UPSC 2023 – Detailed Overview

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 was held on May 28, 2023. The UPSC Mains Exam 2023 is scheduled from September 16, 2023, onwards.

UPSC Mains Exam 2023- Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the UPSC IAS exam every year to recruit eligible candidates for the prestigious All India Service. UPSC is going to conduct Civil Service Examination on National Level for filling numerous vacancies in all India Services and various Central Civil Services. The selection of the candidates will be done through Prelims, Mains and Interview round where Prelims is Objective-type and Mains are descriptive-type. UPSC Mains Exam is to be held on 15th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th September 2023 for the candidates who qualified the UPSC Prelims Exam 2023. The final merit list will be prepared by counting the Mains Marks and Interview round.

Candidates can check the elaborated information regarding the Exam Details, Important Dates, Eligibility Criteria, IAS Salary, Online Application Form, Syllabus, and UPSC Full Form in the article.

UPSC 2023 Notification

UPSC has released the official notification of UPSC CSE Indian Administrative Services notification (05/2023-CSP) and UPSC Forest Service Examination Notification (06/2023-IFoS) on 01st February 2023 @upsc.gov.in as per UPSC Exam Calendar. Candidates are advised to check Exam Pattern, Syllabus, and all the Important Details in the article. The candidates can go through the UPSC Notification 2023 from the below link. 

UPSC Exam 2023- Exam Summary

Every year Union Public Service conducts Civil Service Examinations for graduates to appear for various All India Services and Central Civil Services. To have a glimpse of UPSC CSE 2023, the candidates can refer to the below overview table.

UPSC IAS 2023- Overview

Organisation Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam Name UPSC Civil Service Exam 2023 & UPSC Forest Service Exam 2023
Exam Level National
Vacancy 1255
Application Mode Online
Exam Mode Offline
Exam Stages Prelims, Main Exam, Interview
Education Qualification Graduates or Relevant Degrees
Age Limit 21 years to 32 years
Exam Frequency Once in a Year
UPSC Official Website upsc.gov.in

UPSC IAS 2023- Important Dates

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the exam dates for Civil Service Prelims & Mains exam through UPSC Calendar 2023 on upsc.gov.in. As per the UPSC Calendar 2023, the UPSC Mains Exam will be conducted on 15th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th September 2023. For other important dates regarding UPSC IAS 2023, go through the below table.

Events Dates
UPSC Notification 2023 Release Date 01st February 2023
UPSC Registration Date Begins on 01st February 2023
Last Day to Apply for UPSC Exam 2023 21st February 2023
Withdrawal of Application To be Notified
Release of UPSC Admit Card 2023 08th May 2023
Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 28th May 2023
UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2023 [Unofficial] 28th May 2023
UPSC CSE Prelims Result 2023 12th June 2023
UPSC Mains Admit Card 2023 August 2023
Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2023 15th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th September 2023

UPSC Prelims Result 2023 Out

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has conducted UPSC Prelims Exam 2023 on 28th May 2023 for the candidates who have applied for UPSC IAS 2023 Exam. The UPSC Prelims Result 2023 has been released on 12th June 2023 and we have shared below the link to check the UPSC Result 2023

UPSC IAS 2023 Vacancy

UPSC conducts the CSE exam to recruit candidates for the highly bureaucratic posts of the central government, UPSC recruits candidates for various posts which will be given below. This year the number of vacancies under the UPSC Exam was 1255. Out of the 1105 vacancies are for IAS CSE Exam. There are 150 vacancies for the Indian Forest Service Examination 2023.

UPSC Apply Online 2023

UPSC is accepting the All India Services CSE Application Form 2023 from 02nd February 2023 onwards along with the release of UPSC notification. The last day to fill out the application form was 21st February 2023 (6 pm). The UPSC aspirants can apply online by clicking the below link.

Instructions for UPSC CSE Online Application Form

Candidates must possess the following documents, and information from which is required for the application submission:

  1. Any Valid Photo Identity Proof.
  2. Candidates must make a scanned copy of their Passport Size Photograph, Education Certificates.

