The Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Aptitude Test (UPSC CSAT) 2022 is a part of the preliminary exam of the Civil Services Examination (CSE). The CSAT Exam is designed to judge the analytical ability, reasoning skills and aptitude of the candidates. More importantly, it is only a qualifying paper meaning that candidates only have to clear the 33% cutoff to clear the CSAT exam. No rank list is prepared for this paper. So, all those candidates who clear the required cutoff move to the next stage. The official notification for the CSAT Exam was released on 2nd February 2022 by the Union Public Service Commission which provides all the necessary details about the exam. The UPSC CSAT Exam is a great career opportunity for Engineering, Medical Science, and Law students and for students holding a bachelor’s degree. Candidates who qualify for the Preliminary Examination move forward to the Mains Examination. Thereafter, candidates who ultimately qualify for the Mains Examination along with the Personal Interview stage are selected for the Civil Service Posts all over India.
CSAT Preliminary Exam is the first stage of evaluation by UPSC in selecting candidates for Indian Administrative, Indian Foreign Services, Indian Police, and other services for the Government of India.
| UPSC Civil Service Exam | Paper – I – General Studies | Paper-II – Civil Services Aptitude Test |
| Total number of questions | 100 | 80 |
| Total Marks | 200 | 200 |
| Type of Questions asked | Objective | Objective |
| Mode of exam | Offline | Offline |
| Negative Marking | 1/3 of total marks for question | 1/3 of total marks for question |
The syllabus of both these papers is different.
The General Studies paper-I will have topics related to current affairs, Indian national movement and Indian History, International Relations, Climate Change, India, and its relation with the neighboring countries. Candidates should prepare about socio-economic relations India has with the neighbors and its International presence with the world economy and other countries.
General Studies Paper-II will have topics like English comprehension, decision making, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. Candidates should prepare for logical reasoning, mental ability, and basic numeracy and data interpretation problems of class X.
Candidates can find the detailed syllabus for both papers on UPSC’s official website www.upsc.gov.in., also should prepare for topics covered in the syllabus from the books recommended by subject experts and exam authorities. Candidates should refer to the previous year’s exam papers for the kind of questions asked and understand the exam pattern.
Read More – How Can I Start Preparing for UPSC Civil Services
General Studies Paper I has lots of politics-based questions. The main topics that candidates must study while preparing for this exam are-
General Studies Paper-II tests general aptitude and reasoning skills. There are questions about the English language and grammar too for candidates. This paper mainly contains topics that are covered in class X in almost all the boards of education in India. Preparing for General Studies Paper-I is very easy. All candidates must study from class X books and guides to know previously asked questions and understand the exam pattern.
The main topics covered in this paper are-
Check out the updated Date & Notification schedule for UPSC CSAT
UPSC CSAT or Civil Service Aptitude Test has two papers. It is the preliminary exam for the civil service exams in India. Candidates need to clear both these papers. Only after clearing these two papers, they can appear for UPSC mains and a personal interview.
Before appearing in these exams, candidates must remember few things. Most important is that there are limited numbers of attempts for UPSC civil service exams. If candidates appear only for UPSC CSAT, it is counted as an attempt. Therefore, candidates should sit for this exam only when they are fully prepared.
Following are few points to help understand the exam pattern of the UPSA CSAT-
| Sr. No. | Paper/ Event | Questions | Marks (each question) | Negative marking | Time |
| 1 | General Studies Paper I | 100 | 2 | Yes (0.33 mark is cut) | 2 hours |
| 2 | General Studies Paper-II | 80 | 2.5 | Yes (0.33 mark is cut) | 2 hours |
General Studies Paper I is an objective question-based exam. Following are the important points-
General Studies Paper-II is an objective question-based exam. Following are a few important points-
Based on the cutoff marks for General Studies Paper I and qualifying marks of paper II, candidates will get selected for the UPSC Mains and Personal Interview.
CSAT Prelims exam cut off marks depend upon various factors such as
Know More – UPSC CSAT Admit Card and Interview call letter
There is a list of books that are suggested for every candidate appearing for the UPSC CSAT exam. Since both the papers have a very different syllabus, the suggested books by exam authorities are also different.
For the first paper, General Studies Paper I, of the UPSC CSAT exam recommended books are –
| Sr. No. | Recommended Book | Author/Publication | Topics Covered in the book |
| 1 | Politics in India | NCERT Grade 11th and 12th | These books will cover the basics of Indian politics. It will also have pre-independence politics. |
| 2 | Social Studies (History, geography, civics) book. | NCERT 8th grade to 12th grade | These books will help in preparing topics of Indian history, geography, and economics. Candidates can also learn about the effects of geography on the economy. |
| 3 | Indian Struggle of Independence | Mr. Bipin Chandra | Helps in understanding and learning about the great Indian Movement. |
| 4 | Indian Polity | Mr. M. Laxmikanth | This is the benchmark book for preparation in Indian Politics |
| 5 | Certificate of Physical geography | MR. GC Leong | It is the most suggested book for learning geography. |
| 6 | National and international relations | NCERT grade XI and XII |
Apart from these books, candidates must also go through Oxford Atlas to understand international demographies and their impacts on the Indian continent.
Regular consumption of newspapers such as The Hindu and various magazines such as Yojna is also highly recommended.
