UPSC Syllabus 2025, Check IAS Prelims and Mains Syllabus PDF

Union Public Service Commission conducts a very prestigious civil service exam for government jobs, which is used to recruit for Group A and B posts. Every year, Lakhs of candidates prepare for the UPSC Exam, and yet only a few get selected. The UPSC CSE consists of two written exams followed by a personal test or interview. Prelims include two compulsory papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (CSAT). The main examination is more specialized, consisting of nine papers, including one essay paper and four General Studies papers. In this article, we have discussed the UPSC Syllabus 2025 in detail.

UPSC Syllabus 2025

The commission conducts the exam on an annual basis. The two stages are preliminary and main exams. The Latest UPSC Syllabus 2025 release along with the Official notification. The Syllabus for UPSC is designed to assist the candidates’ knowledge, aptitude, and analytical abilities. We have provided the IAS Syllabus for all the stages of the examination:

• Preliminary Stage – General Studies & CSAT
• Mains Stage – 9 Theory Papers (GS I-IV, Language Papers, Essay & Optional)
• Personality Test – Interview

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025

UPSC Prelims is the first phase of the UPSC CSE Selection Process. It is qualifying and objective in nature. Every year, lakhs of Candidates apply for the UPSC Preliminary exam.  Explore the journey and significance of these escalating numbers in the pursuit of becoming esteemed civil servants. Exam Pattern for Prelims consists of two objective-type papers, including:

• General Studies Paper I 
• General Studies Paper II (CSAT – Civil Services Aptitude Test)

As the preliminary exam qualifies applicants for the main examination, it is crucial to understand the UPSC Prelims syllabus 2025. All candidates for the UPSC Exam must first become familiar with the UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 and Civil Services Syllabus before continuing their studies. If you want to have a structured and efficient preparation phase where you may enhance your notions and clear up any topic-related questions, this almost one-year schedule is essential.

UPSC CSE 2025 General Studies Paper 1 Syllabus

General Studies 1 of the UPSC Preliminary syllabus mainly consists of History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Environment and Ecology, Science and Technology, General Science and Current Affairs events. UPSC categorizes the General Studies Prelims Paper 1 Syllabus into the following broad categories:

UPSC CSAT Syllabus 2025

General Studies 2 of UPSC Prelims is also known as the CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) Paper. This paper was first introduced in 2011 as a compulsory qualifying paper for every candidate. This is a part of the UPSC Preliminary examination in order to assess the aptitude, analytical skills, and reasoning ability of the candidate. To qualify for this paper, a minimum of 33% (66 marks) is required for every candidate.

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025

IAS Mains Syllabus consisted of 9 conventional/theoretical papers out of which 2 are qualifying papers of 300 marks each and the remaining 7 papers’ marks are counted for the final merit list. Every paper has its own significance. The UPSC Mains 2025 examination will be conducted in 5 days by the commission. The UPSC CSE Mains Examination’s objective is to assess the overall intellectual abilities and level of understanding of candidates instead of just testing candidates’ knowledge and memory. The UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025 is described below in detail.

UPSC Mains Qualifying Papers 2025

There are two qualifying papers included in the UPSC Mains 2025:

• Any Indian Language Paper
• English Language Paper

The purpose of these papers is to evaluate a candidate’s aptitude for reading and comprehending serious discursive prose as well as for expressing ideas in the relevant Indian and English languages in a clear and precise manner. Some important facts about these Qualifying Papers:

• The marks obtained in these papers would not be used to determine to rank.
• These papers are of a qualifying nature only (a minimum of 25% marks are required in each paper).
• The marks a candidate obtains in other papers will not be taken into account or counted if they are disqualified for these language papers.

IAS Syllabus For Mains General Studies I

The main topics of the first General Studies paper are the History, Heritage, Geography, and Culture of the World and Society. The commission has outlined the essential themes of the General Studies I syllabus, which is mentioned below for candidates.

