Download the UPSC IAS Syllabus and Exam Pattern to Kickstart your Preparation Hassle-free

UPSC Civil Services Examination, which is also being referred to as the IAS Exam, is a three-stage examination consisting of Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Candidates preparing for one of the highly competitive exams, IAS, need to clear all the selection stages to get considered for the respected IAS post. For the year 2021, IAS Prelims exam will be conducted on October 10, 2021 while the IAS Main 2021 will be taken in January 2022. 

The candidates preparing for the UPSC IAS 2021 exam can refer to the article which focuses on the UPSC Exam Pattern. It is important to have an in-depth understanding of the UPSC IAS Exam Pattern to clear the same with flying colors. Check the latest IAS exam pattern to kick start your preparation in a hassle-free manner.

UPSC CSE: Stages

The IAS Exam is conducted by UPSC each year to appoint candidates for different services & posts in the Government of India. 

• UPSC Prelims: The UPSC Civil Services Prelims consists of two exams including General Studies-I and General Studies-II (CSAT). 
• UPSC Main Examination: The UPSC Main Examination has nine papers including Essay Paper, four GS papers, two optional papers and two language papers (qualifying).
• UPSC Interview: The UPSC Interview is the final round in the scheme of the UPSC Examination. The final results get declared based on the marks obtained by candidates in UPSC Main Exam and Interview

The IAS syllabus is divided into several topics and all of them play a crucial role in the IAS exam. The current events of national and international importance are the most important part of the IAS syllabus, which all the IAS aspirants must take care of. Each question asked in the IAS exam flows through the IAS syllabus and thus having a clear understanding of the latest IAS exam pattern and syllabus is a must. 

IAS Exam Pattern – Prelims 2021

UPSC CSE Prelims consists of two papers including General Studies I and CSAT (General Studies Paper-II). Though CSAT is qualifying in nature, the marks obtained by the candidates in the General Studies paper helps decide whether they will get considered for the UPSC Mains or not. Candidates can have a glance at the IAS prelims scheme of the exam by referring to the tabular data provided below:

IAS Exam Pattern 2021 – Main Exam

The IAS main exam is descriptive and candidates are supposed to write long answers for the questions. Details related to the IAS main papers and their marks are mentioned below:

Important Factors to Keep in Mind while Preparing for UPSC CSE Mains 2021:

• Excluding the language papers, Paper A and Paper B, scores in all the other papers will determine candidates’s rank.
• Candidates will get a score out of a total of 1750 marks, candidates need to score at least 25% marks in each paper.
• Candidates are supposed to write the answers in the answer sheets provided by the UPSC. They will not get any extra sheets.

The entire pattern of Civil services examination has been designed aiming to judge candidates’ academic expertise and how well they showcase their personality. The IAS selection is based on the marks obtained by the candidates in the IAS main (written) and IAS main (personality test) only.  

Thus, all the IAS aspirants must study as per the latest exam pattern and IAS syllabus to kick start their preparation smoothly.

Also Read: Practical Tips for UPSC Aspirants to Improve Their Writing Skills