The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination was successfully conducted on May 25 (Sunday) in two shifts, each lasting two hours. Candidates appeared for two papers – General Studies (GS) Paper 1 and General Studies (GS) Paper 2, both of which are objective-type in nature. These papers are designed to test candidates on a wide range of topics, from current affairs and history to comprehension and logical reasoning. The preliminary stage serves as a screening test for the main examination and plays a critical role in shortlisting candidates for the next round. Notably, negative marking is applicable for incorrect responses in the objective-type questions, which means candidates must attempt questions carefully.
This year, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aims to fill approximately 979 vacancies in various prestigious services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and others through the Civil Services Examination 2025. The examination process is conducted in two major stages: the Preliminary and the Mains. After clearing the prelims, candidates must appear for the Mains examination, which consists of a set of descriptive papers, followed by a final round of interview or personality test. Each stage holds its own significance, and the final merit list is prepared based on performance in the Mains and Interview rounds.
Candidates who appeared for the preliminary examination or wish to review the question papers can easily download them from the official UPSC website. To access the question papers, candidates need to visit upsc.gov.in, click on the “Examinations” tab, and open the “Active Examinations” section. Then, they must navigate to the “Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025” page and scroll down to find the question paper links for GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 2 in the second table. By downloading these PDFs, candidates can analyze the questions, assess the paper’s difficulty level, and use them for future preparation. A Parliamentary panel has also suggested that UPSC should release the answer key immediately after the examination to ensure greater transparency in the evaluation process.
The prelims exam was conducted using two question papers – General Studies (GS) paper 1 and General Studies (GS) paper 2.
The exam was held on May 25 (Sunday) in two shifts and each shift lasted two hours.
This year, the commission will fill around 979 vacancies in various services through the Civil Services Examination.
The exam has two parts: Prelims and Mains. The Mains round comprises of a written examination, which will be followed by an interview or personality test.
There will be negative mark for incorrect answers to objective-type questions.
How to download UPSC prelims question papers?
- Go to upsc.gov.in.
- Click on the examinations tab and then open the active examinations section.
- Open the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 page
- Scroll down and open the question paper link for GS 1 or GS 2 given on the second table
- Download the PDFs and check questions asked in the exam
