UPSC IAS Prelims Paper 1 Analysis: General Studies
Exam experts provide a detailed UPSC CSE Prelims Analysis for Paper 1 and paper 2 here. Candidates can check UPSC Prelims GS Exam Analysis which shall include the number of questions asked from various subjects and their answers.
| Subject | No. of Questions |
| Polity | 18 |
| Economics | 14 |
| Internation Relations | 3 |
| Miscellaneous | 3 |
| India and World Geography | 13 |
| Environment & Ecology (Including Current Development) | 16 |
| General Science and S&T (Including Current Development) | 13 |
| Ancient | 3 |
| Medieval | 3 |
| Art & Culture | 6 |
| Modern History | 8 |
UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2021 with Answer Key
Download the UPSC CSE Prelims Question Paper 2021 PDF for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. Candidates preparing for the upcoming Prelims exam must download the question paper and solve it for practice. You can also download the unofficial IAS Prelims Answer 2021 for all the sets. Match your answers & calculate your score. Check the Expected Prelims Cutoff Marks 2021 to ascertain your chance of appearing for the Mains exam and prepare accordingly.
| UPSC Prelims GS Question Paper 2021 | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET A | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET B | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET C | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET D | |
| UPSC Prelims CSAT Question Paper 2020 | |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET A | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-A Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET B | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-B Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET C | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-C Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET D | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-D Here |
Check UPSC Prelims GS Answer Key for SET C
| Subject | SET C -Original Question no | New Sl no | Answer Option |
| Polity | 1 | 1 | B |
| 2 | 2 | B | |
| 3 | 3 | B | |
| 4 | 4 | D | |
| 6 | 5 | D | |
| 12 | 6 | B | |
| 13 | 7 | B | |
| 14 | 8 | D | |
| 15 | 9 | A | |
| 16 | 10 | A | |
| 17 | 11 | A | |
| 18 | 12 | C | |
| 19 | 13 | A | |
| 20 | 14 | D | |
| 27 | 15 | C | |
| 28 | 16 | C | |
| 29 | 17 | C | |
| 30 | 18 | B | |
| Economics | 81 | 1 | C |
| 82 | 2 | A | |
| 83 | 3 | B | |
| 85 | 4 | B | |
| 91 | 5 | C | |
| 92 | 6 | C | |
| 93 | 7 | B | |
| 94 | 8 | A | |
| 95 | 9 | B | |
| 96 | 10 | D | |
| 97 | 11 | ||
| 98 | 12 | A | |
| 99 | 13 | D | |
| 100 | 14 | D | |
| IR | 11 | 1 | C |
| 46 | 2 | B | |
| 60 | 3 | B | |
| 84 | 4 | C | |
| Miscellaneous | 8 | 1 | C |
| 9 | 2 | B | |
| 10 | 3 | D | |
| Geography | 31 | 1 | C |
| 32 | 2 | B | |
| 33 | 3 | B | |
| 34 | 4 | B | |
| 41 | 5 | B | |
| 42 | 6 | B | |
| 43 | 7 | A | |
| 44 | 8 | D | |
| 45 | 9 | B | |
| 47 | 10 | A | |
| 48 | 11 | C | |
| 50 | 12 | D | |
| Environment | 7 | 1 | D |
| 49 | 2 | D | |
| 72 | 3 | B | |
| 73 | 4 | D | |
| 74 | 5 | A | |
| 75 | 6 | B | |
| 76 | 7 | C | |
| 77 | 8 | C | |
| 78 | 9 | C | |
| 79 | 10 | A | |
| 80 | 11 | D | |
| 86 | 12 | A | |
| 87 | 13 | D | |
| 88 | 14 | D | |
| 89 | 15 | A | |
| 90 | 16 | C | |
| S and T | 21 | 1 | A |
| 22 | 2 | A | |
| 23 | 3 | D | |
| 24 | 4 | B | |
| 25 | 5 | D | |
| 26 | 6 | D | |
| 35 | 7 | C | |
| 36 | 8 | A | |
| 37 | 9 | B | |
| 38 | 10 | C | |
| 39 | 11 | A | |
| 40 | 12 | B | |
| 71 | 13 | C | |
| Ancient | 62 | 1 | A |
| 64 | 2 | B | |
| 70 | 3 | B | |
| medieval | 55 | 1 | A |
| 65 | 2 | D | |
| 68 | 3 | A | |
| art and culture | 5 | 1 | D |
| 51 | 2 | B | |
| 59 | 3 | A | |
| 61 | 4 | C | |
| 67 | 5 | D | |
| 69 | 6 | C | |
| Modern History | 52 | 1 | B |
| 53 | 2 | A | |
| 54 | 3 | C | |
| 56 | 4 | C | |
| 57 | 5 | D | |
| 58 | 6 | A | |
| 63 | 7 | A | |
| 66 | 8 | C |
UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2021 with Answer Key
Download the UPSC CSE Prelims Question Paper 2021 PDF for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. Candidates preparing for the upcoming Prelims exam must download the question paper and solve it for practice. You can also download the unofficial IAS Prelims Answer 2021 for all the sets. Match your answers & calculate your score. Check the Expected Prelims Cutoff Marks 2021 to ascertain your chance of appearing for the Mains exam and prepare accordingly.
