The UPSC syllabus is designed to assess
candidates’ knowledge, aptitude, and analytical abilities, and it comprises two
stages: the Preliminary Examination (Prelims) and the Main Examination (Mains),
followed by an interview/personality test. The UPSC Syllabus for Prelims
includes two compulsory papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies
Paper-II (also known as the CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test). These papers
cover a wide range of subjects, including history, geography, economics,
polity, environment, science, and current affairs.
The syllabus for UPSC Mains examination is more specialized and consists of nine papers, including one essay paper, four General Studies papers, two optional subject papers, and two language papers (both qualifying in nature).
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus Overview
The Prelims Syllabus of UPSC is divided
into two parts:
- UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For GS Paper 1
- UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus for GS Paper 2 (also known as CSAT Syllabus)
- Paper 1 is a general studies paper and tests aspirants’ knowledge of current affairs, history, geography, polity, economics, environment, and science and technology. The UPSC CSE Prelims Exam syllabus for Paper 1 is vast and covers a range of topics. The weightage of Paper 1 is 200 marks, and it consists of 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
- Paper 2, also known as CSAT paper tests aspirants’ aptitude and comprehension skills. The UPSC CSE Prelims Exam syllabus for Paper 2 is comparatively easier and covers topics such as comprehension, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision-making, and problem-solving.
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus PDF
The UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus PDF is
available here for free. It is recommended to download and print a copy of the
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus PDF and keep it handy while preparing for the exam.
Candidates can download the CSE Prelims Syllabus PDF with the link given in the
table below.
UPSC Prelims Syllabus For Paper 1(GS Paper 1)
The UPSC Prelims Paper 1 Syllabus contains topics from history, geography, economy, polity & governance, general
science, & most important current affairs.
- Current events of national & international importance.
- Indian History & Indian National Movement.
- Indian as well as World Geography-Physical, Social, and Economic Geography of India & the World.
- Indian Polity
- Economic and Social Development such as Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
- Common issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity & Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization General Science.
Subject Wise UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus for GS-1
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For History
Ancient History Section
- Pre-Historic Times
- Indus Valley Civilization
- Rig Vedic Period
- Later Vedic Period
- Jainism
- Buddhism
- Mahajanpadas
- Mauryan Period
- Post-Mauryan Period
- Gupta Period
- Harshwardhana Period
- Sangam Period (South-Indian Dynasties)
Medieval History Section
- Major Dynasties of Early Medieval India (Pratiharas,
Pallavas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas) - Cholas and South-Indian Kingdoms
- Early Muslim Invasions
- The Delhi Sultanate
- Afghans, Rajputs & Mughals
- Establishment of the North-Indian Empire
- The Mughal Empire
- Marathas and the Other Indian States
- The decline of the Mughal Empire
- Vijaynagar Empire
Modern History Section
- Advent of Europeans
- British Expansion
- Administration before 1857
- Economic Policies of the British
- Impact of British Administration
- Revolt of 1857
- Administrative Changes after 1857
- Development of Civil Services
- Development of Education
- Development of Press
- Socio-Religious Reforms
- Peasant Movements
- Revolutionary Nationalism
- Indian National Movement-I (1905-1918)
- Indian National Movement-II (1918-1929)
- Indian National Movement-III (1930-1947)
- Governors-General and Viceroys of India
- Constitutional Development of Indian
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For Geography
General Geography Section
- Universe
- Earth Evolution
Bio Geography Section
- Soil Characteristics
- Vegetation Resources
Geomorphology Section
- Earth’s Interior
- Geology and Rock System
- Geomorphic Process
- Earthquakes and Volcanism
- Distribution of Continents and Oceans
