The Union Public Service Commission is responsible for holding Indian Administrative Service exam every year. There are 3 stages in this exam – UPSC prelims, UPSC mains, and then UPSC personal interview.
UPSC Preliminary Examination is the first stage of the UPSC exam. It is the screening test for candidates to enter the mains. There are two papers in prelims.
The first prelims paper revolves around general knowledge questions while the second one focuses on communication skills with logical reasoning. The marks scored in the prelims are not counted in the final score. It is just to qualify for the mains exam.
Do Check the article till last to get Tips on How to Crack UPSC Prelims Exam.
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern
UPSC Preliminary Examination has two papers. Both the papers are of 200 marks each with a time limit of 2 hours. They take place on the same day with candidates appearing physically for it. The candidates have the option of attempting the paper in hindi or english language. The two UPSC Prelims papers are –
| UPSC Prelims Paper | Marks | Questions | Duration |
| General Ability Test I | 200 | 100 | 2 hours |
| General Ability Test II | 200 | 80 | 2 hours |
UPSC Prelims General Ability Test I – 200 Marks
- Important dates and events, both National and Global.
- History of India and Indian Independence Movement.
- Indian and World Geography – This includes Physical, Social, and Economic Geography.
- Indian Polity and Indian Government – Constitution, System of Politics, Schemes, etc.
- Economic and Social Development – Poverty, Literacy, Industrialisation, Banking etc.
- General issues of Biodiversity and Climate – Heritage sites, Wildlife Sanctuaries, etc.
- General Science
Question Distribution for 2019 General Ability Test I was –
| Topic | Questions |
| Current Affairs | 22 |
| Indian History | 17 |
| Geography | 14 |
| Indian Polity | 15 |
| Economics | 14 |
| Science and Tech | 7 |
| Environmental Issues | 11 |
UPSC Prelims General Ability Test II – 200 Marks
- Reading Comprehension
- Communication skills
- Logical reasoning
- Problem-solving case studies
- Class X level Mathematics
- Data Tabulation and Interpretation
- Class X level English language skills
Negative Marking Scheme in UPSC Prelims
- There is negative marking in both the papers.
- For General Ability Test I, it is ⅓ of allotted marks to particular questions. That is 0.33 for every wrong answer.
- For General Ability Test II, it is 0.83 for every wrong answer.
UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2019
General Ability Test I –
| Category | Cut Off Marks |
| General | 98 |
| EWS | 90 |
| OBC | 95.34 |
| SC | 82 |
| ST | 77.34 |
| PwBD-1 | 53.34 |
| PwBD-2 | 44.66 |
| PwBD-3 | 54.66 |
| PwBD-4 | 61.34 |
General Ability Test II – 33% of total marks
Tips for UPSC Preliminary Exam
- Current affairs will stay with you from the prelims till the interview. The first focus should be to keep reading about contemporary issues.
- Read Newspapers every day to stay updated about Current Affairs. You can also opt for watching prime time news.
- Keep a track of annual national and global events as they are usually part of the current affairs section.
- NCERT books of mathematics, social science, and science are the best basic books to kickstart your preparation.
- Solve as many mock papers as possible before appearing for the exams. DataFlair has one whole section attributed to free UPSC mock papers to make your learning process smoother.
- Prepare for both prelims and mains together as the syllabus is similar.
- The main topics that you should focus on are – Indian Independence movement, Indian History, Indian Polity, India and Global Geography, and Indian Economy.
- Some of the important topics for UPSC available on DataFlair Website are –
- There are many more UPSC related articles available on our website.
- Finish one topic and take a test to know how much you learned. You can solve DataFlair General Knowledge Quizzes to save time and cover wider information.
- There are many History quiz, Polity Quiz, Geography Quiz available on our website.
- Keep the sources you refer to limited that are reliable instead of reading everything that says UPSC.
- Follow a time table so that you cover all the topics before the exam and have sufficient time to revise.
- Start with the basic and easier topics and then get into more complicated topics.
- Following these tips will help you save time, increase speed and improve memorizing capability.
Do Not Forget to Solve UPSC Previous years Question Papers
Conclusion
UPSC preliminary examination is the first stage of the civil service exam. It is important for all the candidates to know what they are stepping into. This article will guide you step to step about UPSC Prelims exam, its syllabus, time, questions, and much more.
All the aspirants should go through it once before appearing for the exams. We also added some quick tips to help you enjoy the learning process efficiently and effectively.