UPSC CSAT, Qualifying Marks, Syllabus, Exam Pattern, PYQs

UPSC CSAT

The Civil Services Aptitude Test, or CSAT, is one of the essential and qualifying paper of UPSC Prelims Exam. Prelims General Studies Paper 2 is another name for it. It was introduced by UPSC in the year of 2011 as a part of the UPSC Prelims exam. To assess a candidate’s analytical skills, interpersonal aptitude, decision-making skills, general mental aptitude, aptitude, and reasoning ability, CSAT was included to the UPSC CSE exam.

While passing with a score of at least 33% on this qualifying paper for the Prelims exam may appear simple, UPSC is renowned for its surprising questions. Putting forth the necessary effort and developing an effective strategy is required to pass the CSAT Exam with the required score.

Candidates must fully understand the CSAT 2023 Exam in order to stay current with all current happenings. To help the applicants ace this exam, we’ll be presenting in-depth information about the CSAT below, including the exam format, minimal passing scores, syllabus, and sample questions from prior years.

UPSC CSAT Overview

Since 2011, the UPSC Syllabus has included the CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test), often known as General Studies-2 in the UPSC Prelims. The CSAT 2023 is held on May 28, 2023, from 2:30 PM to 04:30 PM in the second shift following the GS Paper 1. Candidates should be aware of these details as they get ready for the upcoming CSAT exam.

• The initial merit list for the Prelims test was created using the CSAT or UPSC GS Paper 2 grades.
• The CSAT paper was changed to be qualifying in nature in 2015 by the Commission, which also made significant changes to the test structure. According to the exam format, applicants only need 33% of 66 out of a possible 200 to pass.

The CSAT syllabus is smaller than that of the UPSC GS Paper 1, making it easier for applicants to prepare. One can easily pass this test if they invest enough time in practicing for it. However, in order to cover each component of this article, a determined strategy is necessary.  The UPSC CSAT Overview have provided below in the table:

UPSC CSAT Exam

The UPSC CSAT Exam generally takes place on the second shift between 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM. The CSAT Exam must be qualified by candidates in order for them to clear the UPSC preliminary Examination. Candidates must review the syllabus and exam format in order to develop an effective strategy for this paper.

You must keep in mind that passing this paper shouldn’t be your only goal; instead, you should aim for high marks to be on the safe side. The minimum passing score for the CSAT in 2023 is 66 out of 200.

CSAT Qualifying Marks

Candidates won’t be able to develop a successful preparation plan without knowing the CSAT qualifying scores. Due to this, we will go into great detail on the paper pattern in this article. The CSAT exam will consist of 80 questions in total, and there will be 2 hours given for the paper. Each question is worth 2.5 marks, for a total of 200 marks.  0.83 marks, or one-third of the total marks for the question, will be subtracted for each incorrect response. There isn’t a credit for unanswered questions, though. For this paper, candidates must receive at least 33%, or 66 marks.

CSAT Syllabus

The CSAT or General Studies-2 Syllabus is made to assess a candidate’s analytical, aptitude, and decision-making skills. Basic numeracy, understanding, general mental aptitude, and other topics are included in the CSAT 2023 syllabus. Candidates must put in a lot of work if they want to do well on this test. Below, we present the entire UPSC CSAT Syllabus.

The UPSC Prelims Syllabus has the CSAT Syllabus as GS 2 in it. An outline of the subjects that will be covered in the next exam is given in the syllabus. To determine the question trend and adjust their preparation, candidates must complete UPSC Previous Year Question Papers for the CSAT.

CSAT Previous Year Question Paper

The UPSC GS-2 past year’s exam questions are one of the most crucial tools for CSAT exam preparation. When it comes to how the questions are framed, UPSC is erratic. Because of this, it is essential for candidates to review the question papers from past years in order to comprehend the difficulty of the questions, the format of the exam and the paper, current trends, and significant themes from the CSAT Syllabus, among other things. Candidates can immediately download the UPSC CSAT previous year question papers from the URL provided below.

The CSAT question papers from Prelims 2022 to 2014 are available for candidates to see below and download using the provided link.

UPSC CSAT Paper Analysis (2011-2020)

Candidates can view the amount of questions from various categories from 2011 to 2020 in the table below. The students will be able to better prepare if they are aware of the crucial areas of the CSAT exam syllabus.

You can see from the above table how crucial it is to devote effort to reading comprehension in the CSAT since data sufficiency accounted for five of the questions in 2020. From the perspective of the exam, Math and Basic Numeracy constitute yet another significant component. Therefore, if a candidate thoroughly studies for these two portions, he or she will be able to pass the CSAT paper with ease.

Best Time start Preparing CSAT for UPSC

• Prior to 2011, the Kothari Committee was in charge of the UPSC Prelims, which consisted of two papers: Paper II, one of 23 optional subjects, and GS, worth 150 points.
• The examination format was revised by the UPSC in 2010–2011; two 200–mark exams and a CSAT paper were included.
• After CSAT was introduced, it was treated similarly to GS paper 1 in the UPSC Prelims in terms of scoring. However, there was a dispute because candidates from rural backgrounds claimed that this paper was hurting their prospects of passing the Prelims.
• Due to this, the commission decided to make the CSAT exam qualifying in August of 2014, and the paper’s qualifying nature became apparent in 2015.

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