Registration

Click on the link given below to go to the Registration Page. Click on the link ‘UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023’ under the Active Examinations section Enter your Name, Date of Birth, Email Address and Mobile Number.

Entering Application Form Details: Fill in all the personal and professional details in the application form which are necessary to fill by candidates to get their form selected.

Upload Documents: Upload all the important documents which are asked to upload by the commission during the application process which includes photographs, education qualifications, valid I.D proof and other documents.

Application Fee: General, OBC, EWS candidates: Rs 100/-.Women, SC, ST, and PWD candidates are exempted from paying the fee.

Note: For online payment, use a credit card/debit card/Rupay card or Internet Banking Services. For offline payment, download the e-challan and submit the cash in SBI bank branches on the next day itself.

UPSC IAS Exam 2023- Posts

All India Services

  1. Indian Administrative Services(IAS)
  2. Indian Police Servies(IPS)
  3. Indian Forest Services(IFoS) [Prelims Only]

Central Civil Services

  1. Indian Foreign Services(IFS)
  2. Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’.
  3. Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
  4. Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’.
  5. Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
  6. Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’.
  7. Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Works Manager, Administration).
  8. Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’.
  9. Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
  10. Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’.
  11. Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
  12. Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’.
  13. Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Group ‘A’
  14. Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’.
  15. Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’.
  16. Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’.
  17. Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’.
  18. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade).
  19. Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group ‘B’.
  20. Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group ‘B’.
  21. Pondicherry Civil Service, Group ‘B’.
  22. Pondicherry Police Service, Group ‘B’.

UPSC IAS Exam 2023 Eligibility

Eligibility for UPSC is one of the first questions which crops up in the mind of a CSE aspirant. The nationality, the number of attempts, age limit and educational qualifications are some of the basic eligibility criteria for the UPSC IAS exam. All candidates must check the eligibility criteria before applying for the UPSC IAS Exam 2023 and ensure that they meet all the eligibility criteria as mentioned below.

Nationality

For Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), a candidate must be a citizen of India. For all other services, a candidate can either be a citizen of India or

  1. A citizen of Nepal/ Bhutan
  2. A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India
  3. A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

Note: Candidates who are subjects of Nepal/ Bhutan or Tibetan refugees are not eligible to apply for Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

Age Limit

Candidates must be minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 32 years of age as on 01st August 2023. This means that candidates must have born not earlier than August 2, 1991 and not later than August 1, 2002.

Check UPSC CSE 2023 Age Relaxation in the below table:

Age Relaxation

Category Age Relaxation
SC/ ST 5 Years
OBC 3 Years
Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence there of 3 Years
Ex-servicemen including commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years of military service 5 Years
PwD [(a) blindness and low vision; (b) deaf and hard of hearing; (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; (d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; and (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness] 10 Years
Note: No age relaxation is provided for the Economically Weaker Sections in the UPSC CSE Exam 2023.

Educational Qualification

The candidate must have completed their Graduation from any of the Central or State Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University.

Number of Attempts

The number of attempts allowed for each candidate in the UPSC Exam is 6 for general category candidates. While the number of attempts are 9 for OBC Category Candidates. There is no restriction on the number of attempts of SC/ST Candidates. Candidates must note if they had appeared as many times as the number of attempts allowed in UPSC CSE Prelims, then they are no more eligible for the UPSC IAS Exam.

UPSC IAS Syllabus and Exam Pattern

To master, any exam candidates need to know the Exam Schema and Syllabus of the Exam. Candidates must note that UPSC IAS Syllabus is one of the most lengthy syllabus of any exam in the country. Therefore, it is important that the aspirants must aware of the UPSC CSE Syllabus and Exam Pattern. Knowledge of these two helps a candidate to maintain their focus and prepare themselves to get through the prestigious UPSC Exam.

Every candidate has to clearly pass all three stages of the UPSC CSE Exam to get their name on the merit list of the UPSC IAS Result 2023.

  1. Preliminary
  2. Mains
  3. Interview

IAS Salary, Perks, Emoluments

UPSC CSE offers the most lucrative job salary, perks and emoluments in the country. No other jobs in India offer such kind of salary in the country. Candidates can check the salary perks and emoluments by clicking on the link given below.

