UPSC Previous Year Question Paper: PDF Download for Prelims and Mains Examination

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper provides insights into exam patterns, mark distribution, and duration of exam.  Get the question paper PDF download link on this page and identify important topics.  Check the difficulty level, benefits of solving and other details here.  Download UPSC previous year question papers pdf for the past 10 year.

May 27, 2024, 13:54 IST
UPSC Previous Year Question Paper
UPSC Previous Year Question Paper

UPSC Question Papers: The previous year papers are pivotal in improving your preparation level. There are various benefits of practicing previous year's question paper, including familiarity with the difficulty level, nature and level of questions asked, and important topics which have been repeatedly asked over the past years as well as checking where your preparation stands. 

The exam prep team of Jagran Josh has provided the direct download link to the last 10 years UPSC question paper pdf for the past years for the civil service exam. This will enable you to analyse the previous year's trend and boost your qualifying chances. 

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers PDF

Solving the UPSC question paper pdf help candidates to prepare the strategy based on the latest trend, curriculum, and actual exam format also helps in understanding the difficulty level and topics from which questions are often asked in the exam.

Going by previous exam trends and the difficulty level of the UPSC prelims examination has been found to be moderate level and the mains exam is usually moderately difficult. Thus, one can anticipate questions to be moderate level in the upcoming CSE prelims exam. Hence, it is essential to solve the UPSC previous year question papers for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and more in order to get an edge.

UPSC Prelims Previous Year Question Papers with Answers

The UPSC prelims exam is qualifying in nature and the marks obtained in the exam are considered to shortlist the candidates for the next round i.e. mains exam. However, it will not be counted when preparing the final merit list. The UPSC prelims exam comprises two objective papers i.e. GS paper I and GS paper II (CSAT). Each paper carries 200 marks and the exam duration is 2 hours each. Download the past 10 years' UPSC question papers with answers PDF for prelims exam from the year 2014 to 2023 below.

Year

GS Paper I

GS Paper II

2023

Download Here

Download Here

2022

Download Here

Download Here

2021

Download Here

Download Here

2020

Download Here

Download Here

2019

Download Here

Download Here

2018

Download Here

Download Here

2017

Download Here

Download Here

2016

Download Here

Download Here

2015

Download Here

Download Here

2014

Download Here

Download Here

UPSC Mains Previous Year Question Papers with Answers

The UPSC mains exam comprises 9 descriptive papers. The marks obtained in the mains exam and interview will be counted for determining the final order of merit. Download the past 10 years' UPSC question papers with answers PDF for the mains exam from the year 2013 to 2022 for compulsory subjects below.

Benefits of Solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

There are a plethora of benefits of solving previous years' question papers for the UPSC examination shared below:

  • Practicing previous years' question papers will provide insights into the actual exam structure, difficulty level, exam trends over the years, the standard of questions that will be asked, etc.
  • Solving the UPSC question paper with solutions helps you to gauge your performance level and discover your weak points that need improvements. 
  • Practicing previous year's papers will increase your speed of solving questions and help you to manage your time effectively.
  • Previous year papers are one of the reliable resources to revise the entire syllabus and retain concepts for a long time.

How to Attempt UPSC Question Paper 2023?

The best method of solving the previous year's question paper for the UPSC exam is to set a countdown timer and solve all the questions in that time period. To begin with, one should first download and take the printout of the UPSC previous question paper and then set an online timer to attempt the papers in a timed environment.

Once the time is over, stop solving the questions immediately and then compare your responses with the ones mentioned in the solutions PDF. Now, do the total of the number of correct and incorrect answers marked on the UPSC question paper. This will help you to identify your mistakes and focus on improving the same for better results. 

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers Analysis

Candidates shared that the overall difficulty level of the prelims exam last year was moderate level. As per UPSC Exam Analysis 2022 Prelims, the GS paper I comprise a total of 100 questions from subjects like history, geography, polity, environment, etc and the difficulty level of questions was moderate level. In GS paper 2, the questions were asked from sections like mental ability, arithmetic, comprehension, etc and the difficulty level of the questions was easy to moderate level.

UPSC Question Paper Pattern

The UPSC recruitment process comprises three stages i.e. Prelims, Mains, and Interview round. Check the detailed exam pattern of the UPSC Prelims exam below:

  • The prelims exam shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.
  • Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions) and each will be of two hours duration.
  • The General Studies Paper-II of prelims will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
  • The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

Subject

Maximum Marks

Duration

General Studies Paper I

200

2 Hours

General Studies Paper II (CSAT)

200

2 Hours

NCERT Books for UPSC Preparation

NCERT books are considered the backbone of a candidate's UPSC preparation. These books are published by the government of India and are widely recognized for their quality and accuracy. NCERT books hold immense significance in the field of UPSC preparation. These books are designed by experts in respective subjects, ensuring a comprehensive and well-structured approach to learning. The content provided in NCERT books is aligned with the UPSC syllabus, making them an invaluable resource for aspirants. Moreover, the language used in NCERT books is reader-friendly, simplifying complex topics and aiding in better comprehension. Check out our article on which NCERT Books to refer for UPSC preparation.

IAS Officer Salary

A motivation to prepare for the most prestigious job of country is its allowances and benefits. The starting of an officer ranges from 56000 to 60000 with lots of benefits and allowances. Read out our article of IAS officer salary to get in detail of what benefits an IAS officer gets 

Also Read,

UPSC IAS Preparation Strategy
NCERT Books to refer for UPSC preparation
IAS Officer Salary
UPSC IAS Prelims Important Questions
UPSC CSE Syllabus
Mohd Salman
Mohd Salman

Senior Executive

Mohd Salman is a content expert with over 6 years of experience in the education sector, who has built the categories for the SSC, Railways, Defence, Police, and State Government Exams. He previously worked with organisation like Testbook and holds a B.Tech in Information Technology. At Jagran Josh, he manages and writes for the education beat, covering all educational news for Govt Jobs notifications, and exams such as UPSC, Banking and Railways. He can be reached at mohd.salman@jagrannewmedia.com
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FAQs

  • Is the UPSC exam tough?
    +
    After checking the past trends and difficulty level of the UPSC examination, the prelims exam has been found to be moderate. However, candidates should use the right preparation approach to ace the exam.
  • How to approach solving UPSC previous year's question paper?
    +
    The best approach to practice the previous year's question paper for the UPSC exam is to set a countdown timer and solve all the questions in that time frame. Download and print the previous papers from the link shared above and start attempting questions at the specified time.
  • Is it necessary to practice UPSC Question Paper?
    +
    Yes. Solving the UPSC question paper with solutions helps you to gauge your performance level and discover your weak points that need improvements. Also, it will provide insights into difficulty level, nature and level of questions asked, and important topics which are repeatedly asked over the past years, etc.
  • How to download UPSC Previous Year Question Papers?
    +
    To download UPSC previous papers, you can go to the official website of UPSC. Here we have also shared the direct link to download the UPSC question paper with solutions PDF in the article.

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