UPSC syllabus 2024

All the fresh aspirants for Indian civil services are rightly interested in understanding the UPSC syllabus 2024. A clear understanding of the syllabus can help you clear the exam on the very first attempt. The following article will provide you with all the necessary details of the civil services exam syllabus in an easy-to-understand step-by-step manner The UPSC civil services exam 2024 is to be held in 3 stages as always consisting of prelims, mains, and the interview. As per the UPSC Exam Calender for the civil services exam 2024, the prelims exam will be held on 26.05.2024 along with Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2024. The Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2024 will be held in a 5 days period starting 20th September 2024.

UPSC Syllabus for Civil services prelims exam

The prelims examination for the UPSC civil services is conducted in 2 parts. In the Morning there will be a General Studies paper from 9.30 AM to 11.30 AM, while in the afternoon there will be a civil services aptitude test (CSAT) paper from 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM.

The core focus of the General Studies paper, which is also the scoring and the merit deciding paper, is on 7 subjects of General studies along with current affairs. These can be further elaborated as follows;

  1. HISTORY- ancient, medieval, and modern
  2. GEOGRAPHY- world and Indian
  3. INDIAN POLITY AND CONSTITUTION
  4. INDIAN ECONOMY
  5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
  6. ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
  7. INDIAN CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Within the above components the current affairs of the past year, that is from May 2023 to April 2024 will be required in all subjects, even the aspects of History and Culture which have been occurring in the news will be important from the prelims perspective. You may cover these current affairs for the exam from our website by visiting the “Weekly Current Issues & Analysis” link.

As per the official notification of the UPSC, the prelims syllabus consists of the following;

  • 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 specialization.
  • General Science.

However, the details of the same along with how to prepare these subjects can be better covered by a holistic lecture that one can see on our youtube channel video given below.

The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination or the CSAT paper will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. Here the focus is generally on English comprehension, syllogism, basic maths, probability, permutation and combinations, etc which a person can easily practice from the previous year’s question papers that are easily available in solved notebooks. It is advised however to take this task seriously since this paper is testing the aspirants’ grit in recent years.

UPSC syllabus for civil services mains exam

The Mains exam is entirely subjective as compared to the objective paper held in Prelims. The Written Examination will consist of the following papers;

Qualifying Papers: both these papers require a minimum 25% score. Once this is achieved the other papers are scored.
Paper-A
(One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution). 300 Marks
Paper-B
English 300 Marks
Papers to be counted for merit :
Paper-I- Essay 250 Marks
Paper-II- General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society) 250 Marks
Paper-III- General Studies -II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) 250 Marks
Paper-IV- General Studies -III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) 250 Marks
Paper-V- General Studies -IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude) 250 Marks
Paper-VI- Optional Subject – Paper 1 250 Marks
Paper-VII- Optional Subject – Paper 2 250 Marks
Sub Total (Written test) 1750 Marks
Personality Test 275 Marks
Grand Total 2025 Marks

The syllabus General Studies papers mentioned above can be further detailed as follows:

General Studies-I UPSC syllabus 2024: Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society.

  • Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature, and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
  • Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, and 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 the 18th century such as the industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc.— their forms and effect on 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 subcontinent); 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, tsunamis, 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.

General Studies- II UPSC syllabus 2024: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International relations.

  • Indian Constitution—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 disputes redressal mechanisms and institutions.
  • Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of 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, and 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.

General Studies-III UPSC syllabus 2024: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, 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 crop-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 development of 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.
  • Security issues-
  • 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 cyber security; 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.

General Studies- IV UPSC syllabus 2024: Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude

  • 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 behavior; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
  • Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, 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.

This should give you all sufficient clarity on the UPSC syllabus 2024 with respect to the civil services exam. For more information, you may contact us at the following details;

Abhishek Sharma

M- 9888016531

email- abhishekeducationalservices@gmail.com

Credits: https://upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Notif-CSP-22-engl-020222F.pdf

Scroll to Top