UPSC CSE Admit Card 2023

The UPSC IAS Prelims is scheduled to be held on 28th May 2023 and UPSC IAS Admit Card 2023 notify you when it will be released. The Commission will release the UPSC CSE Mains Admit Card tentatively in August 2023 as the Mains exam is to be held from 15th September 2023 for 5 days. Candidates are advised to keep in touch with the website to get new updates regarding UPSC CSE Admit Card 2023.

UPSC CSE Result 2023

The UPSC is going to release the result of the CSE Prelims exam in the month of July 2023. UPSC generally declares approximately 45 days after the exam. As we know the Mains exam is scheduled to be held from 15th September 2023. Candidates are advised to keep visiting the website for UPSC IAS Result 2023.

UPSC Exam 2023- Exam Centres

The candidates who appear every year for the UPSC CSE Exam are about 09 to 10 lakhs only. Since the number of candidates is far less in the UPSC Exam exam hence the number of centers is also less. The UPSC Exam Centres are given below:

The Exam Center Cities for UPSC

Ahmedabad Dehradun Mumbai
Aizawl Delhi Patna
Allahabad Dispur (Guwahati) Raipur
Bangaluru Hyderabad Ranchi
Bhopal Jaipur Shillong
Chandigarh Jammu Shimla
Chennai Kolkata Thiruvananthapuram
Cuttack Lucknow Vijayawada

Note: The official website informs that allotment of centers (for both Preliminary and Mains) will be on a first-apply-first allot basis. Once the capacity of a particular center is attained, the same will be frozen and applicants will have to choose a center from the remaining options. Applicants are, therefore, advised to apply early so that they can get an exam center of their choice.



UPSC Mains 2023 – All Details Exam Date, Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam Pattern etc.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 was held on May 28, 2023. The UPSC Mains Exam 2023 is scheduled from September 16, 2023, onwards.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) annually administers recruitment examinations for various Group A and a few Group B positions within the Indian government. The most prestigious and highly competitive among these is the Civil Services Examination.

Outlined below is the pattern for the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023 (Mains). Any forthcoming alterations in the exam structure or syllabus for the impending UPSC Mains assessment will be posted here subsequent to the notification release.

Important dates linked to the UPSC CS 2022 and 2023 exams are as follows:

  1. UPSC CSE (Preliminary) 2022 – June 5, 2022
  2. UPSC CSE (Main) 2022- September 16-25, 2022
  3. IAS Interview/ UPSC Personality Test 2022- 24th April to 18th May 2023 (remaining 582 candidates)
  4. UPSC CSE (Preliminary) 2023- May 28, 2023
  5. UPSC CSE (Main) 2023- September 15, 2023
  6. IAS Interview/ UPSC Personality Test 2023- Yet to be notified

This article covers, in-depth, the written stage of the Civil Services exam i.e. UPSC Mains for the year 2023.

Latest Updates about UPSC 2023

The UPSC Interview 2022 is scheduled to be conducted from 24th April to 18th May 2023. Aspirants can check the schedule from the official website where a notification is released for the same.

The UPSC Notification 2023 was released on February 1, 2023. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2022 is scheduled for may 28, 2023. After the declaration of the Prelims exam, the eligible candidates who have cleared the Prelims have to fill DAF-I to appear in UPSC Mains. The UPSC CSE Mains exam is scheduled from September 15, 2023. The IAS Interview 2023 dates are yet to be notified.

All the updates related to UPSC 2023 exam, will be notified here for candidates’ reference.

  • Detailed Application Form-II (DAF II) will be released post the Civil Services Mains Result. This UPSC DAF has to be filled by the candidates who qualify the personality test.
  • The dates of the UPSC Mains 2023 are:

UPSC Mains 2023 Exam Dates

9 AM – 12 PM

2 PM – 5 PM

15 September 2023 Essay Paper (Tentative exam)
To be notified General Studies-I (Tentative exam) General Studies-II (Tentative exam)
To be notified General Studies-III (Tentative exam) General Studies-IV (Tentative exam)
To be notified Indian Language Paper (Tentative exam) English Language Paper (Tentative exam)
To be notified Optional Paper-I (Tentative exam) Optional Paper-II (Tentative exam)
  • The dates of the UPSC Mains 2022 were:

UPSC Mains 2022 Exam Dates

9 AM – 12 PM

2 PM – 5 PM

16 September 2022 Essay Paper
17 September 2022 General Studies-I General Studies-II
18 January 2022 General Studies-III General Studies-IV
24 January 2022 Indian Language Paper English Language Paper
25 January 2022 Optional Paper-I Optional Paper-II

To download UPSC Mains 2021 Question Papers PDF, visit the linked article.

