UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam
The Preliminary Exam will consist of two papers of Objective type (Multiple Choice Questions – MCQ) and carries a maximum of 400 marks. The preliminary exam is screening test only and the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam Information
- This examination shall comprise of two compulsory papers.
- Each paper has 200 marks.
- Both the question papers will be of the objective type (MCQ) and each will be two hours duration.
- The General Studies Paper II of this exam will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
- The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English language.
UPSC CSE Prelims Papers
- Paper 1: General Studies
- Paper 2: CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)
Syllabus for UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam
Paper 1: General Studies
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues etc.
- Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
- General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science.
Paper 2: CSAT
- Comprehension.
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
- Decision making and problem solving;
- General mental ability;
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)
Note: Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
