UPSC CSE (Civil Services Exam — Prelims) Exam Pattern 2026
The full UPSC CSE (Civil Services Exam — Prelims) exam pattern for 2026 — 3 stages, with the sections, question count, marks, duration and negative marking for each, as set by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Then take a free UPSC CSE (Civil Services Exam — Prelims) mock in the real pattern below.
Prelims Paper I — General Studies (GS)
- Mode
- Offline, OMR-based objective test
- Sections
- Single integrated paper covering Indian History & Culture, Indian & World Geography, Indian Polity & Governance, Economics & Social Development, Environment & Ecology, General Science, Current Events of National & International Importance
- Questions
- 100 multiple-choice questions
- Marks
- 200 marks (2 marks per question)
- Duration
- 2 hours (120 minutes); extra 20 minutes per hour for benchmark-disability candidates
- Negative marking
- 1/3 mark deducted per wrong answer (0.66 marks per wrong question)
Merit-deciding paper for Prelims. Only the GS Paper I score is used to determine which candidates qualify for Mains, subject to the candidate also clearing the CSAT qualifying threshold. Recent General-category cutoffs: 2021 = 87.54, 2022 = 88.22, 2023 = 75.41 (lowest in a decade), 2024 = 87.98. The paper increasingly tests CONCEPTUAL clarity rather than rote factual recall — multi-statement questions where 2-3 of 4 statements must be evaluated together are now the dominant question type.
Prelims Paper II — CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)
- Mode
- Offline, OMR-based objective test
- Sections
- Comprehension · Interpersonal Skills including Communication · Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability · Decision Making & Problem Solving · General Mental Ability · Basic Numeracy (Class X level) · Data Interpretation (Class X level)
- Questions
- 80 multiple-choice questions
- Marks
- 200 marks (2.5 marks per question)
- Duration
- 2 hours (120 minutes); extra 20 minutes per hour for benchmark-disability candidates
- Negative marking
- 1/3 mark deducted per wrong answer (0.83 marks per wrong question)
Qualifying paper — candidate must score MINIMUM 33% (66/200) to be considered for the Mains cutoff. CSAT marks are NOT added to the merit total. Since CSE 2023, CSAT has become significantly harder — many General-category aspirants who were comfortably clearing GS Paper I have failed at the CSAT 66/200 floor. Decision-Making sub-questions carry NO negative marking; all other CSAT questions do.
Mains Examination (reference only — not on Kamiyab)
- Mode
- Offline, descriptive written examination
- Sections
- 9 papers: Paper A (Indian Language, qualifying) · Paper B (English, qualifying) · Essay · GS-1 (Indian Heritage, History, Geography, Society) · GS-2 (Polity, Governance, IR) · GS-3 (Economy, Environment, S&T, Security) · GS-4 (Ethics, Integrity, Aptitude) · Optional Paper I · Optional Paper II
- Questions
- Descriptive answer-writing — typically 20 questions per 250-mark GS paper
- Marks
- 1750 marks counted towards merit (qualifying papers excluded)
- Duration
- 3 hours per paper, conducted over 5-6 days
- Negative marking
- Not applicable (descriptive)
Only candidates clearing Prelims appear for Mains. The Personality Test (Interview) of 275 marks follows. Final merit = Mains (1750) + Interview (275) = 2025. Kamiyab Prelims practice covers GS Paper I content depth which directly transfers to GS-1, GS-2 and GS-3 Mains papers — but Mains-specific answer writing must be practiced separately.
You know the pattern — now practise in it.
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