UPSC Civil Services Examination Pattern
1. Preliminary Examination (Objective Type - Screening Only)
Paper I: General Studies (200 marks, 2 hours, 100 questions)
- Includes History, Polity, Geography, Economy, Environment, Current Affairs, and General Science
- Negative marking: 1/3rd of the marks for each question (approx. 0.66)
Paper II: CSAT (General Studies Paper II) (200 marks, 2 hours, ~80 questions)
- Includes comprehension, interpersonal skills, logical reasoning, decision-making, basic numeracy
- Qualifying only (33% required)
- Negative marking: 1/3rd (approx. 0.83)
2. Main Examination (Descriptive - Counts Toward Final Merit)
Qualifying Papers:
- Paper A: Indian Language (300 marks)
- Paper B: English (300 marks)
Merit-Based Papers:
- Essay (250 marks)
- GS Paper I: Indian Heritage, History, Geography (250 marks)
- GS Paper II: Polity, Governance, IR, Social Justice (250 marks)
- GS Paper III: Economy, Science, Environment, Security (250 marks)
- GS Paper IV: Ethics, Integrity, Aptitude (250 marks)
- Optional Paper I: Subject chosen by candidate (250 marks)
- Optional Paper II: Same subject continuation (250 marks)
Total for Mains: 1750 marks
3. Personality Test (Interview)
Interview conducted by UPSC Board - 275 marks
UPSC Civil Services Examination Pattern
Final Scoring: Mains (1750) + Interview (275) = Total 2025 marks