PATTERN


(A) PRELIMINARY EXAM (Objective type)

  • This is the screening stage of the Examination; Marks are not counted in the merit list.

  • It comprises of 2 Objective type question papers.

  • 0.33% negative marking for each wrong answers.

  • List of candidates to be qualified for Mains Exam will be based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in Paper-II (CSAT) and total qualifying marks of Paper-I (GS) of as may be determined by the UPSC.

  • Prelim is usually conducted in the month of June every year over one day.


(A) MAINS EXAM (Descriptive / Essay type)


  • This stage has 2 non-ranking but qualifying papers and 7 ranking type papers all of which will be of essay type.

  • The non-ranking (qualifying) paper on Indian Language will not be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

  • Candidates will have the option to answer all the question papers, except the Qualifying Language papers, Paper-A & Paper-B in any of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India or in English.

  • Mains are usually conducted in the month of September/October every year and spans over 5 days.


Number of Attempts

A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years as on 1st August of the year in which he/she is appearing for the Preliminary Examination.