If you are looking for the UPSC syllabus for Prelims, Mains and Interview and information on the Civil Services Exam as a whole, refer to the link above.

UPSC Mains – IAS Exam 2023

Topics covered in this article:

  1. What is the UPSC Mains Exam/CSE(Main)/IAS Mains?
  2. How many candidates will appear for UPSC Mains 2022?
  3. How to apply for the UPSC Mains 2023?
  4. Preparation Strategy for the UPSC Mains 2023?
  5. UPSC Mains Exam Pattern for the IAS exam 2023
  6. Important information regarding the UPSC Mains and UPSC Mains Syllabus
  7. UPSC Mains Syllabus – IAS exam 2023
    1. Qualifying Papers
    2. Essay
    3. General Studies
    4. Optional Subjects

What is the UPSC Mains Exam/CSE (Main)/IAS Mains?

The UPSC Mains exam is the second stage of the Civil Services Examination. IAS aspirants who clear the Prelims i.e. those who score above the cutoff in General Studies Paper I and more than 33% marks in General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) are eligible to appear for the UPSC Mains.

Candidates who aspire to become IAS, IPS, IFS and IRS officers have to give UPSC Mains before they are cleared for the IAS interview/UPSC Personality Test stage.

How many candidates appeared for the UPSC Mains 2022?

As per UPSC, the total candidates allowed to appear for UPSC mains are twelve to thirteen times the number of Civil Service vacancies for that exam year. For UPSC 2022, the total number of vacancies is 1011 (earlier 861) so accordingly around 13 thousand candidates are expected to have written the UPSC Mains 2022.

Preparation Strategy for the UPSC Mains 2023

  • Current Affairs are an important part of the UPSC Exam (for Prelims and for UPSC Mains). Ideally, aspirants should prepare Current Affairs for at least 12-15 months i.e. UPSC Mains exam in 2023 will be held from September 15, 2023 onwards, so candidates should prepare Current Affairs from June 2023 onwards.
  • Important sources for current affairs preparation for IAS exam 2023 are:
    • Yojana Magazine
    • Newspapers (The Hindu/The Indian Express)
    • Press Information Bureau (PIB)
    • Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)
    • Comprehensive daily news analysis
    • NCERT books for UPSC Mains preparation
  • Given that the syllabuses for the UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains overlap, candidates should prepare for both exams at the same time.
  • As per UPSC, marks in the Civil Services (Main) exam are not given for superficial answers, so candidates should do answer writing practice.
  • An important part of IAS preparation is practising the UPSC previous year question papers. Applicants who are preparing for the upcoming Civil Services examination can download the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers.

UPSC Mains Exam Pattern for the IAS 2023

The UPSC Mains or CSE (Main) pattern was revised in 2015. As per the revised pattern, the UPSC Mains 2023 will comprise nine theory papers (essay descriptive type). Out of the nine papers, only seven will be counted for merit ranking. Candidates also have to choose one optional subject for UPSC Mains. More on UPSC Mains optional later in the article.

The maximum marks for the UPSC Mains exam are 1750 (7 papers * 250 marks each). All papers are of three-hour duration.

