UPSC Main, more popularly known as UPSC Mains, is the second stage of the UPSC Civil Services Exam, following the Prelims. It consists of 9 papers over 5 days. UPSC Main 2025 is scheduled to begin on 22nd August 2025. Only about 1% of total candidates who appear for the Prelims qualify for the Mains.
UPSC Main plays a crucial role in the final selection of candidates, and the majority weightage of the candidates’ total score is their Mains’ score. Hence, having complete knowledge about the exam is crucial for success.
Before getting into the details of the UPSC Main, have a look at some key exam highlights.
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UPSC: Key Highlights |
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Name of the Exam |
UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2025 |
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Conducted by |
Union Public Service Commission |
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Level |
National |
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Exam Frequency |
Annual |
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Mode of the Exam |
Pen and Paper Mode/Offline |
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Test Centres |
Across Nation |
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Exam Stages |
03 Stages- Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and Personality Test |
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Exam Fee for Main Exam |
Rs. 200 |
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Official Website |
https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
The UPSC CSE Mains Exam is scheduled from 22nd August 2025, according to the official UPSC Calendar 2025. The complete Main Schedule will be released after the Prelims Result is declared.
UPSC released the official notification for UPSC CSE 2025 on 22nd January 2025. The UPSC CSE Prelims Exam is scheduled on 25th May 2025 and the Personality Test round will tentatively be held in the first few months of 2026, based on past patterns.
Take a look at the important dates for UPSC Civil Services Exam 2025:
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UPSC 2025- Important Dates |
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Event |
Date |
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Release of Notification - UPSC CSE 2025 |
22.01.2025 |
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UPSC Online Registration for UPSC CSE 2025 (Begins on) |
22.01.2025 |
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Deadline to Apply For UPSC CSE 2025 |
18. 02. 2025 |
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UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Exam |
25.05.2025 |
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UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Result |
June (Tentative) |
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UPSC CSE Main 2025 Exam |
22.08.2025 |
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Personality Test Round |
Jan- April 2026 (Tentative) |
UPSC will announce the UPSC Mains Schedule after the declaration of the Prelims Result, which aspirants can tentatively expect in June 2025.
Each exam are three hours long and will be conducted in two shifts, typically one in the morning around 9:30 AM and the other in the afternoon around 2:30 PM.
The UPSC Main Exam consists of Nine Papers that are held in 5 days. Two of these, namely the Compulsory English Paper and the Compulsory Indian Language Paper are qualifying. The other seven papers are merit-based. For the final selection, candidates are evaluated out of 2025 marks. Out of this 2025, 1750 marks are the candidates’ Main Score and 250 is the score of the Personality Test.
Given below is the breakdown of the UPSC Mains Exam Pattern for the Qualifying Papers.
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UPSC Main Qualifying Papers |
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Paper Name |
Time Duration |
Marks |
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Paper A |
One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution (Compulsory Indian Language) |
3 hours |
300 |
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Paper B |
English |
3 hours |
300 |
Following is the breakdown of the UPSC Mains Exam Pattern for the Merit-Based Papers.
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UPSC Main Merit-Based Papers |
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Paper Name |
Time Duration |
Marks |
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Paper-I |
Essay |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-II |
General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-III |
General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-IV |
Genera Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-V |
General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-VI |
Optional Subject – Paper 1 |
3 hours |
250 |
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Paper-VII |
Optional Subject – Paper 2 |
3 hours |
250 |
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Sub Total (Written Test) |
1750 |
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Personality Test |
275 |
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Grand Total |
2025 |
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Since UPSC Main plays such a vital role in the final evaluation of the candidates, a clear understanding of the UPSC Mains Syllabus is necessary to score well.
Following is the UPSC Mains Syllabus.
