UPSC Civil Services Syllabus 2024 & Exam Pattern PDF Download – Prelims & Mains

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UPSC Civil Services Syllabus 2024 & Exam Pattern PDF Download: The UPSC Civil Services Examination Syllabus has been provided here. We know that many of the UPSC 2024 aspirants have been looking for the UPSC Civil Services IAS Exam Syllabus. Now, we advise all the candidates to gather the UPSC Syllabus for CSE Prelims & Mains from our website and prepare well for the UPSC CSE 2024. For the preparation for the UPSC 2024 Exam, first of all, the aspirants have to note down the topics that are available in the UPSC CSE Syllabus PDF 2024. From below, you will get the data on the UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024/ UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024 along with the UPSC Civil Services IAS Exam Syllabus. To prepare for the UPSC Civil Services IAS Exam easily, we have arranged the UPSC Syllabus PDF 2024 at the end of this post, kindly download it and start your preparation now for the IAS Prelims and Mains Exam.

★★ UPSC Civil Services Prelims Free Mock Test Series ★★

UPSC Syllabus 2024 Prelims & Mains

The UPSC Civil Services exam will have Prelims, Mains & Interviews. The prelims will be in two papers. Paper-1 is for 200 Marks in the subject General Studies. Paper 2 is for 100 Marks for the Aptitude test (CSAT). The time duration is 2 hours for each paper. Paper 2 is Mains which has a total of 7 papers for 1750 Marks. And 2 qualifying papers for 300 marks each.

UPSC Civil Services Syllabus 2024 – Overview

UPSC Civil Services Selection Process

• Preliminary Examination
• Mains Examination
• Personality Test (Interview)

UPSC Civil Services Prelims, Mains Test Pattern

Without any delay go through this article to obtain accurate information about the UPSC Syllabus 2024. We have gathered the complete UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024 & UPSC IAS Mains Exam Pattern 2024 from the official site and kept the latest information in a tabular fashion. So, by checking the table, you can easily get the complete information and find the best plan to attain more marks in the examination.

UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024

The General Studies (Paper-I) test is the first paper of the preliminary examination. The Paper II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type. The candidate must appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelims) Examination for evaluation. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type) is conducted for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination.

UPSC Syllabus for CSE Prelims – 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, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• General Science
• 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.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus – 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).

Penalty For Wrong Answers

• There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as a penalty.
• If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happens to be correct and there will be the same penalty as above for that question.
• If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.

UPSC IAS Mains Exam Pattern 2024

The written examination (main) will consist of the following nine papers, but only 7 papers will be counted for the final merit ranking. For the rest two papers, the candidate should secure the minimum marks prescribed by UPSC each year. The Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and posts

Qualifying Papers:

The pattern of questions in qualifying papers would be as follows :

• English Language: 
  (i) Comprehension of given passages.
  (ii) Precis Writing.
  (iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
  (iv) Short Essays
• Indian Language:
  (i) comprehension of given passages.
  (ii) Precis Writing.
  (iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
  (iv) Short Essays.
  (v) Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

UPSC Mains Syllabus – Paper – I

Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep close to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

UPSC Mains Syllabus – General Studies I – Paper – II

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 includes significant events, personalities, and issues from 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 society from the 18th century like world wars, the Industrial Revolution, colonization, redrawing of national boundaries, decolonization, and political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc.
• Salient Aspects of Diversity of India and Indian Society
• Role of women and women’s organizations, 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, cyclones etc., geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and flora and fauna and the effects of such changes
• Salient features of the world’s physical geography.

IAS Mains Syllabus for General Studies II – Paper – III

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 about 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 Syllabus for General Studies III – Paper – IV

Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security, and Disaster Management:

• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development, and employment.
• 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
• 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, Economics of animal-rearing.
• 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 development of 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 Syllabus for General Studies IV – Paper – V

Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude:

• 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; the role of family, society, and educational institutions in inculcating values
• Attitude- content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behavior; 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.

UPSC IAS Mains Optional Subjects List – Paper – VI & Paper – VII

Candidate may choose any optional subject from amongst the List of Optional Subjects given below:

UPSC IAS Interview

• The objective of the interview is to assess the suitability of the candidate for a career in civil services
• The Interview test will be 275 marks and the total marks for the written examination is 1750. This sums up to a Grand Total of 2025 Marks, based on which the final merit list will be prepared.

How to Download UPSC Civil Services Syllabus 2024?

Candidates can directly download the UPSC CSE Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2024 through the link provided below. To clear the exam, you must and should know the UPSC IAS Exam Syllabus 2024 topics for each subject first. So, click on the below link and get the UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF – IAS Prelims and Mains Exam. You can also get the optional subject syllabus topics from the below PDF.

UPSC Syllabus 2024 Prelims & Mains – Download Link

★★ GK Questions ★★

★★ Aptitude Questions ★★

★★ Reasoning Questions ★★

★★ English Questions ★★

We hope that you all will start preparing for the test by downloading the UPSC Prelims, and Mains Examination Syllabus from the above link. Moreover, keep in touch with us on Freshersnow to get all the latest updates and stuff regarding Job Notifications, Latest Syllabus & Test Patterns with the Previous Papers, and many more. Also, you can drop your comment in the below section of our page for any query.