UPSC Syllabus 2027

The Union Public Service Commission publishes the syllabus for the Civil Services Examination as an annexure to its annual notification. For the 2027 cycle, that notification is scheduled for release on 13 January 2027. The syllabus itself has remained substantially unchanged since the 2013 restructuring, and no revision has been notified so far. Aspirants preparing for 2027 can therefore begin work immediately on the existing framework without waiting for the notification.

This page sets out the complete syllabus for all three stages of the examination — Preliminary, Main and Personality Test — arranged topic by topic, along with the marking scheme, paper structure and the full list of optional subjects. It is intended as a reference document. Keep it beside you while planning your study schedule, and return to it each time you finish a topic.

One point deserves emphasis at the outset. The syllabus is a boundary, not a reading list. It tells you where the Commission may ask questions from; it does not tell you how deep to go. Depth is determined by previous year question papers, and the two must always be read together.

UPSC CSE 2027 — Key Dates

The Commission released its annual calendar for 2027 on 20 May 2026. The confirmed schedule for the Civil Services Examination is as follows.

The Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2027 will be held on the same day, 23 May 2027, through the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. Candidates interested in the IFoS do not sit a separate preliminary paper. The IFoS Main Examination is scheduled to begin on 21 November 2027 and will run for seven days.

UPSC reserves the right to alter these dates. Verify them on upsc.gov.in before you apply.

Structure of the Examination

The Civil Services Examination proceeds in three stages.

• Stage I — Preliminary Examination. Two objective papers of 200 marks each, both compulsory. Marks obtained here are used only to shortlist candidates for the Main Examination. They do not count towards the final merit list.
• Stage II — Main Examination. Nine descriptive papers. Two of these are qualifying language papers whose marks are not counted. The remaining seven carry 1,750 marks and form the bulk of the final ranking.
• Stage III — Personality Test. An interview carrying 275 marks, conducted by a board constituted by the Commission.

The final merit list is prepared out of 2,025 marks — 1,750 from the Main Examination and 275 from the Personality Test.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2027

Preliminary Examination Pattern

Both papers are of objective type with multiple-choice questions, and both are compulsory. A candidate who does not appear for both papers is disqualified.

Negative marking applies at one-third of the marks assigned to a question for every incorrect answer. Paper II requires a minimum of 66.67 marks, which is 33 per cent, to qualify. Only the score in Paper I determines whether you advance to the Main Examination.

Question papers are set in Hindi and English. The Commission also permits compensatory time for blind candidates as specified in the notification.

Prelims Paper I — General Studies: Topic-Wise Breakdown

The Commission lists seven broad areas. Each is expanded below into the sub-topics that questions have consistently been drawn from.

1. Current Events of National and International Importance

• Government schemes, policies and flagship programmes
• Reports, indices and rankings published by national and international bodies
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings involving India
• Awards, appointments, summits and conferences
• Science and technology developments in the news
• Persons, places and institutions in the news

Cover roughly twelve to eighteen months preceding the examination. For the 2027 Prelims, this effectively means current affairs from mid-2026 onwards.

2. History of India and Indian National Movement

• Ancient India: Indus Valley Civilisation, Vedic period, Mahajanapadas, Mauryan and post-Mauryan period, Gupta age, Sangam age, South Indian dynasties
• Medieval India: Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara and Bahmani kingdoms, Mughal Empire, Bhakti and Sufi movements, regional kingdoms, Marathas
• Art and Culture: architecture, sculpture, painting, classical and folk dance, music, theatre, literature, religious philosophies, UNESCO sites
• Modern India: advent of Europeans, expansion of British power, revolts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 1857, socio-religious reform movements
• Indian National Movement: formation of the Congress, Moderates and Extremists, Swadeshi movement, revolutionary nationalism, Gandhian phase, Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India, peasant and tribal movements, constitutional developments, partition and independence

