The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) exam is divided into three stages: Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and the Personality Test (Interview). The UPSC Exam is the toughest exam in India, for which candidates need to understand the vast syllabus and exam pattern and make a proper preparation strategy to crack the exam. This article details about UPSC IAS Syllabus for prelims and mains exams including exam patterns and marking schemes. The upcoming UPSC Prelims exam is scheduled for 25th May 2025 and Mains to be held from 22nd October 2025 onwards. 

UPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2025

UPSC CSE Prelims exam consists of 2 objective papers and Mains exam consists of 9 descriptive-type papers. The UPSC syllabus and exam pattern for all services such as the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service, and other civil services are the same. Candidates preparing for the UPSC IAS Exam have to clear all three stages to get shortlisted for the Grade A vacancies released for all India Services and various Central Civil Services. The UPSC IAS exam structure is tabulated below.

UPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2025
ParticularsPrelimsMains
No. of PapersTwo Nine 
Types of QuestionsObjective TypeDescriptive Type
Duration of Exam2 hours each3 hours each 
Total Marks4001750
Medium of ExamEnglish & HindiEnglish & Hindi (except language paper)
Negative Marking ⅓rd markNo negative marking
Marks Counted in MeritNoYes

UPSC Mains Result 2024 Out - Click to Check

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2025

The UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Prelims exam is the first stage of the examination and is qualifying in nature. The candidates have to score a minimum of 33% marks along with the marks above the cut-off as decided by UPSC. UPSC Prelims exam is conducted to shortlist limited candidates for the Mains exam. The UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 for the prelims exam is divided into two papers General Studies (GS) and CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test).

UPSC CSE 2025 Prelims Exam Pattern

Before going to check the UPSC Syllabus, candidates should understand the exam pattern and marking scheme.

UPSC Prelims 2025 Exam Pattern
PaperSubjectsMarksNo. of QuestionDuration
IGeneral Studies (GS)2001002 hours (9:30 AM to 11:30 AM)
IICSAT200802 hours (2:30 PM to 4:30 PM)

Important Points:

  1. For every incorrect answer, 1/3rd mark of the total mark will be deducted.
  2. For the blank answers, no marks will be deducted.
  3. In General Studies (Paper I), each question is of 2 marks and there is a negative marking of 0.66 marks
  4. In CSAT (Paper-II), each question is of 2.5 marks and a negative marking of 0.833 marks for each wrong answer marked.
  5. The prelims marks will not be included in the final result (merit list).
  6. Paper II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025

The UPSC Prelims syllabus includes two compulsory papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (also known as the CSAT). The GS paper 1 covers a wide range of topics from different subjects including history, geography, economics, polity, environment, science, and current affairs. The CSAT paper is based on reasoning, analytical and numerical ability.

UPSC IAS Prelims GS Paper 1 Syllabus

  1. Current Affairs (Events) of national and international importance.
  2. History of India and Indian National Movement.
  3. Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, and 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 specialization.
  7. General Science

UPSC IAS Prelims CSAT Syllabus

The 2nd paper of the UPSC prelims exam is GS paper 2. It is also known as the (Civil Services Aptitude Test). CSAT paper is qualifying in nature and all candidates who are planning to appear in the UPSC CSE 2025 exam need to check the UPSC CSAT syllabus which is given below.

  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), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level).

The UPSC syllabus is vast and it is very tough to crack the UPSC IAS exam due to its low success ratio. Candidates can check the detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025 by clicking on the link given below.

Detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025 - Click to Check

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025

The candidates qualifying prelims exam will be eligible to appear for the Mains exam. It is the scoring and rank-deciding stage of the exam process and candidates have to qualify for each paper. The Mains exam tests the candidate’s academic knowledge and ability to present the understanding according to the requirements of the question in a time-bound manner. UPSC Syllabus 2025 for the Mains exam is given below. 

UPSC IAS Mains Exam Pattern

The Mains exam comprises 9 papers, out of which 2 papers are qualifying in nature and the remaining 7 papers will be counted for final merit. Language papers are of qualifying marks and the rest of the papers will be scored.

