UPSC Syllabus 2024: Download Syllabus PDF for Prelims, Mains & Interview

The Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) did not change the UPSC syllabus and continued with the old syllabus and exam pattern. The Commission will conduct the UPSC prelims exam based on the UPSC IAS 2026 syllabus as mentioned in the official notification. The candidates should prepare the UPSC syllabus in an integrated manner because there is no limit of question which can be asked in the UPSC Prelims exam. UPSC prelims syllabus is not very well defined and the candidates require a proper explanation for each topic given in the UPSC notification. UPSC Syllabus 2026 pdf is available here after the release of the official notification. UPSC's main syllabus with factual and current enhancements can serve the candidates for the prelims exam. UPSC 2026 recruitment process started with the release of notification. UPSC syllabus and exam pattern go hand in hand and hence explained here in the same way.

The candidates should prepare all the topics of the UPSC syllabus. The Commission releases the UPSC syllabus with the official notification every year. The candidates should read the official UPSC syllabus in the light of previous year question papers to know the most important and frequent topics asked in the UPSC exam. The candidates need to prepare the current events occurring in the country and around the world.

The candidates can see below all the details about the UPSC Civil Service Exam(CSE) 2026 syllabus for prelims and the main exam. UPSC prelims syllabus as given in the official CSE notification is given below:

UPSC Syllabus for Prelims - General Studies Paper 1

As per the official notification, the UPSC prelims 2026 will be the qualifying exam only and the marks secured in the prelims exam will not be counted for the final UPSC result 2026.

• 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 specialisation.
• General Science.

UPSC Syllabus 2026

UPSC has given precedence to current events of national and international importance over others. This underlines the importance of current affairs in the IAS preparation. The current events are the most important component in the UPSC prelims 2026 exam because the current events section is not limited to India only. It has the highest vertical and horizontal expansion. It is the ever-increasing section where information is added on a daily basis. The candidates can see here the strategy to prepare Current Events of National and Internation importance. 

See here: UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2026 {in Detail}

UPSC Syllabus for Prelims - General Studies Paper 2(CSAT)

The UPSC CSAT paper comprises eighty questions. Each question carries 2.5 marks. The candidates need to secure only 33% marks in this paper to qualify the CSAT paper. The topics of the UPSC CSAT syllabus are given below.

• 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)

UPSC Syllabus 2026 - Main Exam

The UPSC main exam is conducted as a descriptive exam. The candidates need to appear in all the papers and qualify in all the exam. It implies to score more than or equal to the UPSC cutoff for each paper and the overall cutoff for the main (written) exam. There are 9 descriptive-type papers in the UPSC main exam and the syllabus of all of them are released separately in the official notification.

UPSC Syllabus 2026 - General Studies I

The Commission notifies the General Studies paper I syllabus in detail as follows. 

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society

• Salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times (Indian Culture)
• Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country
• History of the world will include events from 18^th century such as the industrial revolution, world wars, re-drawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society
• Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India
• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies
• Effects of globalization on Indian society
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
• Salient features of the world’s physical geography
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India)
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, volcanic activity, cyclones etc., geographical features and their location changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes

Also Read: Most important topics for IAS 2022

UPSC Syllabus 2026 - General Studies Paper-II

This paper is most dynamic as the questions have been asked from the Current events of national and international importance.

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations

• Constitution of India - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
• Separation of powers between various organs, dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional settings with other countries
• Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, the conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity
• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
• Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections
• Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
  Issues relating to poverty and hunger
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
• Role of civil services in a democracy
• India and its neighborhood relations
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
• Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

Also Read: Current Affairs 2022 Topics for IAS Exam

UPSC Syllabus 2026 (Main Exam)

UPSC Syllabus 2026 - General Studies Paper III

This paper requires constant up-gradation of the notes because of the dynamic topics given in the IAS main syllabus.

Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management 

• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it
• Government Budgeting
• Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing
• Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management
• Land reforms in India
• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc
• Investment models
• Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
• Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment 
• Disaster and disaster management
• Linkages between development and spread of extremism
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, the role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cybersecurity; money laundering and its prevention
• Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

The ethical aptitude of the candidates is tested in this paper. It was introduced recently in the IAS main exam scheme.

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude 

This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and problem-solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered: 

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics - in private and public relationships. Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; the role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values. 
• Attitude: Content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. 
• Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and nonpartisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections. 
• Emotional intelligence: Concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. 
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world. 
• Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance. 
• Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of
• Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds and challenges of corruption. 
• Case Studies on the above issues.

UPSC prescribes 25 optional subjects for the candidates to choose from. The optional subject carries 500 out of 1750 marks which is around 30 per cent of the total marks. So the candidates should select the optional subject wisely. The list of optional subjects is given below:

UPSC List of Literature Optional Subjects

There are 23 literature subjects available as optional subjects. The candidates can choose the Literature of any one of the following languages as their optional subject:

The above list is taken from the official UPSC syllabus PDF. It can be changed in case the UPSC removes or add any other subject in the official list.

The candidates can download the UPSC syllabus 2026 for the optional subjects.

Download Here: UPSC Syllabus 2026 PDF

UPSC conducts various exams and the candidates should read and understand the UPSC syllabus for every exam before starting the UPSC preparation for that exam. The UPSC syllabus and the UPSC question paper both simultaneously define the locus of the UPSC preparation for any exam. The UPSC syllabus for various exams is given below.

The candidates can download the UPSC syllabus pdf for various exams from the links given above.

UPSC conducts the IAS exam every year to recruit candidates for various Group A and B services. The exam stages for the UPSC 2026 exam will be 

1. Prelims Exam {Qualifying Only}
2. Main (written) Exam
3. Main (Personality Test)

UPSC prelims is a screening exam only, the marks secured in the UPSC prelims are not considered in final merit. 

1. General Studies Paper-I
2. General Studies Paper-II (CSAT)

CSAT means Civil Services Aptitude Test. The second paper is popularly called as CSAT paper by the IAS aspirants. UPSC CSAT 2026 paper will be qualifying in nature only {within the prelims exam}.

The candidates can see here important questions related to UPSC syllabus.