UPSC IAS Syllabus (Prelims CSAT)

UPSC IAS Syllabus (Prelims CSAT)

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The second paper of UPSC’s IAS preliminaries is known colloquially as CSAT, or Civil Services Aptitude Test. It is a qualifying examination in the IAS syllabus. The CSAT was introduced to replace the scaling system used in the General Studies paper. CSAT was added to the IAS syllabus in 2011.

The advantage of incorporating aptitude tests into the IAS syllabus is that it evaluates your logical reasoning and thinking abilities. It is based on multiple-choice questions answered during an exam. An aptitude test is not influenced or can be influenced by any subject.

Since 2013, the format of the Civil Services Examination has undergone some changes. For the first time, Indian Forest Service (IFS) aspirants have been combined with Civil Services examination aspirants and forced to take the IAS preliminary examination. Those Indian Forest Service aspirants who pass the IAS Preliminary examination must write separate exams for the Indian Forest Service Mains examination. The IAS preliminary examination is the first stage of the Civil Services Examination, and the incorporation of the UPSC CSAT Syllabus into the IAS Syllabus was a deciding factor in the Civil Services Examination.

The pattern of the Civil Services Mains examination has also changed since 2013. There are now four compulsory General Studies papers and only one optional subject instead of two, as well as one compulsory essay paper. Furthermore, the English and one language papers are only qualifying in nature.
The UPSC Preliminary Examination will consist of two compulsory papers worth 200 points each.

The UPSC CSAT syllabus includes…

Paper II- (200 marks) Time allotted

* Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills, including communication abilities; 

• Logical reasoning and analytical ability; 

• Decision-making and problem-solving abilities; 

• General mental ability;

 • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relationships, orders of magnitude, and so on) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level)
• Comprehension of English as a Foreign Language (Class X level).
Please keep in mind that the questions will be multiple choice and objective in nature.