UPSC Syllabus 2025: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Service Examination (CSE) to recruit eligible candidates for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other Group A posts in Indian Government. The UPSC CSE is one of the most prestigious and challenging exams in India. Every year, lakhs of candidates compete for this examination. The UPSC CSE exam is conducted in the month of May and this year the UPSC CSE prelims exam is scheduled to be conducted on May 25, 2025. The UPSC syllabus is important to crack this examination. The UPSC Syllabs 2025 will serve as a roadmap to guide aspirants through the Prelims, Mains and Interview stages.
In this article, we have provided detailed information about UPSC CSE Syllabus 2025, including insights into the Prelims and Mains syllabus, preparation tips, and links to download the UPSC syllabus 2025 pdf.
UPSC Syllabus 2025: Overview
The UPSC Syllabus 2025 is designed in a way that it tests candidates knowledge on Indian History, Geography, Economy analytical abilities and decision-making skills. Candidates must familiarise themselves with the syllabus and UPSC Exam Pattern to plan their preparation effectively. Check the table below for a brief overview of UPSC Syllabus.
| UPSC Syllabus 2025 Overview | ||
| 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 | 1/3 Marks | No negative marking |
| Marks Counted in Final Merit | No | Yes |
UPSC Syllabus 2025
The UPSC CSE exam is conducted in three stages, such as the UPSC Prelims exam, UPSC Mains Exam and interview. The UPSC Preliminary exam is an objective-type ad screening test, whereas the UPSC Mains exam is a descriptive test that evaluates in-depth knowledge. Interviews test a candidate's personality and suitability for a career in civil services.
The UPSC Prelims exam is the first stage of the UPSC CSE, consisting of two papers such as General Studies (GS) and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT). The CSAT paper is qualifying in nature and candidates need to score a minimum of 33% marks to qualify, while the marks scored in the GS paper are counted to shortlist candidates for the UPSC mains examination, which consists of 9 papers and each paper is descriptive in nature, where candidates need to write detailed answers. The UPSC Mains papers are Essay, English language, Indian language, General Studies 1, General Studies 2, General Studies 3, General Studies 4, Optional Paper 1 and Optional Paper 2. Continue reading below to know more about the UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains detailed syllabus.
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UPSC Syllabus 2025: Prelims Exam
The UPSC CSE prelims syllabus comprises two papers, i.e., General Studies and CSAT. This paper is qualifying in nature and will not be counted for determining the final merit of the candidate. Here is the section-wise UPSC Syllabus for the preliminary exam.
UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025: General Studies
Here is the detailed UPS IAS pprelins syllabus 2025 for general studies listed below for the reference of the candidates.
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, and 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, Biodiversity and climate change that do not require subject specialisation.
- General Science.
UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025: CSAT
Below we have listed the detailed UPSC IAS Prelim syllabus of CSAT for the reference of the candidates.
- 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
UPSC Syllabus 2025: Mains Exam
The UPSC Mains syllabus is more detailed and extensive and will focus on candidate’s ability to write detailed articles in a structured manner. The UPSC CSE mains detailed syllabus is provided below.
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025: English Language
- Comprehension of given passages.
- Precise Writing.
- Usage and Vocabulary.
- Short Essays
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025: Indian Languages
- Comprehension of given passages.
- Precise Writing.
- Usage and Vocabulary.
- Short Essays
- Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025: General Studies Papers I to IV
GS Paper I: History, Indian Heritage and Culture, Geography of the World and Society.
GS Paper II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations.
GS Paper III: Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security, and Disaster Management.
GS Paper IV: Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude.
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025: Essay
Candidates are required to write essays on multiple topics, testing their ability to present ideas coherently and logically.
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025: Optional Subjects
Candidates can choose an optional syllabus from a list provided by the UPSC. The UPSC syllabus for optional subjects varies depending on the subject chosen.
UPSC Syllabus 2025: PDF Download
Candidates must download the UPSC syllabus 2025 pdf to keep the syllabus handy for the upcoming prelims exam. Click on the direct link below to download the UPSC PCS syllabus below.
| UPSC Syllabus 2025 |
UPSC Exam Pattern 2025
The UPSC Prelims exam comprises a total of two compulsory papers, i.e., General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II (CSAT). It carries objective-type questions for 200 marks each. However, the GS Paper II is a qualifying paper with a minimum mark of 33%.
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2025
| Subject | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| General Studies Paper I | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
| General Studies Paper II | 80 | 200 | 2 hours |
UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2025
| Paper | Subject | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Paper-A | One of the Indian Languages to be opted by the aspirant from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution | 300 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-B | English | 300 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-I | Essay | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-II | General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-III | General Studies -II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations) | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-IV | General Studies -III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-V | General Studies -IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-VI | Optional Subject: Paper 1 | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Paper-VII | Optional Subject: Paper 2 | 250 marks | 3 hours |
| Total | 1750 marks | ||
UPSC Syllabus 2025: Preparation Tips
The UPSC 2025 exam is the most popular civil service exam in the country. Lakh aspirants appear for this preliminary exam against limited vacancies, but only a few can still succeed in this exam. Hence, candidates should adhere to the latest UPSC syllabus to cover all the exam-relevant topics. Here is the preparation strategy to ace the UPSC preliminary 2025 exam with flying colours.
- Analyse the UPSC CSE syllabus 2025 to focus only on important topics that can be asked in the preliminary exam.
- Choose the highly recommended books and online resources to prepare the fundamentals and advanced chapters.
- Attempt mock tests and UPSC previous year's question papers to analyse their strong and weak areas and focus on improving the same.
- Revise all the topics, formulas, and short-cut tricks regularly to remember concepts for a longer period of time.
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