UPSC
UPSC

UPSC Exam Preparation


At Praadis, you will get a complete detail about upcoming UPSC and MPSC exam. Civil Services Examination is a nationwide competitive exam in India held every year by Union Public Service Commission for the recruitment of IAS/IPS/IFS officers at all India level. Aspirants can check all the latest update for the upcoming UPSC Exams, Notification and Exam dates.

Notifications


About UPSC

UPSC (UG) - The National Testing Agency has set eligibility criteria for UPSC. UPSC is held annually across the country through a large number of testing centres. It is the most important civil service entrance examination in India with around 12 lakh candidates. All aspirants get equal opportunity to secure a seat. UPSC (UG) - will be conducted in 3 stages and will be an objective type test. It is a pen and paper-based exam to be answered on a specially designed machine gradable sheet using ballpoint pens.

To be eligible for UPSC, candidates must pass the 12th standard examination with Chemistry, Biology, Physics and English subjects. For general category candidates, it is mandatory to bring 50% marks in 12th standard, while SC/ST/OBC category candidates have to get 40% marks to become eligible for UPSC.

UPSC is regulated by NTA for selection of candidates for admission to 15% seats under All India Quota Seats and all seats of Deemed Universities/Central Universities/Seats of ESIC & AFMC including Delhi University (DU), BHU, AMU and AIIMS & JIPMER will be conducted by the MCC/DGHS for Undergraduate Medical Courses. Online counselling will be conducted by the Directorate General of Health services of Medical Counselling Committee for undergraduate medical courses.

The option of medium of question paper should be carefully selected while filling the application form. Once selected the option cannot be changed. The candidates selected for the regional languages will also be provided with a bilingual test booklet in the selected regional language and English. Candidates can choose the question paper in any of the following 11 languages.

S.No. Medium of Question Paper Examination Centres

1.

English

All Examination Centres

2.

Hindi

All Examination Centres

3.

English and Assamese

Examination Centres in Assam

4.

English and Bengali

Examination Centres in West Bengal and Tripura

5.

English and Gujarati

Examination Centres in Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

6.

English and Kannada

Examination Centres in Karnataka

7.

English and Marathi

Examination Centres in Maharashtra

8.

English and Odia

Examination Centres in Odisha

9.

English and Tamil

Examination Centres in Tamil Nadu

10.

English and Telugu

Examination Centres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

11.

English and Urdu

All Examination Centres

UPSC Notification

AT Praadis, you will get the notification of upcoming UPSC and MPSC exam. This page will notify you about the latest updates, exam patterns, exam dates, previous years question papers etc.

UPSC Updates

Submission of online application form can be done by visiting UPSC website https://upsconline.nic.in/. Further extended dates for filling application and change in examination centres will also be updated here.

Result will be declared on the UPSC website i.e. https://www.upsc.gov.in/final-results.

Admit card is issued in online mode. You can easily download your e-admit cards from the given link: UPSC Online, UPSC e-Admit Card & UPSC E-Admit Card.

Online Recruitment Applications for various posts are available on website:- Click Here.

DAF for various exams of UPSC. Kindly click on given link:- https://upsconline.nic.in/daf/.

The result of Civil Services Examination is subject to changes that may be necessitated by the orders passed by the Honourable Courts in cases pending before them.

Result will be declared on the UPSC website i.e. https://www.upsc.gov.in/final-results.

Marks will be available on the website within 15 days from the date of declaration of Result.

Candidates can get the details of Interview scheduled and e-Summon letters on Click Here.

UPSC Exam Latest News

All examination procedures have been reviewed and the necessary amendments are included to conduct the examinations safely.

UPSC publishes annual calendar of all structured exam at least 6 months in advance i.e. approximately around the month of May or June. It is important that students note down the important dates of all IAS exams to avoid missing important events.

UPSC Exam Dates

UPSC conducts exam once a year for recruitment of candidates for the various civil services and government posts on central level. For more detailed information regarding the dates of all the exams, candidates can visit the website:- https://upsc.gov.in/.

UPSC Eligibility Criteria

As per nationality - The below candidates are eligible to appear in UPSC CSE exam:-
A citizen of India, or
A subject of Nepal, or
A subject of Bhutan, or
A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962
Persons of Indian Origin &
Overseas Citizens of India.

UPSC Admit Card

1. Eligible candidates are issued online admit cards almost three weeks before the exam begins.

2. Candidate can download e-Admit cards from the UPSC website:- UPSC & UPSC online.

3. Candidates should note that they have to put a left thumb impression on the undertaking of NTA before reaching UPSC Examination Centre.

4. To download e-Admit card, candidates will require Registration ID or Roll Number followed by Date of Birth, Enter captcha in the given field then submit.

5. If the candidate has not received any information regarding his/her admit card, candidate should immediately contact the commission on concerned email- upscsoap@nic.in or upsconline@nic.in. Contact Numbers are:- 011-23098543 / 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098591.