UPSC Mains 2025 Exam Pattern
Qualifying PapersMarks
Paper-AAny Indian Language300
Paper-BEnglish300
Papers Counted for Merit
Paper-IEssay250
Paper-IIGeneral Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)250
Paper-IIIGeneral Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)250
Paper-IVGenera Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)250
Paper-VGeneral Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)250
Paper-VIOptional Subject – Paper 1250
Paper-VIIOptional Subject – Paper 2250
Sub Total (Written Test)1750
Personality Test275
Grand Total 2025

Important Points:

  1. There are two qualifying papers in the mains exam, Namely "Paper A" and "Paper B" of 300 marks each.
  2. Two Qualifying Papers are "Any Indian Language from Eight Schedule " and "English Language Paper".
  3. Candidates need to score 25% in both qualifying papers i.e, 75 marks each.
  4. All other seven papers are scoring in nature their marks will be included in the final merit list.
  5. Candidates can answer all the scoring subjects in English or any of the eight scheduled languages.
  6. Candidates have to select any one subject from the table as their Optional subject for Paper VI and Paper VII.
UPSC Optional Subjects List for Mains Exam
AgricultureAnimal Husbandry and Veterinary ScienceAnthropologyBotanyChemistry
Civil EngineeringCommerce and AccountancyEconomicsElectrical EngineeringGeography
StatisticsSociologyPhysicsPhilosophyMedical Science
Political Science and International RelationsPublic AdministrationPsychologyMechanical EngineeringMathematics
ZoologyGeologyHistoryManagementLaw
Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi,Nepali,Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu,Urdu and English.

Structure of the Language Papers

The table below displays the format of language papers "Paper A" and "Paper B." Candidates are required to select a language from the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, as listed in the table. The second language paper will be English. It's crucial for candidates to use the correct script for the language as specified in the table. Note: For the Santhali language, the question paper will be printed in the Devanagari script.

Languages And Script
LanguageScriptLanguageScript
AssameseAssameseBengaliBengali
GujaratiGujaratiHindiDevanagari
KannadaKannadaKashmiriPersian
BodoDevanagariKonkaniDevanagari
MalayalamMalayalamManipuriBengali
MarathiDevanagariNepaliDevanagari
OdiaOdiaPunjabiGurumukhi
SanskritDevanagariTamilTamil
SindhiDevanagari or ArabicTeluguTelugu
UrduPersianMaithilliDevanagari
SanthaliDevanagari or OlchikiDogriDevanagari

UPSC IAS Syllabus Questions asked in both language papers are:

  1. Essay – 100 marks
  2. Reading comprehension – 60 marks
  3. Precis Writing – 60 marks
  4. Translation: (a) English to compulsory language (e.g. Hindi) – 20 marks
    (b) Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
  5. Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks

Candidates can go through the UPSC IAS General Studies Papers Syllabus for each paper in the below section. The syllabus will help you to understand what to study and what not to study for the UPSC exam. The syllabus of all four General Studies papers is given below. Each paper holds 250 marks out of 1750. The total marks of General Studies papers are 1000 marks. Candidates must prepare well for these papers as they are holding good marks in the final merit list.

UPSC Mains Essay Paper Syllabus 

In this paper, Candidates have to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

UPSC Mains GS 1 Syllabus

This is the first General Studies paper. This paper is all about the History, Heritage, Geography and Culture of the World and Society. Candidates can check the main points of the General Studies I syllabus below as described by the commission.

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society:

  1. Indian culture covers the salient features of Literature, Art Forms, and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
  2. Modern Indian history include the significant events, personalities, issues during the middle of the eighteenth century until the present.
  3. Various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country in ‘The Freedom Struggle’.
  4. Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
  5. History of the world includes events, forms and effects on the society from the 18th century like world wars, the industrial revolution, colonization, redraw of national boundaries, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.
  6. Salient aspects of Diversity of India and Indian Society
  7. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedie
  8. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
  9. 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
  10. Effects of globalization on Indian society
  11. Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes
  12. Salient features of world’s physical geography.

UPSC Mains GS 2 Syllabus

The Mains General Studies II papers have questions related to Polity, Governance, Constitution, Social Justice and Interrelations. Candidates can check the syllabus below.

