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

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper

By downloading the UPSC previous year’s 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 the UPSC Prelims and Mains exam is by analyzing what kind of questions are asked and then starting to prepare.

• Anthropology UPSC Previous Year Question Paper
• History Optional UPSC Question Paper
• UPSC Maths Optional Question Paper
• Sociology Previous Year Question Paper

As the UPSC 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, which can be easily downloaded for the last 10 years from the direct links given on this page.

UPSC Daily Practice Questions (October 2023)

Q1. The Ninth P20 Summit, to be held in New Delhi on 13-14 October 2023, has the theme:

1. Parliaments for Global Peace and Security
2. Parliaments for Sustainable Development
3. Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future
4. Parliaments for Democracy and Good Governance

Answer: c

Explanation: The Ninth P20 Summit will have the theme “Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future.” This theme is inspired by the ancient Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means “The World is One Family.”

Q2. With reference to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023, consider the following statements:

1. It is an annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
2. GHI includes indicators of child stunting and child wasting only in its calculation.
3. India ranks among the top 10 countries in the GHI 2023 report.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Answer: d

Explanation: Statement 3 is incorrect, India ranks 111 in the GHI 2023 report, not among the top 10. The Global Hunger Index includes indicators like undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality in its calculation.

Q3. With reference to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), consider the following statements:

1. IORA is an organization of coastal countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
2. It focuses on economic cooperation, trade facilitation, investment, and social development.
3. The Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD) is an initiative within IORA.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Answer: c

Explanation: IORA comprises coastal countries, focuses on various aspects of regional development, and includes the Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD) initiative.

Q4. With reference to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), consider the following statements:

1. UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
2. It has 15 Members, and each Member has two votes.
3. UNSC can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Answer: b

Explanation: The UNSC has 15 Members with one vote each, and it can resort to imposing sanctions or authorizing the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Q5. With reference to Professor Claudia Goldin’s research on gender differences in the labour market, which of the following statements is/are incorrect?

1. Professor Goldin found that female labour force participation consistently increased over time.
2. Her research emphasized the role of various factors, including laws and norms, in shaping the gender gap in the labour market.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: a

Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect. Professor Claudia Goldin’s research revealed a U-shaped trend in female labour force participation

UPSC Question Paper 2023

The UPSC 2023 began with the UPSC Prelims exam on 28 May 2023. The UPSC Mains 2023 were held in September 2023. You can download the UPSC 2023 question papers from the links below.

UPSC Prelims 2023 Question Paper PDF

• UPSC Prelims GS Paper 1
• UPSC Prelims GS Paper 2 (CSAT)

UPSC Mains 2023 Question Paper PDF

• UPSC Mains GS 1 Question Paper
• UPSC Mains GS 2 Question Paper
• UPSC Mains GS 3 Question Paper
• UPSC Mains GS 4 Question Paper
• UPSC Mains Essay Question Paper

It is very important to practice UPSC answer writing in order to score good marks in the IAS Mains exam papers. Only answer writing practice will give you adequate time management skills and help you assess what is to be written and how it is to be presented on the answer sheets.

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).

UPSC Question Paper	PDF	Answer Key
Prelims – GS Paper 1	Download PDF	Download PDF
CSAT Paper	Download PDF	Download PDF
Mains – Essay	Download PDF	–
Mains – Compulsory English Language Paper	Download 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:

• Set A Question Paper – Download PDF
• Set B Question Paper – Download PDF
• Set C Question Paper – Download PDF
• Set D Question Paper – Download PDF

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 practising UPSC Previous Year Question Papers.

• CSAT Question Paper – SET A
• CSAT Question Paper – SET D

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper – 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 a 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.

• Essay Question Paper
• GS 1 Question Paper
• GS 2 Question Paper
• GS 3 Question Paper
• GS 4 Question Paper

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 Previous Year Paper – Prelims 2020

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

• GS 1 Question Paper – SET A
• GS 1 Question Paper – SET B
• GS 1 Question Paper – SET C
• GS 1 Question Paper – SET D

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.

• CSAT Question Paper SET A
• CSAT Question Paper SET B
• CSAT Question Paper SET C

IAS Question Paper PDF – Mains 2021

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.

• Essay Question Paper
• GS 1 Question Paper
• GS 2 Question Paper
• GS 3 Question Paper
• GS 4 Question Paper

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.

• GS 1 Question Paper
• CSAT Question Paper

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	Download PDF
IAS Question Paper for Mains GS Paper-1	Download PDF
GS Paper-2	Download PDF
GS Paper-3	Download PDF
GS Paper-4	Download 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.

• Modern History Previous Year Questions
• GS Paper 1 Previous Year Questions
• GS Paper 2 Previous year Questions
• GS Paper 3 Previous year Questions
• GS Paper 4 Previous year Questions
• Topic-wise UPSC Prelims Questions

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	UPSC CSAT	UPSC Mains
2022	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2021	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2020	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2019	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2018	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2017	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2016	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
2015	Download PDF	Download PDF	–
2014	Download PDF	Download PDF	–
2013	Download PDF	Download PDF	–

UPSC Question Paper PDF

Previous year question papers are necessary preparation resources. 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 their time and practice at least the last 10 years’ UPSC question papers with answers to level up their scores and clear the UPSC Cutoff.

Question Papers – UPSC 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 Previous Year Papers (2011 to 2018)

Year	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

Previous Year Papers – UPSC 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 mains question paper.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper – 2018 to 2023

Paper	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Essay	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
GS Paper 1	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
GS Paper 2	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
GS Paper 3	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF
GS Paper 4	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF

Previous Year Question Paper of UPSC CSAT

Practising UPSC Previous Year Question Papers for CSAT is equally important as it is a qualifying paper. UPSC aspirants can download CSAT question papers 2018-2014 from the links mentioned below.

• CSAT 2023
• CSAT 2022
• CSAT 2021
• CSAT 2020
• CSAT 2019
• CSAT 2018
• CSAT 2017
• CSAT 2016
• CSAT 2015
• CSAT 2014

Importance of Practising UPSC Previous Year Papers

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.
• Practising UPSC IAS question papers can enhance your analytical skills and will enable you to quickly distinguish between the wrong and right answers in MCQ types of questions.

UPSC Previous Year Question Paper Analysis

According to last year’s UPSC exam analysis article, we have provided valuable information to students 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.

• As per experts at BYJU’S, the UPSC Prelims question paper analysis and the difficulty level was on the higher side than the last year, and candidates stated that the question paper was difficult.
• Science & Technology, Environment & Ecology were moderate to difficult in nature in UPSC 2023 Prelims question paper.
• Rest all subjects were moderate in nature.

Subject	Number of questions	Difficulty level
Polity	15	Moderate to Difficult
Economy	14	Difficult
Geography	16	Moderate
History	14	Easy to moderate
Science & Technology	12	Moderate to difficult
Environment & Ecology	14	Moderate
International Relations	11	Moderate
Miscellaneous	4	Moderate
Total	100

• The CSAT paper was deemed moderately difficult and said to be time-consuming.

Subject	Number of Questions	Difficulty level
Reasoning Ability	13-14	Moderate
Reading Comprehension	27	Moderate to Difficult
Basic Numeracy and Maths (Including Data Sufficiency)	39-40	Moderate to difficult

• 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 practising 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 solve the last 10 years’ UPSC question papers with answers PDF for better exam preparation. The benefits of solving the UPSC previous year’s 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 them 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.

Prelims Question Paper – 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