UPSC Exam Pattern
UPSC conducts Civil Services Examination every year to recruit IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS and other allied services. Civil Services Examination is a three stage examination consisting of Prelims, Mains and Interview. A thorough understanding of UPSC exam pattern will allow you to prepare for this exam efficiently.
In this article, we have discussed What is the pattern of UPSC exam along with the marking scheme of UPSC CSE prelims, mains, and interview. It will allow you to allocate the time for the preparation of the specific subject effectively.
UPSC conducts the Civil Service Examination in three phases namely:
- Preliminary Examination
- Main Examination
- Personality Test (Interview)
Candidates who qualify all the rounds are recommended for joining the civil services in India. Each round is an elimination round, so you need to qualify each one in order to appear for the next one. Now, let us discuss the UPSC Exam Pattern along with the marking scheme for each of the papers in different rounds.
Marking Scheme and UPSC Pattern for UPSC CS Prelims
As you may already know, UPSC CSE Prelims consists of two papers namely General Studies I and CSAT (General Studies Paper-II). While CSAT is qualifying in nature, the marks obtained in General Studies paper determine whether or not you qualify for the next round. It means your score in General Studies Paper will be considered for the cutoff.
Additionally, there is negative marking for the wrong answers. 1/3rd of the marks allotted for the question would be deducted as a penalty for marking the wrong answer. However, if you do not attempt the question, there will be no deductions. Hence, you should take only calculated risk when it comes to marking doubtful questions.
Now, let us look at the UPSC exam pattern for Civil Services Prelims:
| Name of the Pape | No of Questions | Marks Allotted | Time Allotted | Nature of Exam |
| Paper I: General Studies (Objective-type) | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | The score will be considered for Cut-off |
| Paper-II: General Studies-II (CSAT) (Objective-Type) | 80 | 200 | 2 hours | Qualifying Nature- Candidates will have to score 33% to qualify CSAT. |
Following points should be kept in mind while appearing for IAS Exam:
- It is mandatory for all the candidates to appear for both the exams viz General Studies and CSAT to qualify for the Mains.
- The score obtained in the Prelims will not be added to the final score. UPSC CSE Prelims will be just for screening purposes.
- The question paper of Prelims will be bilingual. It will have questions written both in Hindi and English Language.
Check out the weightage of each subject of prelims here.
Marking Scheme And Exam Pattern for UPSC Mains
The UPSC Exam Pattern for Mains is discussed below. The IAS Mains Exam consists of two types of papers viz qualifying and merit-ranking. Paper A and Paper B namely Language paper and English paper will be qualifying in nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be added to marks that may determine your rank. All the other papers will be evaluated for merit purposes.
| Paper | Subject | Duration | Total marks | Time Allotted | Nature of paper | Type of Paper |
| Paper A | Compulsory Indian language | 3 hours | 300 | 3 hours | Qualifying | Descriptive |
| Paper B | English | 3 hours | 300 | 3 hours | Qualifying | Descriptive |
| Paper I | Essay | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper-II | General Studies I | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper III | General Studies II | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper IV | General Studies III | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper V | General Studies IV | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper VI | Optional I | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
| Paper VII | Optional II | 3 hours | 250 | 3 hours | Merit | Descriptive |
Following points should be kept in mind while preparing for UPSC CSE Mains:
- Except for language papers, Paper A and Paper B, score in all the other papers will determine your rank.
- Hence, your score will be out of a total of 1750 marks.
- It is mandatory to score at least 25% in each paper to be evaluated while the final selection.
- Candidates will be required to write the answers in the answer sheets provided by the UPSC. No extra sheets will be provided.
General Studies Paper
The subjects which are covered in different General Studies Paper in the Mains Exam are mentioned as under:
| General Studies I | Indian Heritage and Culture, History n Geography, Society |
| General Studies II | Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, International Relations |
| General Studies III | Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security n Disaster Management |
| General Studies IV | Ethics, Aptitude, Integrity |
Following points should be kept in mind while appearing for IAS Exam:
- It is mandatory for all the candidates to appear for both the exams viz General Studies and CSAT to qualify for the Mains.
- The score obtained in the Prelims will not be added to the final score. UPSC CSE Prelims 2020 will be just for screening purposes.
- The question paper of Prelims will be bilingual. It will have questions written both in Hindi and English Language.