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society:

• Indian Culture: It covers the salient features of Art Forms, Literature, and Architecture from ancient times to modern times.
• Modern Indian History: It includes the significant events, personalities, and issues from the middle of the 18th century until now.
• In The Freedom Struggle, Various stages, important contributors, and contributions from different parts of the country.
• Consolidation and Reorganisation of the country after independence.
• Events from the 18th century will be included in the history of the world, such as the Industrial Revolution, world wars, redrawing of national borders, colonisation, and decolonization, as well as political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, and others—their manifestations and social effects.
• Important characteristics of Indian society and India’s diversity.
• The role of women and the organisation of women, population and related issues, poverty and developmental challenges, urbanisation, associated problems, and solutions.
• The social effects of globalization in India.
• Communalism, Regionalism, Secularism, and Social Empowerment.
• Important physical geography characteristics of the world.
• Distribution of major natural resources worldwide (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); determinants of where primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries are located globally (including India).
• Critical geographic features and their location-changes in flora and fauna, as well as in water bodies and ice caps and the impact of such changes. Important geophysical phenomena include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, cyclones, etc.

IAS Syllabus For Mains General Studies II

The Polity, Governance, Constitution, Social Justice, and Interrelations topics are covered in the UPSC Mains Syllabus General Studies II paper. The detailed syllabus is provided to candidates below. Governance, Polity, Constitution, Social Justice and International Relations:

• The basic structures, features, modifications, major provisions, and historical context of the Indian Constitution.
• Functions and duties of the Union and the States, problems and difficulties with the federal system, and obstacles with the devolution of authority and resources to local levels.
• Power separation between multiple organs, conflict resolution procedures, and institutions.
• Comparing the Indian constitutional design to other countries’ systems
• Structure, administration, business practices, powers, and privileges of the Parliament and State Legislatures, and challenges resulting from these.
• Governmental Ministries and Departments; Pressure Group organizations and formal/informal associations; and their purpose in the Polity.
• Structure, organisation, and operation of the Executive and the Judiciary.
• The Representation of People’s Act’s key characteristics.
• Appointment to several constitutional Bodies and their respective duties and responsibilities.
• Statutory, regulatory, and various quasi-judicial agencies; Government interventions for development in many sectors; Problems resulting from the planning and execution of these interventions.
• The role of NGOs, SHGs, diverse groups and associations, funders, charities, institutional, and other stakeholders in development processes and the development industry.
• Welfare programs put in place by the federal government and individual states for the population’s most vulnerable groups, as well as the effectiveness of these programs, institutions, laws, and other organizations created to safeguard and improve the lives of these vulnerable groups.
• Issues about the growth and administration of the social sector and services in health, education, and human resources.
• Hunger and poverty-related issues.
• Transparency and accountability are crucial components of governance, as are e-governance applications, models, accomplishments, limitations, and possibilities; citizens’ charters, transparency & accountability. And institutional and other measurements.
• The function of the civil service in a democracy
• India’s relationship with its neighbors.
• Groupings and agreements at the bilateral, regional, and international levels involving or impacting India and its interests.
• Effect of developed and developing countries’ policies and politics on India’s interests and the diaspora.
• Important international organizations, agencies, and forums: their makeup and objectives.

IAS Syllabus For Mains General Studies III

The subjects of Science, Technology, Economics, Defense, Disaster Management, and Nature are thoroughly covered in UPSC Mains General Studies III. This paper will raise questions relating to many facets of life and recent developments in all areas of life.

Economic Development, Technology, Environment, Bio-diversity, Security and Disaster Management:

• Indian Economy, including planning, resource mobilization, growth, development, and employment difficulties.
• Inclusive growth and the problems it raises.
• Budgeting of Government.
• Major crops, patterns of cropping in various regions of the nation, various types of irrigation and irrigation systems, challenges with storage, transport, and marketing of agricultural products, and related limitations; the use of e-technology by farmers.
• Concerns about buffer stocks and food security, direct and indirect farm subsidies, and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System goals, operations, and shortcomings; Technology missions; and the economics of animal husbandry.
• Food processing and related sectors in India: their size and importance, where they are, what is needed upstream and downstream, and supply chain management.
• Indian land reforms.
• The economic implications of liberalization, changes to industrial policy, and how these affect the expansion of the industrial sector.
• Infrastructure includes things like ports, roads, airports, and railroads.
• Models for investments.
• Science and technology breakthroughs and how they are used and impact daily life.
• Scientific and technological advances made by Indians, indigenization of technology, and the creation of new technology.
• Awareness of issues relating to intellectual property rights as well as IT, space, computers, robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.
• Environmental impact assessment, pollution and degradation of the environment, and conservation.
• Disasters and disaster management; Relationships between extremism’s growth and dissemination.
• The contribution of non-state and state actors from outside to the problems with domestic security.
• Threats to internal security posed by communication networks, the media’s and social media’s role in such threats, the fundamentals of cyber security, and money laundering and its prevention.
• Security issues and how to manage them in border regions – connections between organized crime and terrorism.
• The function of various security agencies and organizations.