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations:

  1. Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
  2. 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
  3. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
  4. Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
  5. Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
  6. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
  7. 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
  8. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
  9. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
  10. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
  11. 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
  12. Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
  13. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
  14. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
  15. Issues relating to poverty and hunger
  16. Role of civil services in a democracy
  17. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
  18. India and its neighborhood- relations
  19. Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate
  20. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

UPSC Mains GS 3 Syllabus

UPSC Mains General Studies III is all about Science, Technology, Economics, Defense, Disaster Management and Nature. This paper can ask questions from every aspects of life, new developments in any sphere of life.

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

  1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
  2. Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.
  3. Government Budgeting.
  4. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
  5. 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
  6. Economics of animal-rearing.
  7. Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
  8. 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
  9. Land reforms in India.
  10. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
  11. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
  12. Investment models.
  13. Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science and technology;
  14. Indigenisation of technology and developing new technology.
  15. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
  16. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
  17. Disaster and disaster management.
  18. Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
  19. Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
  20. 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
  21. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate
  22. Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism

UPSC Mains GS 4 Syllabus

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude: This paper includes questions to check the candidate's attitude and approach towards the issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and their problem-solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by them while dealing with society. Questions may utilize the case study approach to determine these aspects and cover area

  1. Ethics and Human Interface- Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships
  2. Human Values- lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values
  3. Attitude- content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion
  4. 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
  5. Emotional intelligence concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance
  6. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. Case Studies on the above issues.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers- Click to Check

UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF Download

For your ease, we have also attached the UPSC Syllabus PDFs for both the Prelims and Mains Examination which would be a beneficial way for preparing efficiently for your upcoming UPSC Exam. Click on the below links for UPSC Syllabus 2025 PDFs and know which topics are to be covered for each stage. 

UPSC Prelims Syllabus PDF- Click to Download

UPSC Mains Syllabus PDF- Click to Download

UPSC Syllabus for Optional Subjects

Candidates can check the UPSC syllabus 2025 for Optional Subjects as discussed in the official PDF, the links of which are given below.

Optional SubjectUPSC Syllabus 
SociologyUPSC Sociology Syllabus
GeographyUPSC Geography Syllabus
EconomicsUPSC Economics Syllabus
AnthropologyUPSC Anthropology Syllabus
AgricultureUPSC Agriculture Syllabus
Animal HusbandryUPSC Animal Husbandary Syllabus

UPSC IAS Interview Test

Candidates who qualify for the UPSC Exam Mains Exam are called for the ‘Interview’ Test. Candidates are interviewed by a Board appointed by the UPSC.

  1. The candidate will be interviewed by a board who will have a record of his/her career and interests filled by him/her in the Detailed Application Form (DAF).
  2. The objective of the interview is to check the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in civil services by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
  3. In the personality test, candidates must be aware of affairs happening both within and outside their state or country, in addition to their academic study.
  4. The interview is more of a purposive conversation intended to explore the mental qualities and analytical ability of the candidate.
  5. 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.
Related Links
IAS Officer SalaryUPSC Previous Year Cut Off 
UPSC Online CoachingUPSC Books List for Prelims & Mains
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UPSC Syllabus 2025: FAQs

Yes, Candidates must note that every stage have different syllabus. Check the UPSC IAS Syllabus here.

The UPSC prelims syllabus covers a wide range of subjects, including history, geography, economics, polity, environment, science, and current affairs.

Yes, Candidates can select any langugage from the given list. Candidates can check the list in the article.

The question papers (other than the literature of language papers) are set in bilingual i.e. Hindi and English only.

As per the UPSC exam pattern, there are 9 papers in the Mains exam, which are - 1 Compulsory Indian Language, English, Essay paper, General Studies 1, General Studies 2, General Studies 3, General Studies 4, Optional Papers 1 and 2.

As per the UPSC exam pattern, there are 9 papers in the UPSC Mains exam, which are - 1 Compulsory Indian Language, English, Essay paper, General Studies 1, General Studies 2, General Studies 3, General Studies 4, Optional Papers 1 and 2