UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025, Structure, And Evolution

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern: Every year, the Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services Exam for All India Services and various other Group A services of the Indian Government. For the UPSC 2025 cycle, the official notification was released on January 22, 2025. As part of the Prelims stage, the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) is conducted as Paper II in the preliminary examination. The CSAT Exam Pattern 2025 remains unchanged and serves as a qualifying paper, assessing candidates’ aptitude, logical reasoning, and comprehension skills. Candidates must secure a minimum of 33% (66 out of 200 marks) to qualify for the Mains exam. The paper consists of 80 objective-type questions, each carrying 2.5 marks, with negative marking applicable for incorrect responses. The duration of the CSAT exam is two hours, and it is conducted in both English and Hindi mediums.

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025

The UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025 is designed to evaluate a candidate’s analytical abilities, logical reasoning, and comprehension skills as part of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) is Paper II in the Prelims and is qualifying in nature. Candidates must secure at least 33% marks (66 out of 200) to pass this paper. The exam consists of 80 objective-type questions, with a duration of 2 hours. Topics covered include comprehension, logical reasoning, basic numeracy, and decision-making. There is negative marking for incorrect answers.

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025
Max Marks	200
Time allotted	2 hours (120 minutes)
Number of Questions	Approximately 80 multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
Marking Scheme	Each question carries 2.5 marks
Negative Marking	1/3rd of the marks deducted for every incorrect answer
Qualifying Marks	33% or 66.67

Significance of UPSC CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)

Aspirants must prioritize time management, logical reasoning, and comprehension skills to ensure they meet the qualifying criteria and advance to the next stage of the UPSC selection process.

Assessment of Candidates for Next Stage- CSAT is the second paper of the UPSC Preliminary Examination. Its objective is to screen candidates for the Mains Examination. The marks obtained in CSAT are not counted for the final merit list, but candidates must secure the minimum qualifying marks to move on to the Mains.
Testing Aptitude and Analytical Skills- The CSAT exam is structured to assess a candidate’s aptitude and analytical skills. This CSAT exam has its own importance because civil servants, in their professional roles, often need to make decisions, analyze situations, and demonstrate problem-solving abilities.
Testing Communication Skills- This CSAT exam has a special focus on English language comprehension and the communication skills section in CSAT helps in evaluating a candidate’s proficiency in English. Effective communication is essential for administrative roles, where officers need to articulate information clearly and concisely.
Emphasis on Decision-Making questions- The inclusion of questions related to decision-making, logical reasoning, and problem-solving in CSAT reflects the need for civil servants to have these skills. Administrative roles often require quick and sound decision-making in diverse and complex situations.
Comprehensive Evaluation of Candidate’s Logical ability- CSAT complements the General Studies paper (Paper-I) in providing a comprehensive evaluation of a candidate’s abilities. While Paper-I assesses general knowledge and awareness, CSAT evaluates the candidate’s cognitive and analytical skills.
Qualifying Nature of Exam- CSAT serves as a qualifying paper. Candidates need to secure the minimum qualifying marks prescribed by the UPSC to proceed to the Mains Examination. It ensures that candidates possess a certain level of aptitude and analytical skills deemed necessary for the demanding nature of the civil services.
Adaptability to Changing Patterns- The introduction of CSAT in 2011 represented a change in the examination pattern, emphasizing a shift towards testing aptitude. This adaptation reflects the evolving requirements of civil services and the need for officers to possess a diverse set of skills.
Less Syllabus- As compared to the UPSC GS Paper 1, the CSAT Syllabus is less and candidates can easily prepare it with practice. If one devotes enough time to practice for this paper then he/she can easily crack this paper.

Specification of UPSC CSAT: Format, Scoring, and Schedule Demystified

Objective Type Questions- CSAT consists of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to assess the aptitude and cognitive skills of candidates.
Weightage: While CSAT is essential for qualifying, the merit ranking is primarily based on the General Studies Paper-I.
Objective-Type Questions- CSAT introduced a greater emphasis on objective-type questions, including multiple-choice questions (MCQs). This was different from the earlier pattern that included more subjective questions.
Qualifying Nature- There are a total of 80 questions in the CSAT exam and the time allotted for the paper will be 2 hours. Each question carries 2.5 marks, and the total marks will be 200.
- For every wrong answer, 1/3rd of the total marks given to the question will be deducted which means 0.83 marks. However, there is no deduction for unanswered questions. Candidates need to score at least 33% or 66 marks to qualify for this paper.
Schedule of CSAT exam- According to the present schedule of UPSC, CSAT exam is scheduled in the second shift after the General Science Paper I exam of prelims.

