UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF – IAS Prelims and Mains Syllabus

UPSC Mains Exam Pattern

Here, we have mentioned the UPSC Mains exam pattern –

UPSC Syllabus Mains

• The Mains examination is the 2nd phase of the UPSC examination
• The Mains examination consists of 9 papers, out of 9, two papers are qualifying papers of 300 marks each
• These two qualifying papers are English Language Papers and Any Indian Language
• The papers on General Studies, Essay and Optional Subjects of only those candidates who gets 25% marks in both language exam papers

Qualifying Papers on Indian Languages and English

PAPER‐I

Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics(Generally 2)

IAS Syllabus for UPSC Mains GS-I (Paper II)

• Indian Heritage and Culture, Geography and History of the World & Society
• Modern Indian History from about the middle of the 18th century until the present, personalities, issues, significant events
• Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of literature, architecture, art forms
• The freedom struggles of various stages and contributions from different parts of the country
• History of the world will include the events from the 18th century as an industrial revolution, colonization, political philosophies, communism, capitalism, etc. their forms and effects
• Salient features of Indian Society and Diversity of India
• Role of women and women’s organizations
• Poverty and developmental issues, urbanization and their problems and remedies
• Communalism, social-empowerment, secularism and regionalism
• Salient features of the world’s physical geography
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, cyclones 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

Check here: UPSC Mains GS 1 Syllabus

IAS Syllabus for UPSC Mains GS-II (Paper III)

1. Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
2. Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges about the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
3. Separation of powers between various organs, dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
4. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
5. Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, the conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
6. Structure, organisation 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
7. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
8. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
9. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
10. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
11. Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
12. 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
13. Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
14. Issues relating to poverty and hunger
15. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
16. Role of civil services in a democracy
17. India and its neighbourhood- relations
18. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
19. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
20. Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

See here: UPSC Mains GS 2 Syllabus

IAS Syllabus for UPSC Mains GS-III (Paper IV)

1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment
2. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it
3. Government Budgeting
4. 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
5. 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
6. Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management
7. Land reforms in India
8. Effects of liberalisation on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
9. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways and others
10. Investment models
11. Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
12. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and development of new technology.
13. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights
14. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
15. Disaster and disaster management
16. Linkages between the development and spread of extremism
17. Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
18. 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
19. Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism
20. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Click here: UPSC Mains GS 3 Syllabus

IAS Syllabus for UPSC Mains GS-IV (Paper V)

1. 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
2. Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion
3. 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
4. Emotional intelligence concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance
5. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world
6. 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
7. 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, Utilisation of public funds, challenges of corruption
8. Case Studies on the above issues

Click here: UPSC Mains GS 4 Syllabus

IAS Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional Paper (VI & VII)

Candidate may choose any optional subject from amongst the List of Optional Subjects mentioned below:

Literature optional subjects Syllabus 

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. Check out the syllabus below:

UPSC Syllabus 2023 Weightage for Prelims

The UPSC Prelims 2023 papers consist of objective questions with negative markings for wrong answers. Here, we have mentioned the structure –

Subject-Wise Weightage & IAS Prelims Marks Distribution

Here we have listed the previous 6 years’ subject-wise weightage for the number of questions in GS 1  –

Also read: How to Prepare for UPSC

UPSC Syllabus for IAS Interview/Personality Test

The candidates who qualify for the UPSC main exam will be called for the personal interview test. Such candidates will be interviewed by a Board appointed by the Union Public Service Commission –

1. The main objective of the IAS interview is to determine the personal suitability of the candidate in the civil service examination by the competent authorities
2. Apart from the academic study, the candidates must be aware of the crucial affairs happening in the country or outside the country
3. The candidate will be examined based on their career, professional and personal records which were filled by them in the DAF (Detailed Application Form)
4. The main purpose of this interview is to explore the mental qualities of the candidate and check their analytical ability
5. The interview will be 275 marks and the total marks for the written test is 1750, so their sum up is a total of 2025 marks based on which the final merit list will be prepared.

Discover Unacademy UPSC Coaching Centres in the following locations 

• IAS Coaching in Mukherjee Nagar Delhi
• IAS Coaching in Karol Bagh
• UPSC Coaching in Prayagraj

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Difference between UPSC Prelims and Mains Syllabus 

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Is there any change in UPSC Syllabus 2024?

Usually, the UPSC does not change the syllabus for IAS Prelims and Mains examination every year. UPSC has not changed the syllabus since 2013. Before that, the pattern and syllabus of the UPSC exam were untouched for many years. In the earliest UPSC Syllabus format, there were 2 optional papers were chosen and the CSAT paper was not introduced. So, there will be no change in the syllabus as of now.

How to analyse the UPSC Syllabus?

To analyze the UPSC syllabus the candidates can follow the below-mentioned strategy –

1. Start by preparing the subheadings and related chapters to it.
2. Look through the previous year’s papers which will give you an idea of the type of questions that are being asked in the exam
3. Use the standard resource for the preparation of the UPSC exam
4. Think about all possible dimensions of preparing
5.  Cross-check once and look if you have covered all topics or not
6. Join a test series, solve mock tests and sample papers to analyze your performance
7. based on the UPSC syllabus, set a timetable and create the study plan in a manner which can cover all syllabi
8. Set a revision time daily

Additional reading:

• Tips To Remember Dates In History
• How to Learn Anything 5 Times Faster– UPSC Exam
• How to Prepare GS for UPSC CSE – Strategy, Booklist and Tips
• Tips and Tricks to Remember the Constitution of India in Under 10 Minutes
• Best Tips to Make Time by Waking Up Early in the Morning
• How to Excel at UPSC Civil Service Exam

Tips to Prepare for UPSC Syllabus 2024

To start your preparation for the upcoming UPSC exam, the candidates should download the syllabus for prelims, mains and optional papers. Once they analyze it carefully, they should thoroughly create a study plan to cover all the UPSC syllabus chapters. Here, we have mentioned the tips to prepare for the UPSC exam as follows –

1. A lot of study material will be available in the market for the UPSC exam. So, we advise the candidates to select the books carefully for all the subjects.
2. Refer to the UPSC books/syllabus carefully while completing the topic, so you know much time will it take to complete the topics and the sections to focus on.
3. Once the candidates complete each section, practice UPSC’s previous year’s test papers to examine your preparation level.
4. The candidates need to make sure that they revise the syllabus at least 3-4 times before the exam. Revision makes them improve their preparation and also their confidence level.

Check more here

• UPSC Batches
• UPSC Test Series