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UPSC Previous Year Question Paper: Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers PDF

By Balaji

Updated on: March 22nd, 2023

UPSC question paper: The most useful strategy to learn about the pattern of UPSC questions is solving UPSC previous year question papers. Examining old question papers for UPSC is one of the most reliable and effective study materials. This year, the Prelims exam is scheduled to take place on 28 May 2023. During the last few months of preparation, candidates could create an actual exam-like environment by practicing UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for both Prelims and Mains exams.

Attempting the last 10 years of UPSC question papers would give the candidates an extra advantage to score big in the exam and boost their confidence. Below, we have provided PDF links to download the UPSC previous year’s question paper in English and Hindi with answers for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and so on for UPSC Prelims and Mains examinations.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper PDF
UPSC Mains 2020 Question Paper UPSC Prelims 2020 Question Paper
UPSC Mains Question Paper 2021 UPSC Prelims 2021 Question Paper
UPSC Mains Question Paper 2022 UPSC Prelims 2022 Question Paper

Table of content

(more)
  • 1. UPSC Previous Year Question Paper (more)
  • 2. UPSC Question Paper 2022 (more)
  • 3. UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2021 (more)
  • 4. UPSC Previous Year Paper 2020 (more)
  • 5. UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2019 (more)
  • 6. Subject-Wise UPSC Previous Year Question Paper (more)
  • 7. Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers with Answers PDF (more)
  • 8. UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for Prelims (more)
  • 9. UPSC Previous Year Paper for Mains (more)
  • 10. Previous Year Question Paper of UPSC CSAT (2018-2014) (more)
  • 11. Why is Practicing UPSC Previous Year Papers Important? (more)
  • 12. UPSC Previous Year Question Paper Analysis (more)
  • 13. UPSC Question Paper Solving Techniques (more)
  • 14. Benefits of Solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers (more)
  • 15. UPSC Question Paper – Marking Scheme (more)

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper

By downloading the UPSC previous year question paper for Prelims and Mains exams, candidates can check the subject-wise difficulty level of questions for General Studies papers, optional subjects, and CSAT in the UPSC exam. Most toppers and experts suggest that the best way to crack UPSC Prelims and Mains exam is by analyzing what kind of questions are asked and then start preparing.

As the syllabus is vast, it is important to go through the UPSC question papers to get a hold of the type of questions asked in each stage of the exam. After completing the recruitment process, the commission releases the IAS Question Paper PDF on its official website, which can be easily downloaded for the last 10 years from the direct links below.

UPSC Question Paper 2022

The UPSC Prelims 2022 was conducted by the Commission on 5th June 2022. There are two papers involved in this stage: General Studies Paper 1 and Paper 2 (also known as CSAT, or Civil Services Aptitude Test). Aspirants preparing for UPSC 2023, which is all set to be conducted on 28 May 2023, can download the latest Mains Question Paper 2022 to practice UPSC answer writing.

Paper UPSC Question Paper PDF Answer Key
Prelims – GS Paper 1 UPSC Prelims 2022 Question Paper Download PDF
CSAT Paper UPSC CSAT Paper Download PDF
Mains – Essay IAS Question Paper PDF
Mains – Compulsory English Language Paper UPSC Previous Year Question Paper PDF

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2021

The IAS Prelims Exam 2021 was conducted on 10 October 2021 in two shifts, whereas the Mains 2021 was conducted from 07 January 2022 onwards. The Commission has published the official UPSC Question Paper for Prelims & Mains on the official website, which is also provided below.

UPSC 2021 Prelims Question Paper

The questions asked from the general studies section of the UPSC Prelims syllabus are based on current events of national and international importance, Indian history, Indian polity, governance, etc. Download the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers for Prelims GS & CSAT for all sets.

Prelims GS Paper 1:

Prelims GS Paper 2:

The CSAT paper deals with comprehension, logical reasoning, decision-making and problem-solving, basic numeracy, etc. Check out the UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2021 for CSAT. CSAT can be prepared in the most efficient manner by practicing UPSC Previous Year Question Papers.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers for Mains 2021

UPSC Mains 2021 was conducted from 7th January 2022 to 16th January 2022. The Mains 2021 was easy to moderate in terms of difficulty level. The essay paper was philosophically inclined, while GS paper 1 had a good majority of geography questions.

  • GS paper 2 had questions on current affairs, and the number of questions from Governance reduced as compared to last year’s UPSC question paper.
  • GS 3 consisted of few difficult economic questions while the environment was easy to moderate.

Download the UPSC Mains Question Paper 2021 for all the subjects to analyze and revise for the upcoming exam.

