UPSC Prelims 2025 Syllabus

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The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination consists of two objective-type papers:

Paper I: General Studies (GS) – 200 Marks

Duration: 2 hours
This paper is used to screen candidates for the Mains exam.

Topics include:

  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 – no subject specialization required

  7. General Science

Paper II: CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) – 200 Marks

Duration: 2 hours
This paper is qualifying in nature; candidates need to score at least 33% (66 marks) to pass.

Topics include:

  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. up to Class X level)

  7. Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, etc. – up to Class X level)