UPSC Prelims is the preliminary stage of the Civil Services Exam, which is held annually by the Union Public Service Commission. The Civil Services (Preliminary) exam is officially known as this stage, but aspirants commonly refer to it as UPSC Prelims or IAS Prelims. In this article, students will learn about the syllabus of the UPSC IAS Prelims Exam 2024.
The UPSC Prelims exam is divided into two sections: General Studies I and General Studies II (CSAT). CSAT is qualifying in nature, whereas the GS Paper-I score determines whether students meet the cut-off for the preliminary exams. For the CSAT paper, students only need to score higher than 33%, or 66 points. Overall, the preliminary exam is qualifying. As a result, the score does not add to the overall merit.
UPSC Exam 2024 Highlights
The IAS exam comprises the preliminary, main, and interview rounds. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and several other prestigious civil services are open to applicants who pass all three IAS exam stages. Candidates can check the essential details in the table given below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Name of Organization | UPSC |
| Official Website | https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
| UPSC 2024 Notification Release Date | February 2, 2024 |
| Online Application Form Last Date | February 22, 2024 |
| Prelims Exam Admit Card | June 2024 |
| UPSC IAS 2022 Prelims Date | June 5, 2024 |
| Prelims Exam Result | June 22, 2024 |
| Admit Card for Mains Exam | August 30, 2024 |
| UPSC IAS Mains Exam Date | September 16-25, 2024 |
| UPSC IAS Final Result Announced | January 2025 |
| Number of Attempts | 6 |
| Exam mode | Offline – pen and paper mode |
UPSC IAS Prelims Exam Pattern 2024
Every year, almost 10 lakh aspirants apply for the UPSC Civil Services IAS Exam, and approximately 5 lakh students appear in the Prelims examination.
There are two UPSC papers in the UPSC IAS Prelims exam.
- General Studies Paper 1
- General Studies CSAT Paper 2
General Studies Paper 1 is competitive, and CSAT is qualifying, where you have to score at least 33% marks.
- A minimum score of 33% in Paper II is needed for candidates to qualify for the exam.
- For each incorrect answer, a mark of one-third will be deducted.
An overview of UPSC’s Prelims Exam 2024 Pattern is provided below.
| SUBJECT | EXAM TYPE | NO. OF QUESTIONS | MARKS | EXAM DURATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I – General Studies | Objective | 100 | 200 | 2 Hours |
| Paper II – Aptitude Test (CSAT) | Objective | 80 | 200 | 2 Hours |
UPSC IAS Prelims Exam 2024 Syllabus
The syllabus for General Studies (Paper I) and Paper II of the Prelims examination are available for candidates to review and start their UPSC exam preparation.
Paper I
- 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 environmental ecology, Bio-diversity, and climate change issues do not require subject specialization.
- General Science.
Paper II
- 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)
Students can now make their preparation plan after getting the Prelims syllabus. We all know the syllabus is the only key to getting good exam marks.
FAQs
UPSC administers the IAS and IPS civil services exams. The official notification states that the UPSC syllabus is the same for both positions.
The UPSC exam is widely regarded as highly unpredictable. According to the analysis, more questionnaires about current events have been asked in recent years.
The IAS exam requires the use of NCERT textbooks.
