UPSC Syllabus 2025 for Prelims, Mains and Interview is provided here. Candidates preparing for UPSC must check out the complete UPSC Syllabus 2025 here.
UPSC syllabus refers to the subjects and topics that have to be read for the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025. Candidates with a thorough understanding of the UPSC syllabus have a high chance of clearing the examination.
UPSC syllabus covers two out of the three stages of the UPSC CSE exam 2025. The syllabus for the interview is not mentioned explicitly by the UPSC. The details of the UPSC syllabus of prelims and mains can be accessed below.
Since each stage has a different syllabus, let us look at the UPSC syllabus in detail for a better understanding.
The UPSC exam will be conducted in three stages: prelims, mains, and interviews. The overview of the UPSC syllabus 2025 for all three stages of the exam is given below.
Paper 2: CSAT Paper 2: 200 Paper B: English Paper B: 300 General Studies 2 General Studies 3 General Studies 4 Optional Paper 2
Exam Stage
Paper to be Attempted
Total Marks
Syllabus
Nature of Exam
Prelims
Paper 1: General Studies
Paper 1: 200
Indian Polity, Geography, History, Economy, Science and Technology, Current Affairs, Reading, Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation
Need to Qualifying for Next Stage
Mains
Paper A: Indian Language
Paper A: 300
Comprehension, precise writing, short essays, translation, vocabulary, etc.
Need to Qualifying for Next Stage
Essay
250
Not Specified
Marks Considered for Merit List
General Studies 1
250 X 4
History, Polity, Geography, Indian Society, International Relations, Social Justice, Economy, Disaster Management, Internal Security, Environment and Ecology, Ethics, Aptitude and Integrity.
Optional Paper 1
250 X 2
Total 24 Optional Subjects, Need to Select 1 Optional Paper.
Interview
–
275
Not Specified
Marks added to Mains marks to prepare the merit list
UPSC syllabus for prelims is divided into two papers: General Studies and CSAT. The overview of the UPSC syllabus for prelims 2025 is given below.
Papers for UPSC Prelims
Total Marks
Number of Questions
Nature of Questions
Marks for Correct Answer
Marks for Incorrect Answer
Syllabus for General Studies 1
Syllabus for CSAT
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.
History Indian Heritage and Culture Social Issues Constitution Social Justice International Relations Science and Technology Environment and Ecology Disaster Management Internal Security
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, covering 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
250
Paper 3
General Studies 2
Considered for Merit Calculation
Polity and Governance
250
Paper 4
General Studies 3
Considered for Merit Calculation
Economy and Growth
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
UPSC syllabus for Mains 2025 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 details of the syllabus are provided below.
Paper Name
Syllabus
Paper A: Compulsory Indian Language
Paper B: Compulsory English
Also Read: UPSC Exam 2025
UPSC syllabus for Mains 2025 includes the Essay paper, which 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 | Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. |
There are four General Studies papers as part of UPSC Syllabus for Mains 2025. The papers cover subjects such as history, polity, economy, ethics etc. The details of the syllabus are given below.
Paper Name
Syllabus
General Studies 1
History, Geography, Art and Culture, Indian Society.
General Studies 2
Indian Polity, Governance, Social Justice, International Relations.
General Studies 3
Economy and Growth, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology, Disaster Management, Internal Security
General Studies 4
Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
Candidates writing UPSC Exam 2025 mains have to select one of the optional subjects from the list below as part of UPSC syllabus for mains optional.
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)
Also Read: UPSC PYQ for Prelims and Mains
The UPSC Interview, also known as the Personality Test, is the final stage of the examination. Unlike the earlier stages, there is no specific UPSC syllabus for the interview.
Check Out UPSC NCERT Textbooks From PW Store
UPSC Syllabus for Interview
Not Specified
Total Marks
275
Location
Union Public Service Commission Head Office, New Delhi
Dress Code
Formal Attire
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The UPSC CSE exam covers several main subjects, such as History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Environment and Ecology, Science and Technology, and Current Affairs.
The UPSC Mains syllabus includes nine papers - Essay, General Studies I to IV, Optional Paper I and II, and two language papers (English and Indian Language). The General Studies papers cover topics such as Indian heritage and culture, governance, international relations, social justice, technology, and economic development. The Optional Paper covers a subject of the candidate's choice, and the Essay paper evaluates the candidate's writing skills.
Yes, there is a negative marking scheme in the UPSC exam. For every incorrect answer, one-third of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as a penalty. However, there is no negative marking for unanswered questions.
To be eligible for this opportunity, candidates should be at least 21 years old and younger than 32 years old by August 1, 2024.
No NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) books are essential but not sufficient to crack the UPSC exam.
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