UPSC CSE Syllabus 2025 - Summary
UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most important and competitive exams in India, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It is held every year to select candidates for top government services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The exam tests a candidate’s knowledge, understanding, and decision-making skills on various national and international topics.
UPSC CSE syllabus is designed to check both general awareness and in-depth understanding of subjects. It is divided into three stages — Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and Interview (Personality Test). The syllabus covers subjects like History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Science, Environment, and Current Affairs. Understanding the syllabus clearly helps candidates plan their preparation effectively and focus on the most important topics.
UPSC CSE Syllabus Summary
| Particular | Detail |
| Mode of Exam | Offline OMR Based |
| Language of Exam | Hindi & English |
| Types of Questions | MCQ type |
| Total Papers | Two |
| Name of Papers |
|
| Time Allotted | 2 Hours/Paper |
| Total Marks | 400 Marks |
| Negative Marking | 1/3 For each wrong answer |
| Nature of Exam | Qualifying |
| Passing Marks |
|
UPSC CSE Prelims Paper I Syllabus
UPSC CSE Prelims Paper 1 is known as General Studies (GS) which covers dynamic topics of general awareness and current affairs. UPSC prelims syllabus for GS paper is designed to test candidate’s awareness of the surroundings. While topic names in the UPSC syllabus for prelims paper 1 are provided in brief, the actual syllabus is vast encompassing:
- Current Affairs: The current events of National & International importance are covered.
- Indian History: Majorly covers the History of India and the Indian National Movement.
- Polity & Governance: The Indian Constitution, Indian Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy of India, Rights Issues, etc are asked in this subject.
- Geography: Covers the Physical, Social, and Economic Geography of India & the World.
- Economic & Social Development: Topics related to Sustainable Development, Poverty, Social and Economic Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc are covered.
- Further, General Science and general issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity & climate change are asked that do not require subject specialization.
UPSC CSE Prelims Paper II Syllabus
UPSC CSE Paper 2 required candidates to have basic knowledge of English/Hindi, mathematics, and reasoning ability. While minimum qualifying marks are 33% i.e. 66.66 in this paper, it is the nature of the question paper that makes it challenging to reach this score.
- English and Hindi Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical Reasoning
- Analytical Ability
- Basic Numeracy for example numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.
- Decision Making
- Problem-Solving
- General Mental Ability
- Data interpretation such as tables, charts, graphs, data sufficiency, etc.
UPSC Mains Syllabus
The UPSC Exam Pattern for mains exam is as follows:
| UPSC Exam Pattern for Mains | |
| Particular | Detail |
| Exam Mode | Offline Pen and paper-based |
| Nature of Exam | Descriptive Type |
| Total Papers | Nine |
| Qualifying Papers | Two |
| Duration of Exam | 3 Hours/Each |
| Marks for Qualifying Papers | 300 Marks |
| Marks for Paper I to Paper VII | 250 Marks |
| Total Marks | 1750 Marks |
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Qualifying Papers
While appearing for the UPSC CSE exam, candidates are required to select any 1 language from Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution. Paper A is an Indian language paper and Paper B is an English language paper. Candidates’ basic knowledge of these languages is assessed in both papers and candidates must score qualifying marks.
The UPSC Syllabus for compulsory subjects is as follows:
| UPSC Syllabus for Qualifying Papers | |
| English Language | Indian Languages |
| Comprehension Precise Writing Usage and Vocabulary Short Essays | Comprehension Translation (English to the Indian Language and vice-versa) Precise Writing Usage and Vocabulary Short Essays |
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Essay
While there is no specific syllabus for Essay papers, candidates are required to write two essays from given lists of topics. There are two sections, and candidates must attempt 1 essay from each section. According to the UPSC Syllabus for essay papers, candidates are expected to write essays on given topics by concisely arranging their ideas in an orderly fashion.