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UPSC Qualifying Papers Syllabus |
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English Language |
Comprehension of given passages, Precise Writing, Usage and Vocabulary, Short Essays |
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Indian Language |
Comprehension of given passages, Precise Writing, Usage and Vocabulary, Short Essays, Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa. |
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UPSC Syllabus for Merit-Based Papers |
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Paper-I Essay |
Candidates may be asked to write essays on a wide-range of topics. |
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Paper-II General Studies-I |
Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society. |
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PAPER-III General Studies- II |
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations. |
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PAPER-IV General Studies-III |
Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management. |
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PAPER-V General Studies- IV |
Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude |
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Paper-VI Optional Paper-I
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Optional Subject - Paper I (250 Marks) |
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Paper-VII: Optional Paper-III |
Optional Subject - Paper-II (250 marks) |
To know the UPSC Mains Syllabus in detail, read the linked article.
Candidates are required to select an Optional Subject according to their area of interest. Papers VI and VII are based on the Optional Subject that the candidate opts for. Hence, the choice of Optional Subject must be made cautiously.
Following are the UPSC Mains Optional Subjects a candidate can choose from:
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UPSC Optional Subjects List |
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Agriculture |
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science |
Anthropology |
Botany |
Chemistry |
Civil Engineering |
Commerce and Accountancy |
Economics |
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Electrical Engineering |
Geography |
Geology |
History |
Law |
Management |
Mathematics |
Mechanical Engineering |
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Medical Science |
Philosophy |
Physics |
Political Science and International Relations |
Assamese Literature |
Bengali Literature |
Bodo Literature |
Dogri Literature |
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Gujarati Literature |
Hindi Literature |
Kannada Literature |
Kashmiri Literature |
Konkani Literature |
Maithali Literature |
Malayalam Literature |
Manipuri Literature |
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Marathi Literature |
Nepali Literature |
Odia Literature |
Punjabi Literature |
Sanskrit Literature |
Santhali Literature |
Sindhi Literature |
Tamil Literature |
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Telugu Literature |
Urdu Literature |
English Literature |
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Read more regarding UPSC Optional Subjects and how to choose the best UPSC Optional Subject in the linked article.
Candidates who qualify in the Prelims are eligible to appear in the Main. Qualified candidates are required to follow the following steps to register for the Main.
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Steps to Register for UPSC Main |
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Fill the DAF- I |
Go to the official UPSC Website and fill the Detailed Application Form-I. |
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Upload the Required Documents |
Scanned Copies of documents such as educational certificates, scanned photograph and signature etc need to be uploaded as mentioned in the DAF-I |
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Pay the Exam Fee |
After filling the Application Form, exam fees needs to be paid via any of the payment methods given on the website. |
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Submit the Application Form |
Once the form is filled, verify all the details and submit the application form. Be sure to save and print a copy for your future reference. |
To read about the UPSC Registration Process, read the linked article.
Considering the vastness of the UPSC Syllabus, it is easy to get overwhelmed while starting out on your preparation journey. Having a comprehensive UPSC Preparation Strategy is essential to crack UPSC. Here’s how you can get started on building one.
For more details on how to create the perfect UPSC Mains Preparation Strategy, you can read the linked article.
UPSC Main Exam is conducted across a few select cities to allow accessibility for all candidates. Following is the list of the UPSC Mains Exam Centres from previous years for your reference.
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UPSC Main Exam Centres |
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Ahmedabad |
Bengaluru |
Bhopal |
Chandigarh |
Cuttack |
Dehradun |
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Delhi |
Dispur (Guwahati) |
Jaipur |
Jammu |
Kolkata |
Lucknow |
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Patna |
Raipur |
Ranchi |
Shillong |
Thiruvananthapuram |
Vijayawada |
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Mumbai |
Aizawl |
Chennai |
Hyderabad |
Shimla |
Prayagraj |
UPSC Main 2025 is set to commence from 22nd August 2025.
There are 9 Papers in UPSC Main. 2 of them are qualifying in nature, and the other seven are merit-based.
Around 13,000-14,000 students appear for UPSC Main each year.
No, there is no negative marking in UPSC Main as it is a descriptive exam.