- Landforms and their evolution
- Landforms across the world
Oceanography Section
- Hydrosphere
- Submarine Relief Features
- Temperature and Salinity
- Waves, Oceans, Currents, Tides
- Marine Resources
- Ocean, Deposits and Corals
Climatology Section
- Atmosphere
- Inversion of Temperature
- Insolation and Heat Budget
- Air Mass, Fronts, Cyclones and Jet Streams
- Wind and Pressure Belts
- Precipitation
- Climate Zones of the World
Human and Economic Geography Section
- Demography and Census
- Human Development
- Economic Activities
- Transport and Communication
- International Trade
- Settlement
Indian Geography Section
- Physiography of India
- Drainage System
- Climate
- Soils in India
- Natural Vegetation
- Population
- Settlements and Urbanization
- Land Resource
- Mineral Resource
- Energy Resource
- Agriculture and Basic Terminology
- Recent development in agriculture
- Productivity of Crops
- Industry
- Transport
- Recent developments in Industry and Transport
World Regional Geography Section
- Location in News
Ecology & Environment Section
- Origin of Life Forms
- Basic Concepts of Ecology
- Ecosystem Functions
- Population Ecology
- Adaptation of Species and Interactions
- Terrestrial Ecosystem
- Aquatic Ecosystem
- Nutrient Cycling
Biodiversity Section
- Basics of Bio-Diversity
- Animal and Plant Diversity
- Threats to Biodiversity
- Biodiversity Conservation
- Estuaries
- Mangroves
- Coral Reliefs
- Wetlands
- Resource Degradation and Management
- Environmental Pollution
- Climate Change
- Environmental Governance
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For Polity
- Evolution of the Consitution
- Salient Features of the Indian Constitution
- Union & Its Territory
- Citizenship
- Fundamental Rights
- Directive Principles of State Policy
- Fundamental Duties
- System of Governance
- Union Executive
- Union Legislature
- State Executive
- State Legislature
- Local Government
- UT and Special Areas
- Judiciary
- Constitutional & Non-Constitutional Bodies
- Political Dynamics (Political Parties, Elections, Pressure Groups)
- Governance
- International Relations
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For Economy
Basic Concepts
- Macroeconomic Concepts
- Microeconomic Concepts
Economic Measurements
- National Income & Its Calculation
- Economic Growth and Development
- Inflation
Money & Banking
- Money Function & Classification
- Financial Markets & Its Instruments
- Banking Structure in India
Public Finance in India
- Budgeting
- Fiscal Policy
- Centre-state Distribution
- Tax Structure in India
Planning
- Meaning, Objective & History
- Planning Institutions
- Five-Year Plans in India
- NITI Aayog
Open Economy
- Foreign Trade Concepts
- International Organizations
- Trade Agreements
- Recent Development
Economic Sectors
- Poverty
- Employment and Unemployment
- Government Schemes and Programmes
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For General Science
- Science & Technology in India
- Space
- IT and Communication
- Materials, Nano Technology and Robotics
- Defence
- Nuclear Technology
- Intellectual Property Rights and Other Miscellaneous Issues
- Biotechnology
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus For Art & Culture
- Architecture
- Sculpture
- Paintings
- Pottery Tradition
- Numismatics
- Performing Arts
- Religion and Literature
- National and Regional Festivals
UPSC Prelims Syllabus For Paper 2 (CSAT)
The GS Paper 2 in the prelims exam is also known as CSAT.
This paper is just qualifying in nature, however, candidates should not take it
lightly as often aspirants fail in this paper. The UPSC CSE CSAT syllabus
consists of various aptitude questions.
The detailed preliminary syllabus for the CSAT paper is
mentioned below.
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and problem-solving
- General mental ability
- Basic numerical skills (Class X level) (orders of magnitude, numbers & their relations, etc.)
- Data Interpretation (Class X level) (graphs, charts, tables, data sufficiency etc.)
UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus Overview
Understanding the UPSC Mains Syllabus is very crucial for aspirants. As one of the most competitive and prestigious exams in India, the Mains exam stage requires a high level of preparation and understanding of the UPSC syllabus With nine papers to tackle, each testing different skills and knowledge,
The candidates can check the UPSC Mains Syllabus overview to get an
idea about the syllabus and how they will be tested in the exam.
