WHAT IS CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION ?

The Civil Service is termed as “one of the most prestigious job in our country”. As per Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services Exam (CSE) to recruit candidates for various Central & All India Services in the departments of Government of India. The Civil Services Examination is commonly known as IAS Examination.

What does UPSC demand in the scrutiny Process?

  • Intellectual traits and depth of Understanding
  • General awareness on variety of subject.
  • Basic understanding of all relevant issues and a rational approach in problem solving
  • Ability to analyse and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands.
  • Positive attitude, honesty and integrity.

Eligibility Criteria

Category

Age Limit

(Minimum Age-21 years)

Educational Qualification

No of Attempts

General

32 Years

Graduate

(in any stream)

06

OBC

35 Years

09

SC / ST

37 Years

Any number of attempts within the age limit

Ex-Servicemen

37 Years

09

Persons with Benchmark Disability

General-35 Years OBC-37 Years SC/ST-40 Years

General & OBC-09 SC & ST- Upto the age limit

N.B. :

  • To apply for the post of IAS & the IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
  • A candidate who got appointed as an IAS or IFS officer in earlier examination and continues to be a member of the service is not eligible to compete at this examination. Moreover, a candidate who is appointed as the IPS officer is not eligible to opt for the IPS in the next exam.
FINAL SELECTION

Analysis of CSE Prelims Previous Years Papers

In the Prelims Examination, usually more questions come from History, Polity, Geography, Environment & Ecology and Economics but this is not fixed that how many questions will come from which portion. To understand the pattern of questions come in the examination, our R&D Team do continuous studies on previous years question. The following table can help to know the portion of questions asked from various sections from 2013 to 2020.

Synopsis of questions asked in GS-I (2013 to 2020)

SEGMENTS

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

History of India

16

19

16

16

13

22

16

19

Indian Polity & Governance

17

10

13

6

22

13

15

18

Geography of India & World

18

20

18

3

8

9

8

10

Environment & Ecology

14

20

12

16

17

10

19

13

Indian Economy & Development

18

11

16

15

29

22

20

15

General Science & Technology

16

12

9

7

3

14

15

15

Current Affairs

1

8

16

37

8

10

7

10

Total

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Synopsis of questions asked in CSAT (2013 to 2020)

SEGMENTS

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Reading Comprehension (Bilingual)

 

24

 

26

 

30

 

27

 

30

 

26

 

30

 

25

English Comprehension

8

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

Basic Numeracy

9

16

20

28

24

17

26

36

Data Interpretation / Sufficiency

5

5

0

0

0

12

10

4

Reasoning / Analytical Ability

28

27

30

25

26

25

14

15

Decision Making & Problem Solving

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total

80

80

80

80

80

80

80

80

N.B. :

  • Cut off marks on the basis of GS Paper-I only. GS paper-II is of qualifying in nature with 33% marks as per Rule-15 of Civil Services Examination,2020.
  •  From 2015 onwards, English comprehension was removed from the CSAT question paper.

PRELIMS CUT-OFF MARKS

MAINS CUT-OFF MARKS

 

Category

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

 

 

Category

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

 

General

107.34

116

105.34

98

98

92.51

General

676

787

809

774

751

736

 

OBC

106

110.66

102.66

96.66

95.34

89.12

OBC

630

745

770

732

718

698

 

SC

94

99.34

88.66

84

82

74.84

SC

622

739

756

719

706

680

 

ST

91.34

96

88.66

83.34

77.34

68.71

ST

617

730

749

719

699

682

 

PwBD-1

90.66

75.34

85.34

73.34

53.34

70.06

PwBD-1

580

713

734

711

663

648

 

PwBD-2

76.66

72.66

61.34

53.34

44.66

63.94

PwBD-2

627

740

745

696

698

699

 

PwBD-3

40

40

40

40

40.66

40.82

PwBD-3

504

545

578

520

374

425

 

EWS

–

–

–

–

90

77.55

EWS

–

–

–

–

696

687

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTIONS AND MARKS WISE CLASSIFICATION OF GENERAL STUDIES QUESTIONS ASKED IN MAINS EXAM
GENERAL STUDIES – I

History of India and the World

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Indian Heritage & Culture

4

(40 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

4

(50 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

4

(50 Marks)

History of Modern India (Before Independence)

 

3

(30 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

3

(37.5 arks)

 

5

(65 Marks)

 

1

(10 Marks)

 

4

(50 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

History of Modern India (After Independence)

