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UPSC CSAT Exam is the second paper of the UPSC CSE Prelims Exam. Check all details of the UPSC CSAT Exam Syllabus, Pattern, Timings, Marking Scheme and Qualifying Marks.
UPSC CSAT Exam is the Paper II of the UPSC CSE Exam. It holds extreme importance in deciding whether the UPSC aspirant can qualify for the UPSC Mains Exam. The UPSC CSAT Exam is compulsory to qualify, and 33% (or 66 marks) is the qualifying marks for the UPSC CSAT Exam.
| Download UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024 | |
| UPSC Prelims GS Paper I | Question Paper Download Link |
| UPSC Prelims GS Paper II (CSAT) | Question Paper Download Link |
| Answer Key 2024 | GS Paper (01) Answer Key 2024 CSAT Paper Answer Key 2024 |
| Detailed Answer Key 2024 | GS Paper (01) Answer Key 2024 CSAT Paper Answer Key 2024 |
UPSC CSAT Exam is held on the same day as the UPSC Prelims GS Paper I Exam, but is held in the second shift (or the afternoon shift). The UPSC CSAT Exam has three subjects: Reading Comprehension, Quant or Maths, and Reasoning. The UPSC aspirants should know the complete details of the UPSC CSAT Exam in order to succeed in it.
Let us have a look at the complete details of the UPSC CSAT Exam, including UPSC CSAT Syllabus, UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern, Marking Scheme, Qualifying marks and Exam Timings. The Trend Analysis of previous year UPSC CSAT Papers is also given here.
| Also Read | |
| UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2024 | UPSC Prelims Cutoff Analysis 2024 |
| Marks Needed to Qualify UPSC CSAT | How to Calculate UPSC CSAT Score |
| UPSC CSAT Answer Key 2024 | UPSC Prelims Result 2024 |
UPSC CSAT Exam is a crucial part of the preliminary examination for the Civil Services Examination in India. It assesses candidates’ analytical skills, logical reasoning, and comprehension abilities. Introduced in 2011, CSAT is a qualifying paper where candidates must score a minimum of 33% to be eligible for the main examination.
The UPSC CSAT Exam paper includes questions on comprehension, interpersonal skills, logical reasoning, decision-making, basic numeracy, and general mental ability. Effective preparation for CSAT involves practising past papers, improving problem-solving techniques, and honing reading comprehension skills to ensure a balanced performance across all sections.
| Question Paper Set | Download Link |
| Set A | Click here |
| Set B | Click here |
| Set C | Click here |
| Set D | Click here |
UPSC CSAT stands for the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Aptitude Test. This examination is a part of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in India, which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC CSAT Exam is designed to assess a candidate’s aptitude and analytical skills.
UPSC CSAT Exam serves as the second paper of the preliminary examination for the CSE and includes questions on comprehension, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision-making, and problem-solving. UPSC CSAT Exam is mandatory for all candidates aspiring to join various civil services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
Introduced in 2011, the CSAT aims to ensure that candidates possess the necessary aptitude for civil service roles. The exam format typically includes multiple-choice questions and is conducted in both English and Hindi.
UPSC CSAT Exam 2024 is to be held on 16th June 2024, after being postponed from 26th May 2024 due to the General Elections 2024. UPSC CSAT Exam assesses a range of aptitude skills crucial for civil service candidates. These include comprehension, interpersonal skills such as communication, logical reasoning, decision-making, problem-solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy, and data interpretation.
The table below contains the overview of the UPSC CSAT Exam:
| UPSC CSAT Exam Overview | |
| Exam Name | UPSC CSAT Exam (UPSC Prelims GS Paper II) |
| Conducted Body | Union Public Service Commission |
| UPSC CSAT Exam Timing | Second Shift (2:30 pm – 4:30 pm) |
| Exam Language | English, Hindi |
| Duration of Exam | 2 hours for Paper 2 CSAT |
| Total Number of Questions | 80 |
| Total Marks Allotted | 200 Marks |
| Marking Scheme | Correct Answer: + 2.5 Mark for each correct answer Incorrect Answer: -0.83 marks for each wrong answer |
| Exam Date | 16th June 2024 |
UPSC CSAT Exam is held in the second shift of the UPSC Prelims Exam Day. There are 80 questions for 200 marks, which are to be completed in 2 hours. There is a negative marking of 1/3rd marks for every incorrect answer.
The table below contains the UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern in detail:
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UPSC CSAT Exam Pattern |
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| Exam type | Objective |
| Number of questions | 80 |
| Negative Marking | -0.83 (1/3rd) marks for each incorrect answer |
| Exam Duration | 2 Hours |
| Language of Exam | English or Hindi |
| Total Marks allotted | 200 |
| Paper Type | Qualifying (min 33% ie. UPSC CSAT Passing Marks are 66) |
For the UPSC CSAT Exam, the qualifying marks are calculated based on a percentage of marks. As per the UPSC guidelines, candidates need to score a minimum of 33% marks in the CSAT paper to qualify for further evaluation.
Both GS Paper 1 and CSAT are mandatory to attend. Failure to appear for either of them will result in the cancellation of candidature. Additionally, it’s essential to qualify for the CSAT by scoring at least 33.33% marks to have your marks in GS Paper 1 considered for merit calculation.
Since the UPSC CSAT paper consists of 80 questions worth a total of 200 marks, candidates would need to score at least 66 marks (which is 33% of 200 marks) to meet the qualifying criteria.
