UPSC Mains Syllabus 2027

The Main Examination is where the Civil Services Examination is decided. Of the 2,025 marks that determine the final merit list, 1,750 come from the written papers of this stage. The Preliminary Examination screens; the Personality Test adjusts at the margin; the Main Examination ranks.

The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2027 from 20 August 2027, over five days, as confirmed in the annual calendar released on 20 May 2026. Only candidates who clear the Preliminary Examination of 23 May 2027 sit this stage. The notification carrying the official syllabus is scheduled for 13 January 2027, and no revision to the Mains framework has been notified.

This page sets out the complete Mains syllabus for 2027 — all nine papers, including the two qualifying language papers that are frequently left out of syllabus summaries — together with the marks structure, the question paper format, the medium-of-writing rules and the Commission's own instructions on answer scripts.

Main Examination 2027 — Key Dates

The Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination 2027 is a separate examination with its own syllabus, scheduled to begin on 21 November 2027 and run for seven days.

Scheme of Examination

The Main Examination consists of nine papers. Two are qualifying; seven are counted for merit.

Written total counted for merit: 1,750 marks. Personality Test: 275 marks. Grand total: 2,025 marks.

Papers A and B — The Qualifying Language Papers

These two papers are the most commonly overlooked part of the Main Examination, and failure in them ends a candidacy that may otherwise have been strong. Their marks do not enter the merit list, but if a candidate falls below the threshold in either, the remaining seven papers are not evaluated at all.

Qualifying threshold: 25 per cent, that is 75 marks out of 300, in each paper.

Paper A — Indian Language

The candidate selects one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The paper is set at roughly matriculation standard and comprises:

• Comprehension of given passages
• Precis writing
• Usage and vocabulary
• Short essay
• Translation from English into the chosen Indian language, and from that language into English

Exemption: candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim are exempt from Paper A, as are certain candidates with specified disabilities, on the terms set out in the notification.

Paper B — English

Also at roughly matriculation standard, comprising:

• Comprehension of given passages
• Precis writing
• Usage and vocabulary
• Short essay

There is no translation component in Paper B.

Paper I — Essay

Candidates write two essays, one drawn from each of two sections containing four topics apiece. Each essay carries 125 marks, and the paper carries 250.

The Commission's own statement of expectation is brief: candidates should keep close to the subject, arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and write concisely. Credit is given for effective and exact expression.

Essay topics in recent years have been abstract and philosophical rather than tied to current events. Themes have run to the nature of progress, the relationship between the individual and society, the limits of knowledge and the ethics of choice. A candidate who prepares only issue-based material will find little of it directly usable.

Preparation areas worth building:

• Philosophical and abstract propositions
• Democracy, governance and the state
• Economy, development and inequality
• Society, culture, identity and social justice
• Science, technology and their consequences
• Environment and sustainability
• India's place in the world
• Education, health and human capability

Paper II — General Studies I

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society

Indian Heritage and Culture

• Salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times

Modern Indian History

• Significant events, personalities and issues from about the middle of the eighteenth century to the present
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganisation within the country

World History

• Events from the eighteenth century onwards — the Industrial Revolution, the world wars, redrawing of national boundaries, colonisation and decolonisation
• Political philosophies such as communism, capitalism and socialism, their forms and their effect on society

Indian Society

• Salient features of Indian society and the diversity of India
• Role of women and women's organisations
• Population and associated issues
• Poverty and developmental issues
• Urbanisation, its problems and their remedies
• Effects of globalisation on Indian society
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism

Geography of the World and Society

• Salient features of world physical geography
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world, including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent
• Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world, including India
• Important geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity and cyclones
• Geographical features and their location; changes in critical geographical features including water bodies and ice caps, changes in flora and fauna, and the effects of such changes

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Paper III — General Studies II

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations

Constitution and Polity

• Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States; issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure; devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and the challenges therein
• Separation of powers between various organs; dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
• Parliament and State legislatures — structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers and privileges, and issues arising out of these
• Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; ministries and departments of the government; pressure groups and formal and informal associations and their role in the polity
• Salient features of the Representation of People's Act
• Appointment to various constitutional posts; powers, functions and responsibilities of various constitutional bodies
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

Governance

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors, and issues arising out of their design and implementation
• Development processes and the development industry — the role of NGOs, self-help groups, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability
• E-governance applications, models, successes, limitations and potential
• Citizens' charters, transparency and accountability, and institutional and other measures
• Role of civil services in a democracy

