Overview of UPSC Civil Services Examination
The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a competitive exam in India organized by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to select candidates for top civil service roles within the Indian government, including the All India Services and certain Group A and Group B Central Civil Services positions. The examination is divided into three stages: the preliminary exam, which includes two objective papers (General Studies in Paper I and the Civil Service Aptitude Test, or CSAT, in Paper II); the main exam, which features nine descriptive papers, with two qualifying papers and the scores from the other seven contributing to the final ranking; and lastly, a personality test (interview). The entire examination process, lasting approximately one year, requires successful candidates to complete 32 hours of testing.
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) each year in India to select candidates for various administrative positions, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS). The UPSC CSE Prelims serve as the first stage of this competitive exam. Aspirants must practice the UPSC prelims previous years' question papers to have a comprehensive understanding of the exam pattern. Candidates can check the detailed exam pattern as presented here and keep a note of the total papers, number of questions, and marking scheme to perform better in the examination.
Exam Component | Details |
Total Papers | 2 |
Papers | 1. General Studies Paper-I |
2. General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) | |
Number of Questions | GS Paper-I: 100 |
CSAT: 80 | |
Total Marks | 400 |
GS Paper-I: 200 Marks | |
CSAT: 200 Marks | |
Negative Marking | 1/3 of the marks for each incorrect answer |
Time Allotted | GS Paper-I: 2 Hours (9:30 AM - 11:30 AM) |
CSAT: 2 Hours (2:30 PM - 4:30 PM) |
UPSC Mains Exam Format
The table presents a structured overview of the UPSC Mains exam, including paper details, duration, marks, and the nature of each paper. Applicants are advised to check the UPSC Mains previous year's question paper to get complete details of the exam pattern.
Paper Name | Time Duration | Total Marks | Nature of Paper |
Paper A – Compulsory Indian Language | 3 hours | 300 | Qualifying in nature |
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