3. Indian and World Geography

• Physical Geography: geomorphology, climatology, oceanography, biogeography
• Indian Geography: physiography, drainage systems, climate and monsoon, soils, natural vegetation, agriculture, mineral and energy resources, industries, transport
• World Geography: continents and major landforms, world climatic regions, ocean currents, major crops and industrial regions
• Human Geography: population distribution, migration, settlement patterns, urbanisation
• Map-based questions: rivers, mountain ranges, straits, national parks, countries and their neighbours

4. Indian Polity and Governance

• Making of the Constitution and its sources
• Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties
• Union executive, Parliament, and the legislative process
• Judiciary, judicial review, and landmark constitutional provisions
• Federalism, Centre-State relations, and inter-state institutions
• Panchayati Raj and urban local government
• Constitutional, statutory and regulatory bodies
• Elections, political parties and representation of the people
• Emergency provisions, amendments and schedules
• Public policy, rights issues, transparency and accountability mechanisms

5. Economic and Social Development

• National income, growth and development indicators
• Money, banking, monetary policy and financial markets
• Public finance, budget, taxation and fiscal policy
• Inflation, unemployment and price stabilisation
• Agriculture, food security, subsidies and minimum support price
• Industry, infrastructure and investment
• External sector, trade, balance of payments and foreign exchange
• Poverty, inclusion and social sector initiatives
• Demographics, human development and welfare schemes
• Sustainable development and inclusive growth

6. Environment, Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Ecosystems, food chains, ecological succession and biogeochemical cycles
• Biodiversity, species conservation, protected areas and conservation status
• Pollution, waste management and environmental degradation
• Climate change science, impacts and mitigation
• International conventions, protocols and climate negotiations
• National environmental legislation, institutions and policies
• Renewable energy and environmental technologies

The Commission specifies that these questions will not require subject specialisation.

7. General Science

• Physics, chemistry and biology at the foundational level
• Human physiology, nutrition, diseases and public health
• Biotechnology, genetics and their applications
• Space technology, defence technology and nuclear science
• Information technology, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
• Everyday applications of scientific principles

In recent years, general science questions have been closely tied to developments in the news rather than to textbook theory alone.

Aspirants who treat the seven Prelims areas as seven separate silos lose time twice over. Environment overlaps with GS III, Polity with GS II, and Economy with both. Prepare each area once, at Mains depth, and the Prelims takes care of itself. — Legacy IAS Faculty

Prelims Paper II — CSAT: Topic-Wise Breakdown

Paper II is qualifying, but it is not optional and it is not easy. Candidates from non-mathematical backgrounds should treat it seriously from the beginning of preparation.

1. Comprehension

Reading passages followed by inference-based questions. Passages are drawn from social science, governance, environment and philosophy.

2. Interpersonal Skills Including Communication Skills

Situational questions on workplace and administrative contexts. These appear infrequently in recent papers.

3. 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 and ranking.

4. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

Administrative and ethical situations with multiple defensible responses. Questions in this segment carry no negative marking.

5. General Mental Ability

Series, coding-decoding, analogies, classification, calendars, clocks, cubes and dice, Venn diagrams.

6. 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, permutation and combination, probability, mensuration.

7. Data Interpretation (Class X level)

Tables, bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, caselets and data sufficiency.

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UPSC Mains Syllabus 2027

Main Examination Pattern

Papers A and B require a minimum of 25 per cent to qualify. If a candidate fails to reach this threshold, the remaining papers are not evaluated. The marks of these two papers do not count towards the final ranking.

Candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim are exempt from Paper A, along with certain candidates with specified disabilities as detailed in the notification.

Papers A and B — Qualifying Language Papers

Both papers follow the same broad structure.

• Comprehension of given passages
• Precis writing
• Usage and vocabulary
• Short essay
• Translation from English to the Indian language and vice versa (Paper A only)

The standard is roughly that of the matriculation or equivalent examination.

Paper I — Essay

Candidates write two essays, one from each of two sections of four topics. Each essay carries 125 marks.

The Commission expects you to keep closely to the subject, arrange ideas in an orderly fashion and write concisely. Credit is given for effective and exact expression. Essay topics in recent years have been philosophical and abstract in nature, drawing on themes rather than current events alone.

