UPSC Exam Pattern 2021 consisted of three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The same is expected for UPSC Exam Pattern 2022. UPSC Exam, also known as IAS Exam, is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit suitable candidates for IAS, IPS, IFS, and other allied services. UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted to assess the overall capabilities of candidates.
This article details the UPSC Exam Pattern for prelims, mains, and interviews. It is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the UPSC Exam Pattern. It will allow you to effectively manage your time thereby making your UPSC preparation more efficient. It is also important to have a deep understanding of the IAS exam pattern to align your preparation with all the exam needs.
Broadly, UPSC conducts the Civil Service Examination in three phases namely:
Preliminary Examination
Main Examination
Personality Test (Interview)
Candidates who qualify for all the rounds are recommended for joining the civil services in India. Each round is an elimination round, so you need to qualify each one in order to appear for the next one. Now, let us discuss the UPSC Exam Pattern 2022 along with the marking scheme for each of the papers in different rounds.
Note: UPSC CSE 2022 notification will be released on 2nd February 2022. The Prelims and Mains Exam are scheduled to be conducted on 5th June and 16th September 2022, respectively.
NOTE: UPSC prelims 2021 has been conducted on 10th Oct 2021 and Main Exam is scheduled to be conducted from 7th to 16th January 2022
UPSC CSE Prelims consists of two papers namely General Studies I and CSAT (General Studies Paper-II). While CSAT is qualifying in nature, the marks obtained in the General Studies paper determine your selection for UPSC Mains. It means your score in the General Studies Paper will be considered for the Prelims cutoff.
Additionally, there is negative marking for the wrong answers. 1/3rd of the marks allotted for the question would be deducted as a penalty for marking the wrong answer. However, if you do not attempt the question, there will be no deductions. Hence, you should take only calculated risks when it comes to marking doubtful questions
Now, let us look at the UPSC Exam pattern for Prelims 2022:
| Name of the Paper | No of Questions | Marks Allotted | Time Allotted | Nature of Exam |
| Paper I: General Studies (Objective-type) | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | The score will be considered for Cut-off |
| Paper-II: General Studies-II (CSAT) (Objective-Type) | 80 | 200 | 2 hours | Qualifying Nature- Candidates will have to score 33% to qualify CSAT. |
In reference to the UPSC Exam Pattern, the following points should be kept in mind while appearing for IAS Exam 2022:
Check out the subject-wise weightage of each subject of prelims in the linked article.
The UPSC Exam Pattern for the Mains Exam is tabulated below. The IAS Mains Exam consists of two types of papers viz qualifying and merit-ranking. Paper A and Paper B namely the Language paper and English paper will be qualifying in nature. The marks obtained in these papers will not be added to marks that may determine your rank. All the other papers will be evaluated for merit purposes.
Paper |
Subject |
Duration |
Total marks |
Time Allotted |
Nature of paper |
Type of Paper |
Paper A |
3 hours |
300 |
3 hours |
Qualifying |
Descriptive |
|
Paper B |
3 hours |
300 |
3 hours |
Qualifying |
Descriptive |
|
Paper I |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper-II |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper III |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper IV |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper V |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper VI |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
|
Paper VII |
3 hours |
250 |
3 hours |
Merit |
Descriptive |
The following points should be kept in mind while preparing for UPSC CSE Mains 2022:
The subjects which are covered in different General Studies Paper in the Mains Exam are mentioned as under:
Indian Heritage and Culture, History n Geography, Society |
|
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, International Relations |
|
Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management |
|
Ethics, Aptitude, Integrity |
Check out the subject-wise strategy for UPSC Mains in the linked article.
Here's the list of optional subjects that can be opted for UPSC Mains:
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science |
Botany |
Chemistry |
||
Civil Engineering |
Economics |
Electrical Engineering |
||
Geology |
Law |
Management |
||
Medical Science |
Physics |
Political Science and International Relations |
||
Psychology |
Statistics |
Zoology |
The options for literature subjects are:
| Assamese | Bengali | Bodo | Dogri | Gujarati |
Hindi |
Kannada |
Kashmiri |
Konkani |
Maithili |
Malayalam |
Manipuri |
Marathi |
Nepali |
Odia |
Punjabi |
Sanskrit |
Santhali |
Sindhi |
Tamil |
Telugu |
Urdu |
English |
The interview process is the last and final stage of the selection process of the UPSC Exam Pattern. The interview consists of 275 marks which makes the grand total of maximum marks 2025. Some of the qualities that the board assess in a candidate are:
This was a brief overview of the UPSC Exam Pattern 2022. Keep following our articles to apprise yourself with the latest information about the exam. Career launcher offers you detailed courses for both prelims and mains to help you get through this exam. Watch the below video to further understand the UPSC Exam Pattern:
Read more | Topper-proof tips for UPSC Interview
Check out the full syllabus of UPSC CSE here. And if you are looking for a panacea to boost your prelims score, here’s a course designed just for that! Get in touch with our course counsellors to get additional information on course deliverables.
UPSC stands for Union public service commission. UPSC is a government body which conducts recruitment examination for various govt. services including Civil Service Examination every year to recruit IAS, IPS, IFS, and other allied services.
The candidate must have completed a bachelor's degree from any recognized Indian university. However final year students are also eligible to apply.
Candidate age must be between 21 to 32 years old for the General category.
Yes, for the OBC category 3 years of relaxation, and for SC/ST there is a provision of 5 years relaxation. For Defense Service Personnel disabled during service have 3 years of relaxation, ex-servicemen including service officers have 5 years of relaxation, visually challenged, physically challenged and hearing-impaired people have up to 10 years of relaxation.
General category people can attempt max 6 times, OBC category people can attempt max 9 times, SC/ST category no limit to attempt, physically handicapped (both General and OBC category) can attempt 9 times, SC/ST physically handicapped can attempt any no of times.
It is 3 stage examination
To write the mains exam, a candidate has to qualify in the preliminary examination. If you are shortlisted after the mains exam you will get called for the interview. For final ranking, both Mains & Interview Marks are considered.
It comprises 2 MCQ-based papers that are conducted on a single day. General studies paper –1, consists of 100 questions of 2 marks each. General Studies paper-2 (CSAT) consists of 80 questions of 2.5 marks each. However, CSAT is a qualifying paper. Candidates have to score a minimum of 33.33 % or 66 marks to qualify. Only GS paper- 1 marks are considered for the cutoff. There is 1/3rd negative for every wrong answer in both the papers.
You can go through a detailed analysis of the syllabus from this site
It comprises of total 9 Descriptive papers conducted in 5 days. Paper A- (language paper, you can select any language prescribed by UPSC, however, this paper is not compulsory for Candidates from North-Eastern states of India) and Paper B (Compulsory English language), is qualifying in nature. The remaining papers, Paper I – to Paper VII are considered for the Main Score where each paper carries 250 marks.
You can go through this website for detailed analysis
Candidates have to select only one optional subject from the choices provided in the UPSC notification. You can also check out how to choose an optional subject here.
Yes, To know more about the courses, visit