UPSC Civil Services IAS Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2017( Prelims / Mains)

UPSC CSE/IAS exam 2017 is scheduled on 18-June-2017. Here you'll find UPSC Civil Services Syllabus & Exam Pattern for IAS Prelims, Mains, & Interview. FYI, UPSC Civil Services Exam is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission or recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including IAS, IPS, IFS, and IRS among others.

UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted in three phases - Prelims, Mains, & Interview. Let's see the details of each stage below-

UPSC Civil Services/IAS Prelims Exam Pattern 2017

The Examination shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

Paper I – (200 marks) Duration: Two hours – General Studies

Paper II – (200 marks) Duration: Two hours – CSAT

UPSC Civil Services Syllabus 2017 Prelims

Syllabus for Paper I

Current events (National and International)
History of India
Geography of the world (Physical, Social, Economic)
Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution
Economic and Social Development
General Issues (Environmental Ecology, Bio-Diversity, Climate change etc.)
General Science

Syllabus for Paper II

Comprehension
Interpersonal Skills
Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic Numeracy
Data Interpretation
Note 1: Both the papers are Objective in nature, and every wrong attempt will cost you 1/3rd marks of the attempted question.

Note 2: CSAT is just a qualifying test with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

Note 3: Candidates clearing the cut-off in Preliminary Examination Paper I as well as qualifying Paper II, shall only be eligible for appearing in the Mains Examination.

Note 4: Marks of Preliminary examination are not considered in the final scores for deciding merit.

UPSC Civil Services Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2017 Mains

This phase will test your academic and intellectual talent in depth. It consists of the following papers:

Qualifying Papers

Paper: A - (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution) - 300 Marks

Paper: B – English - 300 Marks

Note 1: These two papers are qualifying only and marks obtained will not be considered or counted.

Papers to be counted for Merit

Paper

UPSC Civil Services Subjects (Mains)

Marks

Paper-1

Essay-250

Paper-2

General Studies–I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) -250

Paper-3

General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)-250

Paper-4

General Studies –III  (Technology, Economic Development, Bio‐diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)-250

Paper-5

General Studies –IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)-250

Paper-6

Optional Subject – Paper 1-250

Paper-7

Optional Subject – Paper 2-250

Sub Total (Written test)

1750

UPSC CSE Interview and Personality Test (275 Marks)

This phase is totally vocal one and candidates are provided with the option to choose their desired medium of communication.

The final marks obtained in the examination are out of the grand total of 2025 marks.

UPSC Civil Services/IAS Exam 2017 - Important Dates

Date of Notification: 22 February 2017
Last Date to Apply: 17 March 2017 (Apply Online)
Date of UPSC-CSE Preliminary (CSAT) Exam: 18 June 2017 (Sunday, 1 Day)
Date of UPSC-CSE MAINS Exam: 28 October 2017 (5 Days)
UPSC CSE 2017 - Eligibility & Educationcal Qualification

1. Age limit & Relaxation

A candidate must have the age between 21 to 32 years. For OBC the upper age limit is 35, for SC and ST the limit is 37 years and for Physically Disabled persons (Blind, Deaf, Orthopedic) it is 42 years. (Exception: For Jammu & Kashmir Domicile - General Category: 37 years, OBC: 40 years, SC/ST: 42 years, PH: 50 years).

2. Number of Attempts

General category candidates = 6 attempts
OBC category candidates = 9 attempts
SC/ST Candidates = unlimited (till the age)
Physically Disabled (Blind, Deaf, Orthopedic) - General Category = 9 attempts

3. Educational Qualification

For appearing in the exam, a degree of graduation in any stream from any university recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) is required.
Candidates who have appeared in the qualifying exam and are awaiting results are also eligible to apply, provided they submit the certificate of qualification along with the mark sheet to the UPSC before the main exam.

How to crack UPSC IAS prelims 2017 Exam in 2 months ( 60 days)

UPSC CSE Prelims exam is just 60 days away, so a proper study plan & preparation strategy must be finalised for cracking IAS Prelims 2017. Though the time remaining is less, it is still enough to clear the prelims. So, in the following paragraphs, we are presenting 2 month preparation strategy, which will help you in cracking the IAS prelims exam 2017 in first attempt.