The UPSC Mains pattern for Civil Services Exam 2023 is given below:

S.No. Papers Subject Nature of Exam Total Marks
1 Paper A Indian Language Qualifying 300
2 Paper B English Qualifying 300
3 Paper I Essay Counted for Merit 250
4 Paper II General Studies (GS) I Counted for Merit 250
5 Paper III General Studies (GS) II Counted for Merit 250
6 Paper IV General Studies (GS) III Counted for Merit 250
7 Paper V General Studies (GS) IV Counted for Merit 250
8 Paper VI Optional Subject Paper-I Counted for Merit 250
9 Paper VII Optional Subject Paper-II Counted for Merit 250

Important information regarding the UPSC Mains and UPSC Mains Syllabus

  • An IAS aspirant’s marks in the UPSC Mains and IAS interview determine his/her final rank in the merit list
  • The UPSC Mains intends to assess the depth of a candidate’s knowledge. Hence, marks will only be given for “relevant, meaningful, and succinct answers.”
  • The questions in UPSC Mains test aspirant’s basic understanding, ability to analyse and “view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands.”
  • Although UPSC maintains that for General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V), a “well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialised study,” candidates are advised to go through previous year UPSC question papers to ascertain for themselves whether they need ‘specialised study.’
  • Candidates are allowed to use Scientific (Non-Programmable) calculators in UPSC Mains if needed.
  • The level of examination for the optional subjects in UPSC Mains will be equivalent to an honours degree (between bachelors’ and masters’ level). Only for engineering subjects, Law and Medical Science, the scope is limited to the bachelors’ degree level.

Candidates can download the pdf of the UPSC notification 2023 from the linked page. UPSC CSE 2023 notification will be released on February 1, 2023.

UPSC Mains Syllabus – IAS Exam 2023

The UPSC Mains syllabus can be divided into two parts:

  1. Qualifying Papers
    1. Paper A
    2. Paper B
  2. Papers which are counted for merit ranking
    1. Essay
    2. General Studies (Paper II to Paper V)
    3. Optional Subject (Two Papers)

UPSC Mains Syllabus and Exam Pattern for Qualifying Papers

In UPSC Mains, candidates have to score a minimum of 25% marks in Paper A and Paper B otherwise their marks in other papers will not be taken into account. The pattern/syllabus for qualifying papers in UPSC Mains is given below:

Paper Exam Pattern
Paper A – Indian Language (any of the Indian languages listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution)
  1. Comprehension of given passages.
  2. Precis Writing
  3. Usage and Vocabulary
  4. Short Essays
  5. Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa
Paper B – English
  1. Comprehension of given passages
  2. Precis Writing
  3. Usage and Vocabulary
  4. Short Essays

Important information regarding UPSC Mains qualifying papers:

  • Paper A and Paper B test the candidates’ ability to read and understand serious prose in the given language and to express her/her views correctly and clearly.
  • The marks in Paper A and Paper B in UPSC Mains will not be counted for merit but if candidates score below 25% in either of these two papers, then their marks in the remaining papers will not even be declared.
  • The level of Paper A and Paper B is of a Matriculation (or equivalent) level.
  • Paper A (Indian Language) in UPSC Mains is not compulsory for candidates hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim

UPSC Mains Syllabus for Essay paper

As such the UPSC Mains syllabus doesn’t have a prescribed section for the Essay paper. In the essay paper in UPSC Mains, candidates have to write two essays out of a few given options for a total of 250 marks. As per the UPSC, “Candidates are expected to keep close to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.”

Candidates can check essay questions asked in UPSC Mains in the last 15 years.

UPSC Mains Syllabus for General Studies

The UPSC Mains syllabus for GS papers covers broadly the following subjects/areas:

UPSC Mains Paper II – General Studies I UPSC Mains Paper III – General Studies II UPSC Mains Paper-IV – General Studies III UPSC Mains Paper V – General Studies IV
Indian Heritage and Culture Governance Technology Ethics
History and Geography of the World Constitution Economic Development Integrity
Society Polity Environment, Biodiversity Aptitude
Social Justice International relations Security and Disaster Management

For detailed UPSC Mains syllabus for General Studies Papers, refer to the link.

UPSC Mains Syllabus for Optional Subjects

Since the pattern change in UPSC Mains, candidates now have to choose only one optional subject. There are two papers based on the optional subject for a total of 500 marks (250 marks * 2 papers) which are counted for the merit ranking.

