UPSC CSE
Civil Services Exam 2024 - Exam Pattern
The UPSC Exam Pattern is designed by the Union Public Service Commission to test the candidate’s expertise and knowledge in the subject. Since 2013, the paper pattern of IAS has remained unchanged. The IAS Exam is considered one of the toughest exams in the country so understanding the comprehensive details of the UPSC CSE Exam Pattern will help candidates to plan their preparations accordingly. Additionally, the Exam Pattern of UPSC will also let the candidates understand In this article, we will explain the UPSC Exam Pattern for the Prelims, Mains and Interview Stages. the number of questions and the negative marking in the IAS prelims and mains exam.
What is UPSC Exam Pattern 2024?
As per the IAS Selection Process, the UPSC CSE Exam Pattern is divided into three major stages – Prelims, Mains, and an Interview-cum Personality stage.Each stage of the examination carries a weightage of different marks. To become an IAS officer, candidates need to clear all three stages starting with the Prelims stage. Once the Prelims stage is cleared, candidates become eligible for Mains and later for the Interview stage.
Stages | Name | No. of Papers | Type of Exam | Marks |
Stage 1 | UPSC Prelims Exam | 2 Papers (GS 1 & CSAT | Objective | 400 |
Stage 2 | UPSC Mains Exam | 9 Papers | Descriptive | 1750 |
Stage 3 | IAS Interview | – | Personality Test | 275 |
Total Marks | UPSC Mains + Interview Marks = | |||
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern
UPSC Exam Pattern For Prelims Stage – The Prelims exam is the first stage of the UPSC IAS Exam Pattern. This stage is conducted in order to filter out deserving candidates for the Mains exam. Only the candidates who qualify the Prelims will be eligible to appear for the next stage, i.e., the Mains exam. Let us look at the UPSC Exam Pattern for Prelims stage below –
|
Subject |
Nature Of Paper |
Exam Type |
No. of Questions |
Exam Duration |
Marks |
|
Paper I – General Studies |
Merit Ranking (Marks not |
Objective |
100 |
2 Hours |
200 |
|
Paper II – Aptitude Test |
Qualifying |
Objective |
80 |
2 Hours |
200 |
|
UPSC Prelims Total Marks |
400 |
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- There will be 2 Papers in UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern namely – GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 2 (CSAT).
- Both papers will be an objective-type, MCQ-based exam.The CSAT Paper (GS Paper 2) is qualifying in nature, where applicants must score at least 33% to qualify.
- The Prelims Cut-Off is calculated based on GS Paper 1 only. Marks obtained in the prelims stage are not counted in the Final Merit List. As per the UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern,
- both papers in the prelims stage will have a negative marking scheme.There will be a penalty of ⅓ marks for every incorrect answer in UPSC Prelims.
UPSC Mains Exam Pattern
UPSC Mains Exam Pattern – Candidates who have scored the cut-off marks in IAS Prelims GS-1 Paper and 33% in the Prelims GS-2 Paper (CSAT) will be called to appear for the IAS Mains exam which will have 9 Descriptive type papers, including Language Papers and Optional Subject Papers. Let us go through the exam pattern for UPSC Mains exam below –
|
Paper |
Subject |
Nature of Paper |
Time Allotted |
Total Marks |
|
Paper A |
Compulsory Indian language |
Qualifying (75 Marks required. ie. 25%) |
3 hours |
300 |
|
Paper B |
English |
3 hours |
300 |
|
|
Paper I |
Essay |
Final Merit (Marks will be counted in the final |
3 hours |
250 |
|
Paper-II |
General Studies I |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
Paper III |
General Studies II |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
Paper IV |
General Studies III |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
Paper V |
General Studies IV |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
Paper VI |
Optional I |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
Paper VII |
Optional II |
3 hours |
250 |
|
|
UPSC Mains Total Marks |
1750 |
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Note –The UPSC Mains Exam Pattern consists of a total of 9 papers:
- 1 Compulsory Indian Language Paper
- 1 English Paper
- 1 Essay Paper
- 4 General Studies Papers (GS1, GS2, GS3 & GS4)
- 2 Optional Papers
- As per the UPSC Mains exam pattern, all the papers in the mains stage will be of descriptive type.
- The time duration for each paper is 3 hours. Extra 30 minutes will be given to the blind candidates.
- The total marks scored in the mains exam will be counted in the final merit list.
- The language papers (Mains Paper A & Paper B) are qualifying in nature.
- Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim as well as candidates with hearing impairment. However, they have to provide confirmation about the exemption of such 2nd or 3rd language courses from their concerned university or board. Candidates can choose any one optional subject from the list of 48 optional subjects provided by UPSC.
List of Optional Subjects for UPSC Mains
As discussed above, the UPSC Mains Exam Pattern consists of two optional papers and each paper carries 250 marks. Candidates are allowed to select their preferred optional subject for Paper VI & Paper VII of the mains exam. The optional subject should be anyone from the list of 48 optional subjects provided in the table below.
|
UPSC Mains Optional Subjects |
||||
|
Agriculture |
Animal Husbandry and |
Anthropology |
Botany |
Chemistry |
|
Civil Engineering |
Commerce and Accountancy |
Economics |
Electrical Engineering |
Geography |
|
Geology |
History |
Law |
Management |
Mathematics |
|
Mechanical Engineering |
Medical Science |
Philosophy |
Physics |
Political Science and |
|
Psychology |
Public Administration |
Sociology |
Statistics |
Zoology |
|
Any one literature in the |
||||
Negative Marking in UPSC Exam Pattern
As discussed above, both GS Paper 1 & GS Paper 2 paper of Prelims stage will have a negative marking scheme. 1/3rd mark of each question will be deducted for wrong answers. According to the UPSC Paper Pattern for the Prelims stage, each question of GS Paper 1 will carry 2 marks, while each question of GS Paper 2 (CSAT) will carry 2.5 marks. Have a look at the negative marking scheme for the Prelims exam stage in the table below.
|
Prelims Paper |
No. of Questions |
Total Marks |
Negative Marking Scheme |
|
General Studies-1 |
100 |
2*100 = 200 |
0.66 |
|
General Studies-2 (CSAT) |
80 |
2.5*80 = 200 |
0.83 |
UPSC Exam Pattern – Interview
The personal interview cum personality test will be the last stage of the UPSC IAS exam. The candidates who clear the main examination will be called up for the interview process. In this stage, the candidate’s mental and social traits will be tested by asking questions of general interest. The following are the highlights of the UPSC Interview pattern –
- Candidates will be selected for the UPSC IAS based on the marks they score in the mains exam and personal interview.
- Some of the qualities that the board looks for are mental alertness,
- critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, a balance of judgment, variety and depth of interest, the ability for social cohesion and leadership, and intellectual and moral integrity.
- The interview process will be for a total of 275 marks.