UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2027

The Preliminary Examination is the first of three stages in the Civil Services Examination. It is a screening test. The marks a candidate obtains here do not enter the final merit list, and yet the stage eliminates the overwhelming majority of applicants each year. Understanding exactly what the syllabus covers, and what it does not, is the first practical step in preparation.

The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2027 on 23 May 2027, as confirmed in the annual calendar released on 20 May 2026. The notification carrying the full syllabus is scheduled for 13 January 2027. No revision to the syllabus has been notified, and the framework has held steady since 2013.

This page sets out the Preliminary syllabus in full — both papers, area by area — together with the marking scheme, the weightage pattern observed in recent papers, and the cut-off record of the last six years. It is written as a reference document rather than a strategy essay. Read it with a previous year question paper open beside you.

Preliminary Examination 2027 — Key Dates

The Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2027 is conducted through the same paper on the same date. Candidates applying for the IFoS do not sit a separate screening test.

Examination Pattern

Both papers are objective, both are compulsory, and both are held on the same day — Paper I in the forenoon session and Paper II in the afternoon. A candidate who does not appear for both papers stands disqualified.

Marking Scheme

• Each correct answer in Paper I carries 2 marks; each correct answer in Paper II carries 2.5 marks.
• One-third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for every incorrect answer. In Paper I this works out to a penalty of 0.66 marks; in Paper II, 0.83 marks.
• Questions left blank attract no penalty.
• Questions in the decision-making segment of Paper II carry no negative marking.
• Paper II requires 66.67 marks out of 200 to qualify. Falling below this threshold ends the attempt, whatever the Paper I score.
• Only the Paper I score is used to prepare the list of candidates for the Main Examination.

Question papers are set in both Hindi and English. Candidates with visual impairment receive compensatory time as specified in the notification.

General Studies Paper I — Complete Syllabus

The Commission describes the paper in seven lines. Each is reproduced below in its official framing, then expanded into the sub-topics that have consistently generated questions.

1. Current Events of National and International Importance

• Government schemes, missions and flagship programmes — objectives, coverage, implementing ministry, funding pattern
• Reports and indices issued by ministries, UN bodies, the World Bank, IMF, WEF and similar institutions
• Summits, conferences and their outcomes; groupings such as G20, BRICS, SCO, QUAD, ASEAN
• Bills and Acts passed by Parliament during the review period
• Awards, appointments, obituaries and institutions in the news
• Places in the news — conflict zones, protected areas, geographic features

The working window is roughly twelve to eighteen months before the examination. For the 2027 paper, that means current affairs from around mid-2026 onwards.

Current events do not sit in a separate compartment. In practice they function as the entry point to static questions. A scheme in the news generates a question on constitutional provisions; a species in the news generates a question on its habitat and conservation status.

2. History of India and Indian National Movement

Ancient India

• Prehistoric cultures and the Indus Valley Civilisation — town planning, seals, decline
• Vedic period — society, polity, economy, literature
• Mahajanapadas, rise of Magadha, Jainism and Buddhism
• Mauryan Empire — administration, Ashokan edicts, art
• Post-Mauryan period — Satavahanas, Kushanas, Indo-Greeks
• Gupta and post-Gupta period; Sangam age and South Indian dynasties

Medieval India

• Delhi Sultanate — dynasties, administration, market reforms, architecture
• Vijayanagara and Bahmani kingdoms
• Mughal Empire — administrative structure, mansabdari, land revenue, decline
• Bhakti and Sufi movements — saints, teachings, regional spread
• Marathas and the regional states of the eighteenth century

Art and Culture

• Temple architecture — Nagara, Dravida, Vesara styles
• Rock-cut caves, stupas, Indo-Islamic and colonial architecture
• Sculpture schools — Gandhara, Mathura, Amaravati
• Painting traditions — murals, miniatures, Pahari, Rajasthani, Company school
• Classical dance and music forms; folk traditions; theatre
• Philosophical schools; religious literature; UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India

Modern India

• Advent of Europeans and establishment of British rule
• Land revenue settlements, commercialisation of agriculture, deindustrialisation
• Tribal and peasant uprisings; the Revolt of 1857
• Socio-religious reform movements and the individuals associated with them
• Education, press and the growth of political consciousness

Indian National Movement

• Formation of the Indian National Congress; Moderate and Extremist phases
• Partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi movement
• Revolutionary nationalism; Home Rule movement
• Gandhian mass movements — Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, Quit India
• Left-wing politics, peasant movements, trade union activity
• Constitutional developments — Acts of 1909, 1919, 1935
• Negotiations, partition and transfer of power

