UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) Syllabus 2026

The complete UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) syllabus for 2026 — 5 sections and 61 topics in all, organised exactly as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) prescribes. Use it as your revision checklist, then test yourself with a free UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) mock below.

Paper I — General Studies & Engineering Aptitude (Stage 1, all disciplines)11 topics

Current issues of national and international importance relating to social, economic and industrial development
Engineering Aptitude covering Logical reasoning and Analytical ability
Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis (basics — calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, numerical methods)
General Principles of Design, Drawing, Importance of Safety
Standards and Quality practices in production, construction, maintenance and services (ISO, BIS codes, six-sigma basics)
Basics of Energy and Environment — conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Climate Change, Environmental Impact Assessment
Basics of Project Management (PERT, CPM, project planning fundamentals)
Basics of Material Science and Engineering (classification, mechanical properties, failure mechanisms basics)
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based tools and their applications in Engineering — networking, e-governance basics
Ethics and values in engineering profession — IEI code of ethics, case studies, public safety responsibility
Dimensional analysis and units (SI conversions, derived units, physical interpretations)

Civil Engineering (Stage 1 Paper II + Stage 2 Papers I & II)13 topics

Building Materials — cement, aggregates, mortar, concrete, bricks, timber, paints, ceramics, modern materials (FRP, geosynthetics)
Solid Mechanics — stress, strain, Mohr's circle, theories of failure, principal stresses, torsion of shafts, thin/thick cylinders
Structural Analysis — determinate & indeterminate structures, influence lines, energy methods (Castigliano, virtual work), matrix methods, moment distribution, slope deflection
Design of Steel Structures — IS 800:2007 limit-state design, tension/compression members, beams, plate girders, connections (bolted/welded)
Design of Concrete & Masonry Structures — IS 456:2000 limit-state, working stress, prestressed concrete (IS 1343), retaining walls, water tanks, slabs/beams/columns
Construction Practice, Planning and Management — PERT/CPM, network analysis, crashing, resource levelling, construction equipment, project finance
Fluid Mechanics, Open Channel Flow & Hydraulic Machines — fluid properties, kinematics, dynamics, boundary layer, pipe flow losses, gradually varied flow, pumps and turbines
Hydrology & Water Resources Engineering — hydrologic cycle, precipitation, runoff, hydrographs, floods, groundwater, reservoir routing, irrigation systems, dams
Environmental Engineering — water demand, water treatment (coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection), sewage treatment (primary/secondary/tertiary), air & noise pollution, solid waste management
Geotechnical Engineering — soil classification, permeability, seepage, effective stress, consolidation (Terzaghi 1-D theory), shear strength, Terzaghi's bearing capacity, slope stability, retaining walls, pile foundations
Transportation Engineering — highway alignment, geometric design (IRC standards), pavement design (flexible & rigid — IRC:37, IRC:58), traffic engineering, railway engineering, airport & harbour basics
Surveying & Geology — chain/compass/plane table, theodolite, levelling, contouring, tacheometry, curves, total station, photogrammetry, GIS/GPS basics, engineering geology
Construction Technology, Equipment, Planning & Management (separately tested in Mains conventional)

Mechanical Engineering (Stage 1 Paper II + Stage 2 Papers I & II)12 topics

Fluid Mechanics — fluid properties, kinematics, Navier-Stokes (conceptual), Bernoulli, boundary layer, dimensional analysis (Buckingham π), turbulent flow
Thermodynamics, Cycles & IC Engines — First & Second Laws, entropy, availability, Otto/Diesel/Dual/Brayton/Rankine cycles, IC engines (SI & CI) performance, combustion, emissions
Heat Transfer — conduction (steady & unsteady), convection (natural & forced, correlations), radiation (Stefan-Boltzmann, view factors), heat exchangers (LMTD, NTU), boiling & condensation
Engineering Mechanics, Strength of Materials & Theory of Machines — statics, dynamics, kinematics of mechanisms, gears & gear trains, flywheels, governors, vibrations (free & forced), balancing of rotating & reciprocating masses
Machine Design — static & fatigue loading, design of joints (bolted, riveted, welded), shafts, couplings, bearings (rolling & sliding), springs, gears, belts, brakes, clutches
Manufacturing, Industrial & Maintenance Engineering — casting, forming (rolling, forging, extrusion, drawing), welding, machining (turning, milling, drilling, grinding), unconventional machining (EDM, ECM, LBM), metrology & inspection, CIM/CAD-CAM basics
Industrial Engineering & Operations Research — work study, time study, ergonomics, plant layout, LPP, transportation/assignment, queuing, inventory (EOQ, ABC), forecasting, PERT/CPM, quality control (SQC, six sigma)
Mechatronics & Robotics — sensors, transducers, actuators, microprocessor/PLC basics, robot kinematics, control systems basics
Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning — vapour compression & absorption cycles, refrigerants, psychrometry, cooling load, ducting, HVAC system design
Turbo Machinery — steam turbines (impulse & reaction), gas turbines, hydraulic turbines (Pelton, Francis, Kaplan), centrifugal & axial pumps, fans & compressors
Power Plant Engineering — steam, gas, hydro, nuclear & combined-cycle plants, plant economics, load factors, capacity factors
Renewable Sources of Energy — solar (PV & thermal), wind, biomass, geothermal, ocean thermal, hydrogen energy basics

