How to prepare for UPSC CSE Exam 2023? - Civil Service Preparation Tips

UPSC Civil services examination is often considered to be one of the toughest and the most sought-after professions in India. For every preparation strategy, the first step to do is to know about the exam and its syllabus. The UPSC official website has already released the UPSC 2023 Notification on 1^st Feb 2023. Applications can now be registered through the OTR platform (One Time Registration) which provides a lifetime account for the registration of your future applications too.

Important dates for UPSC CSE 2023

1.	Notification released on	1st Feb 2023
2.	Last date of Application	21st Feb 2023 till 6:00 pm
3.	OTR Correction window	(22nd Feb – 28th Feb) 2023
4.	UPSC CSE 2023 Preliminary exam date	28th May 2023
5.	UPSC CSE 2023 Mains exam date	Starts from 15th Sept 2023

The total number of anticipated vacancies are approximately 1105 which includes 37 vacancies reserved for persons with bench mark disability.

The UPSC CSE 2023 will consist of two successive stages i.e., (i) Civil Service Preliminary Exam (Objective type) and (ii) Civil Services Main Exam (written + interview).

Eligibility Criteria for UPSC CSE 2023

1.	Nationality	Indian Citizen (for IAS, IFS, IPS) Either Indian citizen or subject of Nepal/Bhutan/Tibetan refugee came before 1st Jan 1962 (for other services)
2.	Age limit	General- 21-32 years OBC- 21-35 years SC/ST- 21-37 years
3.	No. of Attempts	SC/ST- Unlimited OBC- 09 PwBD-09 General-06

UPSC CSE Syllabus

Aspirants should have a very profound knowledge about the syllabus and the nature of all stages of exam in order to have a firm grip over the UPSC CSE exam. Students should go through the previous year question papers to get equipped with the level of the paper. A detailed view of the syllabus for both the prelims and mains examinations are given below.

Scheme and subjects for preliminary & main exam

The preliminary examination consists of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each. Both the papers will be of objective type (Multiple choice questions) and each will be of 2-hour duration.

UPSC CSE 2023 Preliminary examination scheme

Paper	Subject	Marks
Paper-I	GS-paper Current events of national and international importance. History of India and Indian National Movement. Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization. General Science.	200 marks
Paper-II (200 marks)	CSAT-paper Comprehension Interpersonal skills including communication skills Logical reasoning and analytical ability Decision making and problem solving; General mental ability; Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc.- Class X level)	200 marks Qualifying in nature (min. qualifying marks fixed at 33%)

The UPSC CSE 2023 prelims consists of two papers that need to be compulsorily attempted as illustrated above. The CSAT paper will be qualifying in nature where you have to score at least 33% marks. There will be negative marks for each wrong answers, where 1/3^rd of marks will be deducted for each wrong attempt. And this is applicable for both the papers.

UPSC CSE 2023 main examination scheme

The structure and scheme of qualifying papers:

Paper A: For Indian language

1. comprehension of given passages.
2. Precis Writing.
3. Usage and Vocabulary.
4. Short Essays.
5. Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

Paper B: For English language

1. Comprehension of given passages.
2. Precis Writing.
3. Usage and Vocabulary.
4. Short Essays.

Qualifying papers:
Paper A	(One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution).	300 marks (min. qualifying marks 25%)
Paper B	English	300 marks (min. qualifying marks 25%)
Papers to be counted for merit:
Paper- I	Essay	250 marks
Paper-II	GS-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society)	250 marks
Paper-III	GS-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)	250 marks
Paper-IV	GS-III Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)	250 marks
Paper-V	GS-IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)	250 marks
Paper-VI	Optional paper-I	250 marks
Paper-VII	Optional paper-II	250 marks
Interview	Personality test	275 marks

The UPSC CSE 2023 mains exams consists of two qualifying papers whose minimum qualifying marks are 25% for each. The main aim of these qualifying papers is to try to gauge your ability to comprehend and express in English or the Indian language concerned. The Indian language paper is not compulsory for candidates from Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. Furthermore, there is an essay paper, four GS papers and two optional ones. And one of the most important facts to note is that there is no negative marking in the UPSC mains.

A UPSC CSE Aspirant must have a great level of perseverance and consistency to excel this exam as most type of students who appear for Civil Service Examinations come out through tough mentorship and intense coaching. Though, this doesn’t mean that UPSC exam preparation must be thought as a night mare, but can be easily pulled out through systematic approach and understanding. Mugging up everything under the sun is not the strategy you need to follow, instead try to focus on the prime topics and choose flexible optional subjects as per your preference. And try to optimize the day- to-day current affairs, understand the various social issues around you and its impacts. This helps you to go through the personality test or the interview in the advanced stages.