UPSC Mains Exam Date 2024: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the UPSC Mains exam date 2024 at upsc.gov.in. The exam is scheduled to be conducted between September 20 and September 29, 2024 in two shifts for all the nine subjects. Candidates appearing for the Mains exam should check the complete exam timetable to strategies their preparation for the exam.
UPSC Mains Exam Date 2024
UPSC will start the UPSC Mains exam from September 20. Each day the examination will be conducted in two shifts except for day 1. The candidates must know the UPSC syllabus in detail. Check the list below for important information
- The exam will start on September 20 with the essay paper in the morning shift and no other examination will be conducted on that day.
- The other papers will be held in the coming days.
- General Studies paper will be conducted in two days on September 21 and 22.
- Indian language paper and English paper will be conducted on September 28, 2024
- Optional paper will be conducted on September 29, 2029
Also Check,
UPSC Mains Exam Schedule 2024
UPSC has released the Mains exam dates and schedules for the 2024 examination. The examination will start on September 20 and end on September 29. Check the table below for the UPSC Mains Exam Schedule.
| Date (Day) | Forenoon Session (9.00 AM to 12.00 Noon) | Afternoon Session (2.00 PM to 5.00 PM) |
| 20.09.2023 (Friday) | Paper-I: Essay | No Paper |
| 21.09.2023 (Saturday) | Paper-II: General Studies-I | Paper-III: General Studies-II |
| 22.09.2023 (Sunday) | Paper-IV: General Studies-III | Paper-V: General Studies-IV |
| 28.09.2023 (Saturday) | Paper-A: Indian Language | Paper-B: English |
| 29.09.2023 (Sunday) | Paper-VI: Optional Subject-Paper-1 | Paper-VII: Optional Subject-Paper-2 |
Note: The Indian Language paper can be taken in any of the following languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali (Devanagari/Olchiki script), Sindhi (Devanagari/Arabic script), Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
UPSC Mains Exam Timetable 2024 Official Schedule
The UPSC has published the official notice regarding the UPSC Mains exam schedule on its website. For the sake of convenience, we have shared the notice below.
UPSC Mains Exam Schedule 2024 PDF
UPSC Mains Exam Schedule 2024: Subject Wise
The UPSC Mains exam 2024 consists of aa total descriptive papers that are held over 5 days. Each paper is for a duration of 3 hours, and the total score for this stage is 1750 in the final merit list. Check the subject wise time table below in the table.
| UPSC Mains Time Table 2024 | ||
| Shift | Morning Session | Afternoon Session |
| Date (Day) | 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. | 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. |
| 20/9/2024 (Friday) | Paper-I: Essay | No Paper |
| 21/9/2024 (Saturday) | Paper-II: General Studies-I | Paper-III: General Studies-II |
| 22/9/2024 (Sunday) | Paper-IV: General Studies-III | Paper-V: General Studies-IV |
| 27/9/2024 (Friday) | Paper-A: Indian Language (Assamese / Bengali / Bodo / Dogri/ Gujarati / Hindi / Kannada / Kashmiri/ Konkani / Maithilli / Malayalam / Manipuri / Marathi / Nepali /Odia / Punjabi /Sanskrit /Santhali/ Sindhi/ Tamil / Telugu /Urdu) | Paper-B: English |
| 28/9/2024 (Saturday) | Paper-VI: Optional Subject-Paper-1 (Agriculture/Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science/Anthropology /Botany / Chemistry / Civil Engineering / Commerce & Accountancy / Economics / Electrical Engineering / Geography / Geology / History / Law / Management/Mathematics / Mechanical Engineering /Medical Science / Philosophy / Physics/ Political Science & International Relations / Psychology / Public Administration / Sociology / Statistics / Zoology / Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese / Bengali / Bodo / Dogri /Gujarati / Hindi / Kannada / Kashmiri /Konkani / Maithilli / Malayalam /Manipuri / Marathi / Nepali / Odia /Punjabi / Sanskrit / Santhali / Sindhi /Tamil / Telugu / Urdu / English) | Paper-VII: Optional Subject-Paper-2 (Agriculture / Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science / Anthropology /Botany / Chemistry / Civil Engineering /Commerce & Accountancy / Economics /Electrical Engineering / Geography /Geology / History / Law / Management/Mathematics / Mechanical Engineering/Medical Science / Philosophy / Physics/ Political Science & International Relations / Psychology / Public Administration / Sociology / Statistics/ Zoology / Literature of any one of the following languages: Assamese / Bengali / Bodo / Dogri /Gujarati / Hindi / Kannada / Kashmiri /Konkani / Maithilli / Malayalam /Manipuri / Marathi / Nepali / Odia /Punjabi / Sanskrit / Santhali / Sindhi /Tamil / Telugu / Urdu / English) |
The Optional Subject paper can be taken in any of the following subjects:
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science & International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology, or Literature of any one of the languages listed below
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
UPSC Mains Question Paper Pattern 2024
The UPSC Mains examination will be conducted in pen and paper mode. Each paper will be descriptive in nature, where candidates need to write a detailed explanation. Candidates attempting the examination need to clear the minimum qualifying marks to attempt the interview. Check the table below for the UPSC Mains Exam Pattern.
| UPSC Mains Exam Pattern | |
| Particular | Detail |
| Exam Mode | Offline Pen and paper-based |
| Nature of Exam | Descriptive Type |
| Total Papers | Nine |
| Qualifying Papers | Two (Paper A and Paper B) |
| Duration of Exam | 3 Hours/Each |
| Marks for Qualifying Papers | 300 Marks |
| Passing Criteria in Qualifying Papers | 75 Marks |
| Marks for Paper I to Paper VII | 250 marks each |
| Total Marks | 1750 Marks |
What After UPSC Mains Exam?
Candidates who successfully clear the Mains examination will be called for the final stage, i.e., the interview or the personality test. The UPSC will conduct the interview for 275 marks, which will last for approximately 30 minutes.
Attempt UPSC Mock Test based on latest exam pattern
Read about UPSC IAS Toppers 2023,