The UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) conducts two main exams: the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and the Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS). The syllabus for the CSE and IFoS is similar, but with some differences in the optional subjects that can be chosen.
The UPSC CSE syllabus is divided into two parts:
1) The Preliminary Exam: The preliminary exam is a multiple-choice test that consists of two papers: General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II (CSAT).
- General Studies Paper I (GS-I) covers topics such as Indian Heritage and Culture, Indian Polity and Governance, Economic and Social Development, Environmental Ecology and Biodiversity, and General Science.
- General Studies Paper II (GS-II) focuses on Comprehension, Interpersonal Skills, including communication skills, Logical reasoning and analytical ability, Decision-making and problem-solving, General mental ability, Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level).
2) The Main Exam: The main exam consists of nine papers, including one paper each on two optional subjects. The papers are as follows:
- Paper A: One of the Indian Language (qualifying paper)
- Paper B: English (qualifying paper)
- Paper I: Essay
- Paper II: General Studies I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)
- Paper III: General Studies II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)
- Paper IV: General Studies III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
- Paper V: General Studies IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)
- Paper VI: Optional Subject Paper 1
- Paper VII: Optional Subject Paper 2
For IFoS, it's almost same but with a paper on Forestry and Agriculture.
The optional subjects that can be chosen for the main exam include:
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Anthropology
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Commerce and Accountancy
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- Geography
- Geology
- History
- Law
- Management
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medical Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science and International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
It's important to note that the UPSC syllabus is subject to change, so candidates should check the official website for the most up-to-date information.
