Everything you need to start right.
The complete syllabus, a month-by-month roadmap, a repeatable weekly plan, and the study habits that actually produce ranks. All free. No sign-up.
The UPSC CSE syllabus, simplified
The Civil Services Examination has three stages — Prelims, Mains and the Personality Test (interview).
Stage 1 — Preliminary Examination Objective · Screening
- Paper I — General Studies (200 marks, 100 questions): current events of national and international importance; History of India and the Indian National Movement; Indian and World Geography (physical, social, economic); Indian Polity and Governance (Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues); Economic and Social Development (sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social-sector initiatives); environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change; general science.
- Paper II — CSAT (200 marks, 80 questions, qualifying at 33%): comprehension; interpersonal and communication skills; logical reasoning and analytical ability; decision-making and problem-solving; general mental ability; basic numeracy and data interpretation (Class X level).
Stage 2 — Main Examination Written · 1750 marks
- Paper A & Paper B — an Indian language (Eighth Schedule) and English, each 300 marks and qualifying only (marks not counted for ranking).
- Paper I — Essay (250)
- Paper II — GS1: Indian heritage and culture; history and geography of the world and society (250)
- Paper III — GS2: Governance, Constitution, polity, social justice and international relations (250)
- Paper IV — GS3: Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management (250)
- Paper V — GS4: Ethics, integrity and aptitude (250)
- Papers VI & VII — Optional subject (two papers, 250 each)
Stage 3 — Personality Test (Interview) 275 marks
A board assesses your personality, awareness and suitability for a career in public service. Mains (1750) + Interview (275) = 2025 marks decide the final rank.
A 12-month roadmap
A realistic phasing for a first attempt. Adjust the pace to your start date, but keep the order — foundation first, integration last.
Foundation (Months 1–4)
Build the base with NCERTs (Class 6–12) across History, Geography, Polity, Economy and Science. Start reading one newspaper daily and choose your optional. Goal: understand, don't memorise.
Core building (Months 5–9)
Move to standard, widely-used reference books subject by subject, then cover your optional in depth. Begin monthly current-affairs consolidation and start light answer writing.
Integration & revision (Months 10–12)
Stop adding new sources. Revise in cycles, link current affairs to the static syllabus, and solve previous-year papers. Take a Prelims test series and practise full-length answer writing for Mains.
Prelims → Mains sprint
After Prelims, switch fully to Mains: daily answer writing, essay practice and revision of GS + optional. The ~3 months between Prelims and Mains are decisive — treat them as the real exam season.
A weekly study plan you can repeat
Consistency beats intensity. A repeatable weekly template removes daily decision-fatigue. Here is a balanced default — scale the hours to your situation.
| Block | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Current affairs | Newspaper + note the day's issues, mapped to GS papers. |
| Slot 1 | Static subject A | Read → make one-page notes → active recall. |
| Slot 2 | Static subject B / optional | Alternate subjects so nothing goes cold. |
| Evening | Answer writing | Write 1–2 answers; on weekends, a full essay. |
| Night | Revision | Revise the day's notes + one older topic (spaced). |
| Weekly | Test + review | One Prelims/sectional test; review every mistake. |
The spaced-revision rule
Revise each topic on Day 1, Day 7 and Day 30. This simple spacing moves knowledge into long-term memory far better than re-reading, and it is the single highest-return habit in UPSC prep.
Study tips that actually move the needle
1 · The five-step loop
Read → note → recall → link to current affairs → write. Run this loop on every topic and your prep becomes output-driven, not just input-heavy.
2 · Active recall > re-reading
Close the book and try to reproduce the topic from memory. Struggling to recall is what builds retention — highlighting does not.
3 · One page per topic
Compress each topic to a single page. Revision becomes fast, and compression itself forces understanding.
4 · The Feynman test
Explain a concept in plain words as if teaching a friend. Where you stumble is exactly what you don't yet understand.
5 · Answer writing from week one
Writing is a skill that compounds. Don't wait to "finish the syllabus" — start now, even if rough.
6 · Fewer sources, more revisions
Pick one source per subject and revise it many times. Source-hopping is the most common silent mistake.
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All material here is original and written by us, based on publicly available facts and the official UPSC exam pattern. We do not reproduce content from any third party.