UPSC Prelims Syllabus

Introduction to Prelims Syllabus

The UPSC Prelims is the first stage of the Civil Services Exam. The UPSC Prelims tests the candidates’ general knowledge and aptitude on various subjects, such as current affairs, history, geography, polity, economy, environment, science, and more.

To understand the UPSC Civil Services Exam in detail, the official Syllabus is the most important part of preparation. You may have heard UPSC toppers saying “UPSC Syllabus is the holly bible for aspirants.”

UPSC publishes syllabi for CSE in its bulky notification every year. We have simplified latest UPSC Syllabus for you!

General Information

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The UPSC Prelims consists of two papers: General Studies (Paper-1) and CSAT (Paper-2). The UPSC Prelims syllabus is vast and covers a wide range of topics. Therefore, the candidates have to prepare well and revise thoroughly to clear this stage.

• Both the question papers are objective (MCQs) format.
• The General Studies Paper-2 of the Civil Services Prelims Exam is a qualifying paper with a minimum of 66 marks (fixed at 33%).
• The UPSC Prelims question papers are set both in Hindi and English medium.

Paper 1-General Studies (GS) Syllabus

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The syllabus for General Studies Paper in Prelims examination is as follows:

1. Current events of national and international importance.
2. History of India and Indian National Movement.
3. Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
4. Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights, Issues, etc.
5. Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
6. General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialisation.
7. General Science.

Paper 2-Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) Syllabus

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The syllabus for General Studies Paper in Prelims examination is as follows:

1. Comprehension;
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
4. Decision making and problem solving;
5. General mental ability;
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.)(Class X level)
7. Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)