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syllabus – preliminary

The Preliminary Examination for Civil Services Examination of Union Public Service Commission is also popularly called CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is actually the second paper of General Studies that was introduced in 2011. The preliminary examination of UPSC is for screening purpose only. The marks obtained in the UPSC prelims examination amount to a qualification to take the UPSC Main examination and will not be counted for determining a candidate’s final order of merit.

Exam Pattern & Syllabus for UPSC Prelims 

Two Compulsory Papers

General Studies Paper-I

General Studies Paper-II (CSAT)

Number of Questions asked in GS Paper-I

100

Number of Questions asked in CSAT

80

Total Number of Marks

400;

GS Paper-I – 200 Marks

CSAT – 200 Marks

Negative Marking 

⅓ of the total marks allotted to the question will be deducted for every wrong answer

Time Allotted

Two hours each;

GS Paper-I – 2 Hours (9:30 AM -11:30 AM)

CSAT – 2 Hours (2:30 PM – 4:30 PM)

The two papers of the IAS prelims are discussed in detail below:
  1. General Studies
    • The General Studies test is the first paper of the preliminary examination.
    • This test is intended to test the general awareness of a candidate in a wide range of subjects that include: Indian Polity , Geography , History , Indian Economy , Science and Technology , Environment and Ecology , International Relations and associated UPSC current affairs.
  2. Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) (Generally conducted between 2:30 PM and 04:30 PM)
    • This UPSC Prelims syllabus for CSAT intends to assess the aptitude of the candidate in solving ‘Reasoning and Analytical’ questions, apart from ‘Reading Comprehension’ and the occasionally asked ‘Decision Making’ questions.
    • The ‘Decision Making’ based questions are generally exempt from negative marks.

To be noted:

  • The preliminary examination is only meant for screening a candidate for the subsequent stages of the exam.
  • The marks obtained in the Prelims will not be added up while arriving at the final rank list.

The subjects included in the prelims are common for all. However, there is an option to opt for a few subjects in the mains phase of the examination. Get the detailed list of IAS Subjects included in the syllabus for UPSC prelims and mains at the linked article.

UPSC Syllabus for GS Paper (Prelims Paper I)

  • 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, Biodiversity, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
  • General Science

UPSC Syllabus for CSAT Paper (Prelims Paper-II)

  • Comprehension
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  • Decision-makingand 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)