UPSC Syllabus 2024
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF for the upcoming exam to be held in the year 2024 from the official website or it can be directly downloaded from the link given at the bottom of this page. As a UPSC Aspirant has to plan a proper strategy for his/her preparation in the beginning as after prelims only 3-4 months are not sufficient to prepare for Mains Exam. To grab the most prestigious job in Government Sector, you must score enough marks to crack the cut-off list and for this proper understanding of the UPSC Syllabus is a must.
UPSC conducts 3 stages for the recruitment of the UPSC Civil Services exam- Prelims, Mains, & interviews. UPSC Preliminary Exam is an objective type for shortlisting candidates for the Main exam consisting of 9 descriptive exams. Only candidates qualifying all papers in Mains will be called for the Interview round for assessing their intelligence, attentiveness, balance of judgment, and human qualities like honesty, integrity, and leadership qualities which is the final selection process.
UPSC Syllabus 2024 – Overview
| Particulars | Prelims | Mains |
|---|---|---|
| Exam Date | 28th May 2024 | 15th to 19th September 2024 |
| No. of Papers | Two | Nine |
| Types of Questions | Objective Type | Descriptive Type |
| Duration of Exam | 2 hours each | 3 hours each |
| Total Marks | 400 | 1750 |
| Medium of Exam | English & Hindi | English & Hindi (except language paper) |
| Negative Marking | ⅓rd mark | No negative marking |
| Marks Counted in Merit | No | Yes |
UPSC Exam Pattern
| Paper | Subjects | Marks | No. of Question | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Studies (GS) | 200 | 100 | 2 hours (9:30 AM to 11:30 AM) |
| II | CSAT | 200 | 80 | 2 hours (2:30 PM to 4:30 PM) |
UPSC Syllabus 2024 for Prelims Exam
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for General Studies (Paper I)
- Current Affairs (Events) of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, and 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, Biodiversity and Climate Change: that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science
UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus for CSAT (Paper-II)
Candidates can check the IAS Prelims CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) Syllabus given below. This section do need constant practice and reading articles, and newspapers, and solving as many mock tests would be of great help.
- 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).
UPSC IAS Main Exam Pattern
| Qualifying Papers | Marks | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper-A | One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution |
300 |
| Paper-B | English | 300 |
| Papers Counted for Merit | ||
| 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 | Genera Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper-V | General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper-VI | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 250 |
| Paper-VII | Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 250 |
| Sub Total (Written Test) | 1750 | |
| Personality Test | 275 | |
| Grand Total | 2025 | |
UPSC Mains General Studies I Syllabus
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society:
- Indian culture covers the salient features of Literature, Art Forms, and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
- Modern Indian history include the significant events, personalities, issues during the middle of the eighteenth century until the present
- Various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country in ‘The Freedom Struggle’
- Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country
- History of the world includes events, forms and effects on the society from the 18th century like world wars, the industrial revolution, colonization, redraw of national boundaries, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.
- Salient aspects of Diversity of India and Indian Society
- Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedies
- Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
- Distribution of key natural resources across the world including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent; factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world including India
- Effects of globalization on Indian society
- Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone 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
- Salient features of world’s physical geography.
UPSC Mains General Studies II Syllabus
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations:
- Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
- Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
- Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
- Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
- Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
- Structure, organization 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
- Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
- 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
- Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
- Issues relating to poverty and hunger
- Role of civil services in a democracy
- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
- India and its neighborhood- relations
- Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate
- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
UPSC Mains General Studies III Syllabus
Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management:
- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
- Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.
- Government Budgeting.
- Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
- 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
- Economics of animal-rearing.
- Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
- 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
- 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- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science and technology;
- Indigenisation of technology and developing new technology.
- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
- Disaster and disaster management.
- Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
- Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
- 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
- Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate
- Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism
UPSC Mains General Studies IV Syllabus
- 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; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values
- Attitude- content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion
- 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 concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance
- 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, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption
- Case Studies on the above issues.
You can download the UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF using the link given below.