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UPSC Mains Optional Subjects List is an essential component of the Civil Services Examination, and selecting the most effective UPSC Mains Optional Subjects will aid applicants in achieving high exam scores.
PWOnlyIAS
August 10, 2024
UPSC Mains Optional Subjects List is an essential component of the Civil Services Examination, and selecting the most effective UPSC Mains Optional Subjects will aid applicants in achieving high exam scores. This blog will provide you with the details of UPSC Mains Optional Subjects list as well as some guidance on selecting an optional subject for the UPSC IAS mains examination.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) test is renowned for its extensive prelim and main exam syllabus as well as its collective interview selection procedure. Selecting the appropriate UPSC Mains Optional Subjects is one of the challenging choices that aspirants have to make.
There are totally 48 UPSC Mains Optional Subjects available for candidates. They should choose the subjects in which they are familiar and interested with to score high marks. This is a crucial decision that will affect how you prepare and how well you perform overall.
Every year, the UPSC Commission publishes the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects List via an official notification. Choosing the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects has been a significant component of the UPSC exam as it affects the final score. This choice must be carefully considered since it can have a big impact on a candidate’s prospects of becoming an IAS officer. It is necessary to choose UPSC Mains Optional Subjects for Papers 6 and 7 of the Mains examination. These 2 optional papers are worth 250 marks each.
In the UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination, candidates are required to attend two papers for UPSC Mains Optional Subjects. Out of the nine papers in the UPSC Mains examinations, two are specifically allotted to the optional subjects.
Out of a total of 1750 marks for the Mains, each optional paper is worth 250 marks, and a total of 500 marks for 2 optional subjects. As a result, your final ranking may be significantly impacted by how well you achieve in the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects.
The primary exam for civil services is the UPSC Mains exam. There are a total of 9 papers in the UPSC Mains exam in which 4 papers are GS, 2 are Language papers (qualifying in nature), 1 paper is essay and the last 2 papers are UPSC Mains Optional Subjects. The two optional papers have 500 marks in total, while the general studies papers are for 1000 marks, and the essay paper is for 250 marks.
The candidates should weigh the advantages and disadvantages carefully before selecting the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects. The UPSC Mains Optional Subjects list consists of a total of 48 subjects, from which applicants must select only one. The 48 optional subjects include 25 basic subjects and 23 literature subjects. The following table is the list of 48 UPSC Mains Optional Subjects:
| S.No | List of Optional Subjects | S.No | List of Literature Subjects |
| 1 | Agriculture | 1 | Assamese |
| 2 | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | 2 | Bengali |
| 3 | Anthropology | 3 | Bodo |
| 4 | Botany | 4 | Dogri |
| 5 | Chemistry | 5 | Gujarati |
| 6 | Civil Engineering | 6 | Hindi |
| 7 | Commerce & Accountancy | 7 | Kannada |
| 8 | Economics | 8 | Kashmiri |
| 9 | Electrical Engineering | 9 | Konkani |
| 10 | Geography | 10 | Maithili |
| 11 | Geology | 11 | Malayalam |
| 12 | History | 12 | Manipuri |
| 13 | Law | 13 | Marathi |
| 14 | Management | 14 | Nepali |
| 15 | Mathematics | 15 | Oriya |
| 16 | Mechanical Engineering | 16 | Punjabi |
| 17 | Medical Science | 17 | Sanskrit |
| 18 | Philosophy | 18 | Santhali |
| 19 | Physics | 19 | Sindhi |
| 20 | Political Science & International Relations | 20 | Tamil |
| 21 | Psychology | 21 | Telugu |
| 22 | Public Administration | 22 | Urdu |
| 23 | Sociology | 23 | English |
| 24 | Statistics | ||
| 25 | Zoology |
The extensive syllabus for the UPSC Mains exam covers a broad range of topics. Candidates must pass required papers, but elective courses or UPSC Mains Optional Subjects give them a chance to demonstrate their knowledge of and enthusiasm for a particular subject. These UPSC Mains Optional Subjects provide applicants the opportunity to focus more deeply on a subject of their choosing and make the most of their prior knowledge and abilities.
Additionally, picking the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects that fits with one’s experience or academic strong points will improve test-day performance and confidence. However, based on past year’s patterns, some of the UPSC Mains optional subjects such as Sociology, History, Political Science and International Relations, Geography, and Economics are appreciated by candidates because they align with the General Studies Syllabus of both the UPSC Prelims and Mains exams.
