Everything You Need to Know About the Civil Services Exam Syllabus

The Civil Services Exam Syllabus (CSE) is one of the most important components for aspiring civil servants in India. This exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and is considered to be one of the toughest exams in the country. To clear the exam, one has to understand the exam pattern, the questions asked, and the syllabus. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about the Civil Services Exam Syllabus.

The civil services examination is conducted in three stages – prelims, mains, and the interview. The syllabus for each stage is different. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Preliminary Examination Syllabus:

The preliminary examination comprises two papers – the General Studies Paper I and the General Studies Paper II (commonly known as CSAT). The syllabus for each paper is given below.

General Studies Paper I:

This paper tests the candidate’s knowledge of current events, history, geography, economics, science, and technology.

The syllabus for General Studies Paper I is as follows:

1. Current events of national and international importance
2. Indian national movement and the history of India
3. Indian and World Geography – physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
4. Indian Polity and 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
7. General Science

General Studies Paper II (CSAT):

This paper tests the candidate’s analytical and comprehension skills. The syllabus for this paper is as follows:

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)
7. Data interpretation, charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. (Class X level)

Mains Examination Syllabus:

The main examination consists of nine papers, out of which two are qualifying papers and the remaining seven papers are considered in the final ranking.

The syllabus for each paper is as follows:

Qualifying Papers:

1. Paper A – (One of the Indian languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution)
2. Paper B – English

Paper I:

1. Essay – Candidates can choose one of the following topics:
a) Modern Indian history especially of the freedom struggle
b) Geography
c) Indian society and governance
d) Technology, economic development, bio-diversity, environment, security and disaster management

Paper II:

1. General Studies I – Indian heritage and culture, history, and geography of the world and society
2. General Studies II – Governance, constitution, polity, social justice, and international relations
3. General Studies III – Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security, and disaster management
4. General Studies IV – Ethics, integrity, and aptitude

Paper III:

1. Optional subject 1 – Paper I
2. Optional subject 1 – Paper II

Paper IV:

1. Optional subject 2 – Paper I
2. Optional subject 2 – Paper II

Interview:

The final stage of the examination is the interview. This is more of a personality test than an examination. The interview panel evaluates the candidate’s personality, communication skills, knowledge, and ability to handle stress.

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