UPSC Services (Civil)

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

The Main Examination assesses the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates, rather than the range of their information and memory.

The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Papers II to V) is such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without specialised study. The questions test general awareness across a variety of subjects relevant to a career in the Civil Services, along with the ability to analyse and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands. Answers must be relevant, meaningful and succinct.

The optional subject papers (Papers VI and VII) are broadly of honours degree level — higher than a bachelor's degree and lower than a master's. For engineering, medical science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelor's degree.

The aim is to test the candidate's ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express ideas clearly and correctly in English and in the Indian language concerned. Questions follow this pattern:

Candidates write an essay on a specific topic, with a choice of subjects. They are expected to keep closely to the subject, arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and write concisely. Credit is given for effective and exact expression.

Indian heritage and culture; history and geography of the world and society

• Indian culture — salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient to modern times.
• Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century to the present: significant events, personalities and issues.
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganisation within the country.
• World history from the eighteenth century: the Industrial Revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonisation and decolonisation, and political philosophies such as communism, capitalism and socialism — their forms and their effect on society.
• Salient features of Indian society and the diversity of India.
• Role of women and women's organisations, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanisation, its problems and remedies.
• Effects of globalisation on Indian society.
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism.
• Salient features of world physical geography.
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world, including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent; factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world, including India.
• Important geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity and cyclones; geographical features and their location; changes in critical geographical features including water bodies and ice caps, and in flora and fauna, and the effects of such changes.

Governance, Constitution, polity, social justice and international relations

• Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States; issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure; devolution of powers and finances to local levels and the challenges therein.
• Separation of powers between various organs; dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
• Parliament and State Legislatures — structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers and privileges, and the issues arising out of these.
• Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; ministries and departments of the government; pressure groups and formal and informal associations and their role in the polity.
• Salient features of the Representation of the People's Act.
• Appointment to various constitutional posts, and the powers, functions and responsibilities of various constitutional bodies.
• Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies.
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors, and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Development processes and the development industry — the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and the States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these sections.
• Issues relating to the development and management of the social sector and services relating to health, education and human resources.
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability; e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations and potential; citizens charters and institutional and other measures.
• Role of Civil Services in a democracy.
• India and its neighbourhood relations.
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India or affecting India's interests.
• Effect of the policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests; the Indian diaspora.
• Important international institutions, agencies and fora — their structure and mandate.

Technology, economic development, bio-diversity, environment, security and disaster management

• Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
• Inclusive growth and the issues arising from it.
• Government budgeting.
• Major crops and cropping patterns in various parts of the country; different types of irrigation and irrigation systems; storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; the Public Distribution System — objectives, functioning, limitations and revamping; buffer stocks and food security; technology missions; economics of animal rearing.
• Food processing and related industries in India — scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
• Land reforms in India.
• Effects of liberalisation on the economy; changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
• Infrastructure — energy, ports, roads, airports, railways.
• Investment models.
• Science and technology — developments, their applications and their effects in everyday life.
• Achievements of Indians in science and technology; indigenisation of technology and the development of new technology.
• Awareness in the fields of IT, space, computers, robotics, nano-technology and bio-technology, and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
• Disaster and disaster management.
• Linkages between development and the spread of extremism.
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks; the role of media and social networking sites; basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention.
• Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organised crime with terrorism.
• Various security forces and agencies and their mandate.

Ethics, integrity and aptitude

This paper tests the candidate's attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity and probity in public life, and their problem-solving approach to conflicts faced in dealing with society. Questions may use the case study approach. The following broad areas are covered.

• Ethics and human interface: essence, determinants and consequences of ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. Human values — lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; the role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
• Attitude: content, structure and function; its influence on and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
• Aptitude and foundational values for civil service: integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
• Emotional intelligence: concepts, and their utility and application in administration and governance.
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.
• Public and civil service values and ethics in public administration: status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
• Probity in governance: concept of public service; philosophical basis of governance and probity; information sharing and transparency in government; Right to Information; codes of ethics and codes of conduct; citizens charters; work culture; quality of service delivery; utilisation of public funds; challenges of corruption.
• Case studies on the above issues.

Candidates may choose any one optional subject from the list below.

Literature of any one of the following languages may also be taken:

Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.