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

1

(12.5Marks)

 

–

 

1

(15 Marks)

 

–

 

–

World History

3

(30 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(12.5Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(15 Marks)

–

Marks

100 Marks

87.5

Marks

87.5 Marks

85 Marks

75 Marks

75 Marks

75 Marks

Social Problems in Indian Society

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Salient Features of Indian Society

1 (10 Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

–

2 (25

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

1 (10 Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

Isues related to Women

3 (30 Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

–

–

1 (15

Marks)

1 (15 Marks)

–

 

Poverty & Development Issues

 

–

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

–

 

1 (25

Marks)

 

–

 

1 (10

Marks)

Urbanisation

–

2 (25

Marks)

2 (25 Marks)

1 (15

Marks)

–

1 (15 Marks)

–

Population

–

2 (25

Marks)

–

–

–

1 (10 Marks)

–

Impact of Globalisation on Indian Society

 

–

 

–

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

–

 

1 (15

Marks)

 

1 (15 Marks)

 

1 (15

Marks)

Communalism, Regionalism, Secularism

 

1 (10 Marks)

 

–

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

1 (15

Marks)

 

1 (25

Marks)

 

2 (15 Marks)

 

1 (10

Marks)

Social Empowerment

–

1 (12.5

Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

–

–

1 (15

Marks)

Marks

50 Marks

100 Marks

75 Marks

65 Marks

90 Marks

90 Marks

75 Marks

Geography of India & the World

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Physical Geography

2 (20 Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

3 (40

Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

2 (25 Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

Distribution of Natural Resource

2 (20 Marks)

3 (37.5

Marks)

5 (62.5

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

1 (15 Marks)

2 (30

Marks)

Factors of Location of Industries in India & the World

 

3 (30 Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

2 (25

Marks)

 

2 (25

Marks)

 

2 (20 Marks)

 

1 (10

Marks)

Major Geophysical Events (Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, etc)

 

2 (20 Marks)

 

–

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

1 (15

Marks)

 

–

 

1 (10 Marks)

 

3 (40

Marks)

Geographical Features and their location

 

1 (10 Marks)

 

–

 

–

1 (10

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

 

1 (15 Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

Marks

100 Marks

62.5

Marks

87.5 Marks

100 Marks

85 Marks

85 Marks

100 Marks

Total Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

GENERAL STUDIES – II

Indian Constitution and Governance

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Indian Constitution (Features & Provision) Comparison of the Indian Constitutional Scheme with

that of other Countries

 

1

(12.5 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

3

(37.5 Marks)

 

2

(30 Marks)

 

1

(15 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

1

(10 Marks)

Issues related to the Federal Structure and Local Government

1

(12.5 Marks)

3

(37.5 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

2

(30 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

3

(40 Marks)

Legislature and Representation of the People's Act

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

1

(12.5 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

2

(30 Marks)

3

(35 Marks)

Executive

2

(25 Marks)

–

–

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

–

Judiciary

1

(12.5 Marks)

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

–

–

Separation of Power between various components

–

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

–

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

Constitutional Terms and Constitutional Law, Regulatory

and Quasi-Judicial Bodies

1

(12.5 Marks)

1

(12.5 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

4

(45 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

Civil Service in Democracy

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

1

(12.5 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

–

–

2

(20 Marks)

Marks

100 Marks

100

Marks

112.5 Marks

115

Marks

125

Marks

115

Marks

145

Marks

Governance & Social Justice

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Issues related to Government Policies for development and their

Implementation

4

(50 Marks)

 

–

 

–

3

(40 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

2

(30 Marks)

 

–

Role of Non-Government Organisations (NGO's, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and various groups

in the development process

 

1

(12.5 Marks)

 

3 (37.5

Marks)

 

1

(12.5 Marks)

 

2 (25

Marks)

 

–

 

1 (10

Marks)

 

1 (15

Marks)

Welfare Scheme launched for the vulnerable sections

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

1

(12.5 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

Issues related to Human Resource

1

(12.5 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

–

2

(25 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

Issues related to Poverty &

Hunger

–

1

(12.5 Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

Issues related to Governance,Transparency, Accountability, e-

Governance,Citizen Charters

 

–

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

3

(37.5 Marks)

 

–

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

1

(10 Marks)

 

–

Marks

87.5 Marks

100

Marks

87.5 Marks

85 Marks

75 Marks

85 Marks

55 Marks

International Relations

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

India and its Neighbours

1 (12.5

Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

–

1 (10

Marks)

