Plan of Examination
UPSC CSE 2025 comprises two successive stages:
(i) CS (Preliminary) Examination (Objective MCQ Type) for the selection of candidates for Civil Services (Main) Examination; and
(ii) CS (Main) Examination (Written and Interview/Personality Test) for the selection of aspirants for the various Services and posts.
UPSC CSE 2025 (Preliminary) Examination
UPSC CSE 2025 (Preliminary) Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks. This exam is meant to serve as a screening test only.
Note I : The Commission will draw a list of Aspirants to be qualified for CS (Main) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies Paper-II of CS (Preliminary) Examination and total qualifying marks of General Studies Paper-I of CS(Preliminary) Examination as may be determined by the Commission. (Both Papers Attendence Mandatory)
Note II : There will be negative marking penalty for incorrect answers as detailed below :
(i) There are 4 alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, 1/3 (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.
(ii) If a aspirants gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happen to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.
(iii) If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.
Note : Book links are Redirect to Amazon India Website.
Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: 2 hours
– Current events of national and international importance
National, International affairs
Awards (Sports, Film, Government Awards)
Economic, Social Issues
Important days and their themes
Sports
Read daily news as per syllabus
Source: Online Quiz, Vision IAS, Insight, Vajiram and Ravi, India 2024
– History of India and Indian National Movement
Ancient > Old NCERT Class 11th
Culture- Nitin Singhania + CCRT/NIOS Selected, Mrinal Videos can also be seen
Medieval > Old NCERT
Modern > Modern Spectrum, Some Chapters of Old NCERT Class 12th (Before 1857)
– Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World
Physical
Social
Economic
Source: Class 11th and 12th NCERT, Class 6 to 10th NCERT Selected. Biomes chapter from GC Leong. Mrinal’s videos are also good.Online Quiz, Oxford Student Atlas India
– 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
Shriram Printed Notes + Macroeconomics Class 12 NCERT. Mrinal’s videos are also good.
– General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization
Shankar IAS, Old Biology Class 12 Ecology Unit
– General Science
Biology
Physics
Chemistry
Source: NCERT, Newspaper Science Articles (The Hindu, Indian Express etc.)
Science & Technology >>> NCERT 6th to 10th (mainly 9th and 10th), 11th and some selected chapters of 12th as explained by Mrinal. PCB’s Vajiram Yellow Books are also fine
Others >>> Budget + Eco Survey Selective + Indian Year Book Selective
Paper II-(200 marks) Duration : 2 hours
- 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);
Preliminary Exam Books (IMP)
1) UPSC Civil Services IAS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers 1 & 2 (1995 – 2024)
English 15th Edition Hindi 14th Edition
2) 10000+ Objective MCQs with Explanatory Notes for General Studies
3) Vision IAS Prelims Test Series 01 to 14 (Questions With Solutions) 2025
4) Online Quiz
For Reference read UPSC CSP 2024 Notification
UPSC Calendar 2025 Click here
Note : “I disclose, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases”
FAQ'S
Can I apply for UPSC CSE 2025 ?
Candidates must be at least 21 years old and Upper age limit different as per category, for General no older than 32. Age relaxation available for other category.
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