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The complete Civil Services Examination syllabus as per the official UPSC notification — Prelims (GS Paper 1 + CSAT), all 9 Mains papers, and the optional subjects list. Every section links to the matching previous year questions so you can see exactly how each topic is tested.
The Civil Services Examination has three stages. The syllabus below is from the official UPSC notification and applies to the 2027 cycle (Prelims on 23 May 2027, notification on 13 January 2027 as per the UPSC Calendar 2027). See the full exam pattern and eligibility rules on their dedicated pages.
| Stage | Papers | Marks | Counts For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | GS Paper 1 + CSAT | 200 + 200 | Screening only (GS 1 decides cutoff; CSAT qualifying) |
| Mains | 9 papers (7 merit + 2 qualifying) | 1750 (merit) | Final merit |
| Interview | Personality Test | 275 | Final merit (total 2025) |
100 questions, 2 hours, one-third negative marking. These are the seven official syllabus areas — each card links to the real UPSC questions asked from that area since 2011, so you can judge its true weight instead of guessing.
Daily current affairs compounding over ~12–18 months before the exam.
Daily Current AffairsAncient, Medieval, Modern India with emphasis on the freedom struggle.
History PYQsPhysical geography concepts plus India-specific and world geography.
Geography PYQsConstitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues.
Polity PYQsSustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives.
Economy PYQsGeneral issues — no subject specialisation required, but heavily tested.
Environment PYQs80 questions, 2 hours, one-third negative marking. You need 33% (66 marks) to qualify — CSAT marks are not counted in the Prelims merit. The official syllabus:
CSAT difficulty has risen in recent years — do not leave it unprepared. Practice with the PYQ practice mode or the dedicated CSAT module in our test series.
| Paper | Subject | Marks | Nature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper A | Indian Language (Eighth Schedule) | 300 | Qualifying (25%) |
| Paper B | English | 300 | Qualifying (25%) |
| Paper I | Essay | 250 | Merit |
| Paper II | GS 1 — Indian Heritage & Culture, History, Geography of the World and Society | 250 | Merit |
| Paper III | GS 2 — Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, International Relations | 250 | Merit |
| Paper IV | GS 3 — Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security, Disaster Management | 250 | Merit |
| Paper V | GS 4 — Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude | 250 | Merit |
| Paper VI | Optional Subject — Paper 1 | 250 | Merit |
| Paper VII | Optional Subject — Paper 2 | 250 | Merit |
Written total: 1750 · Interview: 275 · Final merit: 2025 marks. Study how these papers are actually asked via the Mains PYQ bank and build writing practice with daily answer writing.
Indian culture (art forms, literature, architecture); Modern Indian history and the Freedom Struggle; post-independence consolidation; world history (18th century onwards); Indian society, diversity, women, population, poverty, urbanisation, globalisation, social empowerment, communalism, regionalism, secularism; physical geography; resource distribution; geophysical phenomena.
Constitution (evolution, features, amendments, basic structure); union and state functions; separation of powers; parliament and judiciary; representation of people’s act; constitutional and non-constitutional bodies; government policies; development sector; welfare schemes; health, education, human resources; poverty and hunger; governance, transparency, e-governance; civil services role; India and its neighbourhood; bilateral and global groupings; international institutions.
Indian economy (planning, resources, growth, employment); inclusive growth; budgeting; agriculture and food security; land reforms; liberalisation; infrastructure; investment models; science & technology developments and applications; IPR; environment conservation, pollution, EIA; disaster management; internal security (extremism, cyber security, money laundering, border management); security forces and agencies.
Ethics and human interface; attitude; aptitude and foundational values for civil service; emotional intelligence; thinkers and philosophers; public/civil service values and ethics in public administration; probity in governance; case studies on the above.
You pick one optional subject — it carries two Mains papers of 250 marks each (500 total), often the difference between selection and missing out.
The syllabus tells you what UPSC can ask; PYQs tell you what UPSC actually asks. Start every subject by scanning its topic-wise PYQs to calibrate depth, then build the base with the standard booklist, and convert knowledge into marks with mocks — the approach detailed in our full preparation guide and the Sherlocking methodology.
Planning your attempt? Check eligibility and attempt limits, the UPSC 2027 roadmap, and the exam pattern alongside this page.
Yes, the UPSC CSE syllabus has remained essentially unchanged for over a decade. The syllabus published in the official annual notification (on upsc.gov.in) is the same for 2026 and 2027 cycles. What changes year to year is the weight given to different topics in the actual question paper, which is why analysing previous year questions topic-wise matters as much as reading the syllabus.
GS Paper 1 covers seven broad areas: current events of national and international importance; history of India and the Indian National Movement; Indian and World Geography (physical, social, economic); 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, biodiversity and climate change; and General Science.
CSAT (GS Paper 2 of Prelims) is qualifying in nature. You need 33% (66 out of 200 marks) to qualify. Your Prelims merit and the cutoff are decided only by GS Paper 1 marks, provided you clear CSAT.
UPSC Mains has 9 papers. Two are qualifying: Paper A (an Indian language from the Eighth Schedule) and Paper B (English), 300 marks each. Seven count for merit: Essay (250), GS Paper 1 (250), GS Paper 2 (250), GS Paper 3 (250), GS Paper 4 — Ethics (250), and Optional Papers 1 and 2 (250 each), for a written total of 1750 marks.
UPSC offers 48 optional subjects — 25 core subjects (such as Geography, Sociology, History, Public Administration, Anthropology, Political Science & IR) and literature of 23 languages. You choose one optional, which has two papers of 250 marks each in Mains.
The official syllabus is published as part of the annual Civil Services Examination notification on upsc.gov.in. The CSE 2027 notification is scheduled for 13 January 2027 as per the UPSC Calendar; the syllabus section is expected to remain the same as the 2026 notification.
Work backwards from the exam: map each syllabus area to its actual PYQ weight, build the foundation with NCERTs and one standard book per subject, and convert reading into marks with regular mock tests and PYQ practice. Prelims 2027 is on 23 May 2027, so a 10–12 month structured cycle starting mid-2026 is ideal.
33 Sherlocking-powered mock tests mapped to this exact syllabus — 23 subject-wise + 10 full-length, with question-level analytics.
Syllabus as per the official UPSC Civil Services Examination notification — upsc.gov.in . CSE 2027 dates per UPSC Calendar 2027. Last updated: June 2026.