How to Download UPSC Previous Year Question Paper?

UPSC question paper helps aspiring students to become familiar with the type of questions asked in the Prelims and Mains exam. To develop quick answer writing skills in the actual examination, aspirants must practice these question papers with answers. Candidates can download UPSC Previous Year Papers from the given links; UPSC Question Paper PDF – Prelims 2022 SET A UPSC 2022 Question Paper – Prelims SET B UPSC Previous Year Paper PDF – Prelims SET C UPSC Question Paper – Mains 2022 GS1 UPSC Previous Year Question Paper – Mains GS2 UPSC Previous Year Paper – Mains 2022 GS3 UPSC Question Paper 2022 – Mains GS4

Is 1 year Enough for IAS Preparation?

Yes, 1 year is enough for UPSC IAS preparation . Rather than wasting time commuting, aspirants can opt for UPSC online coaching to obtain proper guidance at home, including live video lectures, and classes for a detailed explanation of concepts in the UPSC syllabus . Finally, students can practice the last 10 years’ UPSC question papers with answers pdf and evaluate themselves by checking the answers.

How to Download the Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers with Answers PDF?

Candidates can download the UPSC question papers 2022 for the Mains exam, conducted from 16 September to 25 September 2022, using the link provided. UPSC 2022 Question Paper for Essay UPSC Mains Question Paper GS-1 UPSC Question Paper GS-2 UPSC Question Paper GS-3 UPSC Mains Question Paper GS-4

Do Questions from UPSC Previous Year Question Paper repeat?

For the past 10 years, it has been observed that repetitive questions are majorly from subjects – History, Economics , and Indian Polity. But it is important to note that the same questions are not asked again; similar topics and questions can be asked. Therefore, solving previous years’ UPSC question papers is one of the best ways to clear this exam. Polity Previous Year UPSC Questions Anthropology Previous Year UPSC Question Papers Geography Previous Year UPSC Questions

How to Solve UPSC Previous Year Papers?

You must comprehensively complete the syllabus before attempting the UPSC previous year question papers. Before starting a topic, go through the question papers to analyze the weightage of the topics and the kinds of questions asked. Prepare accordingly, and after finishing the syllabus, properly solve the UPSC Question Papers within the time limit.

Is the UPSC Paper MCQ Based?

The previous year’s question paper for the UPSC exam is divided into Prelims and Mains exams. The UPSC Prelims Question Paper is MCQ based , whereas UPSC PYQ for Mains is a descriptive type.

Who Sets UPSC Question Paper?

The Union Public Service Commission sets and releases the UPSC Question Papers for Prelims and Mains exams and the official website’s answer key. Candidates preparing for the upcoming exam must solve UPSC previous year’s question papers with answers PDF to better understand the exam and be prepared.

Is UPSC Exam Difficult?

Popular opinion and analysis suggest that the UPSC Exam is one of the most difficult and competitive exams in the country. Due to high competition and fewer vacancies, the difficulty level of the UPSC question papers has been in the range of moderate to difficult. Is UPSC Tough? 10 Tips to Clear UPSC Prelims

What Type of Questions are Asked in UPSC Prelims?

MCQ type of questions are asked in UPSC Prelims . The questions are not direct in nature, and they are mostly statement-based questions as per the analysis of the previous year’s UPSC question papers.

How many UPSC Previous Year Question Papers Should I Solve?

You must solve at least the last 10 years UPSC Question Papers . Read the questions and tick those for which you are 100% sure about the answer. You can also attempt mock tests to understand your level of preparation.

How Many Questions are There in the UPSC Mains Paper?

There are mostly 20 questions that need to be solved in UPSC Mains Paper within a time frame of 3 hours. The questions may vary in every paper of the Mains examination. Read: How many Questions to Attempt in UPSC Mains?

How Many Questions to Attempt in UPSC Prelims Paper 1?

UPSC Prelims have negative markings , so candidates must try to attempt a minimum range of 70-75 questions for clearing Prelims Paper 1 ( Note: Cut off is generally between 95 to 110). Candidates must go through the question papers. Mark the questions they are confident about (for example any 50). In the end, attempt those questions which may take more time. Read: How many Questions to Attempt in UPSC Prelims?

Are UPSC Previous Year Question Papers Enough? Should I Take Mocks Also?

Attempting the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers is undoubtedly essential, but it is not enough for UPSC preparation . You have to attempt the UPSC mock test as well. Mock tests will also analyze your preparation level , and you will be able to work on your weaknesses at the end of the test.

Why is it Important to Practice the Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers?

Solving the last 10 years’ UPSC Question Papers would help the students to understand the UPSC exam pattern and the crucial topics from the syllabus. Additionally, it would give a real exam-like experience and help you to evaluate the mistakes you commit during the test .

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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

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

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:

Set A – UPSC Prelims 2021 GS Question Paper 1 PDF
Set B – UPSC Question Paper PDF Prelims 2021
Set C – Previous Year Question Paper UPSC 2021 Prelims GS 1
Set D – UPSC Prelims 2021 GS Question 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