Preliminary Examination consists Of 2 Papers, Both are of Objective Type –

Paper I – GS (General Studies) of 200 Marks

Paper II – CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) of 200 Marks

Paper 1 – General Studies:

This includes areas like; Indian National Movement, Indian Polity, Basic Economic Understanding, Geography. While these are static part of the syllabus, the dynamic part includes current affairs, General Knowledge.

• 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.
• General Science.

Paper II – Aptitude Test:

Paper II is dynamic in nature and includes mathematics, reasoning, analytical ability, and interpersonal skills. All these areas require spot mental ability.

The Paper II is now of only qualifying nature and concerned marks are not counted while making the merit list. However, it is mandatory for the candidate to score minimum 33 per cent in this paper to qualify the Prelims exam.

• 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)

The question papers are set both in Hindi and English. Blind candidates will be given an extra time of twenty minutes for each paper.

Note 1:

The questions in both Paper-I (current affairs) and Paper-II (aptitude test) will be of multiple choice, objective type for 200 marks each and the time allotted for each paper is two hours.

Note 2:

The CSAT aptitude test or Paper-II will be a qualifying paper only with a minimum of 33% to be secured to qualify for the Mains exam.

Note 3:

It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelims) examination. The candidate will be disqualified in case he or she appears in only one paper of the (Prelims) exam. So appearing in both the papers is mandatory for the evaluation of the (Prelims) exam.

The Civil Services Mains examination aims to test the academic talent and the ability of the candidate to present the answers in a clear and coherent manner. The Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and understanding of the concepts rather than merely to check their information and memory. Aspirants become eligible for Mains only after qualifying Prelims Exam held by UPSC.

It consists of total nine papers, two of them are qualifying papers, the marks of which are not counted in merit, but UPSC board checks the further papers only if the candidate qualifies these two papers –

Paper A – Modern Indian Language 300 Marks

Paper B – English Language 300 Marks

Papers to be counted in the merit list:

1. PAPER ‐ 1: (ESSAY) 250 MARKS

2. PAPER ‐ 2: (GENERAL STUDIES 1) 250 MARKS (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)

• 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 or 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.
• 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.
• Salient features of world’s physical geography.
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); 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.

3. PAPER ‐ 3: (GENERAL STUDIES 2) 250 MARKS (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 or 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.

4. PAPER ‐ 4: (GENERAL STUDIES 3) 250 MARKS (Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

• 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.

5. PAPER ‐ 5: (GENERAL STUDIES 4) 250 MARKS (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)

This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.

• 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 on above issues.

6. PAPER ‐ 6: (OPTIONAL SUBJECT PAPER 1) 250 MARKS

7. PAPER ‐ 7: (OPTIONAL SUBJECT PAPER 2) 250 MARKS

List of Optional Subjects:

• Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
• Anthropology
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Commerce & Accountancy
• Economics
• Electrical Engineering
• Geography
• Geology
• History
• Law
• Management
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Science
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science & International Relations
• Psychology
• Public Administration
• Sociology
• Statistics
• Zoology

List of Literature Optional Subjects:

• Bengali
• Bodo
• Dogri
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Kannada
• Kashmiri
• Konkani
• Maithili
• Malayalam
• Manipuri
• Marathi
• Nepali
• Oriya
• Punjabi
• Sanskrit
• Santhali
• Sindhi
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Urdu
• English

All the 7 papers consists of 250 marks each and makes the total 1750 marks.

Unlike Prelims examination, IAS Mains is more focused on writing, thinking, and analytical skills.

In the last stage of Civil Services Examination, the candidates are interviewed by the board of competent and unbiased observers, who tests the overall personality of the candidates based on the Detailed Application form (DAF), which every candidate has to fill before the Mains Examination.

The objective of this Personality test is to judge the candidates personal suitability for the various positions allotted. This is not an assessment of intellectual abilities, but the overall personality of the candidate, viz, his social traits, confidence, empathy, personal interest, critical power of assimilation, logical reasoning, balance of judgment, leadership traits, general intellect and moral integrity.

The test consists of total 275 marks