The most confusing part of the UPSC journey is how to decode the syllabus. What to read and what not to read is the most important confusing part of the journey. Every year, UPSC conducts the most sought exam of them, the Civil Services Exam (IAS Exam), to choose applicants for various services and positions within the Indian government. It is a two-stage exam that includes: Preliminary examination, Mains examination. Once a candidate clears the mains examination, they get a call for interview. Upon clearing all the three stages, a candidate is allotted the service of their preference.
The Civil Services Preliminary Exam, the first part of the exam, is just a screening examination that is used to select applicants for the Main Examination. When determining the final merit, the marks earned in the preliminary exam are not taken into consideration.
The question papers for prelims is set in two languages, i.e., English and Hindi. The time limit for both the papers are 2 hours. However, a concession of 20 minutes are allowed for blind candidates & candidate with Locomotor Disability & Cerebral Palsy (minimum 40% impairment).
Syllabus for General Studies Paper I:
General Studies Paper I has 100 number of questions. Each question carries 2 marks and negative marking for every wrong answer is 0.67. The focus of GS paper I in prelims is mainly focused on broadly six subjects, i.e.,
- History
- Geography
- Indian Polity
- Indian Economy
- Science and Technology
- Environment
- Current Affairs
No questions are asked from the World History in prelims but it comes in mains examination. The subtopics of each subjects are mentioned below
- History of India & Indian National Movement.
- Indian & World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India & the World.
- Indian Polity & Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
- Economic & Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
- Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity & climate change (do not require subject specialization.)
- Science and Technology (it is a mix of General Science and Technology that is focus in news)
- Current events of National & International importance.
Syllabus for General Studies Paper II (CSAT):
General Studies Paper I has 80 number of questions. Each question carries 2.5 marks and negative marking for every wrong answer is 0.83. The subjects in this paper is mentioned below
- Basic numeracy (numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level)
- General mental ability
- Logical reasoning & analytical ability
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Decision making & problem solving
The CSAT paper is just qualifying in nature. A candidate needs to score 33% for qualifying this paper. Once a candidate qualifies this paper then only their GS Paper I gets checked.
What is the pattern of the Mains examination?
Civil Service Mains examination has a total of 9 papers that a candidate needs to write after qualifying prelims. These 9 papers can be divided into two categories. There are two papers on language, one is on the regional language(the candidate has to select), and the other is the English language paper.
(Note: Candidates from Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland in the north-eastern states are exempted from taking the compulsory Indian language exam.)
Upon qualifying the 2 language papers the following papers get evaluated which decides the merit
Note: Only the candidates’ Paper I–VII marks will be taken into account when determining their merit ranking.
Syllabus for Indian Language:
- Precis writing
- Short essays
- Comprehension of passages
- Usage and vocabulary
Translation from English to the Indian language and vice versa
Syllabus for English Language:
- Precis writing
- Short essays
- Comprehension of passages
- Usage and vocabulary
Translation from English to the Indian language and vice versa
Paper I
Essay
In Essay Paper, candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. Candidates may be expected to prepare essays on a variety of subjects for the essay paper. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
Paper II
GS I
 Indian and World History, Art & Culture
- Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
- Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.
- The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
- Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
- History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
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Indian Society
- Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
- Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
- Effects of globalization on Indian society.
- Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
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World and Indian Geography
- Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
- Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Paper III
GS II
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
- Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
- Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
- Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
- Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
- Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
- Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
- Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
- Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
- Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
- Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
- Role of civil services in a democracy.
- India and its neighborhood- relations.
- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
- Important International institutions, agencies and fora – their structure, mandate.
Paper IV
GS III
 Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
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- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
- Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
- Government Budgeting.
- Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
- Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System-objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
- Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
- Land reforms in India.
- Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- Investment models.
- Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
- Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
- Disaster and disaster management.
- Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
- Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
- Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
- Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
- Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
Optional Papers
Candidates need to write two papers on one optionals. There are many optional subjects mentioned in the syllabus. A candidate can take any optional as per their choice irrespective of their background.
Paper V
GS IV
 Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
In this paper, the candidates’ attitudes and approaches to matters of integrity, probity in public life, and their approach to problem-solving in relation to a range of problems and disputes will be examined. There are majorly eight broad topics in this paper.
- Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
- Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
- Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections.
- Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
- Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
- Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
- Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
- Case Studies
Interview
The successful candidate are called for interview in the UPSC Bhavan, New Delhi. The interview or more precisely Personality Test consists of 275 marks. The final merit list comes based on the marks of the seven papers of mains and the interview.
