UPSC Exam Pattern 2024: the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the UPSC CSE Exam every year and thousands of UPSC aspirants attempt the examination.
The beginning of UPSC CSE Exam starts with a Preliminary Examination followed by the main examination and Interview (Group discussion). planning to start your preparation for the upcoming UPSC CSE 2024 Exam, then you must understand the UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 first.
UPSC Exam Pattern 2024
The selection of the candidates for the UPSC Civil Service Examination will be done through three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interviews. There are 2 papers in the UPSC CSE Prelims Exam which are of Objective type while there are 9 papers in the UPSC CSE Mains Exam of descriptive type. The elaborated details for UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for both Prelims and Mains have been tabulated below.
| UPSC CSE Exam Pattern 2024 | ||
| Parameters | UPSC Prelims | UPSC Mains |
| Medium of Exam | English & Hindi | English & Hindi (Except for language) |
| Type of Questions | MCQs (Objective) | Descriptive |
| Number of Questions | CSAT: 80 questions
GS: 100 questions |
Usually, 20 questions per paper |
| Total Marks | 400 | 1750 |
| Exam Duration | 2 papers | 9 papers |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours for each paper | 3 hours for each paper |
| Negative Marking | 1/3rd of 2 marks | No negative marking |
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024
- In UPSC Prelims there are 2 papers – GS Paper and CSAT Paper.
- There will be 100 questions in GS paper with 2 marks for each question and there will be a negative marking of 1/3rd or 0.66 marks.
- In the CSAT paper there will be 80 questions contains with 2.5 marks for each question with 1/3rd or 0.83 marks of negative marking.
- The marks scored in UPSC CSE Prelims Exam, marks will not be counted in preparing the merit list.
| UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024 | ||||
| Papers | Subjects | No. of questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| Paper 1 | General Studies (GS) | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
| Paper 2 | CSAT | 80 | 200 | 2 hours |
| Total | 180 | 400 | 4 hours | |
UPSC Mains Exam Centres List 2024
UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024
UPSC CSE Exam is the Mains Examination which consists of 9 papers with different subjects.
Paper 1 (Language Paper) and Paper 2 (English language) with 300 marks each. The minimum qualifying marks in papers 1 and 2 is 25%.
- Attempting all papers is compulsory.
- 3 hours (180 minutes) duration of each paper
- The subject-wise papers consist of 250 marks.
- In case you don’t qualify in Paper 1 and Paper 2 then you will be declared disqualified/failed.
| UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024 | |||
| Papers | Subjects | Marks | Duration |
| Paper A | Any Indian language (compulsory) – [Qualifying paper] | 300 | 3 hours |
| Paper B | English – [Qualifying paper] | 300 | 3 hours |
| Paper I | Essay (you can choose to write it in a medium of your choice) | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper II | General Studies 1 (Indian and World History, Culture, Heritage, &Geography) | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper III | General Studies 2 (Polity, Constitution, Governance, International Relations & Social Justice) | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper IV | General Studies 3 (Economic Development, Technology, Disaster Management & Security, Biodiversity) | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper V | General Studies 4 (Aptitude, Ethics, & Integrity) | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper VI | Optional Subject: Paper 1 | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper VII | Optional Subject: Paper 2 | 250 | 3 hours |
UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 FAQs
Q 1. What are the total marks that can be scored in UPSC prelims?
Ans. Two papers are conducted, each for 200 marks.
Q2. How many papers are there in UPSC Mains Exam?
Ans. In UPSC CSE Mains Exam, there are 9 papers and attempting all papers are compulsory.
Q3. Is there negative marking in the UPSC IAS Exam 2024?
Ans. Yes, there is a negative marking in the UPSC IAS exam pattern 2024
