Quick guide to understand UPSC Syllabus from IAS Academy in Chennai

The Civil services examination are considered to be the most challenging examination of all. The Union Public service commission conducts the civil service examination to select civil servants for the twenty-four prestigious post to be occupied by the government. The examination is the process of three stages. Where the first stage is called the preliminary stage. The second stage is the Mains, and the third is the personal Interview. The grueling stages of the examination will be crossed only by the best candidates who will finally take up the prestigious positions as civil servants. The public servant aspirants have to plan their study well to secure a place as the civil servant. The average study time for an eligible candidate is around ten to twelve months. The UPSC syllabus is very exhaustive. The students who are preparing can go to an IAS academy to take assistance for the examination. Some government IAS Academies prefer guest lectures and seminars to teach specific topics in UPSC syllabus. This year around five lakh candidates are applying for the rigorous examination. The year-long preparation has to be focused in the right way with proper guidance to crack this strict examination.

Civil Service Coaching for  preliminary examination:

The entry stage of preliminary can be take up by eligible candidates. The qualified candidates who can appear for initial are :

  1. The students who perform should be an Indian Citizen who has the following one or more education qualification.
  2. Either a degree or above from a deemed university, graduation from an open educational university., Any qualification recognized as an equivalent to the above.
  3. The students must have completed twenty-one years of age at the time of appearing in the examination.

The candidates who are eligible should write the preliminary examination. The examination contains two exams of two hundred marks each. It is an objective examination. The questions are set in both English and Hindi.The two papers are general studies paper one and general studies paper two. The 2018 UPSC syllabus for general studies paper are :

Current events of international and national importance

Indian policy and governance- Panchayati Raj, Constitution, public policy, political system, rights issues, etc.,i

Social development, economic and social development, poverty, social sector initiatives, and inclusion.

General Science

General issues on biodiversity, environmental ecology and climatic change.

The Preliminary examination paper two syllabus include the following :

  1. Logical reasoning
  2. Comprehension
  3. General mental ability
  4. Basic numeracy and data interpretation
  5. Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
  6. Decision making and problem-solving.

IAS Study Material for Main examinations

Once a person qualifies for the preliminary examination, the candidate has to write the main examination.

Union public service commission for the main examination are:

Stack of Books from IAS academy to study the UPSC SyllabusPaper A: The total marks given for the subject are three hundred, and any Indian language can be chosen from the list provided.

Paper B: The English language carries three hundred marks.

Paper 1: Essay – Two hundred and fifty marks

Paper II: General studies one -Indian Heritage, culture, history geography of the society and world. Two hundred and fifty marks.

Paper III:  General studies two-Governance, constitution, social justice, international relations and polity. Two hundred and fifty marks.

Part IV: General Studies Three –Technology, biodiversity, security, disaster management and economic development. Two hundred and fifty marks.

Part V: General Studies four –ethics, integrity, aptitude. Two hundred and fifty marks.

Part VI and VII: Two papers can be selected by the students from the list of choices given –Two hundred and fifty marks.

The optional subjects list are:

Agriculture, anthropology, animal husbandry, chemistry, botany, commerce and accountancy, management, Indian history, geology, law, mathematics, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, sociology, public administration, geography, and geology.

The optional Indian language list are:Assamese, bodo, Bengali, kanada, hindi, Sanskrit, Malayalam, nepali, oriya, Santali, sindhi, telegu, tamil, urdu dogri, gujarati, Malayalam, Maithili, Konkani, kashmiri and English.

IAS Coaching helps students to focus on the end goal

Once the main examination is cleared, the candidate has to appear for the personal interview. The sole purpose of the interview is to understand the orientation of the student towards civil services.  

The civil service coaching centers in Chennai gives you the details of the entire syllabus prior taking classes. The candidates should provide the required hours and schedule the syllabus accordingly to crack this examination.

Also Read : Strategies to excel in Civil Service exams

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any open examination wherein the subject-wise/paper-wise marks are not accessible or available?

Yes, in the UPSC Preliminary (Civil Services) examination, the subject-wise/paper wise marks are not accessible or available to the candidate. This is because the Preliminary examination (Civil Services) is purely a shortlist/elimination exercise to select the candidates for the Mains examination. The marks obtained in the examination by the candidate are not communicated to the candidates. However, an individual candidate who is desirous of knowing his/her marks can seek information from the Commission according to RTI Act 2005. By getting to know the individual marks, serious candidates can get an insight into their performance in the UPSC CSE examination.

Is it true that the IAS examination is only for the strong-hearted candidates?

Well, this is just a misconception related to the IAS examination. Don’t worry even if you are not strong and faint-hearted. Don’t waste time, prepare from now onwards. The competition will be very tough. Start to prepare for the UPSC Prelims with great confidence and will-power. Ideally, 12-18 months is sufficient for the preparation of the Civil Services Exam. It is better to join any institute, private coaching center or civil aspirant group for your support. You can also have guidance from quality video lectures and mock tests. Start with NCERT books and follow good websites like Roman Saini’s sir and IASbaba videos on YouTube.

Can a candidate write the answers in different languages in different papers of Mains examination?

No, UPSC does not allow the candidate to write the answers in two different languages in Mains examination. You have to mention your language initially in the eighth schedule. Only then, the candidate can write the answers in English or any one of the languages mentioned before in the application form. The candidate should select the language based on their comfort zone. The candidate must have very good command on the selected language either Hindi or English as merit is depended on written examination. So, if a candidate prefers any regional language, then it is important to stick to the same for all papers.

After the written examination of UPSC, what is the criterion for evaluation of the answer books?

After the UPSC written examination, all the answer books are collected from the various examination centers and taken to the UPSC office in New Delhi. The evaluation of answer books is not done based on roll numbers or examination centers. At the UPSC office, the answer books are mixed and reshuffled before the evaluation. Later, a computer-based fictitious code number generated randomly is allotted to each answer book. Only after this process, the answer books are sent for evaluation to the examiners. The board has strict rules set for the evaluation of the UPSC answer books.

Is a candidate with a foreign degree qualified for UPSC examination?

Yes, the candidate’s graduation degree is valid for the UPSC exam, but you need to apply for an equivalent certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). When you get your graduation degree from the US or any foreign country, get a photocopy of the US/foreign degree attested by the High Commission of India of that particular country. Send photocopies of degree, transcripts, matriculation and 10+2 certificates to the Foreign Degrees Evaluation Section at the AIU. Within a week, you will be receiving an equivalence certificate from AIU.