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The Union Public Service Commission is a commission, one we know as UPSC. The UPSC conducts the IAS pre and mains exams. This article deals with which is the easiest optional subject for UPSC for you.
Some very common questions which come to everyone’s mind when he/she starts preparing for the IAS main exam is –
One more question which comes to one’s mind is, we can select only one optional subject and it holds a weightage of just 500 marks out of 2025 marks. So how much importance should one give to it?
Don’t worry, you will understand the answers to all such questions after reading the article!
You will also learn about an exciting part-time job opportunity which will help you learn new concepts and grow your knowledge along with a fair amount of earnings.
You can also read our article on Best Optional Subject for UPSC.
500 marks out of 2025 are around 25% of marks. And 25% marks fully depend on one subject that too of your interest. A truly smart person will try to not lose a single mark out of it.
All other parts are common and the part of General studies holds the maximum of 1000 marks. But, with the note-making trend, this part isn’t difficult to crack. Choosing the optional subject wisely so that your interest in the subject is maintained and you don’t lose a single mark in it is a very crucial decision.
This decision could be made by considering the following factors:
These are some of the factors which you should use to shorten the long list of subjects, say to 5 subjects.
So firstly, understand and analyze the previous trends in results and recommendations.
Note: The below lists are sorted based on student recommendations.
The following list contains the non-literature subjects.
| S.No | Subject | Number of Candidates appeared | Recommended by a number of candidates | Rate of Success(%) |
| 1. | Public Administration | 3201 | 337 | 10.5 |
| 2. | Geography | 4049 | 236 | 5.8 |
| 3. | History | 3870 | 212 | 5.5 |
| 4. | Psychology | 1061 | 116 | 10.9 |
| 5. | Sociology | 1555 | 89 | 5.7 |
| 6. | Political Science | 1320 | 85 | 6.4 |
| 7. | Philosophy | 1061 | 84 | 4 |
| 8. | Agriculture | 220 | 41 | 18.6 |
| 9. | Economics | 326 | 37 | 11.3 |
| 10. | Anthropology | 345 | 37 | 10.7 |
| 11. | Law | 365 | 19 | 5.2 |
| 12. | Zoology | 484 | 18 | 3.7 |
| 13. | Medical Science | 98 | 16 | 16.3 |
| 14. | Commerce & Accountancy | 266 | 15 | 5.6 |
| 15. | Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science | 65 | 8 | 12.3 |
| 16. | Mathematics | 277 | 8 | 2.9 |
| 17. | Chemistry | 124 | 7 | 5.6 |
The following list contains literature subjects.
| S.No | Literature Optional Subject | Number of candidates appeared | No. of candidates recommended | Success Rate (%) |
| 1. | Assamese | 5 | 2 | 40 |
| 2. | Punjabi | 19 | 5 | 26.3 |
| 3. | Gujarati | 42 | 7 | 16.7 |
| 4. | Kannada | 84 | 14 | 16.7 |
| 5. | Marathi | 42 | 7 | 16.7 |
| 6. | English | 40 | 6 | 15 |
| 7. | Urdu | 29 | 4 | 13.8 |
| 8. | Tamil | 225 | 29 | 12.9 |
| 9. | Sanskrit | 122 | 10 | 8.2 |
| 10. | Malayalam | 67 | 5 | 7.5 |
| 11. | Pali | 255 | 18 | 7.1 |
| 12. | Telugu | 147 | 9 | 6.1 |
| 13. | Hindi | 974 | 56 | 5.7 |
| S.No | Optional Subject | No. of Candidates Appeared | No. of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| 1. | Medical Science | 235 | 55 | 23.4 |
| 2. | Economics | 269 | 51 | 19 |
| 3. | AnimalHusbandry & VeterinaryScience | 52 | 12 | 23.1 |
| 4. | Law | 246 | 42 | 17.1 |
| 5. | Agriculture | 122 | 20 | 16.4 |
| 6. | Commerce & Accountancy | 188 | 28 | 14.9 |
| 7. | Management | 167 | 24 | 14.4 |
| 8. | Geology | 28 | 4 | 14.4 |
| 9. | Botany | 104 | 12 | 11.5 |
| 10. | Zoology | 228 | 29 | 12.7 |
| 11. | PoliticalScience & International Relations | 1107 | 121 | 10.9 |
| 12. | Chemistry | 104 | 11 | 10.6 |
| 13. | CivilEngineering | 47 | 5 | 10.6 |
| 14. | Sociology | 2490 | 230 | 9.2 |
| 15. | Philosophy | 1116 | 99 | 8.9 |
| 16. | History | 2090 | 174 | 8.3 |
| 17. | Psychology | 1163 | 92 | 7.9 |
| 18. | Geography | 4351 | 314 | 7.2 |
| 19. | Anthropology | 579 | 38 | 6.3 |
| 20. | Mathematics | 325 | 23 | 7.1 |
| 21. | Physics | 266 | 17 | 6.4 |
| 22. | ElectricalEngineering | 126 | 8 | 6.3 |
| 23. | PublicAdministration | 7077 | 359 | 5.1 |
| 24. | Mechanical Engineering | 64 | 3 | 4.7 |
I think you have analyzed.
So,…
Confused, I know.
To decide which subject is hard and which one is easy is a difficult task in itself. I know, it all depends on your fields, from which background you come from, your areas of interests. What are the resources available with you also plays a role in deciding the easiest optional subject of UPSC for you.
Meanwhile, make sure to read our article on the Ultimate Guide for UPSC Mains.
Shortlist the list of optional subjects:
The main aim of our whole discussion is to know which is the easiest optional subject for UPSC mains for me. So it’s time for a decision, now we are going to finalise our optional subject.
The last factor you must consider is going through previous year papers. Pick the last 3 year papers and go through them. You must keep 2 things in mind while analyzing previous papers:
2. Mark out the questions for which you know the answers or you have some knowledge about.
Once you have marked and analyzed the previous year papers of both subjects. You will know which one to choose and why to choose it.
| Optional Subject | (Approx) Number of Aspirants | Syllabus Overlaps with |
| History | 3500 | Prelims, GS I |
| Geography | 3500 | Prelims, GS I and GS III |
| Public Administration | 3000 | Prelims, GS II |
| Political Science | 1800 | Prelims, GS II |
| Sociology | 1800 | GS I, GS II, Essay |
| Philosophy | 1000 | GS IV. Essay |
One more significant question which comes to one’s mind is – Easiest Optional for UPSC with least syllabus too-
Chegg subject matter experts provide an opportunity for the same.
Grow your knowledge, help students and in the process earn a decent amount of money.
About Chegg – Chegg is the most leading learning platform, they keep the students first. Everything they do, every decision they take is driven by keeping the students’ development in mind.
So what is a Chegg subject expert- It is a freelance job where you get paid for each question you answer.
They have options for various subjects which are similar to the easiest optional subjects o f UPSC:
★ Economics
★ Accounting
★ Civil Engineering
★ Mechanical Engineering
★ Electrical Engineering
★ Physics
★ Chemistry
