Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) had changed the PCS Exam Pattern from UPPSC Prelims 2018 onward. UPPSC syllabus is based on the new PCS exam pattern. MYUPSC will provide you with the latest UPPSC syllabus, exam pattern, test series and study material for Prelims and Mains 2021.
Salient Points of UPPSC New Exam Pattern
UPPSC conducts the PCS Exam for recruiting Group A and Group B officers in the administrative services of the state government. UPPSC Prelims 2018 onwards, the PCS exam pattern has been changed.
The salient points of the UPPSC new exam pattern are:
- Introduction of 0.33% negative marking in the Prelims Exam
- The UPPSC mains will have 4 GS papers and only one optional subject (2 papers) along with the Essay and General Hindi paper.
- The interview will be for 100 marks
- UPPSC Previous Year Solved Paper 2019 – GS Paper 1
- UPPSC (Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission) PCS 2021 | Online Mock Test | Study Material | Syllabus
- UPPSC Prelims Test Series 2021 Toppers Recommendation
- UPPSC (Utter Pradesh Public Service Commission) PCS Preparation Strategy 2021
The UPPSC conducts the PCS Exam in three stages:
- Prelims – 2 papers – objective type questions (MCQs)
- Mains – 8 papers – essay/descriptive type
- Interview
The PCS exam pattern for UPPSC Prelims is given in the table below:
Name of Exam | Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services (General Recruitment/Physically Handicapped – Backlog/Special Recruitment) (Preliminary) Examination |
Number of Papers | Two; Paper 1 – General Studies I Paper 2 – General Studies II (CSAT) |
UPPSC Exam Date (Prelims 2021) | October 24, 2021 |
Duration of Exam | 2 hour each; Both papers conducted on the same day; Paper 1 – 9.30 AM – 11.30 AM Paper 2 – 2.30 PM – 4.30 PM |
Maximum Marks | Both Papers will be of 200 marks each. However, only Paper 1 will be considered for merit ranking Paper 2 is a qualifying paper on the lines of IAS Prelims (33% qualifying criteria) |
Number of Questions | Paper-I : 150 questions Paper-II : 100 questions |
Type of Exam | Offline (Pen-paper) OMR sheets |
Nature of Questions | All questions will be of Objective type (MCQs) |
Negative Marking | As per the new UPPSC exam pattern, there will be 0.33% negative marking for every incorrect answer. For e.g., if the maximum marks allotted for a question is 2, then answering it incorrectly would incur a penalty of 0.66 marks Filling multiple circles on the OMR sheet for the same question would be treated as an incorrect answer There is no negative marking for leaving a question blank |
UPPSC PCS Syllabus – Prelims
The Prelims syllabus for Paper 1 and Paper 2 is given below:
Paper 1:
- Current events of National & International importance
- Indian History and National Movement
- Indian and World Geography – Socio-economic, Physical geography
- Indian Governance and Polity – Political System, Constitution, Public Policy, Panchayati Raj, Rights issues, etc.
- Social and Economic Development – Demographics, Sustainable Development, Poverty Inclusion, Social Sector initiatives etc.
- Environmental Ecology, Climate Change, and Biodiversity – general issues that do not require subject specialisation
- General Science
Note: – Candidates are expected to have general awareness about the above subjects with special reference to Uttar Pradesh.
To cover broad topics from the subjects mentioned above, candidates can take help of the following links:
History | Ancient History Notes Modern History Notes Medieval History Notes |
National Movement | Modern History Notes |
Indian & World Geography | Geography Notes |
Indian Polity | Indian Polity Notes |
Social & Economic Development | Indian Economy Notes |
Environment, Ecology & Climate Change | Environment Notes |

Paper 2:
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills (including communication skills)
- Analytical Ability & Logical Reasoning
- Problem Solving & Decision Making
- General Mental Ability
- Elementary Mathematics (class X level – Algebra, Statistics, Geometry and Arithmetic)
- General English (class X level)
- General Hindi (class X level)
The detailed UPPSC syllabus for Maths, English and Hindi sections of PCS Exam Prelims Paper 2 is:


UPPSC Syllabus – Mains Syllabus 2021
In the changed pattern, the UPPSC Mains comprises 8 theory papers.
The PCS exam syllabus for General Hindi paper:

The UPPSC syllabus for Essay PCS exam paper:
The PCS Exam syllabus for General Studies Paper 1:

The UPPSC syllabus for General Studies Paper 1:


The UPPSC syllabus for General Studies Paper 2:


The PCS Exam syllabus for General Studies Paper 3:


The UPPSC syllabus for General Studies Paper 4:

