UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024, Exam Pattern, Download PDF!

PWOnlyIAS September 19, 2024 03:28 3178 0

UPSC Mains syllabus 2024 will be helpful for all the aspirants aiming to appear for UPSC Mains 2024. Get the complete UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024, including all 9 papers and subject-wise details.

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024, Exam Pattern, Download PDF!

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024 consists of a total of 9 papers, including language papers, General Studies, Essays, and Optional Subject papers. Candidates aiming to appear for UPSC mains 2024 will have to prepare comprehensively for all these papers. It is crucial for the candidates to check the complete UPSC Mains Syllabus in order to have a basic understanding of the exam pattern and how vast the syllabus is. The UPSC mains syllabus 2024 consists of nine papers, out of which seven are used for calculating merit. The two other papers are qualifying in nature.

The complete information on the UPSC mains syllabus for all the papers is comprehensively covered here. Check out the details and begin your preparation now.

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UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024 Overview

The UPSC mains exam is descriptive in nature and is made up of 9 papers. Candidates who have qualified for the Prelims will appear for UPSC Mains. Comparatively, the Mains Syllabus is more descriptive and vast than Prelims Syllabus. The details of the UPSC mains syllabus are provided below.

Event	Details
Exam Name	UPSC Mains Exam 2024
Eligibility	Qualify Prelims
UPSC Mains Exam Date	Between 20th & 29th September 2024
Exam Format	Descriptive Paper
Number of Papers	9
Duration	3 hrs each
Nature of Exam	Qualifying in nature Considered for Merit
Qualifying Papers	Paper A (Indian Language) Paper B (English)
Qualifying Marks	75 Marks
Papers used for Calculating Merit	Essay General Studies I General Studies II General Studies III General Studies IV Optional Paper V Optional Paper 2
Total Marks	250 X 7 = 1750
Cutoff marks	Varies (741 for General in 2023)

UPSC Mains Exam Overview

The UPSC mains syllabus consists of nine papers. While Paper A and Paper B are qualifying in nature, a candidate’s score in Essay, General Studies, and Optional paper will be used to determine their merit ranking. The details are given in the table below.

Paper Number	Paper Name	Nature of Paper	Subjects	Marks
Paper A	Indian Language	Qualifying	Compulsory Indian Language from 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.	300
Paper B	English	Qualifying	English Language	300
Paper 1	Essay	Considered for Merit Calculation	Candidates are required to write two essays, covers a broad range of subjects, including: Socio-political, Economic issues, Environmental issues, International relations, Science and technology, Philosophical topics, etc.	250
Paper 2	General Studies 1	Considered for Merit Calculation	Geography History Indian Heritage and Culture Social Issues	250
Paper 3	General Studies 2	Considered for Merit Calculation	Polity and Governance Constitution Social Justice International Relations	250
Paper 4	General Studies 3	Considered for Merit Calculation	Economy and Growth Science and Technology Environment and Ecology Disaster Management Internal Security	250
Paper 5	General Studies 4	Considered for Merit Calculation	Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude	250
Paper 6	Optional Paper 1	Considered for Merit Calculation	NA	250
Paper 7	Optional Paper 2	Considered for Merit Calculation	NA	250

Comprehensive Paper-wise UPSC Mains Syllabus

The complete UPSC mains syllabus 2024 is given in this table below. Candidates can refer to this information while preparing for UPSC mains.

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 and vice-versa.
Paper B: Compulsory English	(i) Comprehension of given passages. (ii) Precis Writing. (iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essays.
Essay	Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay, arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
General Studies 1	Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues. The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country. Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country. History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society. Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies. Effects of globalization on Indian society. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism. Salient features of the world’s physical geography. Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India). Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclones etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
General Studies 2	Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein. Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries. Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to poverty and hunger. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. Role of civil services in a democracy. India and its neighborhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
General Studies 3	Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting. Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers. Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing. Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. Land reforms in India. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Investment models. Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Disaster and disaster management. Linkages between development and spread of extremism. Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention. Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
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 utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered: Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values. Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections. Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world. Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance. Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption. Case Studies on above issues.
Optional Paper 1	Optional Syllabus
Optional Paper 2	Optional Syllabus

UPSC Mains Optional Subjects

As part of UPSC Mains syllabus, candidates have to select one optional subject, which will consist of two papers. Each paper will have 250 marks.

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There are a total of 48 optional subjects provided by the UPSC including 23 literature subjects. The detailed optional subject list is given below.

Agriculture	Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science	Anthropology	Botany
Chemistry	Civil Engineering	Commerce and Accountancy	Economics
Electrical Engineering	Geography	Geology	History
Law	Management	Mathematics	Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science	Philosophy	Physics	Political Science and International Relations
Psychology	Public Administration	Sociology	Statistics
Zoology	Literature of any one of the following languages:

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, and Urdu.

Strategy to Cover UPSC Mains Syllabus

Candidates can adopt some of the strategies mentioned below to cover UPSC mains syllabus comprehensively.

Complete Mains Syllabus before Writing Prelims: Candidates have to complete their mains syllabus at least six months prior to the prelims exam.
Regularly Focus on Optional: Candidates have to dedicate certain amount of time every day to completing the optional subject.
Make Notes: Candidates have to make notes on main topics during their preparation phase so that they can revise them multiple times.
Revision: After writing prelims, candidates have to begin revising their main syllabus. This will give them certain advantages over others.

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UPSC Mains 2024 Related Articles
UPSC CSE Mains 2024	UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024
UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024	UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers
UPSC Mains Admit Card 2024	UPSC Mains Previous Year Cutoff

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UPSC Mains Syllabus FAQs

Candidates have to cover the mains syllabus within six months of beginning their preparation.

No. Paper A and Paper B are qualifying in nature. Candidates have to score 75 marks each in these papers.

Yes. UPSC asks questions linked to current affairs in UPSC mains exam.

Candidates have to study 1 optional subject, which consists of two papers.

Yes. Essay is part of UPSC mains syllabus and carries 250 marks.

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UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024, Exam Pattern, Download PDF!

UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024 Overview

UPSC Mains Exam Overview

Comprehensive Paper-wise UPSC Mains Syllabus

UPSC Mains Optional Subjects

Available Literature Languages:

Strategy to Cover UPSC Mains Syllabus

UPSC Mains Syllabus FAQs

In How many Days I Must Cover UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024?

Is Paper A and Paper B used to Determine Final Rankings?

Is Current Affairs Part of UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024?

How Many Optional Subjects have to be Studied as Part of UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024?

Is Essay Part of UPSC Mains Syllabus for 2024?

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