UPSC Mains Question Paper 2025: The UPSC Mains Exam 2025 is the second stage of the Civil Services Examination. The examination is scheduled to take place from 22nd August to 31st August, 2025. It consists of nine papers: one Essay paper, four General Studies (GS) papers, two qualifying papers (Compulsory Indian Language and English), and two papers on the chosen optional subject.

UPSC Mains 2025 examination begins with the UPSC Essay Paper on 22 August in the first shift from 9:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. After each paper, candidates will be able to download the UPSC Mains Question Papers 2025 PDFs for practice and analysis.

UPSC Mains Question Paper With Solution Overview

UPSC Mains Exam 2025 will be held from 22 to 31 August in offline mode, comprising nine descriptive papers. These include the Essay, four General Studies papers, two optional papers, and two qualifying language papers. Candidates can download the UPSC Mains Question Paper 2025 PDFs after each exam.

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Candidates can also download UPSC Mains Question Papers with solutions to understand the approach to each question.

UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025 PDF

UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025 was conducted on 22 August 2025 from 9:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M., marking the beginning of UPSC Mains 2025. Candidates can download the UPSC Mains Essay Paper PDF after the official exam to practice essay writing, structure arguments, and improve clarity.

Download UPSC Mains Essay Question Paper 2025

UPSC Mains General Studies Papers 2025 PDFs

The four General Studies papers was conducted on 23 and 24 August 2025. The examination shift for GS papers is going to be divided in two shifts, that is the forenoon session from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and the afternoon session from 2:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. Each GS paper carries 250 marks and is descriptive in nature. The UPSC Mains General Studies Papers 2025 PDFs are available for download only after the scheduled exam dates.

UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 2025 PDFs

UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 2025 was held on 23 August from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. This paper evaluates a candidate’s understanding of history, art, culture, society, and geography. The official UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 2025 PDF is available for download after the exam for practice and revision.

Download UPSC Mains 2025 GS 1 Question Paper

UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 2025 PDFs

UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 2025 was conducted on 23 August, from 2:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. It tests governance, constitution, social justice, and international relations. Candidates can download the UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 2025 PDF here;

UPSC Mains GS 2 Question Paper 2025 PDF Download

UPSC Mains GS Paper 3 2025 PDFs

UPSC Mains GS Paper 3 2025 was conducted on 24 August from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. It covers economy, environment, technology, disaster management, and security. Aspirants may download the UPSC Mains GS Paper 3 2025 PDF after the exam. 

UPSC Mains GS 3 Question Paper 2025 PDF

UPSC Mains GS Paper 4 2025 PDFs (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)

UPSC Mains GS Paper 4 2025 was held on 24 August from 2:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. It focuses on ethics, aptitude, and integrity in public life. The paper includes case studies, and its UPSC Mains GS Paper 4 2025 PDF is available for download after the official exam.

UPSC Mains GS 4 Question Paper 2025 PDF

UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper PDFs

The qualifying Indian Language and English papers were held on 30 August 2025, from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Each carries 300 marks and tests comprehension, précis, translation, and essay writing. UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper PDFs were available for download here;

UPSC Mains Optional Question Papers 2025 PDF Download

UPSC Mains Optional Papers 2025 were conducted on 31 August 2025 in two sessions. Each paper carries 250 marks, and together they form a crucial part of the UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination. Candidates are required to select one optional subject from a list of 48 subjects, which includes 25 core subjects and 22 literature subjects.

List of UPSC Mains Optional Subjects 2025

• Core Subjects:
  Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce & Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science & International Relations (PSIR), Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology.
• Literature Subjects:
  Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English.
• The literature subjects are descriptive in nature and test candidates on prose, poetry, and literary analysis. Like the core subjects, they were also conducted on 31 August 2025.

Candidates can download the official UPSC Mains Optional Question Papers 2025 PDFs from the UPSC website once released. For convenience, direct links to available PDFs are provided below. Some papers are already available for download, while others will be updated soon.

Download UPSC Optional Papers 2025 PDFs

How to Download UPSC Mains Question Paper 2025?

After the UPSC Mains Exam 2025, UPSC will provide the Official UPSC Mains Exam 2025 PDFs. Once the papers are updated by UPSC, aspirants can follow these simple steps:

1. Visit https://upsc.gov.in/
2. Go to the Previous Question Papers section.
3. Click on Download link. 
4. Aspirants can also directly check them by clicking this link, https://pwonlyias.com/mains-previous-year-papers/.

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