The syllabus for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) Preliminary Examination is divided into two papers: Paper-I (General Studies) and Paper-II (Civil Services Aptitude Test or CSAT). Here’s a detailed overview of the syllabus for each paper:
Paper-I: General Studies
- Current events of national and international importance:
- This section covers recent events, both national and international, including political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues.
- History of India and Indian National Movement:
- Ancient India
- Medieval India
- Modern India (including significant events, leaders, and movements)
- The Indian National Movement (different phases and contributors)
- Indian and World Geography:
- Physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
- Environmental ecology, biodiversity, and climate change
- Natural disasters and disaster management
- Indian Polity and Governance:
- Constitution of India
- Political system, Panchayati Raj, and municipal governance
- Public policy and rights issues
- Statutory, regulatory, and quasi-judicial bodies
- Economic and Social Development:
- Sustainable development
- Poverty, inclusion, demographics, and social sector initiatives
- Government schemes and programs
- General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity, and Climate Change:
- Environmental conservation and sustainable development
- Conservation, environmental pollution, and degradation
- Climate change and its effects
- General Science:
- Topics from physics, chemistry, biology, and other general scientific principles
- Scientific advancements, discoveries, and innovations
- Current Affairs and General Knowledge:
- Events of recent importance across various fields
Paper-II: Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)
The CSAT paper is designed to test candidates’ aptitude and reasoning abilities. It includes the following sections:
- Comprehension:
- Reading comprehension passages with questions based on understanding and inference.
- Interpersonal skills, including communication skills:
- Assessment of communication abilities and interpersonal skills.
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability:
- Questions to test logical reasoning and analytical thinking.
- Decision-making and problem-solving:
- Situational and problem-solving questions.
- General mental ability:
- Numerical ability and data interpretation questions.
- Basic numeracy (Class X level):
- Questions related to numbers, percentages, ratios, and proportion, among others.
- English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level):
- Questions related to English language comprehension.
It’s important to note that Paper-II (CSAT) is a qualifying paper, and candidates need to score a minimum qualifying mark to move on to the next stage of the Civil Services Examination, which is the Main Examination. The marks obtained in Paper-II are not considered for the final merit list.