UPSC CSAT Syllabus — Every Topic, Listed

CSAT is the qualifying paper that quietly eliminates prepared candidates every year. It rewards technique and timed practice — comprehension, reasoning and quantitative basics — not more theory.

Below is the complete CSAT syllabus as UPSCGenie teaches it: 7 topic groups, 16 topics — every one of them a full, source-cited lesson in the app, with practice questions attached.

Comprehension (1 topics)

• Reading comprehension - passages & inference

Interpersonal & Communication (1 topics)

• Interpersonal skills including communication

Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability (4 topics)

• Syllogisms & statements
• Series, coding-decoding, analogy
• Blood relations & directions
• Seating arrangement & puzzles

Decision Making & Problem Solving (1 topics)

• Decision-making scenarios (no negative marking)

General Mental Ability (1 topics)

• General mental ability

Basic Numeracy (6 topics)

• Number system & arithmetic
• Percentage, ratio, proportion
• Average, mixtures & alligation
• Time-speed-distance & time-work
• Profit, loss & interest
• Permutation, combination & probability basics

Data Interpretation (2 topics)

• Tables, charts & graphs interpretation
• Data sufficiency

How to cover this subject

Work through the topic groups in the order listed — the sequence builds concepts before applications. After each topic, attempt its previous-year questions; after finishing the subject, take a mock test and let the checkpoint flag weak topics for revision. See the full UPSC syllabus for how this subject fits the overall study plan.

Frequently asked questions

How many topics are in the UPSC CSAT syllabus?

In UPSCGenie's teaching tree, CSAT for Prelims breaks into 16 topics across 7 topic groups: Comprehension, Interpersonal & Communication, Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability, Decision Making & Problem Solving, General Mental Ability, Basic Numeracy, Data Interpretation.

Are there free lessons for the CSAT syllabus?

Yes — every CSAT topic listed on this page has a full, source-cited lesson in UPSCGenie (English and Hindi), with recall questions, and the subject ends with a scored checkpoint.

Is this the official UPSC syllabus for CSAT?

It covers the officially notified syllabus, organised into teachable topics. For the authoritative one-line syllabus text, always refer to the current UPSC notification; this page expands it into the concrete topics the paper actually tests.

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