6. Seat allocation is done on the basis of "first-apply-first allot" through computer without any manual intervention.

UPSC Exam Pattern

To prepare for UPSC (CSE) - Required 50% of knowledge plus 50% of skills. Best success mantra to Ace UPSC.

UPSC (CSE) syllabus comprises of 3 parts:

1. Prelims:- It comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each. Paper - 1 General Studies - 100 questions. Paper - 2 General Studies - CSAT (Qualifying nature) - 80 questions.

2. Mains:- The question paper for the civil services (Main) for the exam are of essay type. Duration of the exam is 3 hours for each paper. It consist of 9 papers but Marks acquired in 7 papers will be considered for the merit rank and the other 2 are language papers (Paper A and Paper B) For paper A -Candidates will have to choose the Indian language option in the paper.

3. Personal Interview:- After clearing Prelims and Mains. One must acquire marks in the interview for personality test will be counted in merit ranking.

UPSC Syllabus

The syllabus for General Studies Paper - I includes current affairs, history of India, Indian polity, Indian and world geography, Indian governance, economic and social development, general science and general issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change.

The syllabus for General Studies Paper - II (CSAT) includes comprehension, logical reasoning, basic numeracy and decision making & problem-solving.

Paper-I: General Studies (Common for all streams)

Current events of national and international importance,
History of India and Indian National Movement,
Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World,
Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc,
Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc,
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialisation &
General Science.

Paper-II: General Studies (CSAT)

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

Part B - Mains Exam:-

The 9 papers below are of the subjective type and occur over a period of 5 days.

Paper - I Candidates are required to write essays on multiple topics. This will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion and to write concisely.

Paper - II General Studies (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society).

Paper - III General Studies (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social justice & International Relations).

Paper - IV General Studies (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management).

Paper - V General Studies (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude).

Paper - VI & Paper - VII (Optional subject). List of optional subjects:- Social Science, Engineering, Science, Medical, Commerce and Management & List of Indian Languages:- Assamese, Bengali, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu & English.

Best books for preparation of UPSC

NCERT textbooks from classes 6th to 12th,
CSAT Paper 2 Manual by TMH (Tata McGraw Hill),
Cracking the CSAT by Arihant Publications,
UPSC Previous Year Question Papers - Disha Publication &
For current Affairs:- Newspapers (The Hindu, Economic Times, The Indian Express & Times of India).

History

History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra,
India's Struggle For Independence by Bipan Chandra,
Ancient India Old NCERT History Textbook By RS Sharma,
Old NCERT History Medieval India By Satish Chandra &
A Brief History of Modern India (2018-2019) session by spectrum book Rajiv Ahir.

Geography

Fuupscmentals of Human Geography (NCERT),
Certificate Physical And Human Geography &
For Maps Oxford School Atlas.

Economics

India People and Economy (NCERT),
Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh,
Geography of india - 9th Edition by Majid Husain &
NCERT Economics Textbooks of Class 11 and Class 12.

Political Science

Indian Polity By Laxmikanth 7th Edition,
The Constitution of India by P M Bakshi, 19th Edition 2023 &
Old NCERT books for Indian Polity.

Science & Technology

Newspapers (The Hindu, Economic Times, The Indian Express & Times of India).

Environment and Ecology

NIOS Study Material for Environmental Studies.

UPSC Cut Off

The minimum eligibility staupscrds in each of the two qualifying papers i.e. English and Indian languages are shown in the examination rules, currently being 25%.

In the Civil Services Examination, the minimum qualification standard/marks obtained by the last recommended candidate in various categories at different stages are as follows:-

Category wise UPSC Cut Off :

Category Cut off (Out of 200) Category Cut off (Out of 1750) Category Cut off (Out of 2025)

General

98

General

751

General

961

EWS

98

EWS

696

EWS

909

OBC

95.34

OBC

718

OBC

925

SC

82

SC

706

SC

898

ST

77.34

ST

699

ST

893

PH1 (Orthopedically handicapped)

53.34

PH1 (Orthopedically handicapped )

663

PH1 (Orthopedically handicapped)

861

PH2 (Visually impaired)

44.66

PH2 (Visually impaired)

698

PH2 (Visually impaired)

890

PH3 (Hearing impaired)

40.66

PH3 (Hearing impaired)

374

PH3 (Hearing impaired)

653

Cut-off marks are subject to change, as may be required by orders which may be passed by the Honourable Courts in cases pending before them. Details of the category-wise recommeupsctions will also be uploaded after the conclusion of pending cases in the court.
Cut off marks in the Prelims is on the basis of GS Paper-I only. As per Rule-15 of GS Paper-II Civil Services Examination, it was of a qualifying nature with 33% marks.
Subject to 10% marks in each of the seven competitive papers i.e. Essay Writing, GS-I, GS-II, GS-III, GS-IV, Optional-I and Optional-II. If the candidate is acquiring equal marks/percentile then among themselves merit will be determined in CSE Exam as follows:-
1. Priority is given to the candidate whose compulsory paper and personality test score marks are higher,
2. If the candidate is acquiring equal marks/percentile, Candidate who is older in age will be considered &
If (1) & (2) are same, then merit will be determined as Candidate acquiring higher marks/percentile in compulsory papers.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

Prelims papers can be first solved after reading NCERT and then candidates can tally their answers with official answer key available on UPSC official website. NCERT and previous years question papers are also very helpful in clearing the UPSC Prelims.

