Syllabus
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus 2026
Union Public Service Commission: Civil Services Examination
GS Paper I syllabus and pattern
GS Paper I contains 100 questions for 200 marks in two hours. Its score determines the Paper I qualifying cutoff for admission to the Main Examination, provided the candidate also qualifies in CSAT.
UPSC publishes broad syllabus boundaries
The official notice names broad areas rather than a fixed chapter list or topic-wise question split. Both Prelims papers are compulsory. A wrong answer loses one-third of the marks assigned to that question, while an unanswered question has no penalty.
History of India and Indian National Movement
- • History of India
- • Indian National Movement
Indian and World Geography
- • Physical geography of India
- • Social geography of India
- • Economic geography of India
- • Physical geography of the world
- • Social geography of the world
- • Economic geography of the world
Indian Polity and Governance
- • Constitution
- • Political system
- • Panchayati Raj
- • Public policy
- • Rights issues
Economic and Social Development
- • Sustainable development
- • Poverty
- • Inclusion
- • Demographics
- • Social-sector initiatives
Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
- • General issues in environmental ecology
- • Bio-diversity
- • Climate change
- • Issues that do not require subject specialisation
General Science
- • General Science
Current events of national and international importance
- • Current events of national importance
- • Current events of international importance
CSAT Paper II syllabus and pattern
CSAT contains 80 questions for 200 marks in two hours. It is qualifying, with a minimum requirement of 33%, or 66 marks, but appearing in both Prelims papers is mandatory for evaluation.
Comprehension
- • Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- • Interpersonal skills
- • Communication skills
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- • Logical reasoning
- • Analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
- • Decision making
- • Problem solving
General mental ability
- • General mental ability
Basic numeracy and Data interpretation
- • Numbers and their relations at Class 10 level
- • Orders of magnitude at Class 10 level
- • Charts
- • Graphs
- • Tables
- • Data sufficiency at Class 10 level
Official source
Prepared from the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026 notice, Appendix I Section II(A) and Section III Part A, checked 10 September 2026. Question totals were cross-checked against the official 2026 question papers. View the official notice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UPSC CSE syllabus?
It runs to 13 sections: History of India and Indian National Movement, Indian and World Geography, Indian Polity and Governance, Economic and Social Development, Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change, General Science, Current events of national and international importance, Comprehension, Interpersonal skills including communication skills, Logical reasoning and analytical ability, Decision making and problem solving, General mental ability and Basic numeracy and Data interpretation. 39 named topics are listed on this page beneath them, each taken from the official syllabus rather than inferred from past papers.
How many questions are there in the UPSC CSE paper, and how long is it?
The GS Paper I stage is 100 questions for 200 marks in 120 minutes. Wrong answers are penalised 0.667 per question. Knowing that alongside the syllabus is what turns a topic list into a plan: it tells you how many marks each section is actually worth and how many minutes you can afford per question.
How do I practise the whole UPSC CSE syllabus?
Sit a full mock first, before working through the topic list. A syllabus tells you what can be asked; it does not tell you which parts of it are costing you marks, and most candidates find that is not where they expected. There are 15 free tests for UPSC CSE here, and the sectional ones let you rebuild a single section once the full paper has shown you which one to rebuild.
Is this UPSC CSE syllabus current?
It is taken from the official notice, cited and linked at the foot of this page, rather than from another preparation site, so you can check it against the source yourself. Syllabuses do change between cycles, usually through a corrigendum to the notification rather than a fresh document, so confirm against the current notice before planning a whole revision cycle around any topic list, including this one.