- UPSC Mains Exam evaluates candidates’ academic aptitude in their specialized subjects.
- It also assesses their ability to present knowledge in a clear and understandable manner and the candidate’s overall intellectual traits and understanding of concepts.
- In the Mains Exam, there are 9 papers out of which 7 Papers are mandatory and 2 are optional papers that candidates have to choose from.
- Out of the 7 papers, 2 papers are Language Papers which are Paper A and B.
- For Paper A, an aspirant has to choose any one of the Indian Languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and Paper B will have questions from English Language.
- The marks scored in the language papers are not counted in the formation of the IAS Merit List as they are qualifying in nature.
- The total time duration given for the IAS Main exam is 3 hours.
UPSC Mains Syllabus For Language Papers (Paper A & B)
The UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus for Language Papers aims to test the candidate’s proficiency in one of the Indian languages and English. The two compulsory language papers, namely, Paper A (Indian Language) and Paper B (English) are qualifying in nature.But, candidates need to score at least 25% on these papers, otherwise, their remaining answer sheets won’t get evaluated.
- The pattern and syllabus are similar for Language Papers A and B, the same has been discussed below.
- One essay writing question (Candidates can choose any one topic from the given topics list) (100 marks)
- Reading comprehension (60 Marks)
- Precis writing (60 Marks)
- Translation from English to chosen language (20 Marks)
- Translation from chosen language to English (20 Marks)
- Grammar and basic language usage such as synonyms, sentence correction etc. (40 Marks)
Candidates have to choose any one language for Paper A from the list of
languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution which are as
mentioned below –
- Assamese,
- Bengali,
- Gujarati,
- Hindi,
- Kannada,
- Kashmiri,
- Konkani,
- Malayalam,
- Manipuri,
- Marathi,
- Nepali,
- Oriya,
- Punjabi,
- Sanskrit,
- Sindhi,
- Tamil,
- Telugu,
- Urdu,
- Bodo,
- Santhali,
- Maithili, and
- Dogri.
UPSC Mains Syllabus For Essay Paper
The UPSC Mains Essay paper aims to test the candidate’s
ability to articulate and express their ideas in a clear and coherent manner.
Officially, UPSC does not have any syllabus for the Essay paper. Candidates are
expected to write two essays from a list of given topics for 250 marks.
UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus For GS Paper-1
The UPSC CSE Mains GS 1 Syllabus focuses on the topics of
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.
Candidates should prepare these topics in detail. Have a look at the syllabus
for CSE Mains General Studies Paper 1 in detail below.
- 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, and 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 the 18th century such as the Industrial Revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. – their forms and effect on 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.
UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus For GS Paper-2
The UPSC CSE Mains GS 2 Paper Syllabus focuses on the topics
of Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International
relations. Have a look at the IAS Mains GS 2 Syllabus in detail below.
- 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 the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, and 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 neighbourhood 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.
UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus For GS Paper-3
The UPSC CSE Mains GS 3 Syllabus focuses on the topics of Technology,
Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster
Management. Candidates can have a look at the UPSC CSE Mains GS 3 Paper
Syllabus in detail below.
- 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 development of 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, the 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.
UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus For GS Paper-4
The UPSC CSE Mains GS 4 Syllabus focuses on topics related to Ethics,
Integrity and Aptitude. Candidates understand the CSE Mains GS 4 Syllabus in
detail below.
- 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; the 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 the 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 the above issues.
UPSC Optional Subject Syllabus
- Candidates have to attempt both papers separately.
- Each Paper holds a weightage of 250 marks.
There are a total of 48 optional subjects in the UPSC Mains exam, which
includes 25 core subjects and 22 literature optional.
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- 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 International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and English.
UPSC CSE Mains exam Syllabus PDF Download link Here
The UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus PDF is available here. Candidates can download the UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus PDF 2024 directly using the link provided below.
This PDF will help aspirants to Analyse which topics require more focus than others.