The Civil Services Examinations syllabus as mentioned by UPSC is as follows. (UPSC CSE Prelims syllabus)
Preliminary Exam Syllabus comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each
1.General Studies Paper I
2.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.
UPSC CSE Prelims SYLLABUS FOR PAPER I
– (200 MARKS) DURATION: TWO HOURS (COUNTED FOR THE MERIT RANK IN THE PRELIMS)
1.Current events of national and international importance.
2.History of India and Indian National Movement.
3.Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
4.Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
5.Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
6.General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
7.General Science.
UPSC Prelims SYLLABUS FOR PAPER II
– (200 MARKS) DURATION: TWO HOURS (NOT COUNTED FOR THE MERIT RANK IN PRELIMS BUT A QUALIFYING PAPER; JUST NEEDS 33% MARKS)
1.Comprehension.
2.Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
3.Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
4.Decision-making and problem-solving.
5.General mental ability.
6.Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level).