UPSC Syllabus 2026 - Check IAS Prelims and Mains Exam Syllabus

Name of exam

Civil Services Exam (UPSC CSE)

Conducting Body

Union Public Service Commission

Mode of Exam

Offline

(UPSC Paper Pattern for Prelims- MCQ-based)

(UPSC Paper Pattern for Mains - Descriptive)

(Personality Test - Interview in front of board members)

Number of Stages

• Prelims exam

• Mains exam

• Interview

Number of papers in UPSC Exam

Prelims: 2

Mains: 7

Time Duration of UPSC CSE exam

Prelims: 2 hours (Each paper) total 4 hours

Mains: 3 hours (Each paper) total 27 hours conducted across various days

Type of questions

Prelims: Objective type

Mains: Subjective type

Paper

Civil Services exam syllabus - Important topics

Paper 1 (GS 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 and World Geography - Social, Physical, Economic Geography of India and the World.

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

Paper 2 (GS 2) - CSAT

• Interpersonal skills including communication skills

• Comprehension

• Logical reasoning and analytical ability

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

• Decision-making and problem-solving

• Questions on General mental ability

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

Paper

UPSC Civil Services syllabus - Important topics

UPSC IAS Mains Paper 1 syllabus

Essay writing

UPSC IAS Mains Paper 2 syllabus (GS 1)

Based on 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 organisation, 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 the 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, redrawal 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).

UPSC IAS Mains Paper 3 syllabus (GS 2)

Based on 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.

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

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of 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 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.

• 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.

• 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..

• 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.

• Role of IAS in democracy.

• India and its neighbourhood-relations

UPSC IAS Mains Paper 4 syllabus (GS 3)

Based on Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment,

Security and Disaster Management

• Indian Economy and issues relating to 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, 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.

UPSC IAS Mains Paper 5 syllabus (GS 4)

Based on Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

• 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 which 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 Paper 6 - Optional

UPSC IAS Paper 7 - Optional

Agriculture

Management

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science

Mathematics

Anthropology

Mechanical Engineering

Botany

Medical Science

Chemistry

Philosophy

Civil Engineering

Physics

Commerce and Accountancy

Political Science & International Relations

Economics

Psychology

Electrical Engineering

Public Administration

Geography

Sociology

Geology

Statistics

History

Zoology

Law

Ethics

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.

Number of papers

GS 1 AND GS 2

Language of paper

English

Hindi

Duration of exam

4 hours (2 hours each)

Number of questions

General Studies Paper 1: 100

General Studies Paper 2: 80

Maximum marks

400 (200 each)

Qualifying marks

33% for Paper 2

Number of papers

9

Language of paper

English

Hindi

Descriptive paper

Duration of exam

3 hours each

Subjects

Compulsory Indian language

English

Essay

• General Studies I

• General Studies II

• General Studies III

• General Studies IV

• Optional I

• Optional II

Number of questions

Part A and B: 300 each

General Studies and Optional Paper: 250 each

Maximum marks

1750