Phase 1: Preliminary Examination – CSAT Syllabus:

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test is the Preliminary examination of UPSC, it test the
aptitude of examinee to tackle Reasoning and Analytical questions. Consist of two papers,
each of 200 marks and two hours of duration and it is compulsory to appear in both.
It is an Objective section, and every wrong attempt will cost you 1/3rd marks of the attempted
question.
CSAT is just a screening test, thus the marks obtained will not be entertained in your final
merit.

Syllabus for Paper 1:

 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 etcs.)
 General Science
Syllabus for Paper 2:
 Comprehension
 Interpersonal Skills
 Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability
 Decision making and problem solving
 General mental ability
 Basic Numeracy
 Data Interpretation
 Comprehension Skill (English)
Phase 2: Main Examination Syllabus :
This phase will test your academic and intellectual talent in depth. It consists of 9 papers, in
which two are qualifying papers of 300 marks each:

I. Any Indian Language

II. English

These two papers just need to qualify which is mandatory and marks obtained will not be
considered or counted.

Language for the rest seven papers can be any of the languages mentioned in Eighth Schedule
of the constitution or you can opt for English. Rest seven papers are mentioned below, each
weighing 250 marks:

III. Essay

IV. General Studies 1 (Indian Heritage/Culture, World History & Geography)

V. General Studies 2 (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International
Relations)
VI. General Studies 3 (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-Diversity, Environment,
Security & Disaster Management)
1. General Studies 4 (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude)
2. Optional 1 (Of your choice)
VII.  Optional 2 (Of your choice)
These are the optional subjects from which you can choose your preference:

 Civil Engineering
Phase 3: Interview and Personality Test (275 Marks)

Book list
Booklist:

Environment : Class 12th NCERT (Unit 10, chapters 13-16), Shankar IAS Science : NCERT (though
she said that she didn't study much science) Science & Tech : Current affairs + Internet History:
Ancient n Med. - Tamil Nadu Class 11th NCERT (also read past year question papers) Modern
History : Spectrum (more than sufficient) Culture: Delhiites can visit national museum. 11th class
NCERT for Fine Arts for Culture. Nitin singhania's/spectrum (last resort) Geography: NCERT (6th -
12th class) GC leyong ; For maps Read News Paper and corelate with the help of Atlas. Polity :
Laxmikant , (website prsindia - this website can help in mains) Economics: either of the two.. Sri Ram
Notes.. Or EdEdition IAS (Basic concepts should be clear) ..... Mains: GS - 1 : is covered through
Prelims (mostly) History: spectrum (and a lot of practice) after 1947 - India after Gandhi or India Since
Independence (This one is better for Exams). World History : 2 NCERTs Geography : Maps GS4:
mam used to watch YouTube videos. Michel Sanders' videos on Justice.. (and one should Attempt
case studies). Essay: practice a lot, give mocks. Society: NCERT ............. For prelims: Give Mocks
For mains Answer writing practice is must Mains is about analysing. For Interview It's an art and one
has to prepare well. ........ Points to remember *reading the Syllabus and solving the Mocks *Past year
papers *Never segregate the preparation of prelims and mains *Answer writing is very important
specially for mains. *Newspaper is must if u have atleast one year.. else read editorial only. *Try to
imbibe quality which a civil servant should possess (helps in interview) (this is a process, and you can
develop it with time)