IAS Exam (UPSC Civil Services Exam) Pattern and Syllabus

Civil Services Exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission. The exam is conducted in two phases:
Preliminary Test
Mains Exam including Personality Test
.
Preliminary Examination:
The Preliminary Examination comprising of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours
duration each. Detailed below is the new syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination, which is
brought to the notice of the prospective candidates intending to appear at the Civil Services Examination
(CSE) in 2011 onwards:
Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
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, Panchayati 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.
Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
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)
English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of
Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation
thereof in the question paper.
The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
Mains Exam:
The written examination will consist of the following papers:
.
Paper-I
Section 1 Essay - 200 Marks
Section 2 English Comprehension & English Précis - 100 Marks (Of Matriculation/ Xth standard level)
.
Paper-II
General Studies–I - 250 Marks
(Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
.
Paper-III
General Studies –II - 250 Marks
(Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)
.
Paper-IV
General Studies –III - 250 Marks
(Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
.
Paper-V
General Studies –IV - 250 Marks
(Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
.
Paper-VI
Optional Subject – Paper 1 - 250 Marks
.
Paper-VII
Optional Subject – Paper 2 - 250 Marks
Sub Total (Written test) - 1800 Marks
Personality Test - 275 Marks.
.
Grand Total - 2075 Marks