UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination

The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination is the screening stage that filters over a million applicants down to the few thousand who reach the Mains. It is two papers written on the same day. General Studies Paper I is the one that matters for selection — your score here decides whether you clear the cut-off — and it ranges across polity, history and culture, geography, economy, environment, science and a heavy dose of current affairs, rewarding the candidate who reads widely and connects the static syllabus to the news. CSAT Paper II is only qualifying: you must score at least 33%, but many serious aspirants stumble here on comprehension and basic numeracy under time pressure, so it cannot be ignored. With one-third negative marking on both papers, intelligent elimination beats blind guessing. These mocks reproduce both papers to the real pattern, with a worked explanation on every question.

• GS Paper I decides your fate — prioritise accuracy in Polity, Environment and Current Affairs, the highest-yield areas.
• Treat CSAT seriously: clearing 33% is non-negotiable, and comprehension + numeracy are the usual trip-wires.
• With −1/3 negative marking, attempt a question only if you can eliminate at least two options.
• Practise reading long comprehension passages quickly — CSAT is as much a time-management test as a reasoning one.