The list of optional subjects for the UPSC IAS exam 2023 and links to the detailed syllabi for each optional subject are given below:

List of OPTIONAL SUBJECTS

in UPSC Mains 2023

Detailed Syllabus
1 Agriculture Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Agriculture
2 Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Animal Husbandry & Vet Science
3 Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Anthropology
4 Botany Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Botany
5 Chemistry Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Chemistry
6 Civil Engineering Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Civil Engg
7 Commerce & Accountancy Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Commerce & Accountancy
8 Economics Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Economics
9 Electrical Engineering Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Electrical Engg
10 Geography Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Geography
11 Geology Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – Geology
12 History Syllabus for UPSC Mains Optional – History
13 Law Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Law
14 Management Syllabus for CSE (Main) Optional – Management
15 Mathematics Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Mathematics
16 Mechanical Engineering Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Mech Engg
17 Medical Science Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Medical Science
18 Philosophy Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Philosophy
19 Physics Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Physics
20 Political Science & International Relations Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Political Science & IR
21 Psychology Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Psychology
22 Public Administration Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Public Administration
23 Sociology Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Sociology
24 Statistics Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Statistics
25 Zoology Syllabus for CSE(Main) Optional – Zoology
26 Assamese (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Assamese Lit
27 Bengali (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Bengali Lit
28 Bodo (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Bodo Lit
29 Dogri (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Dogri Lit
30 Gujarati (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Gujarati Lit
31 Hindi (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Hindi Lit
32 Kannada (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Kannada Lit
33 Kashmiri (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Kashmiri Lit
34 Konkani (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Konkani Lit
35 Maithili (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Maithali Lit
36 Malayalam (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Malayalam Lit
37 Manipuri (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Manipuri Lit
38 Marathi (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Marathi Lit
39 Nepali (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Nepali Lit
40 Oriya (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Oriya Lit
41 Punjabi (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Punjabi Lit
42 Sanskrit (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Sanskrit Lit
43 Santhali (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Santhali Lit
44 Sindhi (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Sindhi Lit
45 Tamil (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional -Tamil Lit
46 Telugu (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Telugu Lit
47 Urdu (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – Urdu Lit
48 English (Literature) Syllabus for IAS Mains Optional – English Lit

 

UPSC Prelims 2023 – All Details Exam Date, Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam Pattern etc.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 was held on May 28, 2023. The UPSC Mains Exam 2023 is scheduled from September 16, 2023, onwards.

As per the UPSC 2023 calendar, the IAS prelims took place on May 28, 2023. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)declared the Civil Services preliminary exam result 2023 on 12 June 2023. Marks, cut-off marks and answer keys of the Prelims exam will be uploaded on upsc.gov.in after the entire process of the exam is over (declaration of the final result). The IAS Mains exams are scheduled to begin on September 15, 2023.

The UPSC Prelims 2022 was successfully conducted on June 5 2022 and the UPSC Prelims Result 2022 was declared on June 22, 2022. The UPSC Mains exam came to an end on September 25, 2022. Aspirants can download the UPSC Mains Question Papers 2022 from the linked page.

After the UPSC Prelims 2023, our faculty dissected and analysed the questions that were asked in the paper. Candidates can view the UPSC Prelims 2023 Answer Key and read the question paper analysis in the link below.

UPSC Prelims 2023 Question Paper Analysis

Candidates who are preparing for other UPSC exams can refer to the UPSC Calendar 2023.

For details on IAS Exam, refer to the linked article.

UPSC Prelims 2023 – Exam Pattern

The UPSC Civil Service Prelims exam pattern as per the UPSC 2023 notification is given below. Any changes made in the forthcoming UPSC CSE Prelims exam pattern will be updated here after the release of the CSE 2023 notification. The UPSC CSE 2023 notification was released on February 1, 2023.

The UPSC CSE Prelims comprises two objective-type papers (General Studies I and General Studies II or CSAT) for a total of 400 marks. Both papers are usually held on the same day in two sessions via offline mode (pen-paper).

The Prelims Admit Card would be released on the official website of UPSC 2-3 weeks before the date of the exam.

UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern General Studies I General Studies II or CSAT
Number of questions 100 80
Negative Marking Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)

 

-0.66 marks for every incorrect answer

Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)

 

-0.83 marks for every incorrect answer

Duration of exam 2 hours 2 hours
UPSC Prelims 2023 Date of exam 28th May 2023 28th May 2023
Language of exam English/Hindi English/Hindi
Maximum marks 200 200
Cut Off marks Counted for Merit. Cut-off varies every year. 33% qualifying criteria (66 marks)

The official cut-off for the Prelims 2023 will be released once the exam is conducted. The Prelims 2021 cut-off for the General category candidates was 87.54. For UPSC Cut Off, check the linked article.

 

UPSC Prelims 2023 – Syllabus

The detailed UPSC Preliminary syllabus for the 2023 exam is given below:

General Studies Paper-1 Syllabus:

  • Current events of national and international importance.
  • History of India and Indian National Movement.
  • Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
  • Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
  • Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
  • General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialization.
  • General Science.

General Studies Paper-2 (CSAT) Syllabus:

  • 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, etc.) (Class X level)
  • Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level).
  • English language comprehension skills – Class X level.

You can find the in-depth syllabus for UPSC Prelims here.

Preparation Strategy for UPSC Prelims

The following strategy will help candidates to score well in the IAS prelims exam.

  • Current Affairs are an important part of UPSC Prelims. Ideally, candidates should prepare 12 to 15 months’ worth of current affairs.
  • Important sources for current affairs preparation for the UPSC exam 2023 are:
    1. Yojana Magazine
    2. Newspapers (The Hindu/The Indian Express)
    3. Press Information Bureau (PIB)
    4. Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)
  • For CSAT or General Studies Paper-II in UPSC Prelims, go through the previous years’ question papers to gauge your level. The UPSC Prelims solved question papers will be useful. As such, there is not much preparation needed for CSAT, however, only you can take that call. For complete information on CSAT including books, strategy and trend analysis, refer to the link.
  • Making Notes for the UPSC Prelims and Mains is a must. Having notes in your own handwriting is preferred by some candidates, however, considering the time constraint, we have given links for important notes from NCERTs and BYJU’S classroom notes for IAS Prelims.
    1. NCERT notes – Ancient Indian History for UPSC Prelims
    2. NCERT notes – Medieval History of India for UPSC Prelims
    3. NCERT notes – Modern Indian History and Indian National Movement for UPSC Prelims
    4. NCERT notes – Art, culture, and architecture for UPSC Prelims
    5. NCERT notes – Geography (Physical) notes for UPSC Prelims
  • As the questions in UPSC Prelims are all objective-type, it is essential to practice solving MCQs during the preparation. Here, we have given a list of MCQs for different subjects for UPSC Prelims 2023.
    1. MCQs on Polity for UPSC Prelims
    2. MCQs on Indian Economy for UPSC Prelims
    3. MCQs on General Knowledge for UPSC Prelims
    4. MCQs on Science and Technology for UPSC Prelims
    5. MCQs on Environment and Ecology for UPSC Prelims
  • For UPSC Prelims preparation, there are a few topics that candidates just can’t afford to miss. At BYJU’S free IAS preparation, we have compiled them into easy-to-read articles tailor-made for Prelims revision.
    1. Indian Constitution – Borrowed Features
    2. Important Terms from Ancient Indian History
    3. List of Hydroelectric Power Plants in India
    4. List of important cities and rivers in India
    5. List of important monuments in India
    6. List of Elephant Reserves in India
    7. Important terms from Medieval History of India
    8. List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India
    9. Timelines for quick revision – Medieval History of India
    10. List of Thermal Power Plants in India
    11. Geography preparation through Maps
    12. List of National Waterways in India
    13. List of diseases and causing agents
    14. List of Mahajanapadas (Ancient Indian History)
    15. List of Important Days and Dates
    16. List of National Highways in India
    17. List of important Straits
    18. List of Environment Conventions and Protocols
    19. List of Indian Army Exercises 
    20. Government Schemes 
    21. List of Ramsar Sites in India
  • Focus Areas for different subjects in UPSC Prelims:
    1. Indian Independence Movement:
      • Main congress sessions with the year, president and important resolutions
      • Significant viceroys and their period with important decisions
      • The Government of India Acts 1909, 1919, 1935 and charter acts
    2. Ancient history:
      • Hindu philosophy, Buddhism and Jainism
      • Mauryan and Gupta Period
      • Art, architecture and scientific development during that period
    3. Medieval history:
      • Important kings such as Sher Shah, Akbar, etc.
      • Delhi Sultanate
    4. Polity:
      • Here, importance should be given to current events, such as any changes in the constitution, new acts or amendments, and schemes
      • Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)
      • Committee system, parliament, and parliamentary proceedings
      • Judiciary
      • Constitutional bodies
    5. S&T:
      • For basic science concepts, refer to NCERT books selectively as in-depth knowledge is not needed
      • Focus on the current affairs part
    6. Environment and Ecology
      • Important declarations, conventions
      • IUCN’s Red List
      • Biosphere Reserves, Tiger Reserves etc.
      • International bodies
    7. Geography:
      • Solar system
      • Latitudes and longitudes
      • Layers of the atmosphere
      • Global atmospheric wind, cyclones
      • Pressure belts
      • Revolution, rotation and seasons
      • Monsoons
      • Types of rainfall
      • Koeppen classification
      • Jet streams, ocean currents
      • El Nino, La Nina
      • India’s physical geography (NCERT)
      • Rivers, hills, soil (India)
      • Mineral resources (India), Geological history of India
      • Basics of agriculture (NCERT)
      • Maps
    8. Economy:
      • Importance should be given to current events like new bills and important committees
      • focus on basic and fundamental concepts like:
        • Growth and development, poverty, unemployment, inflation
        • State of the national and global economy
        • Major committees and bills
        • Latest budget and economic survey

