UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 - Paper wise for Prelims & Mains Exam

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 - UPSC has notified the latest IAS syllabus in its official notification. Candidates who are preparing for the UPSC IAS exam must go through the UPSC Civil Services syllabus PDF. By going through the UPSC syllabus 2021, aspirants will be able to know about the stages of the IAS exam, subjects and topics which are asked in the UPSC IAS 2021. The IAS syllabus is divided into two parts - Prelims and Mains and a major chunk of the IAS syllabus is from the General Studies section which will have questions from History, Geography, Polity, International Relations, English, Hindi, Regional language and others. Along with the UPSC syllabus 2021, candidates can also check the IAS exam pattern, to know about the marking scheme, stages and time duration of the exam for a better IAS study plan. Check all the details related to the UPSC IAS syllabus 2021 here.

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 For Prelims

The prelims exam is the first stage of the UPSC recruitment 2021. The exam is objective-type in nature. There are two papers in prelims - General Studies Paper 1 and General Studies Paper 2. Also, know the Prelims IAS syllabus. Check the detailed UPSC syllabus 2021 for the IAS preliminary stage here.

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• UPSC Career Guidance

UPSC Syllabus 2021 GS Paper 1

• Current events related to national and international importance.

• General issues on Biodiversity and Climate Change, Environmental ecology especially climate change, solar inventions, green energy etc.

• Economic and Social Development especially Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Government schemes, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

• General Science.

• Indian Polity and Governance - Political System, Constitution, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Governor and President powers, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Fundamental Rights Issues, the Directive policy of state principals.

• Indian and World Geography - Social, Physical, Economic Geography of India and the World.

IAS Syllabus 2021 GS Paper 2 (CSAT)

GS Paper 2 is based on CSAT. The questions will be based on the following topics -

• Interpersonal skills including communication skills

• Comprehension

• Logical reasoning and analytical ability

• Decision making and problem-solving

• Questions on General mental ability

• Basic numeracy (orders of magnitude, numbers and their relations, etc.) (Class 10th level)

• Data interpretation (graphs, charts, data sufficiency, tables etc. — Class 10th level

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains

The mains is the second stage of the UPSC IAS selection process Aspirants who qualify the prelims are eligible to appear in the mains exam which is descriptive in nature. The IAS mains exam is lengthy and is conducted for 9 papers across multiple days. Check the paper wise UPSC IAS syllabus for the mains exam here.

IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 1

Paper 1 will have essay writing. The subject can be anything related to social causes, economic scenario, international relations etc.

UPSC Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 2

Paper 2 is based on GS 1. The subjects on which the question will be are - Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society

• Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, the problems caused by it and the remedies.

• Effects of globalization on Indian society.

• Modern Indian history from the middle of the eighteenth century till present- famous personalities, significant events and issues.

• Salient features of Indian Society and Diversity of India.

• The Freedom Struggle — various stages and important contributions from famous personalities from all parts of the country.

• History of the world including events from the 18th century - industrial revolution, redraw of national boundaries, world wars, colonization, decolonization, capitalism, political philosophies like communism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on society.

• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

• Salient features of the world's physical geography.

• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including

• 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.

• South Asia and the Indian subcontinent factors responsible for the location of the primary, secondary, and tertiary sector

• Industries in various parts of the world (including India).

IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 3

Paper 3 is General Studies 2 which will have questions from Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations

• The Indian Constitution— historical underpinnings, the evolution of the constitution, features of the constitution, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure of the constitution of India.

• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

• Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, the conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising.

• Structure, organization and functioning of Executive and Judiciary— Ministries and Departments of Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in Polity.

• Functions and responsibilities of Union and States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges.

• Separation of powers between various organs disputes redressal mechanisms and institutions.

• Salient features of Representation of People's Act.

• Development processes and the development industry — the role of SHGs, NGOs, various groups and associations, charities, donors, institutional and stakeholders etc.

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by Centre and States and performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for protection and betterment of vulnerable sections.

• Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

• Issues relating to hunger and poverty.

• Important aspects of governance, e-governance- applications, transparency and accountability, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.

• Role of IAS in democracy.

• India and its neighbourhood-relations.

• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

• Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

UPSC Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 4

Paper 4 is of General Studies 3, the questions will be based on Technology, Biodiversity, Economic Development, Environment and

Security and Disaster Management

• Indian Economy and issues relating to the mobilization of resources, planning, growth, development and employment.

• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

• Government Budgeting.

• 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; economics of animal-rearing.

• Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

• Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, - transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.

• Land reforms in India.

• Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

• Investment models.

• Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

• Disaster and disaster management.

• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

• Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, the role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cybersecurity, money-laundering and its prevention.

• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

• Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism.

• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 5

Paper 5 is General Studies 4, the questions as per the UPSC IAS syllabus 2021 are based on Ethics and values.

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics - in private and public relationships.

• Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; the role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.

• 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.

• Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.

• Government strives to have a workforce that reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply. Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.

• 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.

• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.

• Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Information sharing and transparency in government, Philosophical basis of governance and Probity, Codes of Ethics, Right to Information, Codes of Conduct, Work culture, Citizen’s Charters, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.

• Case Studies on the above issues.

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains Paper 6 and 7

According to the UPSC IAS syllabus 2021, the question paper in 6 and 7 will be based on Agriculture, History, Management, Mathematics etc. From the following table, check all the subjects -

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UPSC Civil Services Exam Analysis

UPSC IAS Answer Key

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2021 Mains Optional Subject

The last 2 papers - 8 and 9 will be based on optional subjects. Candidates can check all the optional subjects from the table below. Aspirants can pick the choice of subjects as per their own preference and interest.

List of UPSC IAS optional subjects

UPSC IAS Exam Pattern 2021

UPSC mentions the UPSC IAS exam pattern in its official notification, Candidates planning to prepare for the UPSC Civil Services exam must go through the UPSC IAS exam pattern in detail to know about the stages of the exam, time duration, marking scheme and all details relate to the preliminary as well as the mains exam of the IAS.

How to prepare for the UPSC IAS 2021 exam?

Apart from the syllabus of UPSC IAS 2021, aspirants must know about the preparation tips for the IAS exam considering the difficulty level and high competition in the exam. IAS is one of the most difficult exams and close to 10 lakh candidates apply for it every year to apply for 800-1000 vacancies. From the following points, aspirants can check the preparation tips -

• Before preparing for any exam, aspirants can check all the details related to the exam like the UPSC Civil Services exam 2021 syllabus, exam pattern, stages of the exam and marking scheme.

• Make an IAS study plan on the basis of the UPSC IAS syllabus and the time in hand.

• Arrange all books of IAS and allot equal time to each subject.

• Read newspapers on a daily basis and also arrange monthly magazines like The Hindu, The Indian Express etc. For regional language, candidates can check Manorama (Malayalam), Jansatta (Hindi) and other newspapers.

• Candidates can also subscribe to the Pratiyogita Darpan, Kurukshetra monthly magazines.

• Download IAS question papers for 10-15 years and start solving them to know about the question paper pattern, types of questions, the difficulty level of question etc.

• Check the IAS cut off marks to know about the difficulty level of the exam.

Also read

UPSC IAS Exam Centres

IAS Salary