Image courtesy : Google

UPSC CSE Prelims 2017 Preparation Strategies (2 Months Study Plan)

Analyse UPSC Prelims Last Year Question Papers, Student should go through the previous year’s question papers and try to get a rough idea about what type of questions are being asked. Aspirants should also analyse the question papers and try to find out the areas from where large number of questions are being asked recently. This analysis of previous years’ papers will also be done in detail in the webinar, to be conducted by gradeup. So, if possible, try to attend them.

Drawing a Study Plan

After that students, according to their strengths and weaknesses, should try to chalk out a study plan for themselves. They should devote time to the different subjects according to the factors like difficulty they face in understanding the subject, probability of questions coming in exam etc. For example, if one does not understand the environment portion properly, one should give it more time.

Preparing a Time Budget

Aspirants should also try to draw out a time budget of their study time. For example, if a student studies for 10 hours daily, then total study hours left is about 600 hours. So, he should divide the time in such a way that he will be able to give adequate attention to all the subjects as well as give more time to the subject in which he is facing more difficulty.

The benefit of this step will be, that by the end you will be able to complete all the subjects and will be able to use the time efficiently. Otherwise what happens is that students find that they have given too much time to one subject and were not able to cover other subjects.

UPSC CSE/IAS Prelims Subject-wise Preparation (60 Days Tips)

As the time left is only 60 days, so we should try to focus more on the topics, from which there are high chances of questions being asked. We are trying to give an idea about such topics.

Polity: There are some important topics which should be thoroughly revised like Government of India Acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935, making of constitution, Fundamental rights, Fundamental Duties, DPSP, Parliament, President, Budget procedure, Parliamentary committees, PESA and 10th schedule. These are the chapters that should be covered thoroughly.

Geography: Though only few questions are being asked directly from geography, in recent years. But knowledge of geography can be used in solving several questions. So, we should be very clear in basic concepts. 11th and 12th class geography’s NCERT books should be read thoroughly. Some chapters, if you are not able to understand, like chapter on rocks, then you should read it selectively, but ensure that you are able to solve the questions that are coming from what you have read.

Economy: Many questions are being asked from this subject. You do not need to study too many things, but study basic concepts very thoroughly. For example: if you are reading about Banking sector and monetary policy, then you should know the meaning of different terms like MSF rate, repo rate etc. and the impact of fluctuation of these rates on the economy. Concepts like poverty, unemployment etc. should also be thoroughly grasped.

Environment: This is one of the most important topics in the prelims, in recent years. If you prepare this subject thoroughly, then your chances of clearing prelims become high.  Students can follow either NIOS environment book or the Shankar IAS environment book. Read it as many times, as possible. Whatever one has read, should be revised at least 5 times before the exams. The first and last unit of the Shankar IAs environment book is very important.

History: History is a very vast topic. So, this is one subject in which we should first decide the time we can devote to it. Otherwise it will take a lot of time and other subjects will have to suffer. Student should follow only one book. This same strategy is also applicable to culture part.

Science and technology: It is a very vast subject and no single source is there. So, the best strategy will be to cover important topics like: space missions, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and some important technology in news.

Current Affairs: Another important thing is the current affairs. One should be thoroughly aware about the current government schemes, policies etc. They should specially remember the name of the government department or ministry under which the scheme comes. For example, which department prepared the union government budget?? RTI comes under which department?

Important Tips to Crack UPSC Civil Services Exam 2017

Importance of Revision

Aspirants should also give special emphasis on revision. Without adequate revision one will not be able to recall the content correctly in the exam. So, there is a very strong need of revising the content at regular time intervals.

Way to solve map questions

Every year 2-4 question are being asked related to map location. To solve these question, you should start from now only. Daily gave about 20 minutes to maps. Know about the rivers of India, important mountain peaks, important dams etc. Initially it will be difficult to remember them but as you do it regularly for 15 days, you will find them very easy to remember.

One important area to look in the map is about the location of the countries in middle east. There is very high probability of question coming from there.

Read India Year Book

Though whole India Year Book is important, but student must read, first 4 chapters of India year Book thoroughly. Every year 2-3 question comes from these chapters.