3. Indian and World Geography

Physical Geography

• Geomorphology — interior of the earth, plate tectonics, landforms, rock types
• Climatology — atmosphere, pressure belts, winds, cyclones, precipitation
• Oceanography — ocean currents, tides, salinity, relief of the ocean floor
• Biogeography — biomes, soil types and their distribution

Indian Geography

• Physiographic divisions, drainage systems, river basins
• Monsoon mechanism, seasons, rainfall distribution
• Soils, natural vegetation, forest types
• Agriculture — crops, cropping seasons, agro-climatic zones
• Mineral and energy resources; industrial regions and location factors
• Transport networks, ports, inland waterways

World Geography

• Continents, major landform features, world climatic regions
• Global distribution of crops, minerals and industries
• Important straits, canals, seas, deserts and mountain ranges

Human Geography

• Population distribution and density, migration, demographic transition
• Settlement patterns, urbanisation, primate cities

4. Indian Polity and Governance

• Historical background of the Constitution; sources and borrowed features
• Preamble; Union and its territory; citizenship
• Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties
• Union executive — President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers
• Parliament — composition, sessions, legislative procedure, committees, privileges
• Judiciary — Supreme Court, High Courts, subordinate courts, judicial review, PIL
• State executive and legislature; Governor's powers
• Federalism — legislative, administrative and financial relations; inter-state councils
• Local government — 73rd and 74th Amendments, Panchayati Raj institutions
• Constitutional bodies — Election Commission, CAG, UPSC, Finance Commission, and others
• Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies — NHRC, CIC, NITI Aayog, SEBI, TRAI
• Emergency provisions, amendment procedure, schedules, basic structure doctrine
• Representation of the People Act; political parties, anti-defection
• Rights issues, transparency, accountability, RTI

5. Economic and Social Development

• National income accounting — GDP, GNP, NNP, deflators, base year revisions
• Money and banking — RBI functions, monetary policy instruments, banking reforms
• Financial markets — capital markets, money markets, regulators, instruments
• Public finance — Union Budget, taxation structure, GST, FRBM, deficits
• Inflation — types, measurement, WPI and CPI, control measures
• Employment, unemployment types, labour force indicators
• Agriculture — MSP, procurement, subsidies, credit, marketing reforms
• Industry — policy, MSMEs, PLI schemes, industrial corridors
• External sector — balance of payments, exchange rate, trade agreements, FDI and FPI
• Poverty estimation, inclusion, financial inclusion initiatives
• Demographics — census indicators, demographic dividend, human development
• Social sector schemes in health, education, nutrition and social security
• Sustainable Development Goals and inclusive growth

6. General Issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Ecosystem structure and function — food chains, trophic levels, energy flow
• Biogeochemical cycles, ecological succession, ecotone, keystone species
• Biodiversity — levels, hotspots, endemism, IUCN Red List categories
• Protected area network — national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, conservation reserves
• Wildlife conservation projects and species-specific programmes
• Pollution — air, water, soil, noise; waste management; norms and standards
• Climate change — greenhouse gases, radiative forcing, impacts, adaptation and mitigation
• International conventions — UNFCCC, CBD, CITES, Ramsar, Montreal Protocol, Basel and Stockholm
• Domestic legislation — Environment Protection Act, Wildlife Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act, CRZ
• Institutions — NGT, CPCB, NBA, and their mandates
• Renewable energy, carbon markets, green hydrogen, environmental technologies

The Commission states expressly that these questions will not require subject specialisation.

7. General Science

• Physics — motion, energy, optics, electricity, magnetism at foundational level
• Chemistry — atomic structure, chemical bonding, acids and bases, polymers, everyday chemistry
• Biology — cell biology, human physiology, nutrition, diseases and immunity
• Genetics and biotechnology — DNA, gene editing, GM crops, vaccines
• Space technology — launch vehicles, satellite systems, planetary missions
• Defence and nuclear technology — missiles, reactors, fuel cycles
• Computing and emerging technology — artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, blockchain
• Health and public health — pathogens, epidemics, drug approvals

Science questions in recent papers have followed news developments closely rather than textbook theory. A mission launch, a disease outbreak or a technology approval is the usual trigger.

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Indicative Weightage in Recent Papers

The Commission publishes no weightage. The distribution below reflects the pattern observed across recent question papers and should be read as an indicative range, not a fixed allocation. It shifts year to year.

