UPSC CSE
Recruits officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and around 20 other Group A and Group B central services. It is India's most prestigious government recruitment examination.
Eligibility
A bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university; final-year students may appear provisionally. Age 21–32 years on 1 August of the exam year, with relaxation of 3 years for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 5 years for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST). Attempts are capped at 6 for General and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates, 9 for OBC, and unlimited within the age limit for SC/ST. Indian citizenship is required for the IAS, IPS and IFS.
Age limit: 21–32 years on 1 August of the exam year (OBC +3 years, SC/ST +5 years)
Exam pattern
Three stages spread over roughly a year. Prelims: two objective pen-and-paper papers on one day — General Studies Paper I (100 questions, 200 marks, decides the cutoff) and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) Paper II (80 questions, 200 marks, qualifying at 33%); both carry one-third negative marking. Mains: nine descriptive papers over about a week — Essay, General Studies I–IV and two Optional-subject papers (250 marks each, totalling 1,750 counted marks), plus two qualifying language papers. Personality Test (interview) carries 275 marks, giving a final total of 2,025. Merit is drawn from Mains plus interview only.
Syllabus at a glance
Prelims General Studies covers current affairs, history and the national movement, geography, Indian polity, economy, environment and ecology, and general science; CSAT tests comprehension, logical reasoning and Class X-level numeracy. Mains adds essay writing, Indian heritage and society (GS I), polity, governance and international relations (GS II), economy, science and technology, environment and security (GS III), ethics and integrity (GS IV), and one optional subject chosen from about 48 options.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CSE 2026 Mains examination begins | 21 Aug 2026 (nine papers over five days) | confirmed |
| CSE 2026 Personality Test (interviews) | Jan–Apr 2027 | expected |
| CSE 2026 final result | Apr–May 2027 | expected |
| CSE 2027 notification and application window opens | 13 Jan 2027 (applications close 2 Feb 2027) | confirmed |
| CSE 2027 Prelims | 23 May 2027 (Sunday) | confirmed |
| CSE 2027 Mains begins | 20 Aug 2027 | confirmed |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
- A Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum)
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography by G.C. Leong
- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
- Environment by Shankar IAS Academy
- CSAT Paper 2 Manual by Tata McGraw Hill
How toppers play it
- Do not treat CSAT as a formality — it is qualifying at 33% but eliminates thousands of serious aspirants every year; non-maths candidates should practise it weekly.
- Prelims rewards intelligent elimination: with one-third negative marking, most toppers attempt 85–95 of the 100 GS questions using option-elimination rather than leaving them blank — cutoffs assume educated guessing.
- Solve at least 10 years of past papers before revising anything twice; UPSC recycles themes (polity, environment, economy, ancient art) far more than facts.
- Start Mains answer writing well before the Prelims result — nine descriptive papers in a week punish slow writers; train to finish a 150-word answer in about 7 minutes.
- Choose your optional subject (500 marks) for syllabus overlap with GS, a consistent scoring record and genuine interest — it moves ranks more than any GS paper.