Frequently Asked Questions

UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination has two objective papers held on the same day. General Studies Paper I carries 100 questions for 200 marks, and CSAT Paper II carries 80 questions for 200 marks. Each paper is two hours long. Paper I decides whether you qualify for Mains, while Paper II is only qualifying.

General Studies Paper I has 100 multiple-choice questions and CSAT Paper II has 80 multiple-choice questions, so you attempt 180 questions in total across the two papers.

Yes. One-third of the marks assigned to a question are deducted for every wrong answer in both papers. Questions you leave unattempted carry no penalty, so blind guessing usually costs more than it gains.

CSAT Paper II is qualifying in nature and you must score at least 33 percent, which is 66 out of 200 marks. If you fail to clear this cut-off, your General Studies Paper I score is not considered, regardless of how well you performed in it.

No. Prelims is a screening stage only. The final merit list is prepared from the Mains written examination and the Personality Test, so Prelims marks do not carry forward.

Previous year questions show you how UPSC actually frames problems, which topics repeat, and how deep the examiner expects you to go. Working through them is the most reliable way to judge whether your preparation matches the standard of the exam rather than the standard of your notes.

Most successful candidates solve at least the last ten years of papers. iAspirants provides UPSC Prelims previous year questions from 2016 to 2025, organised by exam year and by subject, each with the correct answer and a detailed explanation.

Yes. You can browse and read UPSC Prelims previous year questions by year and by subject without an account. Creating a free account additionally lets you attempt them as timed tests and track your scores.

Go beyond checking whether you got it right. Identify what the question was testing, which source it was drawn from, and why each wrong option was wrong. Every question on iAspirants includes this breakdown along with the subject linkages and a mind map.

Follow one reliable daily source, keep your notes short and revisable, and connect every news item back to the static syllabus. Volume matters far less than revision. iAspirants publishes daily UPSC current affairs analysis with summaries, key terms and mind maps so each article can be revised in minutes.

Roughly twelve to eighteen months before the exam date is the range most aspirants target, with heavier weight on the twelve months immediately preceding Prelims. Older events still matter when they connect to a static topic or a long-running policy.

A newspaper gives you the raw material but not the exam framing. You still need to filter what is syllabus-relevant, condense it into revisable notes, and test yourself on it. That filtering and revision layer is what the iAspirants current affairs blog is built to provide.

iAspirants is an online UPSC and IAS preparation platform. It combines previous year question practice, daily current affairs analysis, subject-wise study material, notes, flashcards and full-length mock tests with performance tracking, so your preparation and your assessment sit in one place.

You can read the current affairs blog and browse UPSC Prelims previous year questions with answers and explanations without paying. Practice tests, notes, flashcards and progress tracking are part of the subscription plans listed on the pricing page.

Yes. You can generate practice tests from previous year questions and from subject-wise question banks, submit them, and get your score with detailed solutions immediately. Your accuracy and progress are tracked subject by subject.

Yes. Your test attempts feed a study-progress view that shows accuracy and performance across subjects, so you can see which areas are weak instead of guessing. A leaderboard lets you compare your standing with other aspirants.

Yes. Alongside Prelims practice, the platform includes Mains answer practice and subject-wise study material, so the same account supports you across both stages.

Create a free account from the onboarding page, choose UPSC as your target exam, and you can begin with previous year questions or the daily current affairs feed straight away. No payment is required to start.