The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination every year for recruitment to various prestigious positions in the Government of India. This article aims to give the reader an overview of the UPSC exam pattern and syllabus for CSE 2020-2021.
The UPSC Civil Services Examination, commonly known as the IAS exam due to the high visibility and popularity of the Indian Administrative Service as a career option, is considered to be the toughest examination in India. It has earned this moniker partly due to the intense competition and partly due to the vast UPSC Syllabus. Apart from that, the exam pattern for UPSC CSE is quite complicated, and a typical examination cycle lasts for almost a year from the preliminary exam until the final results are declared.
The pattern of UPSC examination is officially divided into two stages called Preliminary and Main Examination while in practice, it is a three-stage exam.
As per the IAS exam pattern, candidates who clear the Prelims are eligible for Mains and candidates who clear the Main reach the interview stage.
The three stages of the IAS exam are Prelims, Mains and Personality Test.
IAS Exam Pattern - Prelims Exam
The UPSC exam pattern for the Preliminary stage consists of two papers, conducted on one day. Both the papers comprise objective type questions with multiple choice of answers. The prelims examination is a qualifying stage to filter candidates for the mains exam. The marks secured at this stage are not counted towards the final merit list, though candidates have to prepare well for this exam as cut-offs are unpredictable and depend on the average score every year.
General Studies Paper- I 100 (Question) 200 mark
General Studies Paper-II (Aptitude Test) 80 (Question) 200 Mark.
Total 400 Marks
The questions in both the papers (I and II) will be set in English and Hindi languages. Paper-II of IAS prelims exam will be a qualifying paper with 33% is minimum qualifying marks.
Negative Marking
There is a negative marking in the IAS prelims exam. The candidates need to be very careful while answering the questions because negative marking can reduce their score sharply. There is a negative marking of (1/3). It means (1/3) marks, of the assigned marks to the questions, will be deducted for the wrong answer. No marks will be deducted for the questions left blank by the candidates.
It can be further explained that the three wrong answers will eat up the marks of one right answer. In the second (qualifying) paper, each question carries 2.5 marks and the negative marking is also increased in the same proportion.
IAS Exam Pattern - Main Exam
The UPSC exam pattern for the Mains stage consists of 9 papers conducted over 5-7 days. Only those candidates who secure at least the declared cut off in General Studies I and 33% in General Studies II in Prelims will be allowed to appear for the Mains Examination. As per the exam pattern of UPSC Mains, all of the papers consist of descriptive answer type questions.
The Main exam will consist of a total of two qualifying papers, seven merit-based papers and a personality test (interview round). Each paper will be of three hours duration.
Qualifying Papers
There will be two qualifying papers mentioned below. It may be noted that marks for the below two papers will not be counted at the time of preparation of the rank list.
Paper Description Marks
A . One of the Indian language to be selected by the
candidate from the languages included in the Eighth
Schedule to the constitution(Qualifying only) 300
B. English(Qualifying Only) 300
1 Essay 250
2 General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture,
History and Geography of the World and Society) 250
3 General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity,
Social Justice and International relations) 250
4 General Studies –III (Technology, Economic Development,
Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) 250
5 General Studies –IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) 250
6 Optional Subject - Paper 1 250
7 Optional Subject - Paper 2 250
Sub-Total (Written Test) 1750
-
IAS Personality Test (Interview) 275
Grand Total 2025
NOTE
Paper A is not mandatory for Persons with Benchmark Disability (only Hearing Impairment sub-category) and candidates hailing from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.
List of Optional Subjects in IAS Exam
Agriculture | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | Anthropology |
Botany | Chemistry | Civil Engineering |
Commerce and Accountancy | Economics | Electrical Engineering |
Geography | Geology | History |
Law | Management | Mathematics |
Mechanical Engineering | Medical Science | Philosophy |
Physics | Political Science and International Relations | Psychology |
Public Administration | Sociology | Statistics |
Zoology | Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English. | |
IAS Exam Pattern - Personality Test/ Interview
- Mental Alertness
- Critical Powers of Assimilation
- Clear and Logical Exposition
- Balance of Judgement
- Variety and Depth of Interest
- Ability for Social Cohesion and Leadership
- Intellectual and Moral Integrity
Important Points to Keep in Mind
All Questions asked in UPSC IAS Prelims Exam 2020 will be of objective nature, i.e. MCQs of Multiple Choice Questions will be asked in the Preliminary Exam.
The CSAT Paper will be of Qualifying nature and it is mandatory for all candidates to score a minimum of 33% in the paper to qualify the Preliminary round.
Each Question of General Studies (Paper I) consists of 2 marks. Similarly, every question asked in General Studies (Paper II) carries 2.5 marks.
Visually Impaired Candidates will be given an additional time of 20 minutes (Each Paper) to complete the Preliminary exam.
The Question Paper will be bilingual, i.e. asked in both English & Hindi
It is mandatory for all aspirants to appear in both the papers of Prelims to qualify for the Mains Exam
The score of Preliminary Exam is just for screening purpose, thus the score of this exam will not be considered in the final evaluation of the candidates when final result is drawn after the interview process has been conducted.
