UPSC Civil Services Exam 2012: Preliminary Exam Syllabus

The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks in the subjects set out in subsection (A) of Section-II. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only. Following is the syllabus of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012. This will help you prepare for the Prelims accordingly.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012 shall comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each:

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration : Two hours

• Current events of national and international importance.
• History of India and Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialisation
• General Science

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problemsolving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level)

Note 1 : Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
Note 2 : The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
Note 3: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/ she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination

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