UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus: UPSC takes an exam every year to recruit officers in Civil services. To become IAS, ITS, or foreign services, candidates should qualify in the IAS prelims, Main examination. This exam is divided into three stages, out of which, the preliminary exam is the first one. The Prelims and main both are very tough So candidates should prepare for them rigorously. Only 1 percent of the people, who sit for the exam, qualify to become diplomats or Officers in Civil Service. But before you start preparing, you need to know about the UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus.
UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus & Pattern 2023
Structure of UPSC Prelims Exam:
There are mainly two papers that you need to attempt to go for the second stage. Paper one is 200 marks and contains 100 questions. The second paper CSAT stands for Civil Services Aptitude Test. It will also be 200 marks and contain 80 questions. Both the papers are compulsory, and you have to qualify in both papers. Paper one is a ranking exam whereas you only have to get 33 percent in the second paper in order to qualify.
In paper 1, you have to get more than the cut-off marks in order to move on to the next stage. Both the exams are usually held on the same day, each exam for two hours. There will be a little gap of around 1 hour between the 2 tests. You have to be careful before you answer any question as there is a negative marking present for every wrong answer.
Know Your Topics:
Topics For Paper 1 (General Studies 1):
There are several topics about which you have to read about. The national movement of our country and Indian history is the first topic that you need to cover. The next topic is the geography of India and the rest of the world. The physical, social & economic geography also need to be studied in detail for this paper. Since you want to join the civil services, you plan on serving the citizens of India.
Thus, the other topics include Indian Policy, the constitution, the political system, the panchayat system, and the rights of the people. You also need to study sustainable development and poverty to know the people of this country. Questions tend to come from general issues regarding science, technology, the environment, and ecology. Just mugging up the topics won’t help as you need to be in touch with the current affairs as well. Questions and analyses of current affairs dominate the question paper.
Topics For Paper 2 (CSAT):
Your comprehension, as well as logical and analytical skills, will be tested in this paper. You need to improve your communication skills if you want to qualify in this exam. In this paper, your general mental ability will be tested. Thus, you have to solve problems in making decisions and problem-solving. If you were a Science student in classes 11 and 12, then you have a chance to score more in this exam as it tests your numerical skills and asks you to perform data interpretation.
Points To Keep In Mind Before You Sit For Your Exam:
1. The questions will come as MCQs and are an objective type of questions.
2. There is a negative marking in UPSC prelims as for every wrong answer, 0.83 will be deducted from your paper.
3. Blind candidates get extra 20 minutes to finish their paper.
4. You have to attend both the papers otherwise you won’t get qualified for the next round.
5. The marks you get in Prelims are not calculated in the final tally of the main exam.
6. Preliminary exams help to choose only a few candidates who are capable enough to sit for the main exam.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Q 1: What is the exact age limitations for the IAS Test?
Answer: As per the Central govt norms, the age limitations for all entrances tests are different. The Age limit for the IAS exam for General & EWS candidates is twenty-one years to thirty-two years. For SC/ ST and OBC Candidates, the age limit is 21 to 37, 21 to 35 respectively.
Q 2: Which type of exam is very hard either Prelims or main?
Answer: No one can say which one is very hard and which is easy. The Experts say that by comparing to the Prelims, the IAS Main exam is tough than Prelims.
Q 3: Which books are good for the UPSC IAS preparation?
Answer: A lot of books are available in the market to prepare for the IAS exam. NCERT books are good to prepare for it. You can find the best UPSC IAS books at the UPSC portal www.upsc.gov.in.
Q 4: Is six months enough for UPSC Prelims?
Answer: No one can say about the time limit for preparation. Start your Preparation before announcing the UPSC notification. You will get the Knowledge on this exam.
Also Read: How to prepare for UPSC IAS exam at Home