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(UPSC Paper Pattern for Prelims- MCQ-based)
(UPSC Paper Pattern for Mains – Descriptive)
(Personality Test – Interview in front of board members)
Stages of UPSC exam
Prelims exam
Mains exam
Interview
Number of Papers in Exam
Prelims: 2
Mains: 9
Marking Scheme for UPSC Prelims Exam
Paper 1: +2 marks
Paper 2: +2.5 marks
Negative marking: One-third of marks allotted to each question
Exam Time-Duration
Prelims: 2 hours (Each paper) total 4 hours
Mains: 3 hours (Each paper) total 27 hours conducted across various days
Important points related to UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2023
The UPSC Mains exam consists of the qualifying papers such as English and Indian Language
The candidates need to score at least 25% marks on each paper
The total duration of all papers is 3 hours
Essays, General Studies and Optional Papers are counted for merit
Indian language paper is not mandatory for the candidates from Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram
UPSC exam pattern & syllabus explained by expert educator
UPSC Mains Subjects
Check here the complete list of the UPSC Mains Subjects for English language and Indian Languages-
The aim of this exam is to test the ability of the candidates to understand the ask and express their ideas clearly.
The UPSC pattern of the question and topics for English Language is as follows –
Comprehension of given passages
Precise Writing
Usage and Vocabulary
Short Essays
Indian Language –
Precise Writing
Usage and Vocabulary
Short Essays
Comprehension of given passages
Translation from English to Indian Language and vice versa
IAS Mains Essay – Paper-I
The candidates can write essays on different topics. They are supposed to write the essay in a way to arrange ideas in an orderly manner and write it concisely.
IAS Mains General Studies-I Subjects –
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society
Indian Heritage:
Literature and Architecture
Art Forms
Modern Indian History
Personalities and Issues
Freedom struggle at various stages
Important Contributions and Contributors
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
World History:
18th-century industrial revolution
World wars
Redrawal of national boundaries
Decolonization
Political philosophies
Colonization
Indian Society
Diversity of India
Role of women & women
Population & association
Effects of globalization on Indian society
Social empowerment
Regionalism and Secularism
Geography
Distribution of key natural resources across the world
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes
Tsunami
Volcanic activity
Cyclones
IAS Mains General Studies-II Subjects –
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations
Indian Constitution:
Evolution, Features, Significant provisions and basic structure
Historical underpinnings
Issues and Challenges to the federal structure
Devolution of powers and finances up to local levels
Indian Polity:
Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme
Separation of powers between various organs dispute
Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
Social Justices:
Development processes and the development industry
Role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population
Institutional and other stakeholders
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to poverty and hunger
Indian Governance:
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
International Relations:
India and its neighbourhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, and Indian diaspora.
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, and mandate.
IAS Mains General Studies-III Subjects –
(Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
Indian Economy:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. I
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Government Budgeting.
Major crop-cropping patterns in various parts of the country
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices
Public Distribution System-
Food processing and related industries in India
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:
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.
Environment & Bio-diversity:
Conservation
Environmental pollution and degradation
Environmental impact assessment.
Disaster Management: Disaster and disaster management.
Security:
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
Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
IAS Mains General Studies-IV Subjects –
Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude Ethics and Human Interface:
Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions
Dimensions of ethics
Ethics – in private and public relationships.
Human Values
Attitude:
Content, structure, function;
Its influence and relation with thought and behaviour;
Moral and political attitudes
Social influence and persuasion.
Aptitude:
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:
Emotional intelligence concepts, and their utilities and application
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 and Quality of service delivery
Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
The candidates can opt for the given literature subject as their optional for the UPSC Mains exam. There will be 2 papers of 250 marks each.
Assamese
Oriya
Bengali
Punjabi
Bodo
Sanskrit
Dogri
Santhali
Gujarati
Sindhi
Hindi
Tamil
Kannada
Telugu
Kashmiri
Urdu
Konkani
English
Maithili
Marathi
Malayalam
Nepali
Manipuri
UPSC CSE Pattern for Interview
The candidates who have qualified for the Civil Services Mains examination will be eligible for the final stage of the UPSC selection process which is Personality Test or Interview.
UPSC interview process will carry 275 marks
The number of candidates will be called for the personal interview will be twice the number of vacancies
The panel will ask questions from different areas starting from the career of the students to their general interest
The candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their chosen subjects but also the happening events around them
There is no specific syllabus for the IAS interview hence, the candidates need to work more on their personality
The final UPSC merit list will be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Mains and Personality exam
UPSC exam pattern and marking scheme are very different from other exams. Also, the candidates can easily get negative marks in the exams. So, the 3 incorrect answers will lead you to approximately 2 marks of deduction. The candidates will get a 1/3rd mark deducted for incorrect answers.
Paper
No of question
Marks
Negative Marks
General Studies I
100
200
0.66
General Studies II (CSAT)
80
200
0.83
Mains Marking Scheme
IAS Mains exam carries a total of 1750 marks
Each subjective paper in the Mains exam carries 300 marks
Candidates can choose 2 optional papers in the Mains exam
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