Civil Service Preliminary Syllabus 2020

The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination every year, which is common for the all candidates applying for Civil Services Examination and Indian Forest Service Examination. This exam acts a primary mechanism for selection of candidates for the Civil Services (Main) Examination.

Since the examination serves as just a screening test; the marks obtained in the preliminary Examination by the candidates will not be counted for determining their final order of merit, but only as a qualifier. One should note that the number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about fourteen to fifteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year in the various Services and Posts. Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2020 (objective) will be conducted on 31st May 2020. The notification will be issued on 12th February. The last date for receipt of applications would be 3rd March 2020. Candidates are advised to check the eligibility criteria before going to apply. One of the primary criteria is that candidates must have Bachelors degree in any discipline from a recognized university. Candidates appearing in the final year exams can also apply. The Main Exam (written) 2020 will start from Septemper 18, 2020.

Civil Service Preliminary Syllabus 2020 PDF [Download]

What is the syllabus for Civil Service Preliminary Examination (2020)?

The Civil Services Preliminary exam comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II). The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type. The marks in prelims will not be counted for final ranking, but just for qualification for the main exam. Its a one day exam with two sessions which in offline mode, where you get to mark your answers on the given space in the question paper.

Paper 1 - General Studies:

This includes areas like; Indian National Movement, Indian Polity, Basic Economic Understanding, Geography. While these are static part of the syllabus, the dynamic part includes current affairs, General Knowledge and that does not proper definition, thus making the syllabus quite vast.

Paper II - Aptitude Test:

The Paper II is now of only qualifying nature and its mark is not counted while making the merit list. However, it is mandatory for the candidate to score minimum 33 per cent in this paper to qualify the Prelims exam.

The question papers are set both in Hindi and English. Blind candidates are allowed extra time of twenty minutes for each paper.

Syllabus Pattern for Prelims Exam

The UPSC Prelims exam is meant to serve as a screening test only. The marks of Paper 1 are alone considered for making the merit list for this exam. Only those candidates who have qualified the Prelims can write the Mains exam. The marks scored in the Prelim exam is not counted in the final tally of the Mains exam or the Interview.

The number of candidates who qualify the Prelims Exam is about twelve to thirteen times of the total of the approximate number of vacancies that has to be filled in that year in the various Services and Posts.

It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the papers of Prelim exam to be qualified for the evaluation purposes. The candidate will be disqualified in case he or she appears in only one paper of the Prelims exam.

Negative Marking:

There is "Negative Marking" in the Prelims exam. For every wrong answer, 1/3rd of marks allotted for every question will be reduced from the correct tally of score. So candidates need to be extra careful while making wild guesses in the prelim exams.

IAS Prelims Syllabus

The syllabus for the Preliminary Exams for Paper-I:

• Current events of national and international importance.
• History of India and Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
• General Science

The syllabus for the Preliminary Exams for Paper-II:

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problemsolving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)

Note 1: The questions in both Paper-I (current affairs) and Paper-II (aptitude test) will be of multiple choice, objective type for 200 marks each and the time allotted for each paper is two hours.

Note 2: The CSAT aptitude test or Paper-II will be a qualifying paper only with a minimum of 33% to be secured to qualify for the Mains exam.

Note 3: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) examination. The candidate will be disqualified in case he or she appears in only one paper of the (Prelims) exam. So appearing in both the papers is mandatory for the evaluation of the (Prelims) exam.

• How To Prepare For UPSC Prelims - CSAT
• Details of Explanation of Prelims Syllabus - Marks Distribution
• Tips for Clearing Prelims Exam

A set of sample questions for both Papers has been given below for reference for prospective candidates.

• IAS Prelims 2019 Questions Paper I
• IAS Prelims 2019 Questions Paper II

UPSC Exam Mains Syllabus for Civil Services Examination

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