UPSC CSE- Syllabus, Pattern, Marking System, Age Criteria, No. of attempts

Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination (UPSC CSE): 

UPSC is responsible for appointments to and examinations for group A posts of the union government under different professions.

The commission is headquartered at Dholpur House, in New Delhi.

Stages of CSE:

This Civil Service Examination is conducted in three stages by UPSC:

1. Preliminary Examination

2. Mains Examination

3. Personality Test (Interview Round)

A candidate Must Have attained the age of 21 years on 1st August of the year he/she is appearing in the preliminary examination.

Number of attempts, Age Limit:

Category	Age Limit	Number of Attempts
General	32	6
OBC	35	9
SC/ST	37	Unlimited
Disabled (PH) (General)	42	9
Disabled (PH) (Other Category)	42	As per the candidates’ category

Syllabus:

1. Preliminary Examination: The questions will be of multiple choice and objective type.

• General Studies (100 questions, 200 Marks, 2 hrs.)
• Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT, 80 questions, 200 marks, 2 hrs.)

General Studies (Paper I):

• 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. 

CSAT (Paper II):

• 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).

Note 1: It is important to note that there is negative marking for each wrong answer. A wrong answer will attract a penalty of 1/3rd of the marks allotted to the particular section.

Note 2: CSAT paper II has been made qualifying from 2015. A candidate has to score minimum of 33% of the marks to qualify in this paper. The marks scored in this paper will not be added to the marks scored in GS Paper I to arrive at the cut-off to clear Prelims. 

2. Mains Examination: This Examinations is Subjective/Descriptive type of nature. The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory.

• The aim of the paper is to test the candidates' ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian language concerned. The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows: 
• Precis Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays. Indian Languages

Indian Languages:

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precis Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.
• Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

Note 1: The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. 

Note 2: The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved). 

 

Qualifying papers on Indian Languages and English: 

Papers To be Counted for Merit:

General Studies‐I: 

• Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society. 
• Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issues.
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
• History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
• Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
• Effects of globalization on Indian society.
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
• Salient features of world’s physical geography.
• 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).
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone 

General Studies‐ II: 

• 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. Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
• Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. 
• 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. 
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. 
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies. 
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. 
• Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. 
• 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. 
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. 
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger. 
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. 
• Role of civil services in a democracy. 
• India and its neighborhood- relations. 
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. 
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. 
• Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

General Studies‐III: 

• Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. 
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. 
• Government Budgeting. 
• 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. 
• 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; economics of animal-rearing. 
• Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. 
• 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 & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. 
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights. 
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. 
• Disaster and disaster management. 
• Linkages between development and spread of extremism. 
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. 
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention. 
• Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism. 
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate. 

General Studies‐ IV: 

• Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude 
• This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered : 
• 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 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 above issues. 

Optional Paper: There are total of 48 options available in Optional Paper and candidate may choose any optional subject from the list of subjects mentioned below:

1.    Agriculture

2.    Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science

3.    Anthropology

4.    Botany

5.    Chemistry

6.    Civil Engineering

7.    Commerce and Accountancy

8.    Economics

9.    Electrical Engineering

10. Geography

11. Geology

12. History

13. Law

14. Management

15. Mathematics

16. Mechanical Engineering

17. Medical Science

18. Philosophy

19. Physics

20. Political Science and International Relations

21. Psychology

22. Public Administration

23. Sociology

24. Statistics

25. Zoology

Literature:

1.    Assamese

2.    Bengali

3.    Bodo

4.    Dogri

5.    Gujarati

6.    Hindi

7.    Kannada

8.    Kashmiri

9.    Konkani

10. Maithili

11. Malayalam

12. Manipuri

13. Marathi

14. Nepali

15. Oriya

16. Punjabi

17. Sanskrit

18. Santhali

19. Sindhi

20. Tamil

21. Telugu

22. Urdu

23. English

3. Personality Test: Interview Carries 275 Marks.

The candidate who has cleared the Mains examination will be interviewed by a board who will have before them a record of his/her career.