IAS Question Paper Download: Prelims & Mains Previous Year Question Papers PDF
Indian Administrative Services 2026 ( IAS )
The UPSC Civil Services (IAS) exam is conducted every year to recruit the candidates for the All India Services and Central Civil Services. The Union Public Service Commission conduct IAS exam in offline mode at the designated exam centres. The Commission releases the IAS question paper on its official website - upsc.gov.in within ten days from the exam. The Commission will conduct IAS exam on May 24, 2026.
The UPSC question paper of previous years will help the candidates to know the frequently asked topics in the UPSC exam. The candidates are suggested to solve the UPSC IAS question papers in time bound manner to get the real feel of the exam. Moreover, it will help the candidates in time management during the real exam. IAS preparation is incomplete without solving the previous year question papers. The Commission will release the UPSC Prelims question paper 2026 within a week from the conduct of exam.
Also Read: UPSC Exam Timing
- UPSC IAS 2025 Prelims Question Paper: Analysis
- IAS Exam Pattern 2026
- UPSC IAS 2025 Prelims Question Paper PDF
- UPSC IAS 2024 Question Paper PDF
- IAS Question Papers
- Previous year IAS Questions Papers
- UPSC IAS Preparation Guide
- IAS Question Paper 2026
- UPSC IAS Question Paper 2026 FAQ
UPSC IAS 2025 Prelims Question Paper: Analysis
| Subject (Section) |
Number of Questions Asked |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| History |
14 |
Moderate with Some Difficult Questions |
| Geography |
23 |
Difficult |
| Indian Economy |
13 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| Indian Polity |
14 |
Moderate |
| General Science |
12 |
Easy to Moderate |
| Current Events of National & International importance |
24 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| Total |
100 |
Moderate to Difficult |
See here: IAS Toppers' tips for IAS prelims exam
UPSC question papers have a particular style of placing the answer options. The options are so designed that if the candidate does not clearly know the answer, he won’t be able to mark the right answer. IAS Question paper is an authentic source to know about the pattern of the UPSC Civil Service Exam. The previous year question papers for the UPSC IAS exam provide a clear picture of the exam expectation from the IAS aspirant. The IAS question paper provides a clear locus for IAS preparation. The candidates can understand the IAS syllabus in a more comprehensible manner once they go through the previous year's question papers for the UPSC IAS exam.
The IAS question paper helps the candidates to prepare in a more efficient way by using the previous year question paper as a mock test for the UPSC exam. The candidates can take the IAS question papers as sample or model question papers and practice with them in a time-bound manner. This will give them a real exam like feel.
See Here: IAS Preparation and Current Affairs
IAS Exam Pattern 2026
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the Civil Service Prelims exams based on IAS exam pattern. The candidates can see below IAS exam pattern as notified by the Commission:
| Paper |
Questions |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper- I |
100 |
200 |
| General Studies Paper-II (Aptitude Test) |
80 |
200 |
| Total |
400 |
|
The candidates should analyse IAS question papers to internalise the exam pattern.
Download previous year IAS question papers and sample papers. Use them for practice and improve your speed and accuracy. You can download IAS previous year question papers and the preparation guides for free.
UPSC IAS 2025 Prelims Question Paper PDF
UPSC IAS 2025 General Studies I
UPSC IAS 2024 Question Paper PDF
Question Paper 2024
IAS Question Papers
IAS 2022 Question Papers
Previous year IAS Questions Papers
UPSC IAS Preparation Guide
IAS Question Paper 2026
The Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC Civil Service Prelims and Mains exam question papers after the respective exam. The Commission releases the question papers for all the optional subjects too. The candidates are suggested to download the UPSC question papers of previous years and solve them in time bound manner. The deep analysis of the question papers can unlock the secrets about the most important topics of UPSC IAS syllabus. The candidates can see download the previous years question papers.
Commonly asked questions
The candidates should analyse the UPSC CSE previous year question papers to know the trend of the most asked topics. The Commission releases the UPSC question paper on its official website - upsc.gov.in. The candidates can get the UPSC question paper of previous year here. The candidates can download the UPSC question paper PDF here.
UPSC IAS Question Paper 2026 FAQ
The candidates can see here the important questions related to the UPSC IAS question papers.
IAS Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a week ago
The UPSC IAS Notification 2026 has been postponed due to administrative reasons. The Commission released a notice on its official website - upsc.gov.in regarding this. The Commission will also revise the last date for UPSC applications.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
The Union Public Service Commission will release the IAS Prelims Answer Key 2026 in May 2027. The Commission releases the official answer key after the declaration of final result.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the IAS prelims exam on May 24, 2026. The Commission will release the IAS prelims result 2026 in the first week of June.
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
The Cadre Controlling Authority for Indian Foreign Service is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is recruited through the Civil Service Exam.
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
The Cadre Controlling Authority for Indian Police Service is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It comes directly under the supervision of Home Minister of India.
N
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a week ago
The Union Public Service Commission will notify the UPSC Civil Service vacancies in the official notification. The number of vacancies for IAS is 180 and for IPS it is 150. Rest of the vacancies are notified for the Central Civil Services.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
The Union Public Service Commission mention the age limit in the official notification. The upper age limit for the General Categoary candidates is 32 years. The Commission provides age relaxation to certain reserved categories.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
No, the Indian Foriegn Service is a Central Civil Service. It is organised and controlled by the Ministry of External Affairs. It is recruited through the UPSC Civil Service Exam conducted annually.
R
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a week ago
The Union Public Service Commission will release the Civil Service (IAS) notification 2026 on its official website - upsc.gov.in. The Commission will mention the number of vacancies (tentative) in the notification. The Commission is releasing over one thousand vacancies in the recent years.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, the UPSC IAS previous year question papers are very important because they provide a clear picture of the exam. The UPSC IAS PYQs hints about the most frequently asked topics in the exam. It also provides the tentative weightage of the sections in the UPSC IAS syllabus.
N
Beginner-Level 5
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Is the UPSC IAS Notification 2026 Postponed?