UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Central Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit All India Services and Central Civil Services (for Group A and some Group B posts) candidates is one of the most sought after exams in India. UPSC CSE exam is divided into three phases: Prelims, Mains and Personality Test (Interview).

In this article, we have discussed the detailed topic-wise UPSC IAS Syllabus for prelims and mains exams Syllabus and Exam Pattern , which will help to the candidates to start their preparation in the right path for the exam. It is crucial to know the structure of the exam and the syllabus and subject-wise topics that need to be prepared in and out. The upcoming UPSC Prelims exam will be held on May 25, 2025 and the main exam will be held from October 22, 2025.

UPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2025

UPSC CSE Prelims consists of 2 objective type questions and mains consists of 9 descriptive type questions. UPSC syllabus and exam pattern is same for all services like Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service and other civil services. Candidates preparing for UPSC CCE Exam 2025 will have to clear all the three stages to get shortlisted for the Grade A vacancies announced for All India Services and various Central Civil Services. Below is the UPSC IAS Exam Structure.

UPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2025
Particulars	Prelims	Mains
No. of Papers	Two	Nine
Types of Questions	Objective Type	Descriptive Type
Duration of Exam	2 hours each	3 hours each
Total Marks	400	1750
Medium of Exam	English & Hindi	English & Hindi (except language paper)
Negative Marking	⅓rd mark	No negative marking
Marks Counted in Merit	No	Yes

UPSC IAS Syllabus 2025

Prelims Exam of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is the first stage of the exam and is of qualifying nature. Candidates have to score minimum 33% marks with marks above cut-off decided by UPSC. UPSC Prelims Exam is conducted to select limited candidates for Mains Exam. UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 for Prelims Exam is divided into two papers General Studies (GS) and CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test).

UPSC CSE 2025 Prelims Exam Pattern

Before going to check the UPSC Syllabus, candidates should understand the exam pattern and marking scheme.

UPSC Prelims 2025 Exam Pattern
Paper	Subjects	Marks	No. of Question	Duration
I	General Studies (GS)	200	100	2 hours (9:30 AM to 11:30 AM)
II	CSAT	200	80	2 hours (2:30 PM to 4:30 PM)

Important Points:

1. For each wrong answer, 1/3 mark will be deducted from the total marks.
2. For blank answers, no marks will be deducted.
3. In General Studies (Paper 1), each question is worth 2 marks and there is a negative marking of 0.66 marks for it.
4. In CSAT (Paper-2), each question is worth 2.5 marks and there is a negative marking of 0.833 marks for each wrong answer.
5. The marks of the preliminary examination will not be included in the final result (merit list).
6. The second paper of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper for which a minimum qualifying mark of 33% will be fixed.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025

The UPSC Prelims syllabus consists of two compulsory papers: General Studies Paper-1 and General Studies Paper-2 (also known as CSAT). General Studies Paper-1 covers a wide range of topics from various subjects such as History, Geography, Economics, Politics, Environment, Science and Current Affairs. The CSAT paper is based on reasoning, analytical and numerical ability.

UPSC IAS Prelims GS Paper 1 Syllabus

1. Current Affairs(Events) of national and international importance.
2. History of India and Indian National Movement.
3. Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, and Economic Geography of India and the World.
4. Indian Polityand Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
5. Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
6. General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change: that do not require subject specialization.
7. General Science

UPSC IAS Prelims CSAT Syllabus

The second paper of UPSC Prelims Exam is GS Paper 2. It is also known as (Civil Services Aptitude Test). Candidates taking UPSC CSE 2025 must review the qualifying UPSC CSAT syllabus mentioned below.

1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level).

The UPSC syllabus is vast and it is very tough to crack the UPSC IAS exam due to its low success ratio. Candidates can check the detailed syllabus of UPSC Prelims 2025 by clicking on the link below.

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025

Understanding the UPSC Mains syllabus and exam pattern is important as it outlines specific topics for exam preparation. It enables candidates to practice with a strategy tailored to the actual test format, thereby increasing their chances of success. UPSC Syllabus 2025 for the Mains exam is given below.

UPSC IAS Mains Exam Pattern

The main exam consists of 9 papers, out of which 2 papers are of qualifying nature and the remaining 7 papers will be counted for the final merit. The language papers are of qualifying marks and the remaining papers will be given marks.

UPSC Mains 2025 Exam Pattern
Qualifying Papers		Marks
Paper-A	Any Indian Language	300
Paper-B	English	300
Papers Counted for Merit
Paper-I	Essay	250
Paper-II	General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)	250
Paper-III	General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)	250
Paper-IV	Genera Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)	250
Paper-V	General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)	250
Paper-VI	Optional Subject – Paper 1	250
Paper-VII	Optional Subject – Paper 2	250
Sub Total (Written Test)		1750
Personality Test		275
Grand Total		2025

Important Points:

1. The main examination consists of two qualifying papers, namely “Paper A” and “Paper B” of 300 marks each.
2. The two qualifying papers are “Any Indian Language from the Eighth Schedule” and “English Language Question”.
3. Candidates are required to secure 25% marks in both the qualifying papers i.e. 75 marks each.
4. All the other seven papers are in the form of marks, their marks will be included in the final merit list.
5. Candidates can answer all the marking subjects in English or in any language from the Eighth Schedule.
6. Candidates will have to choose any one subject from the table as an optional subject for Paper VI and Paper VII.

UPSC Optional Subjects List for Mains Exam
Agriculture	Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science	Anthropology	Botany	Chemistry
Civil Engineering	Commerce and Accountancy	Economics	Electrical Engineering	Geography
Statistics	Sociology	Physics	Philosophy	Medical Science
Political Science and International Relations	Public Administration	Psychology	Mechanical Engineering	Mathematics
Zoology	Geology	History	Management	Law
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.

Structure of the Language Papers

The following table shows the format of the language question papers “Paper A” and “Paper B”. Candidates are required to choose a language from the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, as listed in the table. The second language question paper will be in English. It is very important that candidates use the correct script for the language specified in the table.

Note: For Santhali, the question paper will be printed in Devanagari script.

Languages And Script
Language	Script	Language	Script
Assamese	Assamese	Bengali	Bengali
Gujarati	Gujarati	Hindi	Devanagari
Kannada	Kannada	Kashmiri	Persian
Bodo	Devanagari	Konkani	Devanagari
Malayalam	Malayalam	Manipuri	Bengali
Marathi	Devanagari	Nepali	Devanagari
Odia	Odia	Punjabi	Gurumukhi
Sanskrit	Devanagari	Tamil	Tamil
Sindhi	Devanagari or Arabic	Telugu	Telugu
Urdu	Persian	Maithilli	Devanagari
Santhali	Devanagari or Olchiki	Dogri	Devanagari

UPSC IAS Syllabus Questions asked in both language papers are:

1. Essay – 100 marks
2. Reading comprehension – 60 marks
3. Precis Writing – 60 marks
4. Translation: (a) English to compulsory language (e.g. Hindi) – 20 marks
   (b) Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
5. Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks

The syllabus for all four General Studies papers is given below. Each paper carries 250 marks out of 1750. The total marks for General Studies papers are 1000. Candidates should prepare well for these papers as they score well in the final merit list.

UPSC Mains Essay Paper Syllabus 

In this paper, candidates will have to write essays on several topics. They will be expected to keep their ideas well-structured and concise, staying closely to the topic of the essay. Credit will be given for effective and accurate articulation.

UPSC Mains GS 1 Syllabus

This is the 1st General Studies Paper. This paper is about the history, heritage, geography and culture of the world and society. Candidates can check the main points of the General Studies I syllabus as described by the Commission below.

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society:

1. Indian culture covers the salient features of Literature, Art Forms, and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
2. Modern Indian history include the significant events, personalities, issues during the middle of the eighteenth century until the present.
3. Various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country in ‘The Freedom Struggle’.
4. Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
5. History of the world includes events, forms and effects on the society from the 18th century like world wars, the industrial revolution, colonization, redraw of national boundaries, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.
6. Salient aspects of Diversity of India and Indian Society
7. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedie
8. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
9. Distribution of key natural resources across the world including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent; factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world including India
10. Effects of globalization on Indian society
11. 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
12. Salient features of world’s physical geography.

UPSC Mains GS 2 Syllabus

The Main General Studies II paper contains questions related to Politics, Governance, Constitution, Social Justice and Interrelationships. Candidates can check the following syllabus.

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations:

1. Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
2. Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
3. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
4. Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
5. Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
6. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
7. Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity
8. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
9. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
10. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
11. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections
12. Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
13. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
14. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
15. Issues relating to poverty and hunger
16. Role of civil services in a democracy
17. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
18. India and its neighborhood- relations
19. Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate
20. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

UPSC Mains GS 3 Syllabus

UPSC Mains General Studies III is based on Science, Technology, Economics, Defence, Disaster Management and Nature. In this paper questions can be asked from every aspect of life, new developments in any field of life.

Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management:

1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
2. Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.
3. Government Budgeting.
4. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
5. Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
6. Economics of animal-rearing.
7. Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
8. 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
9. Land reforms in India.
10. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
11. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
12. Investment models.
13. Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science and technology;
14. Indigenisation of technology and developing new technology.
15. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
16. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
17. Disaster and disaster management.
18. Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
19. Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
20. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, the role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention
21. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate
22. Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism

UPSC Mains GS 4 Syllabus

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude: This paper contains questions to test the candidate’s honesty in public life, honesty and his problem-solving approach to various problems and conflicts encountered while dealing with the society. The question can use a case study approach to determine these aspects and cover the field.

1. Ethics and Human Interface- Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships
2. Human Values- lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values
3. Attitude- content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion
4. 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
5. Emotional intelligence concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance
6. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world
7. 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
8. Probity in Governance- Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information; sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption
9. Case Studies on the above issues.

UPSC Syllabus 2024 PDF Download

For your ease, we have also attached the UPSC Syllabus PDFs for both the Prelims and Mains Examination which would be a beneficial way for preparing efficiently for your upcoming UPSC Exam. Click on the below links for UPSC Syllabus 2025 PDFs and know which topics are to be covered for each stage. 

UPSC Prelims Syllabus PDF- Click to Download

UPSC Mains Syllabus PDF- Click to Download