UPSC Previous Year Paper 2020

The Commission released the UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for 2020 on 05 October 2020 on the official website. Candidates can download the UPSC Paper in Hindi and English from the link below. Candidates who clear all stages of the exam will be recruited as Civil Servants at various posts such as IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, etc.

UPSC Prelims Previous Year Paper

UPSC Prelims 2020 was conducted on 31st May 2020 in two shifts, and the difficulty level of the exam was moderate to difficult.

UPSC CSAT Question Paper for Prelims 2020 was moderate to difficult. As per the experts, aspirants must solve the UPSC PYQ of CSAT 2020 as it provides good practice questions.

IAS Question Paper PDF for Mains

There are a total of nine papers in the UPSC Mains exam of which two are qualifying in nature, and two are optional subjects. Below we have mentioned the UPSC question paper for Essay, GS Paper-, GS Paper-2, GS Paper-3, and GS Paper-4 of Mains 2020.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2019

The UPSC Prelims question paper covered all the subjects more or less equally. There was an increase in the number of questions from ancient and medieval history. Approximately 30-35 questions were asked from current affairs and 15 to 20 from polity and economics. Practice the UPSC prelims question paper 2019 and analyze your exam preparation.

Also, download the UPSC Mains Question Paper 2019 for Essay, GS Paper-1, GS Paper-2, GS Paper-3, and GS Paper-4 using the given link.

Previous Year UPSC Question Paper – Mains 2019
Essay UPSC Question Paper PDF
IAS Question Paper for Mains GS Paper-1 Download PDF
GS Paper-2 UPSC Previous Year Paper PDF
GS Paper-3 Download PDF
GS Paper-4 UPSC Questions PDF

Subject-Wise UPSC Previous Year Question Paper

Here, candidates can check and download the subject-wise UPSC previous year question paper for History, Anthropology, Geography, Indian Polity, etc. These papers will help in preparing for each subject holistically before the exam.

Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers with Answers PDF

Download the UPSC previous year question papers of the last 10 years with answers PDF with the following links:

Year UPSC Prelims Question Paper – GS Paper 1 CSAT UPSC Question Paper PDF UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers
2022 UPSC Question Paper 2022 PDF UPSC CSAT Paper PDF UPSC Mains Question Paper 2022
2021 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper PDF Download PDF UPSC Mains Question Paper 2021
2020 UPSC Previous Year Paper PDF Download PDF UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020
2019 UPSC Prelims Question Paper PDF Download PDF Download PDF
2018 Previous Year Question Paper for UPSC PDF UPSC Paper PDF Download PDF
2017 Prelims Question Paper for UPSC PDF Download PDF Download PDF
2016 Download PDF Download PDF Download PDF
2015 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper PDF Download PDF
2014 UPSC Previous Year Paper Download PDF
2013 Download PDF Download PDF

UPSC Question Paper PDF

Previous year question paper of UPSC exam for prelims and mains is a necessary preparation resource. We have curated UPSC papers for the last few years in English and Hindi for practice and revision.

The UPSC question paper must be solved multiple times before the exam to reduce negative marking and improve time management. Below we have provided the direct link to download the year-wise UPSC Question Papers PDF for Prelims and Mains.

Year UPSC Previous Year Papers – Prelims and Mains
2019 UPSC Previous Year Paper 2019
2018 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2018
2017 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2017
2016 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2016
2015 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2015

Candidates must utilize the time and practice the last 10 years UPSC question papers with answers PDF to level up their scores and clear the UPSC Cutoff.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for Prelims

Download the UPSC Previous Year Paper for Prelims in English and Hindi for the years 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 from the following links:

UPSC Question Paper Hindi PDF English PDF
2018 Download PDF UPSC Prelims 2018 Question Paper
2017 Download PDF UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2017
2016 Download PDF UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2016
2015 Download PDF UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2015
2014 Download PDF UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2014
2013 Download PDF UPSC Previous Year Question Paper 2013
2012 Download PDF UPSC Prelims 2012 Paper
2011 Download PDF UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2011

UPSC Previous Year Paper for Mains

UPSC Main Exam covers five papers, including General Essay, four General Studies papers, and one Optional. For answer writing practice, applicants must refer to the UPSC previous year question paper for Mains.

UPSC Question Paper – Essay:

Previous Year Question Paper UPSC GS Paper 1:

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for GS Paper 2:

UPSC GS Paper 3:

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for GS Paper 4:

Previous Year Question Paper of UPSC CSAT (2018-2014)

Practicing UPSC Previous Year Question Papers for CSAT is equally important as it is a qualifying paper. Download the UPSC Prelims CSAT question papers 2018- 2014 from the links mentioned below.

