The "IAS exam" is officially the Civil Services Examination (CSE), conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. One examination fills the IAS, IPS, IFS and several other services, and its syllabus is published every year in the official notice. This guide walks through that syllabus paper by paper, using UPSC's Civil Services Examination 2026 notice (No. 05/2026-CSE, dated 4 February 2026), and gives you a simple way to turn it into a study tracker.
The notice itself advises candidates to read the syllabus carefully because "periodic revision of syllabus has been done in several subjects". For the 2027 cycle, UPSC's annual calendar lists the notification date as 13 January 2027; check that notice when it is released, as the syllabus can change.
The three stages at a glance
| Stage | What it contains | Counts for final rank? |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary | Two objective papers of 200 marks each, two hours each | No – it is a screening test |
| Main (written) | Two qualifying language papers + seven papers counted for merit | Yes – Papers I to VII (1,750 marks) |
| Interview / Personality Test | 275 marks, no minimum qualifying marks | Yes |
Grand total for ranking: 1,750 + 275 = 2,025 marks.
Preliminary examination syllabus
Paper I – General Studies (200 marks, 2 hours)
The notice lists these areas:
- Current events of national and international importance
- History of India and the Indian National Movement
- Indian and World Geography – physical, social and economic geography of India and the world
- Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues
- Economic and Social Development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives
- General issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change that do not require subject specialisation
- General Science
Paper II – CSAT (200 marks, 2 hours, qualifying)
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision making and problem solving
- General mental ability
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude – Class X level) and data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency – Class X level)
Paper II is qualifying with a minimum of 33%. You must appear in both papers; a candidate who misses either is disqualified. Wrong answers in both papers attract a penalty of one-third of the marks for that question.
Main examination syllabus
Qualifying papers (not counted for rank)
| Paper | Marks | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Paper A – one Indian language from the Eighth Schedule | 300 | Comprehension, précis, usage and vocabulary, short essays, translation |
| Paper B – English | 300 | Comprehension, précis, usage and vocabulary, short essays |
These are of Matriculation standard. Your Essay, GS and Optional papers are taken into account only if you score at least 25% in each of these two papers. Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, and for certain candidates with hearing impairment as specified in the notice.
Papers counted for merit
| Paper | Title | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| I | Essay | 250 |
| II | General Studies I – Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society | 250 |
| III | General Studies II – Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations | 250 |
| IV | General Studies III – Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management | 250 |
| V | General Studies IV – Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude | 250 |
| VI | Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 250 |
| VII | Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 250 |
What each GS paper covers (summarised from the notice)
GS I: Indian art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times; modern Indian history from about the mid-18th century; the freedom struggle; post-independence consolidation; world history from the 18th century (industrial revolution, world wars, colonisation and decolonisation, political philosophies); Indian society and its diversity; role of women, population, poverty, urbanisation; effects of globalisation; social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism; world physical geography, distribution of natural resources, location of industries, and geophysical phenomena.
GS II: the Constitution (evolution, features, amendments, basic structure); Union–State functions and federal issues; separation of powers; comparison with other constitutional schemes; Parliament and state legislatures; executive and judiciary; the Representation of the People Act; constitutional, statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies; government policies and welfare schemes; NGOs and SHGs; health, education and human resources; poverty and hunger; governance, transparency, e-governance and citizens' charters; the role of civil services; India's relations with neighbours and international groupings, and important international institutions.
GS III: the Indian economy, planning, growth and employment; inclusive growth; government budgeting; crops, irrigation and agricultural marketing; farm subsidies, MSP, PDS and food security; food processing; land reforms; liberalisation and industrial policy; infrastructure; investment models; science and technology and Indian achievements; IT, space, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and IPR; conservation, pollution and environmental impact assessment; disaster management; and internal security topics including extremism, cyber security, money laundering, border management and security agencies.
GS IV: ethics and human interface; attitude; aptitude and foundational values for civil service; emotional intelligence; contributions of moral thinkers; public service values and ethics in public administration; probity in governance; and case studies on these issues.
Essay: you may be asked to write essays on multiple topics; credit is given for staying on the subject, orderly arrangement and concise, exact expression.
Optional subject
You choose one optional subject from the list in the notice. The 2026 list has 25 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 – plus the literature of any one of 23 listed languages. The notice says the optional syllabus is broadly of honours-degree level (bachelor's level for engineering, medical science and law). Each optional's detailed syllabus is printed in the notice.
How Prelims and Mains overlap
Much of the syllabus is shared, so you can study each topic once with both stages in mind:
| Prelims GS Paper I area | Where it reappears in Mains |
|---|---|
| History of India and National Movement | GS I (modern history, freedom struggle, culture) |
| Indian and World Geography | GS I (physical geography, resources, industry location) |
| Indian Polity and Governance | GS II |
| Economic and Social Development | GS II (welfare, social sector) and GS III (economy) |
| Environment, ecology, climate change | GS III (conservation, pollution, EIA) |
| General Science | GS III (science and technology) |
| Current events | All GS papers and the Essay |
GS IV (Ethics) and the optional subject have little direct overlap with Prelims and need separate time.
Turn the syllabus into a tracker
A syllabus line such as "Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies" is too broad to study in one sitting. Break each line into units you can finish and revise. Here is an illustrative tracker for one GS II line:
| Syllabus line (GS II) | Study units | Source to use | First read | Revision 1 | Answer written? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies | Meaning of statutory vs constitutional bodies | NCERT / standard polity text | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Examples: NHRC, a sector regulator, a tribunal | The relevant Act and the body's official website | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Issues: independence, appointments, accountability | Official reports and recent developments | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Repeat this for every line of every paper. The tracker shows at a glance what you have not started, what needs revision, and where you have practised writing answers – which matters for a written Mains.
Practical tips for using the syllabus
- Print the official syllabus, not a coaching summary, and keep it on your desk. Re-read it before every new topic.
- Use previous papers from UPSC's previous question papers page to see how each line has actually been tested.
- Choose the optional early and read its full syllabus before deciding.
- Recheck each year. Compare the new notice with your printed copy and update your tracker for any changes.
The syllabus is the most reliable guide to what UPSC can ask. Treat it as a checklist, connect Prelims and Mains topics, and track your progress line by line.