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UPSC CSAT Exam Evolution: Changes in UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern

Introduction of UPSC CSAT: Transforming UPSC Prelims in 2011
- The CSAT Paper was introduced in the year 2011 as a part of the UPSC CSE prelims stage. It replaced the preliminary examination pattern that existed before.
Shift in Pattern: UPSC Prelims Pattern Evolution
- Prior to the year 2011, the preliminary examination of UPSC consisted of two papers – General Studies (GS) and an optional subject. The CSAT brought a significant change by introducing two compulsory papers: General Studies (Paper-I) and CSAT (Paper-II).
- In the year 2015, the Commission made some huge changes in the CSAT exam pattern by making the CSAT paper qualifying in nature. As per the exam pattern, candidates only need 33% of total marks which is equal to 66 marks out of 200 marks to qualify.

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025

The preliminary stage, as part of the UPSC exam pattern, consists of two papers, General Studies I (Paper I) and Paper II (CSAT), both objective in nature.

In the General Studies paper, each question carries 2 marks. Each paper has a maximum mark of 200. It has a total of 100 questions.
In the Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) paper, each question is valued at 2.5 marks. It has a total of 80 questions
There is a 1/3 mark deduction for every incorrect answer.
UPSC CSAT is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers prelims examination for the purpose of evaluation otherwise the candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Syllabus of Prelims Examination including CSAT: UPSC Prelims Paper II
- UPSC Prelims 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)

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UPSC CSAT and controversies: Evolution, Protests, and Challenges

The CSAT Paper was introduced in the year 2011 as a part of the UPSC CSE prelims stage. It replaced the preliminary examination pattern that existed before.

2011- Introduction of CSAT by UPSC as a part of the preliminary exam by replacing earlier Paper II which focused on English language comprehension and communication skills. This led to a protest among the aspirants.
2011-2014- Aspirants started expressing concerns about the new pattern, particularly related to its perceived bias against candidates from non-English medium backgrounds. Critics argued that CSAT favored candidates with a strong command of English. Aspirants from non-English medium backgrounds claimed that the pattern put them at a disadvantage.
2014- Protests and demonstrations by aspirants gained momentum and there were voices raised by many aspirants who alleged language bias in CSAT.
2014- The government and UPSC responded to the protests by making CSAT qualifying in nature. The decision meant that the marks obtained in CSAT would not be considered in the final merit list.
2022– Due to its toughness level many aspirants are raising their voices to reduce the passing marks from 33% to 23%. They argue that it becomes very difficult for candidates who have an art and humanities background to qualify for CSAT.

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UPSC Exam-Related Articles
UPSC Notification 2025	UPSC 2025 Exam Date
When To Start Preparing For UPSC 2025?	UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025
UPSC Eligibility 2025	One-Year Plan For UPSC 2025

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CSAT Exam FAQs

UPSC CSAT stands for Civil Services Aptitude Test, which is the second paper in the UPSC Preliminary Examination, commonly referred to as General Studies-II. CSAT is designed to assess the analytical, aptitude, and reasoning capabilities of candidates.

UPSC CSAT paper is a qualifying paper for the UPSC Prelims exam. Candidates need to score at least 66 marks out of 200 marks, or 33%, to qualify for this paper. Those who fail to qualify for this paper cannot clear the UPSC Prelims.

Read the syllabus of CSAT carefully and know the topics that are more familiar to you, do more practice on those topics, attempt more mock CSAT exams to boost your confidence.

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UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025, Structure, and Evolution

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025

Significance of UPSC CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)

Specification of UPSC CSAT: Format, Scoring, and Schedule Demystified

UPSC CSAT Exam Evolution: Changes in UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern

UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern 2025

UPSC CSAT and controversies: Evolution, Protests, and Challenges

CSAT Exam FAQs

What is the full form of CSAT?

Is UPSC CSAT is qualifying for the UPSC Prelims?

How should a candidate prepare for the CSAT paper in the UPSC CSAT exam?

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