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Civil Services

UPSC Prelims

UPSC Prelims — CSE Prelims 2027 exam (tentative): 23 May 2027 (official — upsc.gov.in). Official site: upsc.gov.in.

UPSC Civil Services Examination — Prelims

UPSC CSE Prelims. Two papers: GS Paper 1 (100 Qs, 200 marks, 2 hours) and CSAT (80 Qs, 200 marks, qualifying).

225 days to exam(official)100 Qs200 marks120 minNegative: −2/3📅 Dates & updates📋 Full syllabus🎯 Expected cutoff🧠 Tricks & mnemonics📖 How to crack it🔁 Mistake Notebook✍️ Essay & letter check

Free UPSC Prelims mock tests and previous year paper practice — start now.

Full-length mocks with instant scoring and solutions, PYQ-pattern papers, topic-wise tests and Ask Shishya when you're stuck. Your scores and a free day-by-day plan are saved to your account. All free, no credit card. Content is AI-drafted and checked against the official notification.

Sign up with GoogleNo forms. A five-question UPSC Prelims test opens for you.Start UPSC Prelims practice now: after you sign up, a five-question starter test opens by itself and UPSC Prelims is set up as your exam. From then on you can write whole timed mocks, each score is kept, and every mock records your weak topics. Free, with your Google account, no forms.Try a free 5-question quiz — no signup →
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~1,000 vacancies(indicative / typical)✓ Verify on Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) ↗

Updated 5 Sept 2026 ·Vacancy counts change every cycle — always confirm the exact number in the latest official notification before applying.

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Sourced

Source: official exam authority notification · refreshed weekly. How this works →

✦ Try a UPSC Prelims question — free, no signup

The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana, launched in September 2023, aims to support which category of workers?

Tap an option to check your answer.

Start with a diagnostic

5 questions across the syllabus to see where you stand.

This becomes your exam: a Daily 5 email on mornings after you visit, and emails about your streak, live tests, exam date and result day, or after a week away. Each has an unsubscribe link.

🧩 Build your own mock — pick exact topics → · every mock readable in हिंदी + 17 languages inside the test

UPSC Prelims eligibility

Verified against the official notification. Source ↗ · last reconciled 2026-05.

Age
21 – 32 years (General)21-32 for General. Upper age relaxed by 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC/ST, 10 years for PwBD (General), 13 years (OBC PwBD), 15 years (SC/ST PwBD).
Education
Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university.
  • Final-year graduating students may apply — Prelims is open to them — but they must produce the degree before Mains.
  • MBBS final-year + internship pending candidates are eligible.
Attempts
General: 6 attempts up to age 32. OBC: 9 attempts up to age 35. SC/ST: unlimited up to age 37. PwBD: 9 attempts (General/OBC) or unlimited (SC/ST) up to upper age.
Nationality
For IAS/IPS only Indian citizen. For other services — also Nepal/Bhutan subjects, Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1 Jan 1962, and PIOs (with eligibility certificate).

UPSC Prelims cutoffs

Historical cutoffs are a guide, not a prediction. Use them to set a realistic target, not to predict next year's exact number.

Prelims GS Paper 1 cutoff (qualifying for Mains)

out of 200 marks

CSAT (Paper 2) is qualifying — minimum 33%. Only Paper 1 score determines the Mains cut.

YearCategoryCutoff
2023General75.41
2023OBC74.75
2023EWS68.02
2023SC59.25
2023ST47.82
2022General88.22
2022OBC87.54
2022EWS82.83
2022SC74.08
2022ST69.35
2021General87.54
2021OBC84.85
2021EWS80.14
2021SC75.41
2021ST70.71

Source: official ↗ · verified 2026-05.

UPSC Prelims paper analysis — what actually got asked

Topic-by-topic weightage averaged across 2021-2024 papers. Use this to decide where to invest study hours, not where to skim. Source ↗ · verified 2026-05.

