Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective type)
- It is conducted for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination.
- The Preliminary Examination (in short Prelims) shall comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each.
- Prelims exam of both papers will be held on the same day.
- Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions) and each will be of two hours duration.
- The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. The other name for Paper-II is CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test).
- As Paper-II is qualifying paper only, the candidates will be selected for Mains based upon their marks scored in Paper-I
- Each Question in Paper-I carries 2 marks. Each Question in Paper-II carries 2 marks. There will be negative marking for incorrect answers. One-third of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.
- The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
- This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
- The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.
Pattern of the Preliminary Exam:
| Two Papers | Paper-I General Studies Paper-II CSAT |
| Question Paper Type | Objective type (Multiple choice questions) |
| Duration | Paper-I 2hrs (Morning) Paper-II 2hrs (Afternoon) |
| Number of Questions | Paper-I 100 Questions Paper-II 80 Questions |
| Marks Allotted | Paper-I Each Question Carries 2 Marks Paper-II Each Question Carries 2.5 Marks |
| Negative Marking | One-third of the marks assigned to that question |
| Nature of Exam | Qualifying in Nature Serve as a screening test only |
Syllabus for the Preliminary Examination:
Paper I – (200 marks)
- 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 issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science
Paper II – (200 marks)
- 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);
Source: UPSC CSE Notification
