
ESE/IES 2026 Syllabus: The Union Public Service Commission released the UPSC ESE (IES) syllabus 2026 along with the official notification at upsc.gov.in. Candidates are advised to go through the IES syllabus 2026 for their preparation. The syllabus consists of the important topics, chapters asked in the examination so that candidates can strategise their preparation to achieve a good score. Along with the syllabus, candidates should also refer the ESE exam pattern to understand the scheme of the examination. The UPSC IES Prelims exam will be held on February 8, 2026. The candidates can download the UPSC ESE (IES) 2026 syllabus PDF here. The ESE syllabus and IES exam pattern go hand-in-hand for the preparation of the exam.
The Commission amended the notification by including the Indian Railway Management Service (Technical Wing). Scroll down for more details about the UPSC IES 2026 syllabus.
- IES 2026 Syllabus - Prelims
- IES 2026 Syllabus - Main Exam
- IES Syllabus 2026 FAQs
IES 2026 Syllabus - Prelims
IES prelims exam is equally important for the candidates because the marks secured in it are also considered for the final merit. The IES prelims exam is the first stage of the exam process. The list of topics for the UPSC ESE (IES) prelims exam 2026 is as follows:
| General Studies and Engineering Aptitude Paper |
|
|---|---|
| Current issues of national and international importance relating to social, economic and industrial development |
Basics of Energy and Environment: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Climate Change, Environmental impact assessment |
| Engineering Aptitude covering Logical reasoning and Analytical ability |
Basics of Project Management |
| Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis |
Basics of Material Science and Engineering |
| General Principles of Design, Drawing, Importance of Safety |
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based tools and their applications in Engineering such as networking, e-governance and technology-based education. |
| Standards and Quality practices in production, construction, maintenance and services |
Ethics and values in the engineering profession. |
The Commission has issued a common syllabus for the prelims and main exam (for each engineering branch). The candidates need to prepare all the topics given in the syllabus as that will help in the prelims and main exam. The candidates can see below the important engineering branch-wise syllabus.
Commonly asked questions
In the IES Prelims exam, subjects covered are General Studies and Engineering Aptitude and concerned Engineering Stream.
The UPSC IES exam pattern for prelims exam consists of two papers namely Paper 1 and Paper 2. Objective type questions are asked in the examination. It is conducted in offline mode (pen and paper based). In Paper 1, 100 questions are asked of maximum 200 marks and duration is two hours. In Paper 2, 150 questions are asked with 300 maximum marks and duration is three hours.
IES 2026 Syllabus - Main Exam
The candidates should prepare the IES main exam thoroughly because it is a subjective exam where the candidates need to write answers in the
IES Civil Engineering Syllabus
The Commission prescribes the common syllabus for the prelims and main exam. The IES Civil Engineering syllabus is as follows:
IES Civil Engineering (Paper 1) Syllabus
The following are the details of topics and subtopics of the Civil Engineering Syllabus.
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Building Materials |
|
| Solid Mechanics |
|
| Structural Analysis |
|
| Design of Steel Structures | Principles of Working Stress methods, Design of tension and compression members, Design of beams and beam column connections, built-up sections, Girders, Industrial roofs, and Principles of Ultimate load design. |
| Design of Concrete and Masonry structures |
|
| Construction Practice, Planning and Management |
|
The above topics is list of topics as mentioned in the official notification.
