A 2 Z Success: Civil Service Aptitude test(CSAT) as New pattern of IAS Exam

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has changed the pattern of highly respected IAS exam from 2011 . In the new pattern the Preliminary Test (PT) for IAS exam is replaced by Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT).

From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II.

Syllabus for CSAT as proposed by UPSC

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.

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 donot require subject specialization
General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

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)
English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

Know More about CSAT

Union Public service commission has deployed this massive change in pattern of this reputed Civil service exam from 2011 onwards. CSAT (Civil service aptitude test) is definitely going to bring about lots of changes in the methodology and strategies that are used in preparation of this competitive exam.

Now, all the students (students from all disciplines) are to be brought under one roof as all have to face the same paper in the preliminary test of IAS exam.

This test is primarily focused on testing the analytical abilities of the candidate more than a test of knowledge. As civil services are getting tougher and bringing new and tough challenges every day in front of civil servants of this level.

Thus CSAT test will comprise questions primarily from Current Affairs from National and International Events, Logical Reasoning and Decision Making, Elementary Mathematics, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation from Graphic and Chart. The exact syllabus for CSAT as proposed by UPSC can be seen above.

As clear from above, the focus is now on analytical skills more than anything else. Also, now candidates won’t have the advantage of having already prepared one optional subject for mains exam (The one subject they took in pre exam as optional was already prepared according to the previous pattern). So, the new pattern seems to be more fair and challenging. The exact impacts of the same would be found out after commencement and outcomes of the exam.