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How Many Papers in UPSC Mains List 2025?

How Many Papers in UPSC Mains, Understand the structure of the UPSC Mains Exam, including the nine papers, marks distribution, and their role in the final merit ranking.

The UPSC Mains Examination is a crucial stage of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Candidates aspiring for esteemed services like the IAS, IPS, and IFS must excel in this stage. A common query among aspirants is, “How many papers are there in UPSC Mains?” The examination includes nine papers, which comprehensively assess a candidate’s knowledge, analytical abilities, and communication skills. While two of these papers are qualifying in nature, the remaining seven are considered for the final merit calculation.

How Many Papers in UPSC Mains 2025 Overview 

The UPSC Mains Examination is the second stage of the Civil Services Examination, following the Prelims. It is designed to evaluate not just a candidate’s knowledge but also their ability to present ideas effectively and critically analyze complex issues. UPSC Mains comprises 9 descriptive papers which consists of 4 GS Papers, 1 Essay Paper, 2 Language Papers, 2 Optional Subjects.

UPSC Mains Exam 2025 Date

The UPSC Calendar provides critical dates for aspirants to plan their preparation effectively. For the 2025 examination cycle, the key dates are as follows:

Event Important Date
UPSC Notification 2025 Release Date 22 January 2025
UPSC Prelims Exam Registration 22 January 2025
UPSC Prelims Exam Date 25 May 2025
UPSC Mains Exam Date 2025 22 August 2025
UPSC Interview/IAS Interview Date Yet to be announced

 

How Many Papers in UPSC Mains List

The UPSC Mains Examination comprises nine papers in total. Out of these, seven papers are considered for the final merit ranking, while two are qualifying in nature. Each paper is three hours long, and the total marks for the Mains written examination are 1750.

Paper Subject Duration Marks
Paper-A One of the Indian Languages (Qualifying Paper) 3 hours 300
Paper-B English (Qualifying Paper) 3 hours 300
Paper-I Essay 3 hours 250
Paper-II General Studies I 3 hours 250
Paper-III General Studies II 3 hours 250
Paper-IV General Studies III 3 hours 250
Paper-V General Studies IV 3 hours 250
Paper-VI Optional Subject Paper I 3 hours 250
Paper-VII Optional Subject Paper II 3 hours 250
Total 1750

 

UPSC Mains Papers Exam Pattern and Mark Distribution

The UPSC Mains Exam evaluates candidates through both the written examination and an interview process. Here is the distribution:

UPSC Mains Mark Distribution Table
Phase Marks
Written Examination (Papers I-VII) 1750
Personality Test (Interview) 275
Total marks in UPSC mains and interview 2025

How Many Papers in UPSC Mains FAQs

The nine papers include two qualifying papers (Paper A: Indian Language and Paper B: English), one Essay paper, four General Studies papers, and two papers from the chosen Optional Subject.

The total marks for the written examination in UPSC Mains are 1750. These include 250 marks for each of the seven merit-ranking papers. The qualifying papers (300 marks each) are not included in the merit calculation.

Yes, the qualifying papers are crucial as candidates must secure the minimum required marks to proceed in the examination process. However, their scores are not counted for the final merit list.

Paper 3 in UPSC Mains refers to General Studies II, which focuses on topics like Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations.

To qualify, candidates must secure the minimum cutoff marks set by the UPSC in the seven merit-based papers, which contribute to the total of 1750 marks. Additionally, they must pass the two qualifying papers.

The final ranking is based on the cumulative scores of the seven merit papers (1750 marks) and the Interview (275 marks), bringing the total to 2025 marks.

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