GS Paper 1

200/200 marks avg

  • Polity & Governance

    ~26 marks(13%)

  • History (Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Art & Culture)

    ~28 marks(14%)

  • Geography (Indian + World, Physical, Human, Economic)

    ~24 marks(12%)

  • Economy (Indian Economy, Inclusive Growth, Budgeting)

    ~22 marks(11%)

  • Environment & Ecology

    ~24 marks(12%)

  • Science & Technology

    ~16 marks(8%)

  • Current Affairs (last 12 months)

    UPSC weaves current affairs into every static topic — the apparent 'low' static weight is misleading.

    ~60 marks(30%)

Takeaways for prep planning

  • Current affairs is no longer a separate topic — it's the lens through which every static topic gets tested. NCERT + current affairs (Yojana, PIB, The Hindu) together cover ~80% of the paper.
  • Polity and Environment are the highest-ROI static topics — questions are direct, answers are unambiguous, and the syllabus is finite.
  • CSAT cannot be ignored even though it's qualifying — repeated failure in CSAT has eliminated several otherwise-qualified candidates in recent cycles.

UPSC Prelims salary after selection

Approximate starting gross at an X-class (metro) posting. Actual pay depends on post, city, year of joining and prevailing DA.

  • IAS / IFS / IPS / IRS (entry — Junior Time Scale)

    Pay Level 10
    Basic pay
    ₹56,100
    Gross monthly
    ₹93,000 – ₹1,05,000 (X-class city, after probation)
    Perks
    • Government accommodation (Type 5/6)
    • Official vehicle + driver
    • Free electricity + water within entitled limit
    • Domestic staff entitlement
    • LTC, Medical (CGHS), Pension under NPS

    Source: official ↗ · verified 2026-05.

UPSC Prelims — Frequently asked questions

Is Shishya free for UPSC Prelims preparation?
Yes. Every UPSC Prelims mock test, PYQ-pattern paper and study tool on Shishya is completely free — no subscription and no credit card. Questions are written with AI to follow each exam's syllabus topics on Shishya, and re-checked whenever a student reports one.
How many UPSC Prelims practice questions does Shishya have?
Shishya has 274 UPSC Prelims practice questions, written with AI. The automated answer check (three independent AI solves and an examiner) has passed 270 of them; for the remaining 4, that check has not run yet. Any question a student reports is re-checked. They are available as adaptive mock tests with a worked solution for every question.
Are UPSC Prelims previous year question papers available?
Yes. The official UPSC Prelims previous year papers the conducting body published are linked on this page, and Shishya has free PYQ-pattern practice papers covering 2021–2025 (5 years) — questions freshly worded in the pattern of each year's paper, not the paper itself; each year's page shows how many questions it holds against the real paper's count. Each is a timed practice set with full solutions.
What is the expected cutoff for UPSC Prelims?
Cutoffs change every cycle with paper difficulty and vacancies. Shishya maintains indicative score-to-rank bands and category-wise (General/EWS/OBC/SC/ST) expected cutoffs — not official figures — at https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/cutoff
Is there a full-length UPSC Prelims mock test in the real exam pattern?
Yes — Shishya has a free full-length UPSC Civil Services Examination — Prelims mock built to the exam's pattern, with sections in the paper's order, scored with solutions. It is the "Full-Length Mock (Real Pattern)" tile on this page.
Can I build a topic-wise UPSC Prelims mock test?
Yes — pick any topics from the UPSC Prelims syllabus, choose 10, 25 or 50 questions and the difficulty, and attempt it as a timed mock with solutions and weak-topic analysis, free, at https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/build-mock — questions can be read in Hindi and 17 other Indian languages inside the test.
How can I prepare for UPSC Prelims for free?
Shishya offers UPSC Prelims preparation 100% free: adaptive mock tests, official previous year papers (linked from the conducting body) and PYQ-pattern practice papers modelled on each year's paper, the full syllabus with study notes (https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/syllabus), subject-wise memory tricks (https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/tricks), a free day-by-day coach plan and an AI tutor in 18 Indian languages.