Electrical Engineering (Stage 1 Paper II + Stage 2 Papers I & II)13 topics

Engineering Mathematics — matrices, eigenvalues, calculus, complex variables, probability & statistics, Laplace & Fourier transforms, ODEs
Electrical Materials — conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, magnetic materials, superconductors, smart materials
Electric Circuits & Fields — KCL/KVL, network theorems (Thevenin, Norton, superposition, max power), transient & steady-state analysis, two-port networks, Gauss's & Ampere's laws, capacitance & inductance
Electrical & Electronic Measurements — bridges (Wheatstone, Maxwell, Schering), measurement of R/L/C/power/energy, instrument transformers, digital meters, DSO basics, error analysis
Computer Fundamentals — number systems, Boolean algebra, microprocessors (8085/8086 basics), C programming basics, data structures basics
Basic Electronics Engineering — semiconductor devices (diodes, BJT, MOSFET), amplifiers, oscillators, op-amps, digital logic (gates, flip-flops, counters)
Analog & Digital Electronics — feedback amplifiers, multivibrators, A/D & D/A converters, combinational & sequential circuits
Systems & Signal Processing — LTI systems, convolution, Fourier series/transform, z-transform, sampling theorem, IIR/FIR filters basics
Control Systems — transfer functions, block diagram & signal flow graphs, time-response, Routh-Hurwitz, root locus, Bode & Nyquist, lead-lag compensation, state-space basics
Electrical Machines — DC machines (motor & generator), transformers (1-φ & 3-φ), induction machines (single & three-phase), synchronous machines, special machines (stepper, servo, BLDC) basics
Power Systems — generation, transmission line parameters, performance, load flow, symmetrical components & faults, stability (steady-state, transient), economic operation, HVDC & FACTS basics
Power Electronics & Drives — power semiconductor devices (SCR, IGBT, MOSFET), rectifiers, inverters, choppers, AC voltage controllers, DC & AC drives basics
Switchgear, Protection & Utilization — circuit breakers, relays (electromechanical, static, numerical), differential & distance protection, illumination, electric heating, traction

Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering (Stage 1 Paper II + Stage 2 Papers I & II)12 topics

Basic Electronics Engineering — semiconductor physics, p-n junction, BJT, FET, MOSFET, power devices, electronic measurements
Basic Electrical Engineering — DC & AC circuits, network theorems, single-phase & three-phase systems, transformers, machines basics
Materials Science — conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, magnetic & optical materials, nano-materials basics
Electronic Measurements & Instrumentation — bridges, CRO, DSO, spectrum analyser, transducers, data acquisition systems
Network Theory — KCL/KVL, mesh & nodal analysis, network theorems, transient analysis, two-port parameters, filters
Analog & Digital Circuits — diode/BJT/FET amplifiers, op-amps, oscillators, feedback, logic families, combinational & sequential circuits, ADC/DAC, memories
Analog & Digital Communication Systems — AM, FM, PM, sampling, PCM, DPCM, DM, ASK, FSK, PSK, QPSK, QAM, BER, information theory & coding, channel capacity
Control Systems — modelling, time & frequency response, stability (Routh, Nyquist, Bode), compensators, state-space basics
Computer Organisation & Architecture — number systems, microprocessor (8085/8086), microcontroller (8051), instruction sets, addressing modes, memory & I/O interfacing
Electromagnetics — Maxwell's equations, plane wave propagation, transmission lines (Smith chart, impedance matching), waveguides, antennas (dipole, array, microstrip), radiation pattern
Advanced Electronics Topics — VLSI design basics, microelectronics, embedded systems, IoT basics
Advanced Communication Topics — optical fibre communication (loss, dispersion, sources, detectors), satellite communication (orbits, link budget), mobile communication (cellular concepts, GSM, CDMA, LTE/5G basics), radar systems, microwave communication

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