Social Justice

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and the States, and the performance of these schemes
• Mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections
• Issues relating to the development and management of social sectors and services relating to health, education and human resources
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger

International Relations

• India and its neighbourhood relations
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India or affecting India's interests
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests; the Indian diaspora
• Important international institutions, agencies and fora — their structure and mandate

Paper IV — General Studies III

Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management

Indian Economy

• Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it
• Government budgeting
• Effects of liberalisation on the economy; changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
• Infrastructure — energy, ports, roads, airports, railways
• Investment models

Agriculture and Food Processing

• Major crops and cropping patterns in various parts of the country
• Different types of irrigation and irrigation systems
• Storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce, and related issues and constraints
• E-technology in the aid of farmers
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices
• Public distribution system — objectives, functioning, limitations and revamping
• Issues of buffer stocks and food security
• Technology missions; economics of animal rearing
• Food processing and related industries in India — scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management
• Land reforms in India

Science and Technology

• Developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
• Achievements of Indians in science and technology
• Indigenisation of technology and developing new technology
• Awareness in the fields of IT, space, computers, robotics, nanotechnology and biotechnology
• Issues relating to intellectual property rights

Environment and Disaster Management

• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
• Environmental impact assessment
• Disaster and disaster management

Internal Security

• Linkages between development and the spread of extremism
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks; the role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges; basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention
• Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organised crime with terrorism
• Various security forces and agencies and their mandate

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Paper V — General Studies IV

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

The Commission states the purpose of this paper directly. It tests the candidate's attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity and probity in public life, and the candidate's problem-solving approach to the conflicts encountered in dealing with society. Questions may use the case study approach.

In practice the paper divides into two halves — a theory section and a case studies section, the latter usually carrying around half the marks.

Ethics and Human Interface

• Essence, determinants and consequences of ethics in human actions
• Dimensions of ethics
• Ethics in private and public relationships
• Human values — lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators
• Role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values

Attitude

• Content, structure and function
• Its influence on and relation with thought and behaviour
• Moral and political attitudes
• Social influence and persuasion

Aptitude and Foundational Values for Civil Service

• Integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship
• Objectivity
• Dedication to public service
• Empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections

Emotional Intelligence

• Concepts and their utilities
• Application in administration and governance

Contributions of Moral Thinkers and Philosophers

• From India and the world

Public and Civil Service Values, and Ethics in Public Administration

• Status and problems
• Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions
• Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance
• Accountability and ethical governance
• Strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance
• Ethical issues in international relations and funding
• Corporate governance

Probity in Governance

• Concept of public service
• Philosophical basis of governance and probity
• Information sharing and transparency in government
• Right to Information
• Codes of ethics and codes of conduct
• Citizens' charters
• Work culture
• Quality of service delivery
• Utilisation of public funds
• Challenges of corruption

Case Studies

• Case studies on all of the above

Papers VI and VII — Optional Subject

Each candidate selects one optional subject and writes two papers of 250 marks each, contributing 500 marks to the merit total. The Commission permits 48 choices — 25 subjects and the literature of 23 languages.

The 25 Optional Subjects

• Agriculture
• Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
• Anthropology
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Commerce and Accountancy
• Economics
• Electrical Engineering
• Geography
• Geology
• History
• Law
• Management
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Science
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science and International Relations
• Psychology
• Public Administration
• Sociology
• Statistics
• Zoology

The 23 Literature Optionals

Literature of any one of: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

There is no requirement to have studied the subject at graduation, and no requirement to have studied a language formally in order to take its literature paper. The choice should turn on genuine interest, the availability of guidance and material, and the extent of overlap with the General Studies papers.

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Question Paper Structure and Answer Writing

The syllabus states what may be asked. The paper format determines how much can be written, and the two must be prepared together.

Each General Studies paper carries 250 marks across 20 compulsory questions in three hours:

Three practical consequences follow.

• There is no choice. All twenty questions are compulsory. A candidate cannot avoid a weak area by selecting around it, which is why partial preparation across the whole syllabus outperforms deep preparation of a part.
• The constraint is time, not knowledge. Three hours for 20 answers and roughly 4,000 words of writing leaves no room for deliberation. Speed of recall and structure comes only from written practice under the clock.
• Unattempted questions are the commonest cause of a low score. A candidate who writes 16 good answers scores below one who writes 20 adequate ones. Completing the paper matters more than perfecting any part of it.