Belief in yourself

Student must have belief in his/herself. It can make a huge difference.

UPSC Civil Services 2017 Preparation Strategy for Beginners

Preparing for UPSC Civil Services (IAS) Exam can be really daunting in myriad ways. There is so much to study, so little time and absolutely no idea of a beginning or end. One can easily get lost in the sea of information or get bogged down by ideas, strategies and topper tricks/hacks. Though the UPSC CSE preparation strategies give by toppers are useful, most of time they are in the favour of old students who already know the ropes of IAS preparation very well, leaving the newbies in the lunch.

So, in this article I am trying to lay down a broad strategy for UPSC Civil Services Exam 2017 for the beginners who are not yet sure of how to approach this exam.

Commandments for Success in UPSC Civil Services Exam 2017:

~> Newspapers & Magazines: 

        

The first thing a newcomer should do is to start reading newspapers. Why reading newspapers is so important? Because reading newspapers is vital for gaining an understanding into the complex issue of the day and for gaining awareness about current Affairs.

~> Standard Reference Books:

Instead of reading many books once try to read a single book multiple times. You need to read standard reference books for different subjects. Some of them are:

1. M Laxmikanth For Polity 
2. India's Struggle for independence: Bipan Chandra for Modern History 
3. India After Gandhi: Ramchandra Guha for Post-Independence History 
4. Ramesh Singh for Economy etc.

Note: I will soon post a detailed Book list For More reference.

~> NCERTS:

Reading NCERTs for UPSC Civil Services Exam is very important for building concepts. NCERs become important not because of their content, but because UPSC aska questions from them. UPSC will lift a line from NCERT and may convert it into a question. And that's why NCERTs are important.



~> Websites & Internet:

One needs to utilise the internet effectively for UPSC Exam preparation online. And that means not wasting time on countless useless Whatsapp/facebook group in which no worthwhile information is shared, and only time wasting discussions on cut off take place.

Use internet effectively to search for information not easliy available in exam preparation books or to understand a particular concept you find difficult. Internet can also be utilised for general reading about different topics of UPSC Syllabus to build a good balanced outlook towards current affairs. some of the useful websites are:

1.  Editorial page of Indian And Global Newspapers Like The Hindu, Indian Express, Economic Times, Mint, Business line, NY Times, Guardian etc
2.  Websites  dealing with specific topics of the syllabus like Down to earth (For Environment), IDSA (For Defence & Internet security), CFR (For International Relations; their backgrouders are unmatched in describing the background details behind issues), The Diplomat (For understanding Asia-Pacific Affairs), The Economist (For a global perspective about issues)
3. YouTube for videos related to the syllabus (For Example: Michael Sandel Videos for Ethics)

~> General Reading:

General reading is very important to build a holistic perspective about the issues happening around oneself. And its very important to have a well-rounded and balanced personality not from the point of view of interviews but in general too. So, one should read a lot from varied sources like Novels, Magazines, Books etc.

~> How To Study:

The focus should be on building fundamentals and conceptual clarity and not on mugging up information. UPSC tests knowledge and understanding and not factual information. so focus more on building concepts and less on information.

 ~> Integrated Preparation:

One of the very common mistakes people who have just started their preparation make is to think of Civil services Exam as three different and discrete steps. This whole exam is one integrated exam having  different level testing different skills. So, exam preparation strategy for beginners should be holistic and integrated too. yes, when a step approaches focus should be on the step, but that should not mean the preparation becomes discrete.



 ~> Current Affairs:

Another mistake students make is of Neglecting CA and trying to cover them through compilations as a last-ditch effort. This can be disastrous. UPSC asks CA questions which are rooted in concepts and require deep analysis. And these questions cannot be covered at the last minute, lest of all through compilations. So, the best way to do CS is through regular of Newspapers and from the sources mentioned before.


~> Skill Building:

The three different levels of the exam test different skills. so, to ace this exam, one needs to develop those skills. For example, Mains demands excellent writing skills as well an ability to analyse issues. SO, to develop these skills, it is imperative that one do adequate writing practice to be able to express one's views effectively.