The UPSC toppers have historically cleared particular subjects, even though selecting the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects is subjective and should fit an individual’s interests and skills. The following table represents the choice of UPSC Mains Optional Subjects that UPSC toppers have chosen during their UPSC Mains exam:
| Year | UPSC Rank 1 Toppers Name | Optional Subject Chosen |
| 2023 | Aditya Srivastava | Electrical Engineering |
| 2022 | Ishita Kishore | Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) |
| 2021 | Shruti Sharma | History |
| 2020 | Subham Kumar | Anthropology |
| 2019 | Pradeep Singh | Public Administration |
| 2018 | Kanishak Kataria | Mathematics |
| 2017 | Anudeep Durishetty | Anthropology |
| 2016 | Nandini K. R. | Kannada Literature |
| 2015 | Tina Dabi | Political Science |
| 2014 | Ira Singhal | Geography |
| 2013 | Gaurav Aggarwal | Economics |
| 2012 | Haritha V. Kumar | Economics & Malayalam Literature |
| 2011 | Shena Aggarwal | Medical Science and Psychology |
| 2010 | S Divyadharshini | Public Administration & Law |
| 2009 | Shah Faesal | Public Administration & Urdu Literature |
| 2008 | Shubhra Saxena | Psychology & Public Administration |
| 2007 | Adapa Karthik | Zoology & Psychology |
| 2006 | Mutyala Raju Revu | Electrical Engineering & Mathematics |
| 2005 | Mona Pruthi | English Literature & Sociology |
| 2004 | S. Nagarajan | Geography & Sociology |
| 2003 | Roopa Mishra | Psychology & Public Administration |
| 2002 | Ankur Garg | Physics & Chemistry |
| 2001 | Alok Ranjan Jha | Geography |
| 2000 | Vijaylakshmi Bidari | Kannada Literature |
The following list of the Top 10 UPSC Mains Optional Subjects is a reflection of their popularity and performance history among applicants. To ace the mains exam, don’t forget to select an elective that plays to your interests and strong points.
The Top 10 UPSC Mains Optional Subjects are listed below:
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For candidates preparing for the civil service, the Success Rates for UPSC Mains Optional Subjects is a crucial factor to take into account. All candidates go through the same GS exam process, but the optional subjects that they choose might have a big impact on their chances of passing.
The UPSC mains optional subjects report is taken from the candidates who took the 2019 Civil Services Mains Examination and based on their success rate. The following table shows the subject-wise distribution of Success Rates for UPSC Mains Optional Subjects:
| Optional Subjects | Number of Candidates Appeared | Recommended | Success Rate in Percentage |
| Agriculture | 124 | 13 | 10.5% |
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science | 16 | 3 | 18.8% |
| Anthropology | 1189 | 108 | 9.1% |
| Botany | 28 | 2 | 7.1% |
| Chemistry | 156 | 13 | 8.3% |
| Civil Engineering | 146 | 15 | 10.3% |
| Commerce & Accountancy | 183 | 20 | 10.9% |
| Economics | 243 | 26 | 10.7% |
| Electrical Engineering | 200 | 16 | 8.0% |
| Geography | 1916 | 105 | 5.5% |
| Geology | 30 | 0 | 0.0% |
| History | 751 | 51 | 6.8% |
| Law | 186 | 19 | 10.2% |
| Management | 54 | 6 | 11.1% |
| Mathematics | 539 | 45 | 8.3% |
| Mechanical Engineering | 213 | 12 | 5.6% |
| Medical Science | 247 | 26 | 10.5% |
| Philosophy | 439 | 27 | 6.2% |
| Physics | 165 | 12 | 7.3% |
| Political Science & International Relations | 1662 | 137 | 8.2% |
| Psychology | 164 | 15 | 9.1% |
| Public Administration | 705 | 58 | 8.2% |
| Sociology | 1263 | 126 | 10.0% |
| Statistics | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Zoology | 44 | 4 | 9.1% |
| Literature Of Assamese Language | 3 | 0 | 8.2% |
| Literature Of Bengali Language | 1 | 0 | 10.0% |
| Literature Of English Language | 31 | 3 | 9.7% |
| Literature of Gujarati Language | 85 | 3 | 3.5% |
| Literature of Hindi Language | 191 | 13 | 16.8% |
| Literature of Kannada Language | 124 | 17 | 13.7% |
| Literature of Maithili Language | 53 | 2 | 3.8% |
| Literature of Malayalam Language | 105 | 13 | 12.4% |
| Literature of Manipur Language | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Literature of Marathi Language | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Literature of Oriya Language | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Literature of Punjabi Language | 18 | 1 | 5.6% |
| Literature of Sanskrit Language | 53 | 2 | 3.8% |
| Literature of Sindhi Language | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Literature of Tamil Language | 77 | 5 | 6.5% |
| Literature of Telugu Language | 32 | 1 | 3.1% |
| Literature of Urdu Language | 18 | 2 | 11.1% |
The UPSC Candidates can be perplexed about the optional subject to choose for the UPSC mains exam. Aspirants should choose the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects that’s simple to cover the syllabus. They should be aware of the study resources and notes availability.
When selecting the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects, students must take the following factors into account:
The UPSC Mains Optional Subjects demands a methodical and concentrated approach to preparation. Here are some pointers to help you prepare for your selected optional subject:
Your success on the UPSC exam can be significantly impacted by your choice of selecting UPSC Mains Optional Subjects. It’s crucial to choose a subject that fits with your interests, experience, and study skills, even though common selections include public administration, geography, history, economics, and sociology. Always keep in mind that diligence, perseverance, and astute study techniques are essential to your UPSC exam success.
Are you ready to ace the UPSC exams and secure your dream career in civil services? Choose Physics Wallah’s online UPSC courses!
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| UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers | UPSC Test Series 2024 |
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