Preparation areas include:

• Philosophical and abstract themes
• Governance, administration and democracy
• Economy and development
• Society, culture and social justice
• Science, technology and their social consequences
• Environment and sustainability
• International relations and India's global position
• Education, health and human development

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 from different parts of the country
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganisation within the country

World History

• Events from the eighteenth century — the Industrial Revolution, world wars, redrawal 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 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, 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
• 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
• Structure, organisation and functioning of the executive and the judiciary
• 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, accountability and institutional measures
• Role of civil services in a democracy

Social Justice

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population 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 and 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

• Major crops and cropping patterns in various parts of the country
• Irrigation systems and types
• 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 and 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 Biodiversity

• 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, and 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

This paper tests attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity and probity in public life, and problem-solving in situations that public servants actually face. The paper is divided into a theory section and a case studies section.

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 the above issues form the second half of the paper and typically carry around half the total marks.

Papers VI and VII — Optional Subject

Every candidate selects one optional subject and writes two papers of 250 marks each. The Commission permits 48 choices — 25 subjects and the literature of 23 languages.

Optional Subjects (25)

• 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

Literature Optionals (23)

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

Candidates are not required to have studied the subject at graduation level. The choice should rest on interest, availability of guidance and material, and overlap with the General Studies papers.

Personality Test

Candidates who clear the Main Examination are called for an interview carrying 275 marks. The board assesses the candidate's suitability for a career in public service.

The examination is not merely a test of knowledge. The board looks for mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, capacity for social cohesion and leadership, and intellectual and moral integrity.

Questions typically arise from the Detailed Application Form — your educational background, work experience, home state and district, hobbies and optional subject — along with current affairs and situational judgement.

Marks Distribution Summary

Using the Syllabus Effectively

A syllabus read once and filed away serves no purpose. At Legacy IAS Academy, we ask every aspirant to work with it in the following manner.

1. Print it and annotate it. Mark each sub-topic as unread, read once, revised, or tested. Your progress becomes visible, and visible progress is easier to sustain.
2. Read it alongside previous year papers. Take the last ten years of question papers and map every question back to a syllabus line. You will quickly see which lines carry weight and which have never been touched.
3. Treat overlapping areas as single units. Environment appears in Prelims and in GS III. Polity appears in Prelims and GS II. Prepare these once, thoroughly, rather than twice, superficially.
4. Distinguish static from dynamic. Static portions such as Ancient History or Constitutional provisions reward early completion. Dynamic portions such as current affairs and government schemes require continuous updating through the year.
5. Revisit the syllabus before every revision cycle. Reading the syllabus fresh after six months of study will show you gaps that no test series can reveal as quickly.

For the 2027 cycle, the notification on 13 January leaves roughly four months to the Preliminary Examination on 23 May. That window is meant for revision and test practice, not first reading. The foundation must be laid well before it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the UPSC syllabus changed for 2027?

No change has been notified. The syllabus has remained substantially the same since 2013, and the 2027 notification is expected to carry the same framework. Confirm against the official notification when it is published on 13 January 2027.

Do Prelims marks count in the final ranking?

No. The Preliminary Examination is a screening test only. The final merit list is prepared from the Main Examination and the Personality Test, out of 2,025 marks.

Is CSAT still qualifying in nature?

Yes. Paper II requires 33 per cent, which is 66.67 marks out of 200. Marks above that threshold confer no advantage, but failure to reach it ends the attempt regardless of the Paper I score.

Can I choose an optional subject I did not study in college?

Yes. The Commission places no restriction on the choice of optional subject based on your graduation discipline. The only restriction concerns certain combinations of engineering subjects and, in the case of literature papers, no requirement to have studied the language formally.

When should I start preparing for the 2027 examination?

Preparation begun in the second half of 2026 gives a comfortable runway of roughly a year to the May 2027 Prelims. Candidates starting later should compress the static portions and prioritise high-weightage areas identified through previous year papers.

Is the Mains syllabus the same for IFoS?

No. The Indian Forest Service shares only the Preliminary Examination with the Civil Services Examination. The IFoS Main Examination follows a separate syllabus and is scheduled to begin on 21 November 2027.

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