IAS Exam: IAS Prelims 2016: CSAT Syllabus

For the Civil Services IAS aspirants, it is very important to know the logic behind the content structure of the syllabus for IAS Prelims Examination. The syllabus for IAS Prelims Exam has been designed in such a manner that they can easily assess the Logical Interpretation and General Mental Abilities of the candidates. So, the aspirants by keeping the logic of UPSC in their mind should build themselves in a manner that they can be fit for the Indian Civil Services.

One important change in the pattern of IAS Prelims Exam has been done by UPSC is that the General Studies Paper II (CSAT) will be qualifying in nature which came into effective from 2015 onwards. The decision of UPSC has brought a full stop to cross-subsidization through CSAT in Civil Services Prelims Examination but it’s importance still prevails as any candidate score below 33% in General Studies Paper II would automatically be disqualified from appearing in civil services mains examination. Now, candidates need to plan their strategy to clear prelims precariously so as to maintain the balance between General Studies Paper I and II of the IAS Preliminary Examination.

Before engaged into plan their strategies for the preparation of IAS Prelims Exam, the aspirants should go through the complete syllabus first. The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) - General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II. It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Click here for the syllabus for IAS Prelims General Studies Paper I

The syllabus for IAS Prelims General Studies Paper II (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

• 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)