# UPSC Civil Services Examination — Prelims (UPSC Prelims) — Shishya exam context

> Machine-readable context for UPSC Civil Services Examination — Prelims, maintained by Shishya (https://shishya.in) — India's end-to-end free government exam preparation platform. All facts below are free to cite; link back to https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS. Human page: https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS

## Exam pattern
- Category: CIVIL_SERVICES · national
- Questions: 100 · Total marks: 200 · Marks per question: 2
- Duration: 120 minutes
- Negative marking: −0.67 per wrong answer
- Languages offered: EN, HI

## Eligibility & vacancies
- Age: 21–32 years (before category relaxation: OBC +3, SC/ST +5)
- Education: Bachelor's degree from a recognized university in any discipline
- Approximate annual vacancies: 1,016
- Note: Final year graduation students can apply; 6 attempts for General, 9 for OBC, unlimited for SC/ST within age limit
- Official portal: https://upsc.gov.in (Union Public Service Commission (UPSC))

## Key dates
- 2026-07-25 — Prelims result declaration (expected)
- 2026-08-14 — Mains Admit Card released
- 2026-08-21 — Mains Examination (exam day)
- 2026-08-21 — Civil Services Mains Examination begins (Day 1) (exam day)
- 2026-08-21 — UPSC Mains 2026 — Essay & GS Paper I (exam day)
- 2026-08-21 — Mains Examination begins (exam day)
- 2026-08-21 — Mains Examination begins (exam day)
- 2026-08-22 — Mains Examination continues (Day 2) (exam day)

## Syllabus outline
### General Studies Paper I (weight 1)
Awards, Honours and Sports · Economic News · International Affairs · National Affairs · Reports and Indices · Science and Technology News · Current Events of National and International Importance · Agriculture · Basics of Economy and National Income · Demographics and Human Development · External Sector · Public Finance and Fiscal Policy · Industry and Services · Infrastructure · Money, Banking and Monetary Policy · Indian Economy and Planning · Poverty, Unemployment and Inclusion · Social Sector Initiatives · Sustainable Development · Economic and Social Development · Environmental Laws and Organisations · Biodiversity and Conservation · Climate Change · Ecology and Ecosystems · International Conventions · Pollution and Waste Management · Renewable Energy and Sustainability · Flora, Fauna and IUCN Status · Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change · Natural Disasters and Phenomena · Economic Geography of India · Economic Geography of the World · Human and Social Geography of India · Important Locations · Physical Geography of India · Physical Geography of the World · Indian and World Geography — Physical, Social, Economic · History of India and Indian National Movement · Ancient India · Indian Art and Culture · Gandhian Era · Indian National Movement (Moderate Phase) · Revolutionary Movements · Medieval India · British Administration and Economic Impact · Advent of Europeans and British Conquest · Partition and Independence · Revolt of 1857 · Socio-Religious Reform Movements · Indian Polity and Governance — Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues · Constitutional Amendments · Making of the Constitution · Constitutional Bodies · Elections and Political Parties · Federalism and Centre-State Relations · Fundamental Rights, DPSP and Duties · Governance and Public Policy · Judiciary · Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies · Parliament · Rights Issues · State Government · Statutory and Regulatory Bodies · Union Executive · Biology — Human Body and Health · Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering · Plants, Animals and Microbiology · Chemistry — General Awareness · Defence Technology · Health and Medicine · IT and Emerging Technologies · Nuclear Technology · Physics — General Awareness · Space Technology · General Science

## Expected cutoffs (category-wise)
| Category | Expected Cutoff (indicative) |
|----------|------------------------------|
| General | 95–105 marks (47.5–52.5%) |
| EWS | 90–100 marks (45–50%) |
| OBC | 88–98 marks (44–49%) |
| SC | 80–90 marks (40–45%) |
| ST | 75–85 marks (37.5–42.5%) |
| PwD | 70–80 marks (35–40%) |

**Guidance:**

- The General-to-OBC gap typically ranges 6–8 marks, while General-to-SC/ST gaps widen to 15–20 marks depending on paper difficulty and vacancy distribution.
- Year-to-year cutoff shifts are driven by question paper difficulty (especially CSAT qualifying threshold impact), number of vacancies announced, and normalization effects when multiple exam sessions occur.
- These are raw score estimates; actual cutoffs fluctuate ±3–5 marks based on annual variables, and UPSC applies its own difficulty-adjustment methodology before declaring final qualifying marks.

Full cutoff page: https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/cutoff

## Free resources on Shishya for this exam
- Exam hub (mocks, PYQs, news, dates): https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS
- Full syllabus + free study notes: https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/syllabus
- Category-wise expected cutoffs: https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/cutoff
- Memory tricks & mnemonics: https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/tricks
- How to crack it (strategy guide): https://shishya.in/exams/UPSC_PRELIMS/guide
- Free day-by-day study plan (personal coach): https://shishya.in/coach
- Free AI tutor (22 Indian languages, no login): https://shishya.in/chat

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