The UPSC CSAT Syllabus is released by UPSC along with the UPSC Notification every year. Let us have a look at the overview of the UPSC CSAT Syllabus 2024, that has been released by the UPSC in its official UPSC CSE Exam 2024 Notification:
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The table below contains the detailed syllabus of Quantitative Aptitude for the UPSC CSAT Exam 2024:
| UPSC CSAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus | |
| Basic Numeracy | General Mental Ability |
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The table below contains the detailed syllabus of Reasoning for the UPSC CSAT Exam 2024:
| UPSC CSAT Reasoning Syllabus | |
| Logical Reasoning And Analytical Ability | Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency |
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The table below contains the detailed syllabus of Comprehension and Decision Making for the UPSC CSAT Exam 2024:
| UPSC CSAT Comprehension and Decision Making Syllabus | |
| Reading Comprehension | Decision Making |
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UPSC CSAT 2023 Exam Question Paper covered a wide range of subjects for evaluating students’ aptitude skills and comprehension abilities.
The UPSC CSAT 2023 exam’s topical weighting is shown in the table as follows:
| UPSC CSAT Exam Analysis – Topic Wise Weightage | |
| Topic | Weightage (%) |
| Reading Comprehension | 33% |
| Interpersonal Skills | 15% |
| Logical Reasoning | 25% |
| Decision Making | 10% |
| Basic Numeracy | 15% |
| Data Interpretation | 5% |
Previous year Trend Analysis of the UPSC CSAT Exam subject-wise syllabus and formulation of a great study plan are vital parts of passing this paper.
The table contains the trend analysis of the Previous year question papers of UPSC CSAT Exam, from UPSC CSAT Exam 2011 to the latest Exam year, UPSC CSAT Exam 2023:
| UPSC CSAT Exam Analysis – Previous Year Trends | |||||
| Exam Year | Reading Comprehension | Logical & Analytical Reasoning | Data Interpretation | Decision Making & Problem Solving | Math & Basic Numeracy |
| 2011 | 39 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| 2012 | 40 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| 2013 | 33 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 11 |
| 2014 | 31 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| 2015 | 30 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| 2016 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| 2017 | 30 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 2018 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| 2019 | 30 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 2020 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 42 |
| 2021 | 27 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 35 |
| 2022 | 27 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| 2023 | 27 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
UPSC CSAT Exam is part of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. It assesses a candidate’s analytical skills, decision-making ability, and aptitude. UPSC CSE exam consists of two papers: General Studies Paper-I and CSAT Paper-II.
Paper-I covers general knowledge and current events, while Paper-II (CSAT) tests comprehension, logical reasoning, and quantitative aptitude. Each paper is worth 200 marks and lasts two hours. There is a negative marking of 1/3rd of the marks assigned to each question for incorrect answers. Candidates must score a minimum of 33% in Paper-II to qualify for the mains.
| UPSC CSE Prelims Exam Structure | |||||
| Paper | Subject | Duration | Total Marks | Number of Questions | Marking Scheme |
| General Studies I | General Knowledge and Current Events | 2 hours | 200 | 100 | +2 marks for each correct answer |
| CSAT (Paper-II) | Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude | 2 hours | 200 | 80 | +2.5 marks for each correct answer, -0.83 marks for each incorrect answer |
The UPSC CSE Prelims Exam is typically held in two sessions: the morning session and the afternoon session. The UPSC GS Paper I is held in the morning session and the GS Paper II (CSAT) is held in the afternoon session.
The morning session begins at 9:30 AM and ends at 11:30 AM, while the afternoon session commences at 2:30 PM and concludes at 4:30 PM. Each session consists of two hours, during which candidates are required to answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs) covering various subjects such as General Studies and Aptitude.
The table below contains the UPSC CSAT exam timings:
| UPSC CSAT Exam Timings | |||
| Session | Exam Name | Reporting Time | Exam Timing |
| Morning | GS Paper I | 8:00 AM – 9:20 AM | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM |
| Afternoon | GS Paper II (CSAT) | 1:00 PM – 2:20 PM | 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM |
The UPSC CSAT Exam marking scheme involves awarding 2.5 marks for each correct answer and deducting 0.83 marks for each incorrect answer. There is no negative marking penalty for questions that will be left unanswered.
The table below contains the marking scheme for the UPSC CSAT Exam 2024:
| UPSC CSAT Exam Marking Scheme | |
| Type of Answer | Marks Awarded |
| Correct Answer | +2.5 |
| Incorrect Answer | -0.83 |
| Unanswered | 0 |
UPSC CSAT Exam requires the candidates to choose the correct books for an efficient preparation of the Exam. The list below contains some of the Recommended books for the UPSC CST Exam:
UPSC CSAT Exam requires a comprehensive Preparation strategy. UPSC aspirants should prepare for the UPSC CSAT Exam in an efficient manner in order to qualify the Exam. UPSC aspirants can follow the UPSC CSAT Exam Preparation Strategy given below:
Previous year Papers are very helpful in the Exam preparation. The UPSC aspirants should download the UPSC CSAT Previous year Papers for a comprehensive preparation.
The table below contains the PDF Download link of UPSC CSAT Previous year Question Papers:
| UPSC CSAT Previous Year Question Papers PDF | |
| Year | UPSC CSAT Question Paper |
| 2024 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2024 PDF |
| 2023 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2023 PDF |
| 2022 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2022 PDF |
| 2021 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2021 PDF |
| 2020 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2020 PDF |
| 2019 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2019 PDF |
| 2018 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2018 PDF |
| 2016 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2016 PDF |
| 2015 | Download UPSC CSAT Question Paper 2015 PDF |
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