{"id":106465,"date":"2021-05-12T10:36:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T05:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?page_id=106465"},"modified":"2024-11-28T14:53:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T09:23:01","slug":"upsc-exam-pattern","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/upsc-exam-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 | UPSC IAS Prelims cum Mains Exam Pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"#upsc1\"># 1 UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for Preliminary Exam<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#upsc2\"># 2 UPSC Exam Pattern for 2024 Mains Exam<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#upsc3\"># 3 Selection of Optional Subject for UPSC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>UPSC conduct IAS exam every year for the recruitment of Officers for All India Services and various Central Services. UPSC exam is also known as IAS exam due to the popularity it has gained over the years. UPSC conduct IAS exam in three phases Prelims, Mains and Personality Test. It starts with the Preliminary exam and ends when the final result is declared. Candidates who pass the Prelims exam appear for the Mains and who pass the Mains exam appear for the Personal Interview. It is a complete cycle of one year. UPSC has set the IAS Exam pattern in such a way that it assesses the academic as well as general understanding of the candidates in all the three levels of the exam differently.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we will discuss in detail about the UPSC Exam Pattern for Prelims and Mains.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><b><a id=\"upsc1\"><\/a>UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for Preliminary Exam:<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It is the first phase of the IAS Exam. Every year, lakhs of students appear in this exam. After qualifying the Prelims exam, students appear for UPSC Mains exam. Prelims exam consists of two papers which are General Studies Paper I and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) Paper II. Both the Papers are Objective type with multiple choice answers. Both the papers are conducted same day in two different sittings. There is a gap of three hours between both the papers.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Paper<\/td>\n<td>Total Marks<\/td>\n<td>Number of Questions<\/td>\n<td>Duration<\/td>\n<td>Negative Marks<\/td>\n<td>Type of Paper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>General Studies-Paper I<\/td>\n<td>200<\/td>\n<td>100<\/td>\n<td>2 hours<\/td>\n<td>1\/3rd\u00a0of the marks allotted<\/td>\n<td>Scoring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>General Studies- Paper II<\/td>\n<td>200<\/td>\n<td>80<\/td>\n<td>2 hours<\/td>\n<td>1\/3rd\u00a0of the marks\u00a0allotted<\/td>\n<td>Qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Following is the IAS Exam Pattern for Prelims exam:\u00a0<strong><b>Paper I and Paper II<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Objective type<\/b><\/strong>: First phase\u00a0i.e.\u00a0Prelims\u00a0exam is of objective type. Here students have to mark the correct answer from the\u00a0given\u00a0options. UPSC provide four options out of which one is correct.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Screening test:<\/b><\/strong>UPSC prelims examination is\u00a0just a\u00a0screening test.\u00a0Its marks do not get added in the final\u00a0merit list.\u00a0Still candidates need to prepare well for this exam as it is very unpredictable.\u00a0The\u00a0cut-offs\u00a0set by UPSC,\u00a0depends\u00a0on the average score every year.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>CSAT:<\/b><\/strong>Paper-II (CSAT) will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Bilingual\u00a0Paper<\/b><\/strong>:\u00a0The Question paper will be set in both Hindi and English\u00a0language.\u00a0However, questions related to English Language Comprehension skills would be provided only in English.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Equal duration:<\/b><\/strong>Both Paper\u00a0I and II\u00a0will be of 2 hours duration.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Negative marking<\/b><\/strong>:\u00a0There will be negative marking for every incorrect answer.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Multiple choice answers:<\/b><\/strong>Each question comes with 4 multiple choice answers. For each wrong answer, one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>No penalty if you leave the question:<\/b><\/strong>No penalty if the candidate decides to skip the question.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Blind Candidates:<\/b><\/strong>Blind candidates would be allowed an extra 20 minutes of time for each paper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><b><a id=\"upsc2\"><\/a>UPSC Exam Pattern for 2024 Mains Exam:<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Only those candidates who will\u00a0clear\u00a0the declared cut off for the Preliminary\u00a0exam will appear for the Mains Exam.\u00a0IAS Mains exam consist of 9 Papers and all are of description type. The Papers continue for 5-7 days in one and two sittings.\u00a0Out of these 9 papers, two are of qualifying nature.