UPSC IAS Syllabus 2016-2017

To get Success in the UPSC IAS Civil Services Examinations, you should have clear
knowledge on the Syllabus of UPSC Civil Services IAS Exam 2016. There will be no
Question of whether you are an experienced Candidate or a Beginner in the Aspect of
getting prepared for the Examination, you must have a proper knowledge on the UPSC
IAS Syllabus to clear your Examinations. To give you a better view on the IAS Civil
Services UPSC Exam Syllabus, we are providing you the Subject Wise Topics below.
The Syllabus of IAS Prelims as well as Mains are as also provided.
The Syllabus for the IAS Civil Services UPSC Prelims Examination or CSAT Exam
2016:
I. Topics in Paper I : General Studies (200 Marks)
1. Current Events of National & International Importance.
2. Geography of India as well as the World: Physical, Economic and Social Aspects.
3. Polity & Governance of India: Constitution and the Political aspects.
4. General Science.
5. The General Issues on Environmental Ecology, Climate Change and Bio
Diversity.
6. Economic & Social Development : Demography, Sustainable Development,
Inclusion, Social Sector Initiatives, Poverty, etc..,
7. Indian History & Indian National Movement.
II. Topics in Paper II : General Ability or Aptitude (200 Marks)
1. Comprehension.
2. Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability.
3. General Mental Ability.
4. Comprehension Skills English language ( 10th Standard Level).
5. Interpersonal Skills including Communication Skills.
6. Decision Making & Problem Solving.
7. Basic Numeracy (Orders of Magnitude, Numbers & their Relations, etc.., of 10th
Standard Level), Data Interpretation such as Charts, Tables, Graphs, Data Sufficiency,
etc.., (10th Standard Level).
8. Question based on the English Language Comprehension Skills (10th Standard
Level). (The Candidates will be tested through giving questions on the Passages
without providing hindi translation for those Questions).
The Syllabus for the IAS Civil Services UPSC Mains Examination 2016:
The UPSC IAS Mains Exam 2016 contains 9 Papers out of which 2 Papers are in the
nature of Qualifying nature while the other 7 are based on merit Ranking. The Subjects
in those Papers are described below.

S.No. Name of the Paper. Name of the Subject.

1. Paper A. Indian Languages.

 2. Paper B. English.

3. Paper I. Essay.

4. Paper II. General Studies I.

5. Paper III. General Studies II.

6. Paper IV. General Studies III.

7. Paper V. General Studies IV.

8. Paper VI. Optional Subject (Paper 1).

9. Paper VII. Optional Subject (Paper 2).

I. Topics in Paper I : Indian Language

The Indian Languages according to the IAS Civil Services UPSC Mains signifies the
Languages which are present in the 8th Schedule to the Indian Constitution. The Script
to be used by the Candidates will be based on the Language he or she selects for the
Paper A of Indian Languages. The Paper A (Indian Language) in the UPSC IAS Mains is
not compulsory for the Candidates who belong to the North Eastern States such as
Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Tripura.
Topics in Indian Language (Paper I):
1. Comprehensive Type of Questions related to the Given Passage.
2. Short Essay.
3. Vocabulary & Usage.
4. Precise Writing (in other words, making a summary).
5. Translation from English to the Selected Indian Language and Vice Versa.
The List of the Languages as well as the Scripts to be used for the respective
Languages are given below here.

S.No. Name of the Language. Script.