Two observations follow from this table. Environment has carried weight comparable to polity for several years now, and it remains the area most often under-prepared. And no single area is large enough for a candidate to skip another and still clear the paper comfortably.

General Studies Paper II — CSAT Syllabus

Paper II is qualifying. It is not, on recent evidence, easy. In several years the CSAT has eliminated candidates who scored well in Paper I, and candidates from non-mathematical backgrounds should begin practice early rather than in the final month.

Comprehension

Passages followed by inference, assumption and conclusion questions. Sources tend towards social science, governance, environment and philosophy. Passages have grown longer and more abstract in recent papers, and comprehension now accounts for the largest share of the paper.

Interpersonal Skills Including Communication Skills

Situational questions set in administrative and workplace contexts. This segment has appeared only sparingly in recent years.

Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability

Syllogisms; statement and assumption; statement and conclusion; courses of action; cause and effect; seating arrangements; blood relations; direction sense; ordering, ranking and grouping.

Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

Administrative situations with several defensible responses. No marks are deducted for wrong answers in this segment, which makes attempting every such question the correct approach.

General Mental Ability

Number and letter series; coding and decoding; analogies; classification; calendars and clocks; cubes and dice; Venn diagrams; counting figures.

Basic Numeracy — Class X Level

Number system; LCM and HCF; percentages; ratio and proportion; averages; profit and loss; simple and compound interest; time and work; time, speed and distance; mixtures; permutation and combination; probability; mensuration.

Data Interpretation — Class X Level

Tables; bar graphs; pie charts; line graphs; caselets; data sufficiency.

Cut-Off Record, General Category

The Preliminary cut-off is calculated on General Studies Paper I alone, out of 200 marks. It is not fixed in advance. It settles each year according to paper difficulty, the number of vacancies advertised and the performance of the candidate pool.

The 2023 figure was an outlier produced by an unusually difficult paper. Excluding it, the General category threshold has sat between the high eighties and low nineties. The 2026 cut-off had not been officially published at the time of writing; the Commission releases Preliminary cut-offs only after the final result of that cycle is declared.

A candidate planning for 2027 should treat 100 marks as a working target rather than the historical cut-off itself. The margin covers a difficult paper year and the ordinary error rate of examination conditions. — Legacy IAS Faculty

Preparing Against the Syllabus

1. Read the syllabus before the textbooks. Most candidates read the syllabus once at the start and never return to it. Print it, keep it in the front of the file, and mark each line as you cover it.
2. Anchor depth to previous year papers. The syllabus states the boundary; only the question papers reveal the depth. Ten years of solved papers, mapped line by line against the syllabus, will tell you more about what to read than any booklist.
3. Prepare current affairs against static topics, not separately. When a scheme appears in the news, read the constitutional provision behind it. When a species appears, read its habitat and status. Isolated current affairs notes produce isolated recall.
4. Give CSAT a fixed weekly slot from the beginning. Two hours a week through the year is sufficient for most candidates. Two weeks of panic in April is not.
5. Revise more than you read. The Preliminary Examination rewards accurate recall of a moderate volume far more than partial recall of a large one. Three revisions of a limited set of sources beats one reading of many.
6. Practise elimination, not guesswork. With a 0.66-mark penalty, an attempt where two options have been ruled out is favourable; a blind guess between four is not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the Prelims syllabus changed for 2027?

No change has been notified. The syllabus has remained substantially unchanged since 2013 and the same framework is expected in the 13 January 2027 notification. Verify against the official document when it is published.

How many questions come from current affairs?

The Commission does not classify questions this way. Questions asked directly on recent events have typically numbered between twelve and eighteen, but current events also form the entry point to a much larger number of static questions across polity, economy, environment and science.

Is CSAT counted in the Prelims cut-off?

No. CSAT requires 66.67 marks out of 200 to qualify, and nothing beyond that threshold carries any advantage. The cut-off is calculated on General Studies Paper I alone.

How many marks are deducted for a wrong answer?

One-third of the marks allotted to that question. In Paper I, where each question carries 2 marks, the deduction is 0.66. Unanswered questions carry no penalty.

How much time is enough for Prelims preparation?

A candidate starting in the second half of 2026 has roughly a year before the May 2027 examination, which is a comfortable runway for a first attempt. Those starting later should compress the static portions and prioritise using previous year papers.

Are NCERT books sufficient for Prelims?

NCERTs build the foundation, particularly in history, geography, economics and science, but they do not cover the current affairs component or the depth expected in polity and environment. They are the starting point, not the whole reading list.

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