Why is Practicing UPSC Previous Year Papers Important?

Solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers plays an important role in understanding the MCQ pattern of questions in Prelims and gives an idea about the way in which answers should be composed in the Mains exam.

  • Regular practice of UPSC question papers can help aspirants to increase their speed along with learning tips and tricks to evade negative marks.
  • Analyzing and solving UPSC previous year papers on your optional subject will let you develop the skill of writing every answer precisely in a defined time frame.
  • Examining UPSC Previous Year Question papers will brief you about a standard level of questions and allow you to put efforts in the correct direction.
  • Practicing question papers of UPSC can enhance your analytical skills and will enable you to quickly distinguish between the wrong and right answers in MCQ types questions.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper Analysis

According to last year’s UPSC exam analysis article, we have provided valuable information to users about the difficulty level, important sections, and types of questions asked. In recent years the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers have had an overall difficulty level of moderate to difficult.

  • Prelims Analysis for GS Paper 1 (2022): Maximum questions were asked from subjects like Environment & Ecology, Economics, History, Indian Polity and Governance. The difficulty level was high and the questions were mainly conceptually based.
  • Prelims Analysis for GS Paper 2 (2022): The difficulty level of GS Paper 2 has increased over the past few years. The questions asked in the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers related to comprehension, reasoning, and verbal ability were observed to be tricky.
  • The overall difficulty level of the Mains exam was moderate to difficult, and the questions asked were generally related to Current Affairs. Students should know strategies to formulate multi-dimensional answers, for example, Indus Valley Civilization is part of History and was also a recent topic in Current Affairs.
  • Choosing the optional paper carefully is important as it can make a huge difference in the UPSC Mains exam score.

UPSC Question Paper Solving Techniques

After going through the UPSC previous year question papers, you must analyze them. In this way, you can enhance your performance in the final exam and reduce your exam anxiety as well. Here are some key things you should remember while solving the UPSC question paper.

  • Create an actual exam-like environment, and set a timer to solve the UPSC question paper on time.
  • After attempting all the questions, calculate the marks scored.
  • Calculate the marks, and If you have not performed well, review your mistakes.
  • Find out the reason for your mistake, if they were due to a lack of syllabus completion, silly mistakes, or you were not ready to attempt.
  • After the UPSC Prelims Exam is taken, you should start your Mains preparation by practicing answer writing and solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers to know all the important IAS questions.
  • Analyze all these factors, and reattempt the paper after working on your mistakes.

Benefits of Solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

Experts and toppers recommend that one should regularly explore and solve the last 10 years UPSC question papers with answers PDF for better exam preparation. The benefits of solving the UPSC previous year question papers are as follows:

  • It helps you understand the exam pattern and the types of questions asked.
  • It helps you to feel the actual exam experience and the mistakes you commit during the test.
  • Help you assess your performance and learn your strong and weak areas. Let you focus and revise the weak areas.
  • You have to learn and analyze your mistakes, why you couldn’t solve a bit, how comfortable you are going with it, and how much practice you need.

UPSC conducts Civil Services Examination annually for recruiting IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IRS (Indian Revenue Service), IPS (Indian Police Service), and other central government services. It is supposed to be the number one toughest examination in India. More than a million apply every year, and roughly 5 lakh students appear for the examination.

UPSC Question Paper – Marking Scheme

The aspirants appearing for the Union Public Service Commission exam must go through the last year’s UPSC question papers to get reliable insights into the kind of questions asked and subject-wise weightage in the exam.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper for Prelims – Total Marks

Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 of the Prelims examination are MCQ or objective type questions, which need to be answered within 2 hours. GS Paper-II is qualifying in nature and candidates need to attain a minimum of 33% marks to be eligible for the Mains exam.

Number of Paper Marking Scheme
Paper 1 – General Studies 200
Paper 2 – General Studies 200
Total Marks 400

Mains Question Paper – Marking Scheme

Paper A and Paper B of the Mains exam hold a weightage of 300 marks, while Paper-I to Paper-VII is of 250 marks and counted for merit. The total number of questions in the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers (Mains) remains the same, i.e., 20.

Exam Paper Syllabus Marks
Paper A Select any one Indian language 300
Paper B English 300
Paper I Essay 250
Paper II General Studies I 250
Paper III General Studies II 250
Paper IV General Studies III 250
Paper V General Studies IV 250
Paper VI Optional Subject (Paper 1) 250
Paper VII Optional Subject (Paper 2) 250
Personality Test 275
Total Marks 2025
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