1. Assamese. Assamese.

2. Bodo. Devanagari.
3. Gujarati. Gujarati.

4. Kannada. Kannada.

5. Konkani. Devanagari.

6. Malayalam. Malayalam.

7. Marathi. Devanagari.

8. Punjabi. Gurmukhi.

9. Telugu. Telugu.

10. Tamil. Tamil.

11. Santhali. Olchiki or Devanagari.

12. Urdu. Persian.

13. Bengali. Bengali.

14. Dogri. Devanagari.

15. Hindi. Devanagari.

16. Kashmiri. Persian.

17. Maithili. Devanagari.

18. Manipuri. Bengali.

 19. Sanskrit. Devanagari.

20. Sindhi. Arabic or Devanagari.

21. Nepali. Devanagari.

22. Oriya. Oriya.

II. Topics in Paper II: English

1. Comprehensive Type of Questions related to the Given Passage.
2. Short Essay.
3. Vocabulary & Usage.
4. Precise Writing (in other words, making a summary).
III. Topics in Paper III: Essay
The Candidates are given some Topics. They have to Write Essays on those Given
Topics in Brief. They Should not Deviate from the Given Topics. The Essay can be
Written in the Language selected by the Candidates. The Candidates have to write the
Essay in Orderly manner briefly.
IV. Topics in Paper IV: General Studies I
1. Indian Culture: Architecture, Literature, Art Form since the Ancient Times.
2. Modern Indian History from the Eighteenth Century till Present Significant events
& Issues.
3. The Freedom Struggle of the Country: Different Stages and Contributions from
various Parts of the Country.
4. Post Independence: Consolidation as well as Reorganization within the Country.
5. History of the World: Events taking place since 18th Century; Industrial
Revolution, Colonization & Decolonization, etc.., Political Changes such as Capitalism,
Socialism, etc.., Effects of these Changes on the Society.
6. Indian Society, Diversity in India: Salient Features.
7. Geography of the World & its Salient Features.
8. The Concepts of Communalism, Secularism, Social Empowerment, Regionalism,
etc..,
9. Distribution of key Natural Resources all over the World, etc..,
V. Topics in Paper V: General Studies II
1. Governance.
2. Constitution.
3. Polity.
4. Social Justice.
5. Internal Relations.
VI. Topics in Paper VI: General Studies III
1. Technology.
2. Economic Development.
3. Disaster Management.
4. Environmental.
5. Security.
6. Bio-Diversity.
VII. Topics in Paper V: General Studies IV
1. Aptitude.
2. Ethics.
3. Integrity.
VIII. Topics in Paper VI: Optional Subject (Paper 1)
The Candidates have to select the Optional Subject. The Questions asked in this Paper
depends on the Subject selected by the Candidate.
IX. Topics in Paper VI: Optional Subject (Paper 2)
The Candidates have to select the Optional Subject. The Questions asked in this Paper
depends on the Subject selected by the Candidate.
Optional Subjects: The Candidates have to select two subjects as Optional
Subjects. The Optional Subjects are as follows.

Agriculture.
Anthropology.
Chemistry.
Commerce & Accountancy.
Civil Engineering.
Electrical Engineering.
Geology.
Law.
Mathematics.
Medical Science.
Physics.
Psychology.
Sociology.
Zoology.
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science.
Botany.
Economics.
Geography.
History.
Management.
Mechanical Engineering.
 Philosophy.
Political Science & International Relations.
Public Administration.
Statistics.
UPSC IAS Interview Syllabus
The Candidates who are selected and qualified in the Prelims Examination & Mains
have to attend an interview. Most of the Candidates are not well-known of What
Questions are asked in the UPSC IAS Interview. Are you one of them? Then, get a clear
idea of the Questions asked in the interview. Initially, the Questions will be asked on your
name, your school, your college. You have known the events and important Dates which
coincide with your Date of Birth or the year in which you are born. You have to make
sure that you answer the Questions Honestly. When you asked about why or what
makes you to join the Civil Services, you should avoid saying answers like Servicing the
Country, Nation, etc.., The Interview Panel may ask you on How you are going to react
and what measures you are going to take when a Natural Disaster Occurs in Your
District if you are an IAS Officer or Collector of that District. You should be Confident &
Honest of what you are saying.Mainly, the Personality Test will be on the aspects of
Logical and Reasoning than the Subject Knowledge. There will be Questions asked
about You, Your Hobbies, Your Home Town, the Current Affairs, General Knowledge,
Politics, Economics, Situation Questions, etc.., The Main factors which are considered in
the Personality Test are as follows.
1. Mental Alertness.
2. Clear & Logical Exposition.
3. Knowledge & Interest of Current Affairs.
4. Specificness & Depth of Interests.
5. Leadership Skills.
6. Critical Powers of Assimilation.
7. Social Traits.
8. Balance of Judgement.
9. Ability of Social Cohesion.
10. Intellectual & Moral Integrity.
UPSC IAS Exam Civil Services Exam Pattern 2016-17
The UPSC IAS Exam is also known as Civil Services Examination (CSE). The UPSC
IAS Exam Civil Services will consist of Two Stages which is One, UPSC IAS Preliminary
Examination or Prelims Examination which is regarded as CSAT, the Civil Services
Aptitude Test from the year 2011; the Second, UPSC IAS Mains Examination which is
inclusive of a Personality Test which is generally called as Interview.
The UPSC Civil Services Prelims Examination is generally conducted on the Sunday of
the Second Half of the Month of August. It was declared in the Official Website of upsc
which is www.upsc.gov.in that the UPSC IAS Prelims Exam will be conducted this year
on the 7th of August, 2016.This Prelims Examination is a Qualifying Nature Exam. The
Duration for each Paper is 2 Hours. The Paper I is held in the Morning Session, Paper II
is held in the Afternoon Session. The marks Scored by the Candidates in the Prelims are
not included in the Mains.
The UPSC IAS Civil Services Mains Examination is generally conduced in the month of
November or December. This Mains Exam will spread over 3 weeks. The Papers in the
UPSC Mains Exam 2016 are conventional Essay Type Papers. The Duration for Each
Paper is 3 Hours. There are 9 Papers in the UPSC IAS Exam Civil Services.The UPSC
Mains Exam 2016 was released by the Union Public Service Commission through its
Official Portal or Site. The UPSC Civil Services Exam is to be held from the 3 rd of this
December, 2016. The Candidates those are qualified in the UPSC Mains Examination
will have to attend an Interview.
The Exam Pattern of the UPSC IAS Exam Civil Services Preliminary Examination
2016-2017 is as follows:
The Prelims Exam of IAS UPSC Civil Services Examination is a Written Examination.
The Questions in the Preliminary or the Prelims Exam of the UPSC IAS Exam Civil
Services are Objective Type with MCQs which means Multiple Choice Questions ( i.e.
the aspirants have to select an Option among the given options for that specific Question
in the Question Paper). The IAS Prelims Exam 2016 includes two Papers which are
Paper I as well as Paper II. The IAS Prelims Paper I exam consists of 200 marks on the
Topics of General Studies as well as IAS Prelims Paper II also consists of 200 Marks on
the Topics of Aptitude. The Duration for the IAS Prelims Paper I & Paper II are 4 Hours
(Paper I: 2 Hours & Paper II: 2 Hours). The Selection of the Candidates to the Mains
Exam is done on the basis of the marks (Qualifying marks) scored in the Paper I
(General Studies). The Candidates have to obtain 33% to get qualified in the Paper
II(Aptitude Test or General Ability Test). The Students have to note that the Marks
obtained by the Candidates in Prelims are for Qualifying but are not determined in the
Final Ranking or Merit. The Candidates can understand the exam Pattern clearly by the
below provided Table.

