Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the Civil Service Examination (CSE) Prelims 2021 on 29th June 2021. The UPSC Calendar 2021 contains the exam dates of all recruitment examinations including CSE 2021. The UPSC Prelims 2020 was successfully conducted on 4th October 2020; results of which were announced on 23rd October.
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Union Public Service Commission released the exam calendar for the year 2021. The UPSC Calendar 2021 is released ahead of the UPSC Prelims 2020 which is scheduled for 4th October 2020. Candidates preparing for the next year can get the latest UPSC exam programme 2021 that has listed 17 examinations with their dates of notification, last date to apply, and exam dates. Also, UPSC Notification 2021 will be released on 10th February 2021.
(Batch -3) Prelims Online Test Series for UPSC CSE (IAS) 2021
The UPSC CSE Calendar 2021
| Exam Name | Exam Date |
| Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2021 | 27th June 2021 |
| Civil Services (Main) Examination 2021 | 17th September 2021 onward |
UPSC Prelims 2021 – Exam Pattern
The UPSC Prelims comprises of two objective type papers (General Studies I and General Studies II or CSAT) for a total of 400 marks. Both papers are usually held on the same day in two sessions via offline mode (pen-paper).
The Prelims Admit Card would be released on the official website of UPSC 2-3 weeks before the date of the exam.
| UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern | General Studies I | General Studies II or CSAT |
| Number of questions | 100 | 80 |
| Negative Marking | Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)-0.66 marks for every incorrect answer | Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)-0.83 marks for every incorrect answer |
| Duration of exam | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| UPSC Prelims 2021 Date of exam | 29th June 2021 | 29th June 2021 |
| Language of exam | English/Hindi | English/Hindi |
| Maximum marks | 200 | 200 |
| Cut Off marks | Counted for Merit. Cutoff varies every year. | 33% qualifying criteria (66 marks) |
UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination – Syllabus
Eligibility Criteria for UPSC Civil Services Exam
How to Apply for UPSC Civil Services Exam?
How to Make Time Table for UPSC Prelims 2021?
How To Prepare For UPSC Prelims 2021?
UPSC Prelims – Trend Analysis
UPSC has established itself to be predictably unpredictable. So, candidates should only see the trends as a reference and not draw too much inference. In the table given below, we have broken down the UPSC Prelims 2019 and UPSC Prelims 2020 GS 1 papers:
UPSC Prelims 2020 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis
| Subject | Number of questions |
| History | 18 |
| Economy | 14 |
| Polity | 16 |
| Environment & Ecology | 17 |
| Geography | 10 |
| Science & Technology | 10 |
| Current Affairs | 15 |
| Total | 100 |
Focus Areas for different subjects in UPSC Prelims
- Indian Independence movement:
- Main congress sessions with the year, president and important resolutions
- Significant viceroys and their period with important decisions
- The Government of India Acts 1909, 1919, 1935 and charter acts
- Ancient history:
- Hindu philosophy, Buddhism and Jainism
- Mauryan and Gupta Period
- Art, architecture and scientific development during that period
- Medieval history:
- Important kings such as Sher Shah, Akbar, etc. and
- Delhi Sultanate
- Polity:
- Here, importance should be given on current events, such as any changes in the constitution, new acts or amendments, and schemes
- Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)
- Committee system, parliament, and parliamentary proceedings
- Judiciary
- Constitutional bodies
- S&T:
- For basic science concepts, refer to NCERT books selectively as in-depth knowledge is not needed
- Focus on current affairs part
- Environment and Ecology
- Important declarations, conventions
- IUCN’s Red List
- Biosphere Reserves, Tiger Reserves etc.
- International bodies
- Geography:
- Solar system
- Latitudes and longitudes
- Layers of the atmosphere
- Global atmospheric wind, cyclones
- Pressure belts
- Revolution, rotation and seasons
- Monsoons
- Types of rainfall
- Koeppen classification
- Jet streams, ocean currents
- El Nino, La Nina
- India’s physical geography (NCERT)
- Rivers, hills, soil (India)
- Mineral resources (India), Geological history of India
- Basics of agriculture (NCERT)
- Maps
- Economy:
- Importance should be given on current events like new bills and important committees
- focus on basic and fundamental concepts like:
- Growth and development, poverty, unemployment, inflation
- State of the national and global economy
- Major committees and bills
- Latest budget and economic survey
UPSC Prelims – Study Material for IAS preparation
History
Polity
Geography
Economy
Art & Culture
Science & Technology
Environment
Current Affairs
UPSC IAS Prelims 2020 GS Paper 1 Question Paper with Answer Key and Exam Paper Analysis