1. The UPSC civil services exam consists of three stages - a preliminary exam, main exam, and personality test (interview). 2. The preliminary exam has two objective papers testing general studies and an aptitude test. Candidates who pass this move to the main exam. 3. The main exam has 9 papers, including two qualifying papers on English and an Indian language. The remaining 7 papers test general studies, an essay, and an optional subject. Candidates are ranked based on the marks of these 7 papers. 4. The personality test involves an interview with a panel to assess the candidate's mental and emotional aptitude and knowledge. The interview carries significant weightage.

1. 1
RANJAN SINGH
Civil Service Exam Pattern, Syllabus & Subjects
• A PRELIMINARY EXAM ( Objective)
• MAINS EXAM (Subjective )
• PERSONALITY TEST (INTERVIEW)
CSE is conducted annually. It is divided in to three stages.
➢ The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type
(multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 400 marks.
➢ The Question Papers (Test Booklets ) are set in English & Hindi
UPSC Exam Pattern: Prelims
Paper Evaluation Question Type Marks/Duration
General Studies
Paper I
Merit Ranking (in
prelims)
General Studies Marks: 200
Duration: 2 Hours
General Studies
Paper I
Qualifying Paper
(33% min)
Aptitude Test
(CSAT)
Marks: 200
Duration: 2 Hours

2. 2
RANJAN SINGH
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for Paper I – (200 marks)
Duration: Two hours (Counted for the merit rank in the Prelims)
• 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, Panchayat
Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty, `
Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change –
that do not require subject specialization.
• General Science.

3. 3
Duration: Two hours (Not counted for the merit rank in Prelims but a qualifying
Paper; just needs 33% marks)
• 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 Exam Pattern: MAIN (WRITTEN) EXAMINATION
➢The written examination consists of nine papers, two qualifying papers and
seven papers counted for ranking.
RANJAN SINGH
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for Paper II – (200 marks)

4. UPSC Civil Services New Mains Exam pattern
Qualifying Papers ( Non-Ranking)
Paper A (One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate
(from 18 the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the
Constitution of India)
300 Marks
Paper B English 300 Marks
Paper to be counted for merit (Ranking)
Paper I Essay 250 Marks
Paper II General Studies I (Indian heritage and culture, history and
geography of the world and society)
250 Marks
Paper III General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social
justice, and international relations)
250 Marks
Paper IV General Studies III (Technology, economic development,
biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management)
250 Marks
Paper V General Studies-IV(ethics, integrity, and aptitude) 250 Marks
Paper VI Optional subject - Paper 1 250 Marks
Paper VII Optional subjects - Paper 2 250 Marks
4
RANJAN SINGH

5. 5
RANJAN SINGH
UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam (1750 marks)
Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjectsfrom amongst the list of subjects
given below.
• The papers on Indian Languagesand English (Paper A and Paper B) will be of
Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature. The marks obtained
in these papers will not be counted for ranking.
• Evaluation ofthe papers, namely, ‘Essay’, ‘General Studies’ and Optional Subject of all
the candidateswould be done simultaneously along with evaluation of their qualifying
papers on ‘Indian Languages’and ‘English’ but the papers on ‘Essay’, General Studies and
Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance of who attain such
minimum standard as may be fixed by Commission at their discretion for the qualifying
papers on ‘Indian Language’and ‘English’.
• The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsoryfor candidates
hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland
and Sikkim.

6. 6
RANJAN SINGH
List of optional subjects for UPSC Mains Examination
•Agriculture
•Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
•Anthropology
•Botany
•Chemistry
•Civil Engineering
•Commerce and Accountancy
•Economics
•Electrical Engineering
•Geography
•Geology
•Indian History
•Law
•Management
•Mathematics
•Mechanical Engineering
•Medical Science
•Philosophy
•Physics
•Political Science and International
Relations
•Psychology
•Public Administration
•Sociology
•Statistics
•Zoology

7. 7
RANJAN SINGH
Literature of any one of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type.
Each paper will be of three hours duration. The question papers (other than
the literature of language papers) will be set in Hindi and English only.
PERSONALITY TEST: 275 MARKS
Total – (B) Main Examination – 1750 Marks + (C) Personality Test – 275
Marks = 2025 Marks.

8. 8
RANJAN SINGH
UPSC Exam Pattern: PERSONALITY TEST (INTERVIEW)
The third stage of the UPSC Exam pattern is the UPSC PERSONALITY TEST
(INTERVIEW). The Interview stage is allotted 275 marks in the UPSC Exam
Pattern. The 275 marks of the personality test (out of a total of 2025 marks) are
significant as the UPSC can award as high as 80% or as low as 30% of the
budgeted marks. This implies a range of nearly 140 marks. The number
candidates who qualify for the Interview stage is around three times of the
number of vacancies declared in the UPSC Notification.
The purpose of the UPSC Interview is to test the candidates Mental and
Emotional Awareness about the happenings around her/him, along with his/her
knowledge which was proved in the UPSC Main Exam. The UPSC Interview
is conducted by a panel of 5 people headed by a UPSC Member. The Other 4
people are experts in their respective fields.

9. 9
RANJAN SINGH
NOTE: The objective of the interview is to test the overall orientation of the
candidate towards Administrative services.
Note: If any confusion prevails about the UPSC Civil Service Examination or about Civil
Services Exam Syllabus or any other point, please refer UPSC website.
https://upsc.gov.in/
All the best
for your
preparation.
Put your heart
and soul in it.
UPSC Exam Pattern: PERSONALITY TEST (INTERVIEW)