UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024, Download GS and CSAT PDF

The UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024 is now available for download and practice. The Union Public Service Commission successfully conducted the Civil Services Exam (Preliminary Stage) on 16th June in two shifts. This includes the General Studies or GS paper held in the first shift and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) paper held in the second one. Overall the two papers were of easy to moderate level. Candidates deciding to appear in the exam later can check their preparation through the UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024.

UPSC Prelims 2024 Question Paper PDF

UPSC Prelims Question Paper for both Paper 1 (Shift: 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM) and Paper 2 (Shift: 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM) are attached below. Each paper carries 200 marks and should be solved within 2 hours. As all the sets have the same questions in a different order, we have provided only one set of question papers.

UPSC CSE Answer Key 2024

The official UPSC Answer Key is released along with the Final Result. So, candidates who wish to check their expected score in the UPSC CSE Prelims Exam have to rely on the unofficial answer keys. The UPSC CSE Answer Key 2024 has been updated here. Candidates must note that since the questions are highly subjective, the final answers will depend on the UPSC. Thus, it is likely that the score arrived at through the unofficial answer keys may differ from the final score.

UPSC CSE Answer Key 2024

UPSC Prelims 2024 Analysis

The UPSC Prelims Question Paper for the first shift was of easy to moderate level. It contained maximum weightage of questions from Economics, Geography and Environment, and Polity. The CSAT paper was also of moderate level with around 17 Reading Comprehension passages and a few tricky questions. Overall, the UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024 was easier than the previous year paper.

Candidates can check the subject-wise distribution of questions in the UPSC Prelims Question Paper (General Studies) below:

UPSC CSE Marking Scheme

Candidates wishing to calculate their marks after attempting the UPSC CSE 2024 Question Paper can follow the given marking scheme. Out of 200 marks in Paper 1, candidates are required to clear the cutoff. The CSAT paper is qualifying in nature and requires 33% marks to be eligible for the Mains exam. There is a negative marking in both papers. The detailed marking scheme is given below.

What after UPSC CSE Prelims 2024?

Those who are well above the range of 80-95 marks in Paper 1 and above 66 marks in Paper 2 shall now start preparing for the UPSC CSE Mains exam without any delay. The Mains exam will consist of 9 papers together carrying 1750 marks. Candidates who clear the Mains exam will then be called for a Personality Test/ Interview of 275 marks. The final merit list will be prepared based on the marks obtained in Mains and the Interview.

UPSC CSE 2024 Exam Pattern and Syllabus for Prelims & Mains