The Essay paper allows three hours for two essays, which permits roughly 1,000 to 1,200 words each with time for planning.

Medium of Writing and the Commission's Instructions

Medium. Candidates may answer all papers except Papers A and B in English or in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. A candidate who writes Papers I to V in an Eighth Schedule language retains the option of writing the optional papers in English.

Technical terms. A candidate writing in an Eighth Schedule language may give the English version, in brackets, of the description of technical terms. The Commission warns that misuse of this provision will attract a deduction of marks, and that in extreme cases the script will not be evaluated for being in an unauthorised medium.

Answer script conduct. If any irrelevant matter, signatures or marks unconnected with a question or answer are found in a script — particularly anything capable of disclosing the candidate's identity — the Commission will either deduct marks or decline to evaluate the script.

These are not formalities. Each carries a real penalty, and each is entirely avoidable.

Mains Cut-Off Record, General Category

The Mains cut-off is the minimum aggregate out of 1,750 required to be called for the Personality Test. It is published only after the final result of that cycle is declared.

Across the five cycles from 2021 to 2025, the General category threshold has moved within a narrow band of roughly 729 to 748 — considerably more stable than the Preliminary cut-off, which swings with paper difficulty. The final cut-off, combining Mains and interview out of 2,025, stood at 963 in 2025 and 947 in 2024.

Expressed differently, a candidate needs a little over 42 per cent of the written marks to reach the interview stage. That figure surprises most aspirants, and it is worth internalising: Mains is not a paper where high percentages are expected or achieved. — Legacy IAS Faculty

Preparing for the Main Examination

1. Prepare for Mains from the start, not after Prelims. The interval between the Preliminary result in July and the Main Examination in August is roughly a month. It is a revision window, not a preparation window. A candidate who begins Mains preparation after clearing Prelims has already lost the cycle.
2. Write before you feel ready. Answer writing is a separate skill from knowing the material, and it develops only through repetition and correction. Candidates routinely postpone it until they have finished reading, and then discover in August that knowledge alone does not produce a 150-word answer in seven minutes.
3. Map previous year questions onto the syllabus. Ten years of Mains papers, tagged to syllabus lines, will show which lines the Commission returns to and which it has never touched. The syllabus is broad; the questions are not evenly distributed across it.
4. Treat the optional as 500 marks, because it is. The optional carries more weight than any two General Studies papers combined and is the single largest determinant of rank variation between candidates with similar General Studies scores.
5. Do not neglect Papers A and B. They require little preparation, but they require some. A candidate who has not written in the chosen Indian language for a decade should attempt at least two full papers beforehand.
6. Integrate current affairs into the GS papers, not alongside them. Mains questions rarely ask what happened. They ask what it means, why it matters and what should follow — which requires the static framework and the current example held together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the Mains syllabus changed for 2027?

No change has been notified. The structure has held since the 2013 restructuring, and the same framework is expected in the notification of 13 January 2027. Verify against the official document when it is published.

How many papers are there in UPSC Mains?

Nine. Two qualifying language papers of 300 marks each, and seven merit papers totalling 1,750 marks — the Essay, four General Studies papers and two optional subject papers.

Do Papers A and B count towards the final ranking?

No. They require 25 per cent, that is 75 marks out of 300, to qualify. Their marks are not added to the merit total, but failure in either means the remaining papers are not evaluated.

Can I write the Mains examination in a regional language?

Yes. All papers except Papers A and B may be written in English or in any language included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. A candidate writing Papers I to V in an Eighth Schedule language may still write the optional papers in English.

How many marks are needed to clear Mains?

The threshold varies each year. The General category cut-off was 739 out of 1,750 in 2025 and 729 in 2024, with the five-year range sitting between roughly 729 and 748. A candidate must also secure at least 10 per cent in each of the seven merit papers.

Which optional subject should I choose?

No optional is inherently superior; success rates fluctuate year to year and reflect the number of candidates as much as the subject. Choose on the basis of interest, the availability of material and guidance, and overlap with the General Studies papers.

When should Mains preparation begin?

Alongside Prelims preparation, from the beginning. The gap between the Preliminary result and the Main Examination is roughly one month and is meant for revision.

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