What is the structure of the UPSC IAS Civil Services exam?
Ans-
There are 3 Phases in UPSC Civil Services Exam-
- PRELIMINARY EXAM (MCQ Test)
- MAINS EXAM (written Test)
- PERSONALITY TEST (INTERVIEW)
IAS PRELIMS EXAM PATTERN, SYLLABUS & SUBJECTS
The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 400 marks.
The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi
| General Studies Paper – I | 200 Marks |
| General Studies Paper – II | 200 Marks |
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for Paper I – (200 marks)
Duration: Two hours (Counted for the merit rank in the Prelims)
- 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.
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for Paper II- (200 marks)
Duration: Two hours (Not counted for the merit rank in Prelims but a qualifying Paper; just needs 33% marks)
- 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)
IAS or UPSC Civil Services New Mains Exam pattern:
The written examination consists of nine papers, two qualifying papers and seven papers counted for ranking
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper A | (One of the Indian languages listed below, to be selected by the candidate (from the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India) (Qualifying) | 300 |
| Paper B | English (Qualifying) | 300 |
| Paper I | Essay | 250 |
| Paper II | General Studies I (Indian heritage and culture, history and geography of the world and society) | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social justice, and international relations) | 250 |
| Paper-IV | General Studies III (Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management) | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies-IV(ethics, integrity, and aptitude) | 250 |
| Papers VI, VII | Two papers on subjects to be selected by the candidate from the list of optional subjects below (250 marks for each paper) | 500 |
| 1750 | ||
Candidates may choose any one of the optional subjects from amongst the list of subjects given below.
- The papers on Indian Languages and English (Paper A and Paper B) will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.
- Evaluation of the papers, namely, ‘Essay’, ‘General Studies’ and Optional Subject of all the candidates would be done simultaneously along with evaluation of their qualifying papers on ‘Indian Languages’ and ‘English’ but the papers on ‘Essay’, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance of who attain such minimum standard as may be fixed by Commission at their discretion for the qualifying papers on ‘Indian Language’ and ‘English’.
- The paper A on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.
List of optional subjects for UPSC Mains Examination
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Anthropology
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Commerce and Accountancy
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- Geography
- Geology
- Indian 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.
The question papers for the examination will be of conventional (essay) type. Each paper will be of three hours duration. The question papers (other than the literature of language papers) will be set in Hindi and English only.
PERSONALITY TEST (INTERVIEW):
The Interview test will be of 275 marks.
Total – (B) Main Examination – 1750 Marks + (C) Personality Test – 275 Marks = 2025 Marks.
