Civil Service Main Examination Syllabus

general studies

CSAT

main exam

main examination syllabus

The Main examination comprises of nine papers, all of them of a descriptive type conducted within a span of 20 days.

It is designed to test not only the academic talent of the aspirant but also his ability to coordinate and present his knowledge in a clear and coherent manner. The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory.

The scope of the syllabus for the optional subject papers for the examination is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelors degree and lower than the masters degree. In the case of Engineering and law, the level corresponds to the bachelor's degree.

Civil Services Main Examination Timetable

Part B - Main Examination - Optional Subjects

Paper-I	One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 22 languages included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution (Qualifying Paper)	300 Marks
Paper-II	English (Qualifying Paper)	300 Marks
Paper-III	Essay [in the medium you choose]	200 Marks
Papers IV & V	General Studies (300 Marks for each paper)	600 Marks
Papers VI, VII, VIII & IX	Any two subjects (each having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (300 marks for each paper)	1200 Marks
Total Marks for Written Examination		2000 Marks
Interview Test [in the medium you choose]		300 Marks
Grand Total		2300 Marks