IES Civil Engineering (Paper 2) Syllabus
The following topics are given for the Civil Engineering Paper 2
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power | (a) Fluid Mechanics, Open Channel Flow, Pipe Flow:
(b) Hydraulic Machines and Hydropower -
|
| Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering |
|
| Environmental Engineering | (a) Water Supply Engineering:
(b) Waste Water Engineering:
(c) Solid Waste Management:
(d) Air, Noise pollution and Ecology:
|
| Geo-technical Engineering and Foundation Engineering | (a) Geo-technical Engineering: Soil exploration - planning & methods, Properties of soil, classification, various tests and inter- relationships; Permeability & Seepage, Compressibility, consolidation and Shearing resistance, Earth pressure theories and stress distribution in soil; Properties and uses of geo-synthetics. (b) Foundation Engineering: Types of foundations & selection criteria, bearing capacity, settlement analysis, design and testing of shallow & deep foundations; Slope stability analysis, Earthen embankments, Dams and Earth retaining structures: types, analysis and design, Principles of ground modifications |
| Surveying and Geology | (a) Surveying: Classification of surveys, various methodologies, instruments & analysis of measurement of distances, elevation and directions; Field astronomy, Global Positioning System; Map preparation; Photogrammetry; Remote sensing concepts; Survey Layout for culverts, canals, bridges, road/railway alignment and buildings, Setting out of Curves. (b) Geology: Basic knowledge of Engineering geology & its application in projects |
| Transportation Engineering |
|
The above list is exhaustive in nature as provided by the Commission.
IES Mechanical Engineering Syllabus
The Commission releases a combined syllabus for all the Engineering streams for prelims and main exam. The candidates can see here the combined syllabus for prelims and main exam.
IES Mechanical Engineering (Paper 1) Syllabus
The candidates can see below the topics of UPSC ESE (IES) syllabus for Mechanical Engineering:
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Fluid Mechanics |
|
| Thermodynamics and Heat transfer |
|
| IC Engines, Refrigeration and Air conditioning |
|
| Turbo Machinery |
|
| Power Plant Engineering |
|
| Renewable Sources of Energy |
|
IES Mechanical Engineering (Paper 2) Syllabus
The Mechanical Engineering Paper 2 syllabus as given in the official notification is given below:
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Engineering Mechanics |
|
| Engineering Materials |
|
| Mechanisms and Machines |
|
| Design of Machine Elements |
|
| Manufacturing, Industrial and Maintenance Engineering |
|
| Mechatronics and Robotics |
|
The above list is exhaustive in nature.
IES Electrical Engineering Syllabus
The candidates can see below the combined syllabus for prelims and main exam.
IES Electrical Engineering (Paper 1) Syllabus
UPSC mentioned all the topics of Electrical Engineering in the ESE (IES) 2025 notification. The list of topics and subtopics is given below:
| Topics | Subtopics |
|---|---|
| Engineering Mathematics |
|
| Electrical Materials |
|
| Electric Circuits and Fields |
|
| Electrical and Electronic Measurements |
|
| Computer Fundamentals | Number systems, Boolean algebra, arithmetic functions, Basic Architecture, Central Processing Unit, I/O and Memory Organisation; peripheral devices, data represenation and programming, basics of Operating system and networking, virtual memory, file systems; Elements of programming languages, typical examples. |
| Basic Electronics Engineering | Basics of Semiconductor diodes and transistors and characteristics, Junction and field effect transistors (BJT, FET and MOSFETS), different types of transistor amplifiers, equivalent circuits and frequency response; oscillators and other circuits, feedback amplifiers |
IES Electrical Engineering (Paper 2) Syllabus
UPSC mentions the list of topics in the official syllabus as below:
| Topics | Subtopics |
|---|---|
| Analog and Digital Electronics |
|
| Systems and Signal Processing |
|
| Control Systems |
|
| Electrical Machines |
|
| Power Systems | Basic power generation concepts, steam, gas and water turbines, transmission line models and performance, cable performance, insulation, corona and radio interference, power factor correction, symmetrical components, fault analysis, principles of protection systems, basics of solid state relays and digital protection; Circuit breakers, Radial and ring-main distribution systems, Matrix representation of power systems, load flow analysis, voltage control and economic operation, System stability concepts, Swing curves and equal area criterion. HVDC transmission and FACTS concepts, Concepts of power system dynamics, distributed generation, solar and wind power, smart grid concepts, environmental implications, fundamentals of power economics. |