Previous year papers

100 questions across all years

Official papers

Question papers and answer keys as the conducting body published them. Each link opens the body's own file.

Published by Union Public Service Commission

Previous year paper practice: each year is a set of PYQ-pattern questions — freshly worded in the pattern of that year's paper, not the paper itself. Every card shows how many it holds against the real paper's count.

Practise PYQ-pattern questions topic by topic, across all years →

Mock tests

Take any mock in your preferred language — use the language picker inside the mock to switch (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, and 15 more).

New to UPSC Prelims? Start small:a 25-question subject test first — 4 in 5 aspirants finish these; full mocks after your first win.Pick a subject test ↓

  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 1

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 2

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 3

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 4

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 5

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 6

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 7

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 8

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 9

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full Mock 10

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — 2025 PYQ-pattern set (20 of 100 questions)

    SET

    20 questions · 120 min

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  • UPSC Prelims — Full-Length Mock (Real Pattern: 100Q · 120 min)

    FULL

    100 questions · 120 min

    Start mock →

Practice by subject & topic

Full-length subject tests below — 25 questions each, real exam format, instant scoring.Want to drill a single topic? Open it from the syllabus — a topic that has practice questions has a short quiz on its page.

  • General Studies Paper I

    274 Qs

🎯 Build my own mock

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Questions
Difficulty

Your rank

vs everyone who has taken this exam

Take a mock to see where you stand on the leaderboard.

Students

11

Mocks taken

15

Average score

21%

Top score

47%

What can I get from UPSC Prelims?

Mock-score → expected rank → likely outcome. Use the mocks below to find your current band, then plan how many marks you need to climb.

AI-curated from historic cut-off patterns. Always verify with the latest official notification before making decisions.

News & timeline

See older updates →

Latest news

Important dates

  1. Mains form filling window

    passed

    Fri, 19 Jun, 2026

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    Window open: June 19-28 for qualified candidates to update details and pay fee

  2. Mains admit card released

    passed

    Fri, 14 Aug, 2026

    Reportedvajiramandravi.com

    Released one week before Mains exam

  3. 🏛️Mains exam begins

    passed

    Fri, 21 Aug, 2026

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    Mains scheduled: Aug 21, 22, 23, 29, 30 (9 papers over 5 days)

  4. CSE 2027 notification (tentative)

    95 days away

    Wed, 13 Jan, 2027

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    UPSC Calendar 2027 (as on 20.05.2026). The Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2027 is held through the same CS(P) exam. UPSC says calendar dates are liable to alteration.

  5. CSE 2027 last date to apply (tentative)

    115 days away

    Tue, 2 Feb, 2027

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    UPSC Calendar 2027 (as on 20.05.2026): last date for receipt of applications. Liable to alteration — the notification is final.

  6. Personality Test / Interview (expected)

    128 days away

    Mon, 15 Feb, 2027

    Expected

    Typically conducted February-March following Mains; exact dates announced later

  7. Final result (expected)

    217 days away

    Sat, 15 May, 2027

    Expected

    Final merit list typically declared in April-May following interview completion

  8. 🏛️CSE Prelims 2027 exam (tentative)

    225 days away

    Sun, 23 May, 2027

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    UPSC Calendar 2027 (as on 20.05.2026): Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2027, Sunday 23 May 2027, 1 day. Liable to alteration.

  9. 🏛️CSE Mains 2027 begins (tentative)

    314 days away

    Fri, 20 Aug, 2027

    Officialupsc.gov.in ↗

    UPSC Calendar 2027 (as on 20.05.2026): Civil Services (Main) Examination 2027 commences Friday 20 Aug 2027; duration 5 days. Liable to alteration.

Syllabus

Tap any topic for its study notes + a 10-question topic test

General Studies Paper I