UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination: Syllabus

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination is the first stage of the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It acts as a screening test: candidates who qualify are called for the Main Examination, and the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination are not added to the final merit ranking.

Examination Pattern

Paper I: General Studies

1. Current Events of National and International Importance

• Significant national developments, policies and government initiatives
• Major international events, agreements, summits and organisations
• Awards, reports, indices and places in the news

2. History of India and the Indian National Movement

• Ancient, medieval and modern Indian history
• Art, architecture, literature and cultural heritage
• Socio-religious reform movements and the freedom struggle
• Role of leaders and key events leading to independence

3. Indian and World Geography: Physical, Social and Economic

• Physical features, climate, drainage, soils and natural vegetation of India
• Agriculture, minerals, industries and transport in India
• Population, settlement and urbanisation patterns
• Major world physical features, climatic regions and resource distribution

4. Indian Polity and Governance

• The Constitution: Preamble, fundamental rights, directive principles and fundamental duties
• Union and State executive, legislature and judiciary
• Panchayati Raj and local self-government
• Constitutional and statutory bodies, public policy and rights issues

5. Economic and Social Development

• Sustainable development, poverty and social inclusion
• Demographics and the social sector: health, education and welfare initiatives
• Basic concepts of the Indian economy: growth, banking, budgeting, inflation, trade and planning

6. Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Ecology, ecosystems and biodiversity conservation
• Environmental pollution and climate change
• International conventions, protected areas and related policies
• General issues that do not require specialised subject knowledge

7. General Science

• Basic concepts of physics, chemistry and biology
• Everyday applications of science and recent developments in science and technology

Paper II: Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)

This paper is of a qualifying nature. A candidate must obtain at least 33% of the total marks. It evaluates aptitude and comprehension through the following areas:

• Comprehension of passages
• Interpersonal skills, including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, magnitude and similar topics) and data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables and data sufficiency), at Class X level
• English language comprehension skills, at Class X level

Important Points for Candidates

• Both papers are held on the same day, one in the morning session and one in the afternoon session.
• Marks of Paper II are not used for ranking. However, a candidate who does not reach the qualifying score in Paper II is not considered, regardless of the Paper I score.
• The Commission announces the cut-off for Paper I after the examination, depending on the number of vacancies.
• Questions are asked in both Hindi and English, except for the English comprehension portion of Paper II.