UPSC Syllabus 2026 & 2027 — Prelims, Mains, Optional

Syllabus Overview — What Counts Where

The UPSC Civil Services syllabus is published by the Union Public Service Commission as an annex to the CSE Notification on upsc.gov.in. It has remained substantially unchanged since the 2013 reform that introduced four GS papers and the Ethics paper. The structure splits cleanly into three stages, and only Mains + Interview marks count toward the final rank of 2025.

Stage	Paper	Marks	Counted?
Prelims	GS Paper I	200	Cut-off only
Prelims	CSAT	200	Qualifying (33%)
Mains	Indian Language	300	Qualifying (25%)
Mains	English	300	Qualifying (25%)
Mains	Essay	250	Yes
Mains	GS I–IV	4 × 250 = 1000	Yes
Mains	Optional I & II	2 × 250 = 500	Yes
Interview	Personality Test	275	Yes

Prelims Paper I — General Studies

100 questions, 200 marks, two hours (09:30–11:30). Negative marking 1/3 per wrong answer. The syllabus covers seven broad areas notified by UPSC:

• Current events of national and international importance.
• History of India and the Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography — physical, social, economic.
• Indian Polity and Governance — Constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, rights issues.
• Economic and Social Development — sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social-sector initiatives.
• General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change.
• General Science.

Prelims Paper II — CSAT

80 questions, 200 marks, two hours (14:30–16:30). Qualifying at 33% (66 marks). CSAT exists to filter aspirants who cannot handle basic reasoning at administrator level. The syllabus is:

• Comprehension.
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
• Decision-making and problem-solving.
• General mental ability.
• Basic numeracy — numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude (Class X level).
• Data interpretation — charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency (Class X level).

Mains Paper I — Essay (250 marks)

Two essays of roughly 1000–1200 words each, chosen one from each of two sections. Topics range across philosophy, polity, economy, technology, society and India in the world. The paper rewards a clear thesis, layered argument, integration of GS knowledge, and a forward-looking conclusion. Memorization fails here — structured thinking and language discipline succeed.

Mains GS-I — Heritage, Geography, Society (250 marks)

• Indian culture — 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.
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors / contributions.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
• History of the world — events from 18th century, industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies.
• Salient features of Indian Society, diversity of India.
• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization.
• Effects of globalization on Indian society.
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism.
• Salient features of world’s physical geography.
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent).
• Important geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, cyclones; geographical features and their location.

Mains GS-II — Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, International Relations (250 marks)

• Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions, basic structure.
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, federalism, devolution.
• Separation of powers, dispute redressal mechanisms.
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with other countries.
• Parliament and State legislatures.
• Executive and Judiciary — structure, organization, functioning.
• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections — mechanisms, performance.
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector — Health, Education, Human Resources.
• Citizens’ charters, transparency, accountability, e-governance.
• India and its neighbourhood relations.
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India.
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
• Important International institutions, agencies and fora — their structure, mandate.

Mains GS-III — Economy, Environment, Science & Technology, Security (250 marks)

• Indian Economy — planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development, employment.
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
• Government Budgeting.
• Major crops — cropping patterns, irrigation, storage, transport, marketing, e-technology in agriculture.
• Issues of buffer stocks and food security, food processing.
• Land reforms in India.
• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy.
• Infrastructure — energy, ports, roads, airports, railways.
• Investment models.
• Science and Technology — developments and applications, indigenization, achievements of Indians.
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology.
• 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, cyber security, money-laundering.
• Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

Mains GS-IV — Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude (250 marks)

The Ethics paper is split into Section A (theory, ~120 marks) and Section B (case studies, ~130 marks). The syllabus covers:

• Ethics and Human Interface — essence, determinants and consequences of ethics in human actions.
• Attitude — content, structure, function; its influence on thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes.
• Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service — integrity, impartiality, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
• Emotional Intelligence — concepts and their utilities in administration and governance.
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.
• Public / Civil Service values and Ethics in Public Administration — status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas; laws, rules, regulations and conscience.
• 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 the above issues.

Optional Subjects — 48-Subject List

An aspirant must choose one optional subject. Papers VI and VII together carry 500 marks. The 48 options span the social sciences, sciences, engineering, commerce, medical sciences, and literature in 22 Indian / classical languages. The full list (as per the official notification) is:

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; Psychology; Public Administration; Sociology; Statistics; Zoology; plus literature of any one of the following languages — Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English.

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