Skip to content
Find your exam

PSC Exam Syllabus for UPSC and State Civil Services

Civil servicesGraduate levelUPSC and statesUpdated 26 Oct 2026

Every PSC exam syllabus, whether set by the Union Public Service Commission or a state commission, follows a three step model: an objective prelims to screen candidates, a descriptive mains that decides most of your rank, and an interview. The subjects are also close cousins: history, polity, geography, economy, science, environment, current affairs and ethics, with states adding their own history, culture and economy.

This page compares UPSC with the biggest state PCS exams, explains which papers are only qualifying, and gives a sequence of study that lets one preparation serve both the national and your home state exam.

Prelims, mains and interview

Exam at a glance

  • Conducted by

    UPSC for the Civil Services Exam; each state's public service commission for its PCS

  • Qualification

    A bachelor's degree in any discipline

  • Stages

    Prelims, mains, interview

  • Prelims

    Objective, with negative marking; usually a GS paper plus a qualifying aptitude paper

  • Mains

    Descriptive papers on general studies, essay and language

  • Official website

    upsc.gov.in for UPSC exams

State PSC exam syllabus and UPSC compared

Structure of UPSC CSE and major state PCS exams in recent notices
ExamPrelimsMainsInterview
UPSC CSEGS Paper I (merit for mains) and CSAT (qualifying)Seven merit papers (essay, four GS, two optional) and two language papers that only need a passPersonality test
UPPSC PCSGS I, 150 questions; CSAT, 100 questions, qualifying at 33 percentEight papers for 1,500 marks: General Hindi, Essay and GS I to VI100 marks
BPSC CCEOne GS paper, 150 questions, qualifyingGeneral Hindi (qualifying), GS I, GS II and Essay of 300 marks each, optional paper (qualifying)Yes, added to mains merit
RAS (Rajasthan)One paper, 150 questions, 200 marks, 3 hoursFour papers of 200 marks: GS I to III and General Hindi and English100 marks
MPPSCGS (merit for mains) and General Aptitude Test (qualifying)Six papers, 1,400 marks175 marks

In every one of these, prelims marks only decide who moves to the mains. The final list is drawn from mains and interview marks together.

UPSC syllabus in brief

UPSC prelims is a single day with two objective papers, each worth 200 marks. The first, General Studies, ranges over Indian history and culture, polity, Indian and world geography, the economy, ecology and science, along with events in the news. The second, CSAT, gives you passages to read, logical and analytical problems, and maths at about the class 10 standard. A score of 33 percent is enough, yet it is the paper that quietly ends many attempts.

Mains has nine descriptive papers. Two are qualifying: one Indian language and English, 300 marks each. The seven that count are the Essay (250 marks), four General Studies papers of 250 marks each covering heritage and society, governance and international relations, economy, security and environment, and ethics, and two papers of one optional subject, 250 marks each. That makes 1,750 written marks, and the personality test adds 275 more.

For the general and EWS categories the age limit is 21 to 32 with six attempts. OBC candidates may sit up to 35 with nine attempts, and SC and ST candidates up to 37 with no cap on attempts. Open the UPSC eligibility page ahead of applying, as recent rules also limit repeat attempts by candidates already in service.

PCS syllabus: what states add to the common core

State papers borrow most of their GS list from UPSC but pull in local knowledge everywhere. Expect questions on the state's history and freedom struggle, its rivers, soils, minerals and forests, its districts and tribes, its art, fairs and festivals, its budget and economic survey, and its own welfare schemes.

  • Uttar Pradesh: two full GS papers (V and VI) are about the state alone.
  • Bihar: the essay paper carries 300 marks, as much as each GS paper, so writing practice pays off directly.
  • Rajasthan: prelims is a single paper, but leaving more than 10 percent of questions without marking any option can disqualify you.
  • Madhya Pradesh: the mains has a Hindi essay and a General Hindi paper alongside the GS papers.
  • Punjab and other states: every commission, Punjab included, puts its own history, geography and economy into the pcs syllabus. Take the paper list from the latest notice of that commission.

Several states also use a fifth option or a blank penalty in prelims. In the BPSC and RAS papers, leaving a question with no option marked still loses one third of a mark, so you mark option E to skip.

A study sequence that serves UPSC and your state

  1. NCERT base. Read the NCERT books for classes 6 to 12 in polity, economics, science, geography and history. Every commission draws its easier questions from this layer.
  2. Standard texts and the newspaper. Add one standard text per GS subject and a daily newspaper, making short notes linked to the syllabus line they serve.
  3. Answer writing early. Begin writing mains style answers within the first three months. UPSC GS answers and the Bihar essay paper both reward structure more than length.
  4. State layer. Once your national base is steady, add your state's history, geography, economy and schemes, a layer that takes roughly two months if you work at it daily.
  5. Aptitude check. Take a timed CSAT or GAT paper every fortnight even if maths is your strength.
Sana is from Lucknow and gives two years to civil services. She builds her base around UPSC, then in the four months before the UPPSC mains switches her evening sessions to the two UP specific GS papers and to General Hindi, which UPSC does not test.

PSC and PCS syllabus in Hindi

A quick summary in Hindi for readers who search for the PCS or PSC syllabus in Hindi.

लोक सेवा आयोग के चयन के तीन पड़ाव हैं: प्रारंभिक, मुख्य और साक्षात्कार। प्रारंभिक परीक्षा वस्तुनिष्ठ होती है और इसके अंक केवल मुख्य परीक्षा तक पहुँचने के लिए गिने जाते हैं। मुख्य चरण में लिखित उत्तर देने होते हैं: एक निबंध, सामान्य अध्ययन के अलग अलग पेपर और भाषा का पेपर। विषय हैं इतिहास, राजव्यवस्था, भूगोल, अर्थव्यवस्था, विज्ञान, पर्यावरण, समसामयिक घटनाएँ और नीतिशास्त्र। राज्य आयोग अपने राज्य के इतिहास, भूगोल, संस्कृति और योजनाओं पर भी प्रश्न पूछते हैं। अपने आयोग की नई अधिसूचना से पेपरों की सूची मिलाकर ही तैयारी शुरू करें।

State commissions revise their schemes often, sometimes between two cycles. Before you plan, open the notice of your own commission and check the number of papers, the marks and which papers are only qualifying.

Frequently asked questions

Do all state commissions follow one PSC syllabus?

The general studies core is similar, but every state adds its own history, geography, economy and culture, and the number of mains papers differs. UPPSC has eight mains papers, RAS has four and MPPSC has six.

Can I prepare for UPSC and a state PCS together?

Yes, and most aspirants do. The GS base is shared, so add your state's topics and any language paper such as General Hindi a few months before the state mains.

Is the CSAT counted in the final marks?

No. UPSC checks your CSAT first; only if you reach 33 percent is your General Studies score used to decide who clears prelims, and the CSAT score itself never enters the total. UPPSC and MPPSC use their aptitude papers the same way.

How many attempts does UPSC allow?

Six for general and EWS candidates and nine for OBC candidates, within their age limits. SC and ST candidates have no cap on attempts up to their upper age limit.

Can I write the PCS mains in Hindi?

Most state commissions allow Hindi or the state language, and UPSC allows answers in any language listed in the Eighth Schedule or in English. Check the medium rules in your commission's notice.

Do I need an optional subject for state exams?

It depends on the state. UPSC still has two optional papers, while several states have dropped or reduced the optional. BPSC now treats its optional paper as qualifying only.

All civil services on this site 61