| UPSC Prelims GS Question Paper 2021 | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET A | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET B | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET C | |
| IAS Prelims GS Paper 2021 - SET D | |
| UPSC Prelims CSAT Question Paper 2020 | |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET A | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-A Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET B | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-B Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET C | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-C Here |
| IAS Prelims CSAT Paper 2021 - SET D | Download UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Question Paper 2 PDF SET-D Here |
Check UPSC Prelims GS Answer Key for SET C
| Subject | SET C -Original Question no | New Sl no | Answer Option |
| Polity | 1 | 1 | B |
| 2 | 2 | B | |
| 3 | 3 | B | |
| 4 | 4 | D | |
| 6 | 5 | D | |
| 12 | 6 | B | |
| 13 | 7 | B | |
| 14 | 8 | D | |
| 15 | 9 | A | |
| 16 | 10 | A | |
| 17 | 11 | A | |
| 18 | 12 | C | |
| 19 | 13 | A | |
| 20 | 14 | D | |
| 27 | 15 | C | |
| 28 | 16 | C | |
| 29 | 17 | C | |
| 30 | 18 | B | |
| Economics | 81 | 1 | C |
| 82 | 2 | A | |
| 83 | 3 | B | |
| 85 | 4 | B | |
| 91 | 5 | C | |
| 92 | 6 | C | |
| 93 | 7 | B | |
| 94 | 8 | A | |
| 95 | 9 | B | |
| 96 | 10 | D | |
| 97 | 11 | ||
| 98 | 12 | A | |
| 99 | 13 | D | |
| 100 | 14 | D | |
| IR | 11 | 1 | C |
| 46 | 2 | B | |
| 60 | 3 | B | |
| 84 | 4 | C | |
| Miscellaneous | 8 | 1 | C |
| 9 | 2 | B | |
| 10 | 3 | D | |
| Geography | 31 | 1 | C |
| 32 | 2 | B | |
| 33 | 3 | B | |
| 34 | 4 | B | |
| 41 | 5 | B | |
| 42 | 6 | B | |
| 43 | 7 | A | |
| 44 | 8 | D | |
| 45 | 9 | B | |
| 47 | 10 | A | |
| 48 | 11 | C | |
| 50 | 12 | D | |
| Environment | 7 | 1 | D |
| 49 | 2 | D | |
| 72 | 3 | B | |
| 73 | 4 | D | |
| 74 | 5 | A | |
| 75 | 6 | B | |
| 76 | 7 | C | |
| 77 | 8 | C | |
| 78 | 9 | C | |
| 79 | 10 | A | |
| 80 | 11 | D | |
| 86 | 12 | A | |
| 87 | 13 | D | |
| 88 | 14 | D | |
| 89 | 15 | A | |
| 90 | 16 | C | |
| S and T | 21 | 1 | A |
| 22 | 2 | A | |
| 23 | 3 | D | |
| 24 | 4 | B | |
| 25 | 5 | D | |
| 26 | 6 | D | |
| 35 | 7 | C | |
| 36 | 8 | A | |
| 37 | 9 | B | |
| 38 | 10 | C | |
| 39 | 11 | A | |
| 40 | 12 | B | |
| 71 | 13 | C | |
| Ancient | 62 | 1 | A |
| 64 | 2 | B | |
| 70 | 3 | B | |
| medieval | 55 | 1 | A |
| 65 | 2 | D | |
| 68 | 3 | A | |
| art and culture | 5 | 1 | D |
| 51 | 2 | B | |
| 59 | 3 | A | |
| 61 | 4 | C | |
| 67 | 5 | D | |
| 69 | 6 | C | |
| Modern History | 52 | 1 | B |
| 53 | 2 | A | |
| 54 | 3 | C | |
| 56 | 4 | C | |
| 57 | 5 | D | |
| 58 | 6 | A | |
| 63 | 7 | A | |
| 66 | 8 | C |
UPSC Prelims 2021 Exam Overview
The UPSC IAS Prelims is the first stage of the prestigious Civil Services Examination. General Studies and CSAT are the two papers that make up the exam. The Civil Services Aptitude Test, or CSAT, is a qualifying exam. To qualify for the UPSC Mains Exam, candidates must obtain more than 33% or 66 points on the CSAT paper.
- The Prelims cut off marks is based on the score on the General Studies paper- paper 1.
- UPSC Prelims GS paper includes questions from a variety of areas, including history, politics, geography, economics, the environment, current events, and so on.
Because each subject of the UPSC Exam is not equally weighted, it is critical to understand the weighting of each UPSC subject in order to prepare well for the exam. Check the UPCS prelims subject wise weightage below.
