UPSC CSE Prelims is the first stage of the coveted Civil Services Examination. It consists of two papers, General Studies, and CSAT. The CSAT or the Civil Services Aptitude Test is qualifying in nature. Candidates are required to score more than 33% or 66 marks in the CSAT paper to qualify for the UPSC CS (Main) Examination.
The cut-off for Prelims is based on the score of the General Studies paper which is 200 marks. This paper entails questions from various subjects namely History, Polity, Geography, Economy, Environment, Current Affairs, etc. Since every subject is not of equal weightage, it is important to know the weightage of each subject to prepare well for the examination.
The table mentioned below lists the number of questions from each subject over the last ten years. It will give a fair bit of idea on the importance of each subject in the UPSC CSE Prelims.
Year |
|||||||
2011 |
11 |
11 |
12 |
19 |
19 |
15 |
13 |
2012 |
17 |
12 |
11 |
13 |
9 |
12 |
26 |
2013 |
11 |
9 |
13 |
15 |
11 |
13 |
28 |
2014 |
17 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
13 |
17 |
20 |
2015 |
14 |
14 |
13 |
13 |
7 |
10 |
29 |
2016 |
15 |
7 |
7 |
18 |
8 |
18 |
27 |
2017 |
14 |
7 |
22 |
8 |
4 |
11 |
34 |
2018 |
15 |
8 |
13 |
16 |
7 |
13 |
28 |
2019 |
17 |
14 |
16 |
14 |
7 |
11 |
22 |
2020 |
20 |
10 |
17 |
15 |
10 |
10 |
18 |
As you can see, the current affairs portion is one of the most important elements in the UPSC Civil Services Prelims examination followed by history and polity. Let us look at the preparation strategy for each of these subjects briefly:
History: It is clear from the subject-wise trend of prelims that history is one of the major favorites of UPSC and a lot of questions are asked from this subject. Questions from heritage, art & culture are also a part of ancient history that is asked in UPSC prelims. NCERTs and other basic books like Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania can be really helpful for the preparation of history. You can check the micro syllabus and preparation strategy for history here.
Geography: Questions from the physical geography of India and the world are asked in the Prelims examination. NCERTs from Class VIII to XII are a must-read for the preparation of Geography. In addition to that, you can also refer to Certificate Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong. Check out the detailed syllabus and preparation strategy here.
Polity: Indian constitution is at the heart of Indian polity, and is an extremely important subject for the preparation of UPSC CSE. For the UPSC CS Prelims examination, a thorough reading of Indian Polity by M. Laxmikath would suffice. You can use NCERTs and IGNOU materials to strengthen your foundation before reading the book authored by M. Laxmikanth. Check out the detailed strategy for polity preparation here.
Economy: Economy is also one of the important segments of the UPSC syllabus. Questions from topics like national income, inflation-deflation, fiscal and monetary policies, fiscal deficit, taxes, etc are asked every year. You do not need to delve deep into economics preparation for UPSC CS Prelims. A thorough reading of NCERTs along with basic books authored by Uma Kapila or Misra Puri would suffice for the preparation of economics for UPSC CS(Prelims). Check out the detailed strategy for economics here.
Science & Technology: Questions related to recent developments in science & technology are asked from this subject. Have a good hold over current affairs specific to this portion to ace this section. Check here for a detailed preparation strategy and syllabus for science & technology.
Environment: Questions related to environment and biodiversity, ecology, climate change that are in the current discourse are asked. NCERT books, as well as IGNOU/NIOS notes of this particular subject, can be really helpful for the preparation of this portion of UPSC CSE Prelims. Check out the detailed preparation strategy here.
Current Affairs: Questions related to science & tech, government initiatives, defense, security issues, and international relations are asked from the current affairs. Hence, you need to prepare it well. If you want to know more about the preparation strategy of current affairs, check here.
Check out the exam pattern and syllabus of UPSC Prelims following the hyperlinks.
Want to know a full-proof 6-month strategy for qualifying Prelims? Check here!
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