Eligibility

You need a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Final-year students can apply but must show proof of passing before Mains. The age limit is 21 to 32 years for General and EWS candidates as on 1 August of the exam year, with relaxation of 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC/ST and 10 years for PwBD candidates. General and EWS candidates get 6 attempts, OBC and PwBD candidates get 9, and SC/ST candidates have no attempt limit up to the age limit. Under the 2026 rules, serving IAS and IFS officers cannot sit the exam again.

Age limit: 21-32 years (General/EWS) as on 1 August of exam year; relaxation for OBC (+3), SC/ST (+5), PwBD (+10)

Exam pattern

Prelims is two objective papers held offline on the same day, each 2 hours and 200 marks. GS Paper I has 100 questions and its score sets the merit list. CSAT (Paper II) has 80 questions and only needs 33% to qualify. Wrong answers in both papers cost one-third of the question's marks. Mains is nine descriptive papers: two qualifying language papers (Indian language and English, 300 marks each, 25% to pass), an Essay paper, GS I to IV and two optional-subject papers, each of these seven carrying 250 marks, for a merit total of 1,750. The Personality Test (interview) carries 275 marks, so the final merit is out of 2,025.

Syllabus at a glance

Prelims GS covers history, Indian and world geography, polity and governance, economy, environment and ecology, general science and current affairs. CSAT covers comprehension, reasoning, decision-making and Class 10 level numeracy. Mains GS I covers heritage, culture, history and society. GS II covers polity, governance, social justice and international relations. GS III covers economy, agriculture, science and technology, environment, security and disaster management. GS IV covers ethics, integrity and aptitude, with case studies. Candidates also choose one optional subject from a list of 48, including literatures.

Upcoming dates

Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.

Free prep material

Standard books

• Indian Polity - M. Laxmikanth
• A Brief History of Modern India - Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum)
• Indian Economy - Ramesh Singh
• Certificate Physical and Human Geography - G.C. Leong
• India's Ancient Past - R.S. Sharma; Indian Art and Culture - Nitin Singhania
• Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude - Chronicle (or Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude - G. Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chowdhury)

How toppers play it

• Do not ignore CSAT. It only needs 33% (66 out of 200) to qualify, but every year strong GS candidates fail it. Sit at least 10 timed CSAT papers before May.
• GS Paper I cut-offs have recently been about 85-100 (General). With a one-third mark penalty for wrong answers, guess only when you can eliminate two options, and aim for roughly 80-90 attempts rather than all 100.
• Pick your optional subject early (by around 12 months before Prelims) and finish it before Prelims. After Prelims there are only about 12 weeks to Mains, which is not enough to start an optional from scratch.
• Write timed Mains answers from the start: 150 words in 7 minutes and 250 words in 11 minutes, with an introduction, a body of subheadings, diagrams or data, and a conclusion. GS IV needs separate practice on case studies.
• Study the static syllabus alongside current affairs. Map each news item to a syllabus topic and revise from short notes of your own rather than many monthly magazines.