UPSC Syllabus 2025: IAS Prelims & Mains Syllabus PDF, Interview

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination every year to recruit the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service, Indian Revenue Service (IRS), and other central cervices. If you are planning to preparation and take the UPSC Exam 2025, the first step is know the Syllabus because UPSC Syllabus helps to understand the selection process, subjects and topics which will be asked in exam.

The candidates need to have knowledge of the Syllabus for better preparation and qualifying the exam. Knowing the Syllabus in detail will make easier understand the exam’s structure. In civil service examination, the candidates are selected after three stages: Prelims Exam, Mains Exam and Interview.

UPSC Syllabus 2025

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is highly competitive. If you are planning to participate in the Prelims exam 2025 and want to qualify the all stages of exam then you must be aware of the UPSC syllabus and exam pattern. The UPSC Civil Services Exam for IAS is divided into three stages:-

Prelims: General Studies & CSAT (objective-type test)
Mains: General Studies I-IV, Language Papers, Essay & Optional (Written Exam)
Interview: Personality Test

UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus

The UPSC prelims exam is the first stage, so candidates must know the UPSC Prelims Syllabus. The preliminary examination shall comprise of two compulsory Papers (Paper-I & Paper II CSAT) of 200 marks each. The question will be of objective type (Multiple Choice) and each paper will be of two hours duration. The General Studies Paper II (CSAT) will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

UPSC IAS Prelims Exam Pattern

Prelims Papers	Paper-I (100 Questions – 200 Marks) Paper-II CSAT (80 Questions – 200 Marks)
No. of Question (Paper-I)	100
No. of Questions (Paper-II CSAT)	80 (Passing Marks: 30%)
Total Marks	400 Paper-I: 200 Marks CSAT: 200 Marks
Negative Marking	1/3
Time Duration	2 hours for each paper

UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus

Preliminary 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 – that do not require subject specialization.
General Science.

Preliminary Paper-II (CSAT):-

Comprehension.
Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
Decision making and problem solving.
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).

UPSC CSE Mains Syllabus

The UPSC Mains exam is the first stage, so candidates must know the UPSC Mains Syllabus. The Mains written examination shall comprise of seven Papers (Essay, General Studies I-IV and Optional Paper-I & Paper II) of 250 marks each. The question will be of written and each paper will be of two hours duration. The marks of the written exam (Mains) are the basis on which merit list will prepared.

UPSC IAS Mains Exam Pattern

Papers	Subjects	Max. Marks
Paper-I	Essay (Candidates may be required to write on multiple topics.)	250
Paper-II	General Studies (GS)- I	250
Paper-III	General Studies (GS)- II	250
Paper-IV	General Studies (GS)- III	250
Paper-V	General Studies (GS)- IV	250
Paper-VI	Optional Subject- Paper I	250
Paper-VII	Option Subject- Paper II	250

UPSC IAS Mains Syllabus

General Studies Paper I:-

Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues
The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies
Effects of globalization on Indian society.
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
Salient features of world’s physical geography.
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India.
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes

General Studies Paper II:-

Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
Role of civil services in a democracy.
India and its neighborhood- relations.
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

General Studies Paper III:-

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Government Budgeting.
Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
Land reforms in India.
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Investment models.
Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Disaster and disaster management.
Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

General Studies Paper IV:-

This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.
Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections.
Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
Case Studies on above issues.

Interview

The Personality Test/ Interview is the last stage of selection process. The Interview/ Personality Test will be of 275 marks (with no qualifying marks). Thus, Marks obtained by the candidates in the UPSC Civil Services (Mains) written examination and Interview/ Personality test would determine their final ranking. Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks in UPSC Civil Service (Mains) written examination will receive a call or letter by department to come to the Interview/ Personality Test. Services and posts will be allotted to the candidates keeping in view their ranks in the written examination and preferences expressed by them. The total sum of marks of written exam (Mains) and Interview marks is 2025 marks, on the basis of which merit list will be prepared.

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