But to qualify for Mains exam, candidate can first solve previous years question papers and then check the main solved question paper of UPSC. Candidate can refer other books along with previous years question papers to Ace UPSC CSE.

With the help of previous years question papers candidates will get familiar with exam pattern, types of questions and weightage of questions. The primary objective of these question papers is to bring clarity about the process of linking the questions to the performance indicators and hence definitely the results. By regularly practising the previous year's question papers, students will develop a better understanding of the concepts. Check the previous year's question papers in PDF format.

UPSC 2019 Question Paper
UPSC 2018 Question Paper
UPSC 2017 Question Paper

UPSC Result

The result of Civil Services Examination is subject to changes that may be necessitated by the orders passed by the Honourable Courts in cases pending before them. Result will be declared on the UPSC website i.e. https://www.upsc.gov.in/final-results.
Marks will be available on the website within 15 days from the date of declaration of Result.
All the candidates appearing in should regularly check for updates on the the official website of UPSC https://upsconline.nic.in.

UPSC FAQs ?

What is UPSC CSE Exam ?

UPSC CSE is one of the most difficult exams conducted every year for the recruitment of IAS, IPS, IFS and other officers in Indian Civil Services.

How many exams are there to clear UPSC?

The exam takes place in 3 phases:- 1. Prelims (MCQs), 2. Mains (Subjective) & 3. Personal Interview (Personality test).

Is admit card issued?

The UPSC IAS mains admit card will be issued in its official website:- https://upsc.gov.in/.

How to fill online application form?

Candidates can apply online for UPSC exam by visiting website:- https://upsconline.nic.in or https://upsc.gov.in/. Application will not be accepted in any other mode.

How eligibility of age calculated?

It is calculated based on the cut-off date as per the notification.

What is the age criteria to appear for UPSC CSE Exam ?

Candidates must have completed 21 years of age by 1st August of that given year when the exam is held. The upper age limit is 32 years for General candidates, 35years for Candidates of OBC, 37 years for SC/ST candidates, 42 years for Gen-PH and 45 years for OBC-PH, 47 years for PH SC/ST.

Is there any negative marking in UPSC CSE exam?

UPSC Prelims has a negative marking too. For every wrong answer, there will be a deduction of 0.33. GS Paper 2 is qualifying in nature, which needs only 33% to score for the candidates.

What is the cut off marks of UPSC IAS exam?

UPSC Prelims this year took place on May month. The expected UPSC Cut Off For Prelims this year is 82-85 marks. The UPSC Prelims cut off will be out for all candidates once the exam results are published.

How to download admit card of UPSC exam?

1. Visit https://upsconline.nic.in or Go to https://upsc.gov.in/e-admit-cards
2. Candidates will require Registration Number or Roll Number followed by Date of Birth, Enter captcha in the given field then submit.
3. If the candidate has not received any information regarding his/her admit card, candidate should immediately contact the commission on concerned email id- skindo-upsc@gov.in or web-upsc@nic.in or Commission's Office either in person or over phone Numbers are: 011-23381125 / 011-23385271 / 011-23098543.

How seat is allocated in the UPSC CSE exam?

Seat allocation is done on the basis of "First Application First Allocation" through computer without any manual intervention.

Is UPSC exam conducted online or offline?

UPSC IAS Prelims & Mains Exam are held offline in pen and paper mode.

What is the time to reach the examination centre?

The examination venue will be closed 90 minutes before the commencement of examination. For example:- If the exam starts at 10:00 A.M. the examination venue will close at 08:30 A.M.

Who all can appear in UPSC IAS ?

The below candidates are eligible to appear in UPSC CSE exam:- (a) A citizen of India, (b) A subject of Nepal, (c) A subject of Bhutan, (d) A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962, (e) Persons of Indian Origin & (f) Overseas Citizens of India.

Can candidate give exams in their own language?

Candidate can give exam either in Hindi or English.

Is jeans allowed in UPSC CSE exam?

Wearing jeans is strictly avoided.

What is to dress code to appear for an interview?

Men should wear light coloured formal shirts and dark trousers. A neck-tie is ok if you are comfortable. Women should wear decent light coloured clothes with no overdo makeup and hairstyle.

Is UPSC interview tough?

We can say the exam is challenging but not tough. The syllabus is really vast and requires lot of sitting. Which may lead this exam as toughest exam.

Is one year enough for UPSC preparation?

Yes, One year enough to appear for UPSC exam.

How result is calculated?

The result of Civil Services Examination is subject to changes that may be necessitated by the orders passed by the Honourable Courts in cases pending before them.