2 (20

Marks)

–

–

Bilateral, Regional and Global Groups, the impact of policies of developed and developing countries on India, Non-Resident

Indians (NRI)

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

1 (12.5

Marks)

 

 

2 (25 Marks)

 

2 (30

Marks)

 

1 (15

Marks)

 

3 (40

Marks)

 

3 (40

Marks)

Important International Institutes

3 (37.5

Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

2 (25 Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

1 (15

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

1 (10

Marks)

Marks

62.5 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

Total Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

GENERAL STUDIES – III

Economy

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Indian Economy and Issues related to planning, resources, development, employment

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

3

(37.5

Marks)

 

–

 

2

(20 Marks)

 

2

(30 Marks)

 

2

(20 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

Inclusive Growth

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

2

(25 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

 

Government Budgeting

 

–

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

Main crops, storage, of Agriculture Produce, transport, irrigation, e-technology and other related issues and constraints

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

2 (25

Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

3

(40 Marks)

 

4

(45 Marks)

 

3

(40 Marks)

Direct & Indirect Agricultural Subsidies, Public Distribution

System, Food Security

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

 

–

Food processing & related Industries, Animal Husbandry

–

2 (25

Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

 

Land Reforms in India

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

–

 

–

Impact of Liberalization on the economy, Industrial Policy

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

–

 

Infrastructure

1

(10 Marks)

1

(12.5

Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

 

–

1

(15 Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

Investment Models

3

(20 Marks)

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(12.5

Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

–

Marks

120

Marks

125

Marks

137.5

Marks

125

Marks

115 Marks

125

Marks

100 Marks

Science & Technology

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Development of Science & Technology, its applications, Information & Technology, Space, Robotics etc, Issues related to Intellectual Properties

 

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

3

(37.5

Marks)

 

 

–

 

 

1

(10 Marks)

 

 

1

(15 Marks)

 

 

2

(20 Marks)

 

 

4

(50 Marks)

Achievements by Indians in Science & Technology, Development of Technology

indigenously

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

2

(25 Marks)

 

2 (25

Marks)

 

1

(10 Marks)

1

(15

Marks)

 

–

Marks

37.5

Marks

50 Marks

25 Marks

35 Marks

25 Marks

35 Marks

50 Marks

Disaster Management

1 (12.5

Marks)

1 (12.5

Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

1 (15

Marks)

1 (15 Marks)

2 (25

Marks)

1 (15 Marks)

Internal Security

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Linkages between Development and Extremism

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

 

–

1

(10 Marks)

 

–

 

–

Challenges of Internal Security, Cyber Security, Money

Laundering

1

(12.5

Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(12.5

Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

Security Challenges in border areas, Organized Crime and

Terrorism

4

(50 Marks)

 

–

3

(37.5

Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

2

(25 Marks)

1

(15 Marks)

3

(40 Marks)

Security Forces and Agencies and their mandates

 

–

1

(12.5

Marks)

 

–

 

–

 

–

1

(15 Marks)

 

–

Marks

62.5

Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

50 Marks

40 Marks

50 Marks

Total Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

GENERAL STUDIES – IV

 

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

No of Questions / Marks

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Ethics & Human Interface

4

(40 Marks)

4

(55 Marks)

3

(40 Marks)

3

(30 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

3

(40 Marks)

5

(60 Marks)

Attitude

2

(20 Marks)

–

2

(20 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

Emotional Intelligence

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

1

(10 Marks)

–

1

(10 Marks)

2

(20 Marks)

Moral Thinkers and Philosophers

1

(10 Marks)

2

(20 Marks)

4

(40 Marks)

2

(20 Marks)

3

(30 Marks)

3

(30 Marks)

4

(40 Marks)

Aptitude and Fundamental Values for Civil Service

 

4

(50 Marks)

 

5

(60 Marks)

 

2

(30 Marks)

 

3

(40 Marks)

 

1

(10 Marks)

 

2

(30 Marks)

 

2

(20 Marks)

Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration

 

5

(90 Marks)

 

4

(70 Marks)

 

3

(65 Marks)

 

5

(70 Marks)

 

8

(110 Marks)

 

4

(70 Marks)

 

4

(80 Marks)

Probity in Governance

2

(30 Marks)

3

(45 Marks)

3

(45 Marks)

4

(70 Marks)

6

(90 Marks)

5

(60 Marks)

1

(20 Marks)

Total Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250 Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

250

Marks

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