IAS Syllabus For Mains General Studies IV

This paper contains questions to assess the candidate’s attitude and approach toward matters relating to integrity, probity in public life, and their policy to problem-solving when dealing with various societal challenges and disputes. Questions may use the case study approach to determine these elements and cover area.

Ethics and Human Interaction:

• The purpose, factors, and outcomes of ethical behavior in people; the dimensions of ethics; and the application of ethics in both personal and professional settings.
• The importance of family community and educational institutions in instilling values may be seen in the study of human values, which draws lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers, and administrators.
• Moral and political attitudes:-
  • Social influence
  • Persuasion are all aspects of attitude that include its content
  • Structure
  • Function
  • Relationship to cognition and behavior.
• Civil service aptitude and core principles include honesty:-
  • Objectivity
  • Non-partisanship
  • Dedication to public service
  • Empathy
  • Tolerance
  • Compassion for the weaker groups
• Emotional intelligence concepts and their benefits and use in governance and administration:-
  • Contributions from moral philosophers and thinkers in India and around the world.
  • Public Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration
  • Status and Issues
  • Ethical Issues in International Relations and Funding
• Corporate Governance; Laws, Rules, Regulations, and Conscience as Sources of Ethical Guidance. Accountability and Ethical Governance:-
  • Probity in governance includes the idea of public service
  • The philosophical underpinnings of governance and integrity
  • Information sharing and transparency in government
  • The right to information
  • Codes of ethics and conduct
  • Citizen’s charters
  • Workplace culture
  • Effectiveness of service delivery
  • Use of public resources
  • Challenges posed by corruption.
• Case Studies on the concerns above

UPSC Syllabus 2025 in Hindi: Click to Check

UPSC Syllabus 2025 For Essay Paper

Essays Writing on a wide range of topics will be asked of the candidates. They must write concisely and stick to the essay’s topic. They will also be expected to organize their thoughts. An essay is one of those papers where candidates can score better and improve their rank meticulously. The essay paper is divided into two sections, each containing 4 topics. Each essay you write obtains a score of 125, for 250 marks.

Structure of The Language Papers:

The language papers are divided into different sections to check candidates’ ideas clearly and correctly in every possible manner.

• Essay – 100 marks
• Reading comprehension – 60 marks
• Precis Writing – 60 marks
• Translation:
  • English to compulsory language (e.g., Hindi) – 20 marks
  • Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
• Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks

Patterns of The Language Papers are:

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precis Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.
• Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

After clearing the prelims, candidates can sit in the mains examination. The main General Studies paper consists of four papers. Check the table below for a better understanding of the General Studies paper of mains

UPSC Optional Syllabus 2025

The UPSC Optional Syllabus 2025 for Papers 6 and 7 includes both compulsory and optional subjects. These papers are crucial for candidates as they can score well in them, given that they are either graduation subjects or subjects of interest for the candidates. Each optional subject has a comprehensive syllabus that candidates must read before making a decision. There are several factors consider while selecting the best optional subject for the UPSC mains exam, such as the syllabus, available resources for that subject, and the time required for preparation.

UPSC Literature Syllabus 2025

Candidates can check How to Choose UPSC Optional Subject-related queries and suggestions here.

UPSC Interview Syllabus 2025

The UPSC Interview 2025, which is the final stage of the UPSC Examination, does not have an established syllabus for the year 2025. The main objective of the personal interview process is to assess the candidate’s qualifications for a career in the civil service. Unlike the written exam, the interview is more of a purposeful dialogue that aims to probe the candidate’s mental capabilities and capacity for analysis. The written exam carries a maximum score of 1750 marks, while the interview is worth 275 points. The total score of both the written exam and the interview is 2025 marks, which will be used to create the final merit list.

Candidates can check UPSC Interview Tips and Strategies for better preparation.

UPSC Syllabus 2025 PDF

The Commission released the UPSC Syllabus 2025 in PDF Format on its official website, upsc.gov.in. Candidates can now download the UPSC Syllabus 2025 PDF, which gives an idea of the better and more detailed information on the Syllabus for UPSC 2025. You can download the detailed Syllabus PDF from the link provided here.

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