For General Studies Paper-II of the UPSC CSAT, the following books are recommended –
| Sr.No. | Book | Author/ Publication | Topics to read |
| 1 | General Studies Paper-II for UPSC Preliminary Examination | Tata McGraw Hill | This has previous year’s papers. This also has short paragraphs to practice. |
| 2 | Analytical Reasoning | M K Pandey | Various suitable examples to practice. It will clear conceptual doubts too. |
| 3 | Cracking the Civil Services Aptitude Test Paper-II | Arihant | Test papers covering topics such as data interpretation, interpersonal Skills, problem-solving skills, etc. |
| 4 | Quicker Maths | M. Tyra | Find various questions and practice papers to clear doubts and understand concepts. |
| 5 | English and Maths Books | NCERT Grade 8 to 12 | These will help in the practice of basic English and basic numeracy. |
Know More – UPSC CSAT Result & Cut off Marks
The Civil Service Exam is one of the toughest exams. UPSC CSAT is the preliminary exam and clearing this exam is necessary to move ahead towards the UPSC Mains. Therefore, candidates appearing for the UPSC CSAT must remember the following points-
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Ans. Yes, UPSC CSAT exam has negative marking, for every incorrect answer for the question there will be a deduction of 1/3 of the total marks of the question. For example, UPSC CSAT prelims paper II has 80 questions for total of 200 marks. hence, each question will be of 2.5 marks. If a candidate attempts a question with the incorrect answer – 0.83 marks will be deducted.
Candidates have to be very careful while attempting the questions and prepare for the exam from different recommended resources (books, guides, previous question sets etc.) during their preparation.
It is better not to attempt the question, rather than attempting a question and guess the answer from available options as the negative marking for every incorrect answer will greatly impact the candidate’s score and reduce their chances of a good score.
Ans. CSAT exam conducted by UPSC has three stages of evaluation – CSAT Prelims, CSAT Mains, and personal interview.
There are two (2) papers for CSAT UPSC Prelims.
There are nine (9) papers for CSAT UPSC Mains.
| Essay Paper | |
| General Studies – I | General Studies – II |
| General Studies – III | General Studies – IV |
| Indian Language Paper | English Language Paper |
| Optional Paper-I | Optional Paper-II |
Ans. UPSC CSAT prelims have two papers
Paper-I will have 100 questions and Paper II will have 80 questions. Both Paper I and II are 200 marks each.
Ans. The syllabus for the CSAT exam 2022 conducted by UPSC has two papers each of 200 marks.
The syllabus for Paper I have the following subjects
The syllabus for Paper-II has the following subjects
The syllabus for Mathematics subject CSAT UPSC exam 2022 is as given below
| CSAT Maths Syllabus | Topics covered |
| Basic Numeracy | Number System, L.C.M. & H.C.M., Rational numbers & ordering, Decimal fractions, Simplifications, Square Roots & Cube Roots, Surds & Indices, Ratio & proportion, percentages, averages, set theory, divisibility rules, remainder Theorem |
| General Mental ability | Partnership, Profit & Loss, Time and Distance, Trains, Time & work, Work & Wages, Boats & Streams, Pipes & Cisterns, Simple interest & Compound interest, Allegation & Mixtures, Mensuration & Area, Permutations & Combinations, Probability, Geometry |
The syllabus for reasoning subject for the CSAT UPSC exam 2022
| CSAT Reasoning syllabus | Topics |
| Logical reasoning & analytical ability (LR & AA) | Analogy, Classification, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood relation, Direction Sense Test, Logical Venn directory, Alphabet Test, Seating arrangement, and mathematical operator |
| Data interpretation & Data sufficiency (DI & DS) | Table Chart, Pie Chart, Bar Chart, Arithmetical Reasoning, Inserting the missing character, Eligibility Test, Number, Ranking and Time sequence Test, Clock, Calendar, Problems on Ages, Cubes & Dice, Syllogism, Statement & Arguments, Statement & Assumptions, Statement & Course of Action, Statement & Conclusions, Deriving Conclusion, Assertion & Reason, Punch Lines, Situation Reaction Test, Cause & Effect, Analytical Reasoning, Mathematical puzzles & patterns |
Ans. Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) conducted by Union Public Service Commission is one of the toughest exams in India. These tests are aimed at selecting best talents for high-ranking positions across Indian administrative services across various states of India, Indian Foreign Services and Indian Police services.
CSAT exam 2022 has topics and difficulties across the syllabus as below
Paper II has the following level of difficulty asked per topic-
| Topic | Level of difficulty in CSAT exam |
| Comprehension | Moderate |
| Logical reasoning and analytical ability | Easy to moderate |
| Mathematics | Tough |
| Decision-making and problem-solving | Moderate |
Ans. The General Studies Paper II CSAT exam 2022 civil services exam can be easy to appear if the candidate follows a planned strategy.
Ans. CSAT syllabus is very vast, it is difficult for candidates to figure out
Candidates decide how much should they prepare for each topic from the weightage of topics distributed across the exam papers.
For example CSAT syllabus paper-I has English that is divided into three sections – Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, and Logical Reasoning/Decision making. The Candidates should evaluate the breakup of weightage each topic is divided into for CSAT UPSC exam in order to pay adequate attention and prepare for topics according to their weightage in the papers.