Check out the weightage of each subject of prelims here.
List of Optional Subjects for UPSC Mains
Here’s the list of optional subjects that can be opted for UPSC Mains:
| Agriculture | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | Anthropology | Botany | Chemistry |
|
Civil Engineering |
Commerce and Accountancy |
Economics |
Electrical Engineering |
Geography |
|
Geology |
History |
Law |
Management |
Mathematics |
|
Mechanical Engineering |
Medical Science |
Philosophy |
Physics |
Political Science and International Relations |
|
Psychology |
Public Administration |
Sociology |
Statistics |
Zoology |
The options for literature subjects are:
| Assamese | Bengali | Bodo | Dogri | Gujarati |
|
Hindi |
Kannada |
Kashmiri |
Konkani |
Maithali |
|
Malayalam |
Manipuri |
Marathi |
Nepali |
Odia |
|
Punjabi |
Sanskrit |
Santhali |
Sindhi |
Tamil |
|
Telugu |
Urdu |
English |
IAS 2021 Interview Process
The interview process of UPSC exam is the last and the final stage of the selection process. The interview is of 275 marks which makes the grand total of maximum marks 2025. Some of the qualities that the board assess in a candidate are:
- Mental acuity
- Critical thinking
- Analytical thinking
- Risk assessment skills
- Crisis management skills
- Ability to become a leader
- Intellectual and moral integrity
This was a brief overview of the UPSC Exam Pattern 2021. Keep following our articles to apprise yourself with the latest information about the exam.
Read more Preparation strategy for interview
Check out the full syllabus of UPSC CSE here. And if you are looking for a panacea to boost your prelims score, here’s a course designed just for that! Get in touch with our course counselors to get additional information on course deliverables.
Related Frequently Asked Questions
What is UPSC What does it do?
UPSC stands for Union public service commission. UPSC is a govt. body which conducts recruitment examination for various govt. services including Civil Service Examination every year to recruit IAS, IPS, IFS and other allied services
What is the educational qualification for Civil Service exam?
Candidate must have been completed bachelor’s degree from any recognized Indian university. However final year students are also eligible to apply.
What is the age limit?
Candidate age must be between 21 to 32 years old for General category.
Any age relaxations for Reserved category Candidates?
Yes, for OBC category 3 years of relaxation, for SC/ST 5 years for relaxation is there, Defense Service Personnel disabled during service have 3 years of relaxation, ex-service men including service officers have 5 years of relaxation, visually challenged, physically challenged and hearing-impaired people have up to 10 years of relaxation.
Is there any limit to attempt the exam?
General category people can attempt max 6 times, OBC category people can attempt max 9 times, SC/ST category no limit to attempt, physically handicapped (both General and OBC category) can attempt 9 times, SC/ST physically handicapped can attempt any no of times.
What is the selection criteria?
It is 3 stage examination
- Preliminary examination – objective oriented (comprise of 2 papers GS and CSAT).
- Mains examination (descriptive mode)
- Personality development test (interview)
To write mains exam, candidate must have to qualify in preliminary examination. If you are selected in mains exam you will get call for the interview. For final ranking both Main & Interview Marks are considered.
What is the pattern of preliminary exam?
It comprises of 2 MCQ based papers conduct on single day. General studies paper –1, consists of 100 questions, carry 2 marks each. General Studies paper-2 (CSAT) consists of 80 questions which carry 2.5 Marks each. However, in CSAT is a qualifying paper & Candidate have to score minimum 33.33 % of Maximum marks to qualify. Only GS paper- 1 marks are considered for the cutoff. There is 1/3rd negative for every wrong answer in both the papers.
What is the syllabus for the preliminary exam?
You can go through detailed analysis of syllabus from this site
What is pattern for the Mains exam?
It comprises of total 9 Descriptive papers conducted in 5 days. Paper A- (language paper, you can select any language prescribed by UPSC, however this paper is not compulsory for Candidates from North Eastern states of India) and Paper B (Compulsory English language), are qualifying in nature. Remaining papers, Paper I – to Paper VII are considered for Main Score where each paper carry maximum 250 marks.
What is the syllabus for the mains exam?
You can go through this website for detailed analysis
Total how many optional subjects candidate have to select?
Candidate have to select only one optional subject from the choices provided in UPSC notification.