Prelims

UPSC Prelims – Exam Pattern

Two objective-type papers (General Studies I and General Studies II or CSAT) for a total of 400 marks.

Offline (pen-paper) on the same day in two sessions.

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
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)

PAPER

SUBJECT MARKS

NO. OF QUESTION

DURATION

General Studies- 1

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 specialisation

200

100

2 HOURS

General Studies 2 (CSAT)

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)

200

2 HOURS