| Power Electronics and Drives | Semiconductor power diodes, transistors, thyristors, triacs, GTOs, MOSFETs and IGBTs - static characteristics and principles of operation, triggering circuits, phase control rectifiers, bridge converters - fully controlled and half controlled, principles of choppers and inverters, basis concepts of adjustable speed DC and AC drives, DC-DC switched mode converters, DC-AC switched mode converters, resonant converters, high frequency inductors and transformers, power supplies. |
IES Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Syllabus
IES Syllabus for Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering is given below:
IES Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering (Paper 1) Syllabus
The candidates can see below list of topics and subtopics for Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering
| Topics | Subtopics |
|---|---|
| Basic Electronics Engineering |
|
| Basic Electrical Engineering |
|
| Materials Science |
|
| Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation |
|
| Network Theory |
|
| Analog and Digital Circuits |
|
The above list includes all the topics as mentioned in the official notification
IES Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering (Paper 2) Syllabus
The UPSC IES Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering syllabus is summarised below:
| Topics | Subtopics |
|---|---|
| Analog and Digital Communication Systems |
|
| Control Systems |
|
| Computer Organization and Architecture |
|
| Electro Magnetics |
|
| Advanced Electronics Topics |
|
| Advanced Communication Topics |
|
Commonly asked questions
In the UPSC ESE/IES Mains exam, descriptive and subjective questions are asked. The exam consists of two papers from specific engineering stream. Maximum marks of each paper is 300 and the duration of each paper is three hours.
Yes. In the UPSC IES prelims exam, there is a negative marking of 1/3 for each incorrect answer.
IES Syllabus 2026 FAQs
The candidates can see here important questions related to the IES syllabus 2026.
Commonly asked questions
The Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination will consist of two objective type (multiple choices) questions papers and carrying a maximum of 500 marks.
Paper I: 200 Marks
Paper II: 300 Marks.
Each correct answer is awarded two marks. One-third marks deducted for each wrong answers.
Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Mains Examination. The Marks obtained in Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will be counted for determining their final order of merit.
The UPSC released the calendar for the year 2026 on the official website. The UPSC IES prelims 2026 notification and application was released on September 26, 2025 and the last date to apply was October 16, 2025. The IES prelims exam will be conducted on February 8, 2026. On the other hand, UPSC IES 2026 Mains exam will be conducted on June 21, 2026.
IES Exam
Student Forum
Answered 2 weeks ago
The last date to apply for the UPSC ESE 2026 exam was October 16, 2025 (6:00 PM). It was started on September 26, 2025.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes the examination centre lis was released for the UPSC ESE 2026 in the official notification. Therefore, candidates can go through the official notification for the list of exam centres. It is also provided on our Shiksha page.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
No. A candidate can not change the examination centre. There is no such provision. Therefore, it is recommended to choose carefully the exam centre. Also, check the official notification for the same.
C
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
The UPSC ESE/IES cut off will be released on the official website of the exam conducting authority.
I
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes. In the UPSC IES prelims exam, there is a negative marking of 1/3 for each incorrect answer.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
The UPSC IES exam pattern for prelims exam consists of two papers namely Paper 1 and Paper 2. Objective type questions are asked in the examination. It is conducted in offline mode (pen and paper based). In Paper 1, 100 questions are asked of maximum 200 marks and duration is two hours. In Paper 2,
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
In the UPSC ESE/IES Mains exam, descriptive and subjective questions are asked. The exam consists of two papers from specific engineering stream. Maximum marks of each paper is 300 and the duration of each paper is three hours.
G
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
In the IES Prelims exam, subjects covered are General Studies and Engineering Aptitude and concerned Engineering Stream.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
The authority activated the UPSC IES 2026 application apply link on the official website at upsconline.nic.in. Candidates can apply via direct link provided on this page as well.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Exam On - 8 Feb '26
What is the last date to apply for the UPSC ESE 2026 exam?