The UPSC Exam pattern is set by the conducting body, i.e., the Union Public Service Commission. It is a yearly conducted examination and the paper pattern for the IAS Exam has been the same since 2013. This article aims to give the reader an overview of the UPSC exam pattern and syllabus for CSE 2025.
The UPSC Civil Services Examination is considered to be the toughest examination in India. It has earned this moniker partly due to the intense competition and partly due to the comprehensive UPSC Syllabus. Apart from that, the exam pattern for UPSC CSE is quite complicated, and a typical examination cycle lasts for almost a year from the preliminary exam until the final results are declared.
UPSC Total Marks 2025 Overview
The Prelims consist of two papers – General Studies and CSAT. Both papers are objective in nature.
- Total Marks: Each paper is of 200 marks, making the total 400 marks.
- Time Duration: A total of 120 minutes (2 hours) is allotted for completing each paper.
The Main exam is worth 1750 marks, while the interview carries 275 marks. The written examination (Main) consists of nine papers, out of which only seven papers are considered for the final merit ranking. Each paper carries 250 marks, making the total marks for the Main exam 1750.
| Exam Pattern | Prelims | Mains |
| Exam Mode | Offline | Offline |
| Exam Duration | 2 papers of 2 hours each | 9 papers of 3 hours each |
| Type of Paper | Objective | Descriptive |
| Type of Questions | MCQs | Descriptive |
| Total Number of Questions | CSAT: 80 questions
GS: 100 questions |
Usually, 20 questions per paper |
| Total Marks | 400 | 1750 |
| Marking Scheme | +2 for correct answer, negative marking of 1/3 of 2 marks | No negative marking |
UPSC Exam Pattern 2025 Overview
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most prestigious and challenging exams in India. Each year, thousands of aspirants compete for a select number of posts in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other central services. For the 2025 examination, while the fundamental structure of the exam remains similar to previous years, there are important nuances to understand.
This comprehensive guide delves into the UPSC Exam Pattern for 2025, including its stages, syllabus, marking scheme, and preparation strategies.
How Many Marks in UPSC Prelims
The UPSC Prelims exam consists of two papers: General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II (CSAT), both of which are objective-type tests. General Studies Paper I is worth 200 marks, and its score determines whether a candidate qualifies for the Mains exam, while CSAT is qualifying in nature and also carries 200 marks; candidates must score at least 33% (or 66 marks) in CSAT to pass. The total marks in the Prelims add up to 400, but only the marks from Paper I are considered for the cutoff, which varies each year based on factors such as the difficulty level of the exam and the number of candidates appearing. Preparing well for both papers is crucial, as they test a wide range of topics from current affairs to logical reasoning and comprehension. The details of UPSC prelims pattern is given below:
| Civils Exam Pattern – Prelims | |||||
| Paper | Type | No. of questions | UPSC Total Marks | Duration | Negative marks |
| General Studies I | Objective | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | Yes |
| General Studies II (CSAT) | Objective | 80 | 200 | 2 hours | Yes |
| Total UPSC marks for Prelims | 400 (where GS Paper II is qualifying in nature with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%) | ||||
Also Read: UPSC Prelims Pattern 2025
Negative Marking in Prelims Exam
As discussed above, both GS Paper 1 & GS Paper 2 paper of Prelims stage will have a negative marking scheme. 1/3rd mark of each question will be deducted for wrong answers. According to the UPSC Paper Pattern for the Prelims stage, each question of GS Paper 1 will carry 2 marks, while each question of GS Paper 2 (CSAT) will carry 2.5 marks. Have a look at the negative marking scheme for the Prelims exam stage in the table below.
| Prelims Paper | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Negative Marking Scheme |
| General Studies-1 | 100 | 2*100 = 200 | 0.66 |
| General Studies-2 (CSAT) | 80 | 2.5*80 = 200 | 0.83 |
How Many Marks in UPSC Mains
The UPSC exam pattern for the Mains stage consists of 9 papers conducted over 5-7 days. Only those candidates who secure at least the declared cut-off in General Studies I and 33% in General Studies II in Prelims will be allowed to appear for the Mains Examination.
As per the exam pattern of UPSC Mains, all of the papers consist of descriptive answer-type questions. It is an exhaustive phase and the total marks in UPSC mains can directly affect your final scores. Thus, the UPSC exam marks for the mains phase are extremely valuable as they act as a key factor in merit declaration. The details of the UPSC syllabus with marks are given below:
| UPSC CSE Exam Pattern – Mains | |||
| Paper | Subject | Duration | IAS Total marks |
| Paper A | Compulsory Indian language | 3 hours | 300 |
| Paper B | English | 3 hours | 300 |
| Paper I | Essay | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper II | General Studies I | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies II | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies III | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies IV | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper VI | Optional I | 3 hours | 250 |
| Paper VII | Optional II | 3 hours | 250 |
Also Read: UPSC Mains Syllabus 2025
All of the mains papers except for the language papers A and B are of a merit-ranking nature. Papers A and B are of qualifying nature and candidates must score at least 25% in each for the marks from their Paper I – Paper VII to be given weightage.
Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim as well as candidates with hearing impairment, provided they can prove that they have been exempted from such 2nd or 3rd language courses by their concerned board or university. The Indian Language paper covers any of the languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
The subjects which are covered by the General Studies Papers in Mains Exam are:
| General Studies I | General Studies II | General Studies III | General Studies IV |
| Indian Heritage and Culture | Governance | Technology | Ethics |
| History and Geography of the World | Constitution | Economic Development | Integrity |
| Society | Polity | Bio-diversity | Aptitude |
| Social Justice | Environment | ||
| International relations | Security and Disaster Management |
The Optional subjects for Paper VI and VII of the mains examination have to be any one of the subjects from the following list:
| 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 |
| The literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English. | ||||
All the papers except the Language papers A and B can be answered in English or any of the languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. The optional papers can be answered in English even if none of the other papers has been answered by the candidate in English.
Also Read: UPSC Mains Subjects
How many Marks of UPSC Interview
The total marks of the UPSC interview stage is 275, thus bringing the total marks for UPSC Mains and Interview for the merit list consideration to 2025.
The whole exam pattern of the UPSC IAS examination is comprehensive, and the competition is intense. One should start preparing in-depth as the examination process lasts for almost a year and not making the cut means starting from scratch the following year.
| UPSC Interview Total Marks | 275 |
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Related Articles |
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| UPSC CSAT Syllabus | UPSC Interview Marks |
| UPSC Selection Process | |
UPSC Total Marks FAQs
Q. What are the total marks that can be scored in UPSC prelims?
Ans. The total marks in UPSC prelims are 400, wherein, two papers are conducted, each for 200 marks. Since both papers are objective type, there is a possibility to score the maximum achievable total marks of UPSC exam.
Q. What are the total marks for UPSC CSE Mains?
Ans. UPSC CSE total marks for the mains examination that are counted for merit declaration are 1750. To this, a maximum of 275 marks can be added after the Personality Test.
Q. What is the syllabus for UPSC Mains?
Ans. The syllabus for the civil service mains examination is quite comprehensive and the UPSC mains total marks are also calculated in creating the final merit. Aspirants can check the detailed UPSC Mains Syllabus at the linked article.
Q. What is the UPSC paper pattern?
Ans. The IAS exam is conducted in three stages Prelims, Mains, and Personality Test.
