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.