Questions
Name Name of No.of Duration
S.No will be
of the the Questions Marks. of the
. asked in
Paper. Subject. to be asked. Exam.
medium of.

Paper General English & 100 200

1. 2 Hours.
I. Studies. Hindi. Questions. Marks.

General
Paper English & 80 200
2. Ability or 2 Hours.
II. Hindi. Questions. Marks.
Aptitude.

180 400
Total. 4 Hours.
Questions. Marks.

Note: The Paper I & Paper II in the UPSC IAS Civil Services Exam will be conducted in
two Sessions.
The Exam Pattern of the UPSC IAS Exam Civil Services Mains Examination 2016-
2017 is as follows:
The UPSC IAS Civil Services Mains Exam is a written examination which contains 9
Papers. The Paper A as well as Paper B are Qualifying nature. The Papers Which are
considered for Ranking are Paper I, Paper II, Paper III, Paper IV, Paper V, Paper VI and
Paper VII which include the papers of optional Subjects. The Candidates can select the
Medium of Hindi or English for the UPSC Civils IAS Mains exam 2016-2017. The Final
Ranking of the Candidates is done based on the Marks the Students have Obtained in
their Mains as well as Personality Test or an Interview. We will let you understand more
clearly by providing you the Exam Pattern as under.

Medium in
Name Duration
S. Name of Nature of which
of the of the Marks.
No. the Subject. the Paper. Questions
Paper. Exam.
are asked

Paper Indian Only in 300

1. 3 Hours.
A. Language. english. Marks.
Qualifying
Nature.
Paper English Hindi & 300
2. 3 Hours.
B. Language. English. Marks.

Paper Hindi & 250

3. Essay. 3 Hours.
I. English. Marks.

Paper General Hindi & 250

4. 3 Hours.
II. Studies I. English. Marks.

Paper General Hindi & 250

5. 3 Hours.
III. Studies II. English. Marks.

Paper General Hindi & 250

6. Merit 3 Hours.
IV. Studies III. English. Marks.
Ranking
Nature.
Paper General Hindi & 250
7. 3 Hours.
V. Studies IV. English. Marks.

Optional
Paper Hindi & 250
8. Subject 3 Hours.
VI. English. Marks.
(Paper I).

Optional
Paper Hindi & 250
9. Subject 3 Hours.
VII. English. Marks.
(Paper II).
 1,750
Total.
Marks.

Interview or
275
Personality
Marks.
Test.

2,025
Grand Total.
Marks.

Note:

The Indian Languages pertain to the Languages which are mentioned in the 8th
Schedule to the Indian Constitution.
The Candidates who are qualified in the Mains as well as the Interview or the
Personality Test will be Selected on the Basis of Merit Ranking on the Marks they have
attained in the UPSC IAS Mains as well as Interview.