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2021
Paper 1 of the UPSC IAS 2021 prelims, General Studies, contains 100 objective type questions with four options, and Paper 2 of the CSAT contains 80 questions. In both the Paper, there is a negative marking in place, with each incorrect answer deducting 1/3rd of the total score.
Check detailed UPSC CSE Prelims Paper Pattern 2021
UPSC Prelims Exam | No. of Qs. | Max. Marks | Exam Duration |
General Studies- Paper-I (GS Paper 1) | 100 | 200 Marks | 2 Hours |
CSAT- Paper–II | 80 | 200 Marks | 2 Hours |
UPSC Prelims Subject Wise Weightage
Check UPSC prelims subject wise weightage 2020 along with the last few years weightage to get a clear picture of the exam. Check UPSC previous year prelims analysis for all the subjects below. Aspirants for the UPSC CSE Prelims exam should look over the previous exam analyses meticulously to figure out the trends in the questions included in the exam. In the data presented further, the applicants can see thorough topic-weighting in for the last 10 years.
UPSC Prelims Trend Analysis - GS Paper 1
Year | Current Affairs | History and Art & Culture | Geography | Polity | Economy | Science & Technology | Environment |
2020 | 18 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
2019 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 11 |
2018 | 28 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 13 |
2017 | 34 | 14 | 7 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
2016 | 27 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 8 | 18 |
2015 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 10 |
2014 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 17 |
2013 | 28 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 13 |
2012 | 26 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 |
2011 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 19 | 15 |
UPSC Prelims Trend Analysis - CSAT Paper 2
Year | Basic Numeracy & Maths | Reading Comprehension | Data Interpretation | Logical & Analytical Reasoning | Visual Reasoning |
2020 | 28 | 25 | 5 | 22 | 0 |
2019 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
2018 | 18 | 26 | 14 | 16 | 6 |
2017 | 28 | 30 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
2016 | 28 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
UPSC IAS Prelims Analysis 2020
The UPSC CSE Prelims 2020 was held on 20 October 2020. As per the exam analysis, the difficulty level of the exam was moderate.
UPSC GS Paper 1 Analysis 2020
- Current affairs questions were less as compared to previous years.
- Good Attempts for Paper 1- 55-60
- Candidate must correct 55-60 Questions in Paper-I to clear the Exam.
- The candidate must correct 33 Questions in Paper-II to clear the Exam.
Subject | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
History and A&C | 20 | Moderate to Tough |
Static GK and Current Affairs | 18 | Moderate to Tough |
India and World Geography | 10 | Moderate to Tough |
Economics | 15 | Easy to Moderate |
Environment & Ecology (Including Current Development) | 10 | Moderate to Tough |
General Science and S&T (Including Current Development) | 10 | Moderate to Tough |
Indian Polity and Governance | 17 | Easy to Moderate |
Total Questions | 100 | Overall Difficulty Level- Difficult |
UPSC CSAT Paper 2 Analysis 2020
This paper comprises 80 Questions, each carrying 2.5 marks with a total of 200 marks
Sr. No. | Subjects | Total Number of Questions |
1. | Mental Ability, Analytical & Logical Reasoning | 22 |
2. | Arithmetic | 20 |
3. | Comprehension; Interpersonal skills including communication skills | 25 |
5. | Basic numeracy | 8 |
6. | Data interpretation | 5 |
Previous Years' UPSC Prelims Exam Analysis
Check Year-wise UPSC Prelims Paper Analysis.
UPSC Prelims Analysis 2019
The current affairs segment received the most questions in the 2019 IAS prelims exam. The following are some of the paper's highlights
UPSC CSE 2019 Prelims Analysis - GS Paper 1 Question Trend
- The majority of history questions were centred on modern history.
- Fundamental Rights, Rights concerns (tribes linked), Basic, Judicial Review, and other topics were covered in the polity questions.
- In Economics, students were asked questions about the balance of payments and international commerce, fiscal policy, labour rights, and other topics.
| Subjects | Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Current Affairs | 20-22 | Easy to Moderate |
| Environment | 10-12 | Moderate to Hard |
| Indian History | 15 | Moderate to Hard |
| Geography | 13 | Moderate to Hard |
| Indian Economy | 14 | Moderate to Hard |
| Polity | 15 | Easy to Moderate |
| General Science and Technology | 5-7 | Moderate |
Year | UPSC IAS Prelims Analysis |
2020 | |
2019 | |
2018 |
UPSC Prelims Analysis 2018
The UPSC IAS Prelims 2018 excellent number of questions from Current Affairs. Indian Polity and Economy followed the trend with approx 15 questions in each. In Geography, many map-based questions were asked
Sr. No. | Subjects | Questions |
1 | Indian Polity | 13 |
2 | General Science | 2 |
3 | Art and Culture | 6 |
4 | Technology | 10 |
5 | Indian Economy | 16 |
6 | Environment | 12 |
7 | Indian History | 15 |
8 | International Relations | 5 |
9 | Current Affairs | 21 |
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