What is the Difference Between UPSC Prelims and Mains Syllabus?

Updated on October 24, 2023 | by Alex Smith

Table of Contents

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the UPSC Civil Services Examination every year for all Indian graduates. The exams are highly prestigious as Indians from all walks of life get an opportunity to become high-ranking officers in different parts of the country.

A glance at the UPSC Prelims Syllabus as well as the UPSC mains syllabus will allow you to have a better understanding of the syllabus and the different subjects covered. However, clearing all the stages of UPSC at one go is indeed a tall order. Very few can crack the examination and serve the country effectively.

Therefore, a systematic study plan is vital for individuals aspiring to take the UPSC exams. Joining a coaching class or using online guidance from reputable educational resources like https://www.examlabs.com can help the examinee be successful.

UPSC Exam Pattern

The UPSC conducts the examination in the following phases:

Preliminary Examination
Main Examination
Personality Test (Interview)

Students must clear each stage to move on to the next phase. It is best to study for the UPSC Prelims first and then prepare for the more exhaustive UPSC Mains Syllabus. Candidates who qualify in all three phases are eligible for the IAS, IPS, IFS, Indian Railway Services, and other Allied Services.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus

Paper	Questions	Full Marks	Time	Type
General Studies Paper-I	100	200	2 hours	Objective: The score will be taken as cut off score
General Studies Paper-II (CSAT)	80	200	2 hours	Objective: 33% required to qualify

Points to Be Noted

You must appear for both General Studies and CSAT to be eligible to take the Mains.
The score you get in the Prelims will only be for screening candidates. It will not be added to the total score.
You can answer the questions in a regional language or English.
There will be 1/3rd negative marking for each wrong answer.

UPSC Mains Syllabus

Paper	Subject	Full Marks	Time	Nature	Type
Paper-A	Compulsory Indian Language	300	3 hours	Qualifying	Descriptive
Paper-B	English	300	3 hours	Qualifying	Descriptive
Paper-I	Essay	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-II	General Studies Paper-I	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-III	General Studies Paper-II	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-IV	General Studies Paper-III	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-V	General Studies Paper-IV	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-VI	Optional-I	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive
Paper-VII	Optional-II	250	3 hours	Merit	Descriptive

Points to Be Noted

Your rank will be determined by your scores in all the papers except Paper-A and Paper-B, which are checked for language proficiency.
The scores will be based on a total of 1750 marks.
You must score at least 25% on each paper to qualify for the next phase.
You will have to answer on the sheets provided by the UPSC. You cannot ask for any extra sheets.

HDifference Between UPSC Prelims Syllabus and UPSC Mains Syllabus

UPSC Prelims Syllabus	UPSC Mains Syllabus
It is the first stage of the 3-phase examination.	It is the second stage of the 3-phase examination.
It consists of objective-type questions.	Descriptive answers are needed for this test.
Students must mark answers on the OMR sheet.	Students must write answers by hand in the booklet provided by the UPSC.
Students must attempt two papers.	There are 9 papers to write at this stage.
There are no optional subjects.	Candidates can choose 1 optional paper from 48 subjects.
Candidates must score at least 33% to qualify for Paper-II (CSAT).	Scoring 25% in both language papers is essential for evaluating other papers.
The candidate will get 2 hours to submit each paper.	Candidates will have to submit the answers for all 9 papers in 3 hours.
The maximum marks for each paper are 200.	The maximum marks for each paper are 250. The language papers carry maximum marks of 3 each.

Download the UPSC Syllabus for both Prelims and Mains in English and Hindi to get started.