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IAS Syllabus

Get the complete syllabus of IAS Prelims and Mains. Here, you will find the descriptive details for the IAS examination.

The Civil Service Examination is a form of national-level competitive examination. This examination is conducted in India to select some higher-level categories under civil services.

In this article, you will find the complete details of the IAS prelims syllabus, the IAS Mains syllabus, and extra details on the topic. Also, check out the frequently asked questions in the section.

IAS Syllabus for Prelims

There are two papers of the UPSC prelims that we’ll discuss in detail below:

  • General Studies: 

The preliminary examination’s first test is the General Studies I. This examination is structured to measure a candidate’s general knowledge of a variety of topics, including Indian politics, geography, history, economics, science and technology, the environment and ecology, international relations, and related UPSC current events.

  • Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT): 

In addition to “Reading Comprehension” and the sporadic “Decision Making” questions, this UPSC Prelims syllabus for CSAT aims to evaluate the candidate’s capacity for handling “Reasoning and Analytical” problems.

For every question in prelims examination, 1/3rd of marks are deducted as negative marks.

However, the purpose of the preliminary exam is solely to select candidates for the succeeding rounds of the exam. The final rank list will not be calculated using the preliminaries’ scores. The main examination is going to have a wide range of topics if we compare it to the prelims examination. 

One of the appropriate methods to approach this examination is by solving the previous year’s question papers. The reason is when you attempt to solve a question paper; you get an idea of all the topics that you’re good at, along with the topics you need to work on.

IAS Syllabus for Mains

The UPSC mains examination consists of nine papers, of which two are qualifying papers worth 300 points each. The two qualifying papers are:

Paper-I: Any Indian Language Paper.

Paper-II: English Language Paper.

For the review, only those applicants’ general studies, essays, and optional papers with a minimum qualifying score of 25% on both language examinations will be considered. The candidate’s results on these language papers will not be considered or credited if they do not pass the examination.

  • Paper-I: Essay (which may be written in the candidate’s preferred format). This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-II: General Studies – I (Indian Heritage and Culture, World History and Geography, and Society). This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-III: General Studies – II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations). This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-IV: General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security and Disaster Management). This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-V: General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude). This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-VI: Optional Subject – Paper I. This paper will carry 250 marks.
  • Paper-VII: Optional Subject – Paper II. This paper will carry 250 marks.

Syllabus for UPSC Optionals

There are 48 optional subjects listed in the UPSC Mains syllabus, including literature in many languages. From the list of subjects below, candidates must select one of the “Optional Subjects”:

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

Is there any Syllabus for UPSC interview?

The major goal of taking personality tests is to evaluate a candidate’s general personality as well as attributes like confidence, honesty, intelligence, integrity, awareness of practical realities, and depth of conceptual understanding.

Some of the requirements for the interview round are stated below. Candidates are encouraged to work on them as it will improve their personality overall.

The personality test evaluates a candidate’s demeanour rather than their words alone. Additionally, candidates are evaluated or awarded final grades based on the questions they answered, not the ones they didn’t. Be confident and give the best possible responses to the questions you are confident about, and be honest and respectful when you have no idea or no clue what to say in response to a question.

The mindset that pushes or pulls one up the ladder of marks is what matters in the end. Never forget that the interview panel cannot assess your personality based on a question you have not answered.

faq

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the subjects covered in the UPSC examination?

Answer: The UPSC syllabus lists many disciplines under the categories GS-I through GS-IV. GS Paper I has History, Ge...Read full

What is the application form fee for the Union Public Service Commission exam?

Answer: Applicants have to pay Rs. 100 for a UPSC application form. However one can find relaxation for the SC/ST/PH...Read full

Is the IAS syllabus tough?

Answer: The IAS test is regarded as one of the toughest examinations in India, the Civil Services Examination has a ...Read full