UPSC Civil Services Prelims – Trend Analysis

UPSC has established itself to be predictably unpredictable. So, candidates should only see the trends as a reference and not draw too much inference.

In the table given below, we have broken down the UPSC Prelims 2019, UPSC Prelims 2020, UPSC Prelims 2021, UPSC Prelims 2022, and UPSC Prelims 2023 GS 1 papers:

UPSC Prelims 2023 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
Subject Number of questions
History 14
Economy 14
Polity 15
Environment & Ecology 14
Geography 16
Science & Technology 12
International Relations 11
Miscellaneous 4
Total 100
UPSC Prelims 2022 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
Subject Number of questions
History 10
Economy 16
Polity 11
Environment & Ecology 17
Geography 10
Science & Technology 14
International Relations 14
Miscellaneous 3
Total 100
UPSC Prelims 2021 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
Subject Number of questions
History 20
Economy 10
Polity 14
Environment & Ecology 11
Geography 10
Science & Technology 08
Current Affairs 27
Total 100
UPSC Prelims 2020 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
Subject Number of questions
History 18
Economy 14
Polity 16
Environment & Ecology 17
Geography 10
Science & Technology 10
Current Affairs 15
Total 100

 

UPSC Prelims 2019 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
Subject Number of questions
History 17
Economy 14
Polity 15
Environment & Ecology 11
Geography 14
Science & Technology 7
Current Affairs 22
Total 100

 

UPSC Prelims – Study Material for IAS Preparation

A big part of UPSC preparation is selecting the right study material. Studying from the best Civil services Prelims Books will be both efficient and effective. For both, UPSC Prelims and Mains, NCERTs are a must because of their credibility and easy-to-understand language.

From the links given below, IAS aspirants can download/view the NCERT books needed for UPSC Prelims preparation.

Free History NCERT Books PDF Download for UPSC Exam Free Geography NCERT Books PDF Download for UPSC Exam
Free Polity NCERT Books PDF Download Free Science NCERT Books PDF Download for UPSC
Free Economics & Social Issues NCERT Books PDF Download Complete List of NCERT Books Needed for IAS Exam Preparation

Check the list of UPSC Books here.

Candidates who clear the UPSC IAS Prelims have to fill out the Detailed Application Form (DAF) before they can take the Mains Exam.

For 2023, the UPSC Mains exams are scheduled to take place on September 15, 2023. Aspirants can check the linked article for more details on UPSC Mains.