UPSC Exam; Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Admit Card, Exam Date

UPSC Exam: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of India's most prestigious and competitive exams. The full form of the CSE Exam is Civil Services Exam and it is conducted by a constitutional body, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It recruits candidates for top administrative positions like IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, and other central services.

UPSC Exam Stages

The exam consists of three stages:

I) Preliminary Examination (Prelims) – Objective-type (MCQs)

II) Main Examination (Mains) – Descriptive (Written & Essay)

III) Personality Test (Interview) – Assesses personality & suitability for civil services

UPSC Syllabus for Civil Services Exam Prelims:

The Union Public Service Commission Prelims exam is the initial stage of the Civil Services Exam. It is essential to understand the syllabus of the Prelims exam, as it acts as a screening test that qualifies candidates for the next stage, known as Mains. All Union Public Service Commission exam aspirants must be familiar with the exam format and Civil Services exam syllabus before starting their preparation.

Candidates preparing for UPSC 2026 should start preparing for the civil services exam in February 2025. One year of preparation is a must if candidates want to score well in the UPSC 2026 exam. This timeline of about one year is important if you want to have a planned and smooth preparation phase where you can strengthen your concepts and clear all the doubts related to the subjects.

UPSC Syllabus:

The UPSC syllabus is designed to assess the knowledge, aptitude and analytical abilities of the candidates, and consists of two stages: Preliminary Examination (Prelims) and Main Examination (Mains), followed by Interview/Personality Test. The UPSC syllabus for the preliminary exam includes two compulsory papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (also known as CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test).

These papers cover a wide range of subjects including history, geography, economics, politics, environment, science and current affairs. The syllabus of the UPSC Mains exam is more specific and consists of nine papers, including one essay paper, four general studies papers, two optional subject papers and two language papers (both of qualifying nature).

UPSC Preliminary Exam Syllabus 2025:

The first stage of the exam, i.e., the Civil Services Preliminary Exam is only a screening test and is conducted to shortlist candidates for the main exam. The marks obtained in the preliminary exam are not taken into account while preparing the final merit. The preliminary exam consists of two objective type papers carrying a maximum of 400 marks.