Before we know about IAS Syllabus in detail, Let’s us understand the IAS Exam pattern first. Also, download the IAS Syllabus PDF. IAS Exam is conducted in 3 successive stages- Prelims, Main and Interview test. The prelims stage is an objective test of 400 marks whereas Main is subjective paper of 1750 marks followed by personality test of 275 marks. IAS Prelims is qualifying in nature while performance in main and interview round determine the merit of successful candidates.

Both prelims and main exam have different syllabus viz:

• Stage 1: IAS Preliminary Exam – 2 papers of 200 marks each
• Stage 2: IAS Main Exam – Written exam (9 papers)  
• Stage 3: Interview Round – 275 marks

The Indian Administrative Service exam officially called as Civil Services Examination (CSE) is the premier administrative civil service of the Government of India. Hierarchy-wise, IAS is the highest administrative post among the 24 services like IPS, IFS (Foreign), IAAS, IRS, IDAS, CAPF-AF to name a few.

• Paper I of IAS Syllabus Prelims includes different topics which hold a weight-age of 200 marks.
• All questions will be objective in nature.
• Candidates must solve the paper in 2 hours.
• Marks obtained in Paper 1 will be counted for the merit rank.

• UPSC civil services preliminary exam is the first stage of IAS selection process, candidates must clear prelims to qualify for the main exam.
• It is meant to serve as a screening test only; marks scored in IAS Prelims will not be counted for the final merit list.
• Preliminary Stage of IAS has two papers viz. General Ability test (GAT) (Paper-1) and the Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) (Paper-2).

 

 

IAS Prelims Syllabus for Paper 2

• All questions will be objective in nature.
• The total weightage of questions in Paper II is 200 marks.
• The total duration of the Paper II is 2 hours.
• Marks obtained in Paper 2 will not be counted for the merit rank in Prelims but will be considered as a qualifying Paper.
• Candidates need 33% marks to clear IAS Mains.

 

 

IAS Prelims Syllabus 2020

IAS Prelims Syllabus comprises of two papers- General Studies (Paper I) and Civil Service Aptitude Test (Paper II). These are conducted in two shifts- morning and evening shift. Given below is the brief information of previous year IAS Prelims Exam Analysis:

• As per the overall IAS prelims exam analysis, the exam was moderately difficult.
• It had questions from History, Polity, Geography, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Ecology, Environment, Economics, Arts and Culture, Social Welfare and GK. The dominating sections were Current Affairs, Ecology and Environment, Economics and History.
• Given below is the topic wise weightage of IAS Prelims Paper I
• CSAT (Civil Service Aptitude Test) was of moderate difficulty. There were questions from Basic Mathematics, Analytical Reasoning, Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Logical Consistency.
• Analytical Reasoning, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension dominated this paper. This paper was comparatively easier last year and is expected to be easier this year as well.
• Here is the topic wise weightage of CSAT paper in IAS Prelims:

IAS Mains Syllabus 2020

• This paper assesses candidates’ academic expertise in their specialized subject.
• It also tests their ability to present knowledge in a clear and coherent manner and his overall intellectual traits and understanding of concepts.
• Interview will be conducted to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental caliber of candidate.  
• Number of candidates to be admitted to IAS Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
• The number of candidates to be invited for interview will be about twice of the number of vacancies to be filled.

 

IAS Syllabus for Mains

Detailed Syllabus of IAS papers included in the scheme of IAS Mains are given as follows:

Paper I

• It consists of questions to test the writing skills of the candidate. Thus, it is purely subjective with no objective type questions.
• The language for the paper is English thus candidates have no option of answering in any other language.
• Total marks awarded to this paper are 250.

Paper II

• The candidates have to answer the questions based on Indian Heritage along with the History and Geography of the World in Paper II.
• The total weightage of the Paper II is 250 marks.

Paper III

• Paper III comprises questions on Constitution, Social Justice and International relations of India.
• The questions hold a total weightage of 250 marks.

Paper V

• Candidates are asked questions based on Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
• The questions hold a weightage of 250 marks. 

Paper VI and VII

• Paper VI and Paper VII are optional subjects for Paper I and Paper II of UPSC Main.
• Candidates have to attempt both the Papers separately.
• Each Paper holds a weightage of 250 marks. 

 

IAS Interview/ Personality Test

• All candidates who successfully clear IAS Prelims and Main will be called for the interview round. Check IAS Cutoff
• This stage is of total 275 marks.
• Candidates will be asked some general interest questions.
• Candidates can also choose one language in which they wish to be interviewed.
• This interview will test a candidate’s mental calibre, mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgment, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity and his personal suitability.
• Candidates must secure at least 55% in this round.
• A candidate securing 60% and above will most likely get a service of his choice.
• Marks obtained by a candidate in IAS Interview will be added in the Main stage. This will form the basis of the final merit list.

 

IAS (Mains) Exam Facts

 

IAS Mains Exam Pattern 2020

• IAS Main has 9 papers out of which 7 Papers are compulsory and 2 are optional papers that candidates have to choose. 
• Out of the 7 papers, 2 are language papers (A and B).
• For paper A, candidate has to choose one of the Indian Language that is included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. Paper B will have questions from English.
• Questions will be subjective in nature.
• Each paper is of 250 marks while language papers are of 300 marks each. 
• The marks obtained in the language papers are not counted in the formation of IAS Merit List as they are qualifying  in nature.
• The total time duration of IAS Main exam is 3 hours.
• Blind candidates will be given 20 minutes extra for each paper.

Here is the brief about all the papers in IAS Mains: