technology, Intellectual Property Rights issues etc. | |
General Studies Paper IV | Aptitude & Emotional Intelligence | Integrity, impartiality, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance, compassion, application of Emotional Intelligence in Administration. |
Thinkers | Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world | |
ThiEthics in Public Administration nkers | dilemmas in institutions, conscience as a source of ethical guidance, accountability, ethics in international relations, corporate governance etc. | |
Probity in Governance | Public service, transparency, right to information, code of ethics, citizen’s charter, quality of service delivery, corruption etc. | |
Case Studies | On all topics mentioned for GS Paper 4 and on ethical dilemmas case studies will be posed. | |
2 Optional Papers | To be chosen from a list of 26 subjects provided in the UPSC notification. You can refer to the syllabus provided in detail in the UPSC Notification. (i) Agriculture (ii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science (iii) Anthropology (iv) Botany (v) Chemistry (vi) Civil Engineering (vii) Commerce and Accountancy (viii) Economics (ix) Electrical Engineering (x) Geography (xi) Geology (xii) History (xiii) Law (xiv) Management (xv) Mathematics (xvi) Mechanical Engineering (xvii) Medical Science (xviii) Philosophy (xix) Physics (xx) Political Science and International Relations (xxi) Psychology (xxii) Public Administration (xxiii) Sociology (xxiv) Statistics (xxv) Zoology (xxvi) Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.Full syllabus for optional is given in the UPSC Exam Notification | |
Essay | 2 Essays | Each essay is 125 marks with a word count of approximately 1000-1200 words. It can be on any topic factual or philosophical. |
2 Language Papers | Indian Language | Only 25% passing marks are required out of a total 300 marks. The papers are only qualifying in nature. |
English |
Not all topics from the syllabus are asked every year in equal weightage. A detailed study of the Previous Questions Questions will tell you that some topics are favoured by IAS/ UPSC examination. Your understanding of these important topics will help you allocate your limited time to the most important topics. Having said that, you can not leave any topic and everything must be covered in the syllabus. Previous Year Questions are available on ‘IAS/UPSC Mains Past Papers’ and ‘IAS/UPSC Prelims Past Papers’.
The Personality Test/ Interview does not have a defined syllabus. The Interview Board asks questions from the Detailed Application Form (DAF) that candidates must fill out to apply for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination. DAF is filled by those who clear the Prelims Exam and contains information about the candidate's personal details, educational qualifications, work experience, optional subjects, and preferences for services and cadres.
You should be thorough with every word written in your DAF. It is best to prepare short notes for every word in DAF which should include their connection to current affairs and their historical significance.
From the below illustrations, you can see the varied questions which are asked in Interviews. You can see more of these Interview Transcripts from successful candidates to get an idea.
Carefully review the syllabus for all three exam stages to gain a comprehensive understanding of the topics and concepts covered. Integrate and understand the focus on each topic based on its demand in the papers. You will be doing an integrated preparation for all three stages when you begin. So knowing all the syllabus and its relative importance in each paper is important.
Divide the syllabus into manageable sections and create a study plan for each subject. Allot time realistically based on the complexity and weightage of each subject. Choose study materials that align closely with the syllabus. Avoid using outdated or irrelevant material.
Hence, the UPSC Exam syllabus serves as a valuable guide for candidates, and should be used effectively to have a clear framework for preparation. By adhering to the syllabus, candidates can make the most of their study time, reduce anxiety, and enhance their chances of success in the exam.
A thorough understanding of the UPSC syllabus is very important for the candidates to achieve their dream of becoming a civil servant. Every year UPSC conducts Civil Services Examination (CSE) to recruit for the various key Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), etc. The Civil Services Examination comprises two successive stages
(i) Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and
(ii) Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts.
The Following is the complete syllabus of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination and Civil Services (Main) Examination.
The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of Objective type (MCQs) and carry a maximum of 400 marks (two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each).
It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination
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The Civil Services (Main) Examination is a written examination and consists of 9 papers of conventional essay type, two of them are Qualifying Papers and the rest of the Papers are counted for merit. Each paper will be of three hours duration.
The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory
The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study.
The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelors’ degree and lower than the masters’ degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelors’ degree.
Syllabus of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows :
There is no prescribed syllabus for this paper. Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
Candidate may choose any optional subject from amongst the List of Optional Subjects: