UPSC Exam 2024 date has been released by UPSC. The UPSC 2024 Exam Prelims Date is June 16, 2024, and UPSC Mains 2024 is scheduled to take place on 20th September. Check all the information related to the UPSC 2024 Exam in the given article.
IAS is one of the most sought-after careers currently in India. Candidates are selected for serving as an IAS or other officer based on their score in the UPSC 2024 Exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Service Examination (CSE) to recruit candidates for central service. This exam is popularly known as the IAS exam and is attempted by lakhs of students every year.
The UPSC 2024 Exam is conducted in three stages: prelims, mains and interview. Prelims is basically to filter out the majority of candidates, while the marks of Mains, along with that of Personality Interview is considered for calculating final rankings. The details about the stages of examination, syllabus, books, strategy etc can be found here.
| UPSC Exam Important Updates | |
| Event | Date |
| UPSC 2024 Notification Date | February 14, 2024 |
| UPSC Vacancy 2024 | 1056 |
| UPSC Calendar 2024 | Click here |
| UPSC Calendar 2025 | Click here |
| UPSC 2024 Prelims Date | June 16, 2024 |
| UPSC 2024 Prelims Results | 1st July 2024 |
| UPSC 2024 Mains Date | 20 September 2024 |
| UPSC 2024 Mains Result | To Be Updated |
| UPSC Interview 2024 | To Be Updated |
| UPSC 2024 Final Results | To Be Updated |
The Union Public Service Commission has recently published the UPSC 2024 Exam Calendar on its official website @upsc.gov.in. The UPSC Exam Calendar 2024 contains important dates for notifications, online registration, and the exam itself.
According to the official UPSC Calendar 2024 released on 10th May 2023, the UPSC Exam Date 2024 is scheduled for 16th June 2024, and the UPSC Mains 2024 will commence on 20 September 2024.
If you’re planning to prepare for the UPSC 2024 Exam, this calendar will be a valuable resource. The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year in three stages: Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. It’s a highly competitive exam that requires rigorous preparation to crack the examination.
According to the official UPSC Calendar 2024 released on May 10, 2023, the UPSC Exam Date 2024 was scheduled for May 26, 2024, and the UPSC Mains 2024 will commence on September 20, 2024.
However, due to the schedule of the impending general election, the UPSC has decided to postpone the UPSC 2024 Exam prelims, which also serves as a screening test for the Indian Forest Service Examination 2024, from May 26, 2024, to June 16, 2024. No notification has been given for the CSE main examination. Therefore, it has to be conducted on the scheduled date, i.e., September 20, 2024.
| Date of Notification | 14th February |
| Number of Vacancies | 1056 (CSE)
150 (IFoS) |
| Beginning of Registration | 14th February |
| End of Registration | 5th March |
| Release of Admit Card | May 2024 |
| Date of Preliminary Examination | 16th June 2024 |
| Results of Preliminary Exam | 1st July 2024 |
| Dates of Mains Examination | September 20 Onwards |
UPSC 2024 Exam date for prelims was initially announced as May 26 2024. However, the date was postponed to 16th June owing to the General Elections taking place in the country.
Candidates are requested to make a note of the changes in date for UPSC prelims 2024. The UPSC Mains 2024 will be held on the predetermined dates, beginning from 20th September 2024.
| UPSC prelims (Old Date) | 26th May |
| UPSC Prelims (New Date) | 16th June |
| UPSC Mains | 20th September onwards |
UPSC 2024 Exam is conducted for two types of posts: Group A and Group B. The list of some important Group A & Group B posts is given below:
The service-wise and state-wise UPSC 2024 Exam vacancy.
| Type | Service Name |
| All-India Service | |
| Group ‘A’ Civil Services |
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| Group ‘B’ Civil Services |
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The procedure for filing the form of UPSC 2024 Exam has undergone change in recent times. It is now a requirement to register oneself on the OTR application before proceeding with filling the form.
The Candidate has to fill the Part-1 of the application form before proceeding to the Part-2. Steps involved in filling the Part-1 of the application form is as follows:
Without filling the Part 2 of the exam, a candidature is invalid. It is therefore advised to fill Part 2 immediately after completing Part 1.
The UPSC Prelims is the first stage of the UPSC 2024 Exam and consists of two objective-type papers: General Studies I and General Studies II (or CSAT). These papers are conducted on the same day in two sessions in offline mode (pen-paper).
The preliminary round is a screening test and only serves as a qualifying round. The marks obtained in this stage are not included in the final merit calculation. The score in General Studies Paper-I is crucial in determining the cut-off for the UPSC Prelims Exam. CSAT serves as a qualifying component, necessitating candidates to achieve a minimum score of 33%, equivalent to 66 marks, to be considered for merit in the UPSC Prelims result. It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the papers examinations for the purpose of evaluation. The candidate will be disqualified if he/she does not appear in both papers of the preliminary examination.
IAS aspirants can check the UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern in the given below table:
| Type | General Studies Paper 1 | GS Paper II- (CSAT) |
| Questions | 100 Objective Types MCQ’s | 80 Objective Type MCQ’s |
| Marks | 200 Marks | 200 Marks |
| Negative Marking | +2 Marks/Question and -0.66 Negative Marks/Question | +2.5 Marks/Question /Question and -0.83 Negative Marks/Question |
| Duration Of Exam | 2 Hours | 2 Hours |
| Qualifying Marks | Cut-Off List | Minimum 33% |
| Languages | English and Hindi | English and Hindi. |
| Presence | Mandatory | Mandatory. |
| Total Number of Papers | Qualifying Papers: 2
Compulsory Papers: 7 |
| Language of Papers | English
Hindi Descriptive paper: Candidates can appear for language paper in 22 languages mentioned in schedule 8 of the Indian constitution. |
| Subjects | Compulsory Indian language
English Essay Optional I Optional II |
| Marks | Part A and B: 300 each General studies and optional paper: 250 each |
| Maximum Marks | 1750 |
| Exam Duration | 3 hours for each paper |
| Medium of Examination | Part A and Part B: Respective Languages
General Studies: Medium chosen by the candidate. Optional: English, Hindi or the language of the literature. |
Candidates who successfully clear the Mains stage of the UPSC 2024 Exam with the required cut-off marks move on to the final stage, which is the Personality Test or Interview round conducted by the UPSC Board Members.
Those who qualify for this stage will receive an e-summon from the Commission for a face-to-face discussion with the board members. During the interview, the board evaluates the candidates’ personality traits and asks questions related to their hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, and situational questions.
| Total Interview Marks | 275 |
| Interview Location | Dholpur House, New Delhi |
| Interview Medium | English, Hindi, or any other regional language chosen by the candidates. |
| Dress Code | Formal attire or any other dress that is presentable. |
| Eligibility | Candidates qualifying the UPSC Mains |
The UPSC 2024 Exam has kept very low eligibility criteria for candidates to appear. This is the reason why lakhs of candidates apply for the exam, compared to specific services such as Engineering Service. For a candidate to appear for the IAS Exam, he/she has to majorly fulfil two types of criteria: age criteria and educational criteria. In addition, there are limits imposed on the number of attempts a candidate can give, the physical qualifications and citizenship criteria. The minimum qualification for IAS is as follows:
The UPSC 2024 Exam age limit for the candidates belonging to the General category is 21 to 32 years.
For being eligible for UPSC 2024 Exam, candidates must be at least 21 years old and not more than 32 years old as of August 1, 2024.
However, there are age limit relaxation for candidates belonging to certain categories:
| Category of Candidates | Age Relaxation |
| Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes | 5 years |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) | 3 years |
| Defence Services Personnel disabled in operations | 3 years |
| Ex-servicemen (Commissioned Officers, Emergency Commissioned Officers and Short Service Commissioned Officers) with at least five years of service | 5 years |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD)
(a) blindness and low vision; (b) deaf and low hearing; (c) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; (d) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; and (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness |
10 years |
There is a citizenship qualification for Grade-A Services such as IAS, IPS and IFS in UPSC 2024 Exam.
| Service | Citizenship Requirements |
| IAS | A Citizen of India |
| IPS | A Citizen of India |
| IFS | A Citizen of India or a Person of Indian origin (PIO) who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zaire, and Vietnam, for permanently settling in India. |
| Other Services |
|
Candidates who are citizens of Nepal, citizens of Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee or a Person of Indian origin (PIO) who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zaire, and Vietnam, for permanently settling in India, must furnish a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India for getting appointed, even though they are eligible to write exam without it.
The UPSC imposes a limit on the number of times a candidate can appear for the UPSC 2024 Exam. This number varies according to the category of the candidate.
| Category | Number of Attempts | Maximum Age (Years) |
| General and EWS | 6 | 32 |
| OBC | 9 | 35 |
| PwBD | 9 | 42 |
| SC and ST | Unlimited | 37 |
| Ex-Servicemen | 9 | 37 |
| Disabled Defence Services Personnel | 9 | 35 |
| General/OBC/EWS PwBD candidates | 9 | See below Description |
| SC/ST categories PwBD candidates | Unlimited | See below Description |
| Age Relaxation for PWD Candidate
The prescribed upper age-limit of an examination (wherever applicable) is relaxable up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to PwBD categories as below (a) low vision and blindness; (b) deaf and hard of hearing; (c) Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; (d) Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; (e) Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (e) including deaf, blindness. PwBD candidates, who also belong to either SC or ST or OBC or Ex-servicemen, are eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both categories. |
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Candidates aspiring to clear UPSC 2024 Exam have to maintain certain physical fitness and capabilities. Without minimum standards, they may not be considered for the service.
Candidates are required to pass a medical fitness examination to assess their physical capabilities to become civil servants.
For being appointed as IPS officers for districts, Indian Railway services and the police services of Pondicherry, candidates need to have necessary weight, height, and chest measurements.
The medical test for assessing the physical fitness will be conducted at the following hospital in Delhi:
The UPSC 2024 Exam Syllabus is an essential aspect that aspirants need to understand thoroughly when preparing for UPSC exams. The syllabus is comprehensive and includes subjects like General Studies, Essay Writing, Indian History, Indian Polity, Economy, Geography, Environment, Science & Technology, Current Affairs, and more.
Moreover, the UPSC Syllabus also includes optional subjects that candidates can choose based on their interests and expertise. The detailed syllabus for UPSC prelims and Mains is given below.
UPSC 2024 Exam prelims will be in MCQ format. Candidates will have to attempt two papers: General Studies and CSAT. The marks scored in only General Studies paper will be considered for qualification for mains. The candidates have to secure a fixed cutoff of 66.66 marks in the CSAT paper.
Candidates have to study subjects such as polity, history, economy etc as part of General Studies. The detailed prelims General Studies syllabus for UPSC 2024 Exam is as below.
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Comprehension, reasoning and numerical abilities make up the syllabus of the CSAT paper in UPSC 2024 Exam. The detailed CSAT syllabus is given below.
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The Mains syllabus of UPSC 2024 Exam consists of nine papers. There are two language papers (qualifying), one essay paper, four General Studies Papers and two optional papers. The details of the syllabus are given below.
UPSC 2024 Exam Mains includes two qualifying papers: Paper A: Indian Language and Paper B: English. Each paper has a weightage of 300 marks. The minimum qualifying mark is 25% (75 marks) in these language papers. The marks scored in these papers will not be considered for merit rank calculation. The details of the syllabus are provided below.
| Paper Name | Syllabus |
| Paper A: Compulsory Indian Language | (i) comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing. (iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essays. (v) Translation from English to the Indian Language. |
| Paper B: Compulsory English | (i) Comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing. (iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essays. |
UPSC 2024 Exam Mains Essay paper is one of the seven papers considered for merit calculation. The total marks for the Essay paper are 250. The syllabus for the essay paper is given below.
| Paper Name | Syllabus |
| Essay |
|
There are four General Studies papers for the UPSC 2024 Exam Mains. The papers cover subjects such as history, polity, economy, ethics, etc. The marks scored in these four papers, each of which is 250 marks, will be considered for final merit calculation. The details of the syllabus are given below.
| Paper Name | Syllabus |
| General Studies 1 |
|
| General Studies 2 |
|
| General Studies 3 |
|
| General Studies 4 | This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilize the case study approach to determine these aspects.
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Candidates writing UPSC 2024 Exam mains have to select one of the optional subjects from the list below.
| 1. Anthropology | 2. Political Science and International Relations | 3. Public Administration | 4. Sociology |
| 5. History | 6. Physics | 7. Chemistry | 8. Zoology |
| 9. Botany | 10. Medical Science | 11. Statistics | 12. Philosophy |
| 13. Psychology | 14. Law | 15. Geography | 16. Geology |
| 17. Literature Language | 18. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | 19. Agriculture | 20. Economics |
| 21. Civil Engineering | 22. Commerce and Accountancy | 23. Mechanical Engineering | 24. Mathematics |
| 25. Management | 26. Electrical Engineering |
Available Literature Languages:
Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Kannada, Manipuri, Marathi, Santhali, Sanskrit, Maithili, Malayalam, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. (Total 23 Languages)
The UPSC 2024 Exam requires extensive knowledge and clarity of concepts. This is the reason why candidates have doubts when it comes to selecting the books for preparation. Following are some of the core books that are vital for IAS Preparation, both prelims and mains.
| Subject | Books |
| Polity |
|
| History |
|
| Geography |
|
| Environment and Ecology |
|
| Disaster management |
|
| Internal Security |
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| International Relation |
|
| Science and Technology |
|
| Ethics |
|
| Economy |
|
| Art and Culture |
|
Test series are of utmost importance for any candidate preparing seriously for the exam. Attempting test series will help them get used to the rigorous challenge they are likely to encounter during the actual exam. Test series will also help in managing time effectively and address any weakness in their preparation.