<\/p>\n<p>With the help of the following table, we will understand the overview of the IAS Exam Pattern for the Mains Examination:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Compulsory Papers\u00a0(Only qualifying in nature)<\/td>\n<td>Essay Paper\u00a0(Scoring)<\/td>\n<td>General Studies Papers\u00a0(Scoring)<\/td>\n<td>Optional Subject\u00a0(Scoring)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>English Paper<\/td>\n<td>1 topic from Subsection A<\/td>\n<td>GS Paper 1<\/td>\n<td>Paper 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Indian Language Paper<\/td>\n<td>1 topic from\u00a0Subsection\u00a0B<\/td>\n<td>GS Paper 2<\/td>\n<td>Paper 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>GS Paper 3<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>GS Paper 4<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong><b>Things to remember in UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for Mains:<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Language papers A and B are of qualifying in nature. Candidates have to score just 33% marks\u00a0in these two papers.<\/li>\n<li>Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim as well as candidates with hearing impairment, provided they can prove that they have been exempted from such 2nd or 3rd language courses by their concerned board or university.<\/li>\n<li>The Indian Language paper covers any of the languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>All other\u00a0UPSC Mains papers are of a\u00a0scoring in\u00a0nature\u00a0whose marks along with marks obtained by the candidates in the Personality test are considered for final selection.<\/li>\n<li>The papers on Essay, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates who attain 25% marks in both the language papers as a minimum qualifying standard in these qualifying papers, will be considered for evaluation.<\/li>\n<li>In case a candidate does not qualify in these language papers, then the marks obtained by such candidates\u00a0in 7 remaining papers\u00a0will not\u00a0be taken into consideration.<\/li>\n<li>Total marks for\u00a0the written test\u00a0are\u00a01750.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><strong><b><a id=\"upsc3\"><\/a>Selection of Optional Subject for UPSC<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Any ONE subject from the following subjects may be chosen by the candidate for Paper VI and Paper VII: 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, and Zoology.<\/li>\n<li>Apart from these, candidates can also choose literature of any ONE of these languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo,\u00a0Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit,\u00a0Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the following table, we will see in details the UPSC Exam Pattern\u00a0for Mains:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><b>Paper<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><b>Subject<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><b>Duration<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><b>Total Marks<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A<\/td>\n<td>Compulsory Indian Language<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>300<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>B<\/td>\n<td>English<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>300<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>I<\/td>\n<td>Essay<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>II<\/td>\n<td>General Studies I (Indian History &amp; Culture, History &amp; Geography of the World and Society)<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>III<\/td>\n<td>General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations)<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>IV<\/td>\n<td>General Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>V<\/td>\n<td>General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>VI<\/td>\n<td>Optional Subject- Paper 1<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>VII<\/td>\n<td>Optional Subject- Paper 2<\/td>\n<td>3 hours<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Total marks (written test)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Candidates who will qualify the UPSC Mains exam, will appear for the Personality test.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ApSGrDcFq4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-study-plan-for-upsc-ias\/\">How to Make a Study plan for UPSC &#038; IAS<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;How to Make a Study plan for UPSC &#038; IAS&#8221; &#8212; Free UPSC IAS Preparation For Aspirants\" src=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-study-plan-for-upsc-ias\/embed\/#?secret=0tjkVE4dXH#?secret=ApSGrDcFq4\" data-secret=\"ApSGrDcFq4\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p># 1 UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for Preliminary Exam # 2 UPSC Exam Pattern for 2024 Mains Exam # 3 Selection of Optional Subject for UPSC UPSC conduct IAS exam every year for the recruitment of Officers for All India Services and various Central Services. UPSC exam is also known as IAS exam due to&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/upsc-exam-pattern\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 | UPSC IAS Prelims cum Mains Exam Pattern<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-106465","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}