Join Test Series for UPSC 2024 by Physics Wallah!
An admit card is an official document that contains the name of the candidate, their photograph and signature, roll number, parents’ details, location of the exam centre and examination session, etc.
A candidate has to carry the admit card in order to attend the UPSC 2024 Exam. UPSC releases admit cards for each stage of the examination – prelims, mains and interview. Without an admit card, a candidate is not allowed to attend the examination.
A candidate has to know certain details before downloading the admit card from the UPSC website. To download an admit card, a candidate must have information about his/her registration id and date of birth they have used while filling the form. The registration id has to be noted down while filling the application for UPSC prelims examination.
Visit the official website of UPSC to download the admit card. It will be an e-admit card, which is a tentative document that allows a candidate to attend the examination. The commission does not issue admit cards through post.
To download UPSC 2024 Exam admit card, follow the given procedure below:
Candidates preparing for UPSC 2024 Exam require certain planning to increase their chances of qualification. Through systematic planning, dedication and hard-work, UPSC 2024 preparation can be simplified:
Analysis of PYQs gives an idea about the types of questions asked in the exam. A closer look at PYQs will help candidates predict the themes that are most likely to be repeated again in UPSC 2024 Exam, both prelims as well as mains. Solving PYQs can also help candidates answer the questions correctly in case the themes are repeated. The following table contains links of PYQs for UPSC Exam:
UPSC analysis will help candidates to streamline their preparation in the right direction. This will give them a much-needed path to increase their chances of success.
UPSC 2024 Prelims Examination was conducted on June 16, 2024, across India. The analysis of the paper will be available after the exam. The exam analysis of the last few years is provided below.
| Year of Prelims Exam | Exam Analysis Link |
| UPSC Prelims 2024 | UPSC Prelims 2024 Exam Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2023 | UPSC Prelims 2023 Exam Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2022 | UPSC Prelims 2022 Exam Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2021 | UPSC Prelims 2021 Exam Analysis |
The UPSC 2024 Exam mains will be conducted from September 20th to September 28th across different centres. The papers for the main exam include Essay Paper, General Studies-Paper-I General Studies-I, Paper-III General Studies-II, Paper-IV General Studies-III, Paper-V General Studies-IV, Paper-A Indian Language, Paper-B English, Paper-VI Optional Subject-Paper-1, and Paper-VII Optional Subject-Paper-2. The exam analysis links for Essay and GS Papers are given below.
| Paper | Exam Analysis Link |
| Essay | Essay Paper Analysis |
| General Studies Paper 1 | GS 1 Analysis |
| General Studies Paper 2 | GS 2 Analysis |
| General Studies Paper 3 | GS 3 Analysis |
| General Studies Paper 4 | GS 4 Analysis |
Candidates preparing for UPSC 2024 Exam can use the official answer key to analyse how the examiner frames the options. This will help them tackle tricky questions during the examination. The table below contains links of both GS and CSAT paper:
| UPSC Prelims Answer Key Year-wise | ||
| Year of Examination | General Studies Paper | CSAT Paper |
| 2023 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2022 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2021 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2020 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2019 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2018 | Download Now | Download Now |
| 2017 | Download Now | Download Now |
UPSC releases exam results after each stage of the exam, i.e after prelims, mains and final result. Candidates appearing for UPSC 2024 Exam can check their result on the official website of UPSC.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the UPSC Prelims Result 2023 on 12th June 2023. Aspirants who were eagerly waiting for their UPSC civil services preliminary results can check directly on the official website at www.upsc.gov.in.
The UPSC Prelims 2023 was successfully conducted by UPSC on 28th May 2023 for 1255 posts. The result is available in a PDF format, displaying the roll number-wise and name-wise list for both civil services and Indian Forest Services posts.
To access your results, Candidates can check the UPSC Prelims Result 2023 PDF.
A total of 2916 candidates are declared successful in UPSC Mains 2023 examination and will be called for Interview by UPSC. While 28 candidates’ result is currently with-held by UPSC due to pending court cases.
The results of UPSC Mains 2023 can be accessed here: UPSC Mains Result 2023.
The Union Public Service Commission will publish the UPSC Cutoff marks for the Civil Service Preliminary, Mains, and Final rounds on its official website, upsc.gov.in, along with the UPSC Final Result 2023.
Candidates who have appeared in the exam and are preparing for UPSC 2024 Exam can check the cut off marks from previous years.
The UPSC Prelims Cut-off marks for 2023 will be determined based on the GS Paper-I only. The IAS Prelims cut-off marks 2023 was announced after the UPSC Final Result 2023 was declared on the official website. These cut-off marks will be categorized according to each stage separately. The following is the cut-off for UPSC 2023:
| Category | Prelims Cut-off | Mains Cut-off | Final Cut-off |
| General | 75.41 | 741 | 953 |
| EWS | 68.02 | 706 | 923 |
| OBC | 74.75 | 712 | 919 |
| SC | 59.25 | 694 | 890 |
| ST | 47.82 | 692 | 891 |
| PwBD-1 | 40.40 | 673 | 894 |
| PwBD-2 | 47.13 | 718 | 930 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.40 | 396 | 756 |
| PwBD-5 | 33.68 | 445 | 589 |
Cutoff marks of UPSC 2024 Exam will be available prelims, mains and final list. Candidates can check the cutoff marks and understand where they stand in their performance.
Prelims cutoff analysis will help understand the changing difficulty level of the question paper. Based on this trend, we can predict the tentative cutoff marks for UPSC 2024 Exam prelims.
| Exam | Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2024 | UPSC Prelims 2024 Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2023 | UPSC Prelims 2023 Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2022 | UPSC Prelims 2022 Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2021 | UPSC Prelims 2021 Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2020 | UPSC Prelims 2020 Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Prelims 2019 | UPSC Prelims 2019 Cutoff Analysis |
Candidates preparing for UPSC 2024 Exam mains can refer to the mains cutoff from previous year to determine the difficulty level of the exam. This will prove to be a very useful tool.
| Exam | Cutoff Analysis |
| UPSC Mains | UPSC Mains Cutoff Analysis |
UPSC releases the marksheet of candidates who have appeared for the prelims, mains and interview. The marksheet is released only after the final results are announced. Candidates can check their 2023 marks by accessing their marksheet in UPSC’s official website through following steps:
Candidates qualifying Prelims as well as Mains have to fill Detailed Application Form (DAF) before their candidature is accepted in the subsequent stages. Candidates qualifying UPSC Prelims have to fill DAF-1 and those qualifying UPSC Mains have to fill DAF-2.
DAF-1 will contain details of the candidate such as educational qualification, job experience, address, personal information, reservation details etc. Candidates can check the details of filling DAF-1 below:
| Information Required | Educational details
Employment details Personal details Parental information Previous attempts Examination centre Interview medium |
| Documents Required | Matriculation Certificate
Degree Certificate/Final year appearing certificate Domicile Certificate/Caste Certificate along with Income/Property Proof Disability Certificate (for PwBD) Undertaking (in the case of Government Servants) |
| Mode of Filling Form | Online filling of form, including submission of documents |
| Exam Fees | GM/OBC: ₹200
SC/ST/PwBD/Female candidates: Exempted |
Candidates qualifying UPSC Mains are required to fill the DAF-2, which needs details such as hobbies, service preference, cadre preferences, medium of personality interview etc.
| DAF-2 | Procedure to fill DAF-2 |
UPSC 2024 Exam final results were announced on 16th April 2024 on UPSC’s official website. Candidates can follow these steps to check final results:
UPSC exam 2023 final result was declared on 16th April 2024. A total of 1016 candidates cleared the exam. Aditya Srivastava from Lucknow topped the exam with a total marks of 1099. The toppers of UPSC 2023 can be found in this image below:
Planning to Appear for UPSC Prelims 2024? Enroll in Physics Wallah’s top courses to boost your score!
No. UPSC mandates candidates to have a minimum educational qualification of graduation for being eligible for the exam. Candidates in their final year of graduation can also apply.
Candidates applying for UPSC 2024 must have completed a minimum age of 21 years on August 1st 2024.
UPSC is expected to release admit cards 20-25 days before the actual date of the exam. For UPSC 2024 prelims, admit cards may be released in the 3rd week of May.
UPSC prelims 2024 will be held on June 16th 2024. Previously, it was slated to be held on 26th May, but was postponed.
Candidates can select any test series that has been developed keeping in mind UPSC question paper format. There are many good quality test series available in the market.
PYQs help candidates understand the demand of the exam and the types of questions that may be asked. Careful analysis of PYQs can also help in predicting repeated themes.
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