The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts a Civil Services Exam (CSE) every year to appoint deserving candidates for various roles. Those who get the highest ranks across different groups are allotted services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or the Indian Police Service (IPS).
If you want to join the police services, you must choose IPS as your relevant category. However, this requires you to appear for the examination, which includes a Preliminary test, a main written examination, and a personal interview.
Most importantly, you must know the IPS exam syllabus for the Preliminary and Mains categories to pass the exam without any hassle. Let’s learn more about the syllabus and other specifics about the exam in detail.
Syllabus of the IPS Exam
Candidates wanting to become IPS officials must know the syllabus inside and out. This allows you to understand the exam pattern and prepare well for it. The UPSC authorities have designed the IPS exam syllabus, as mentioned in detail below:
IPS Syllabus for Prelims
The Prelims exam for IPS includes the following distinct papers:
Paper I: General Studies (GS)
Paper II: Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)
Here is an overview of the exam pattern for the Prelims category in IPS:
| Papers | Subjects | Number of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| Paper I | General Studies | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
| Paper II | CSAT | 80 | 200 | 2 hours |
| Total | 180 | 400 | 4 hours | |
Here is an overview of the Prelims examination for the IPS syllabus:
Syllabus: General Studies – Paper I
- Current events of international or national importance.
- The Indian National Movement.
- History of India.
- World and Indian Geography: Economic, Physical, Social Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity: Political System, Public Policy, Rights Issues, Panchayati Raj, Constitution, and more.
- Social or Economic Development: Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Sustainable Development, Social Sector Initiatives, and more.
- General issues related to the fields of Biodiversity, Environmental Ecology, and Climate Change.
Syllabus: General Studies or CSAT– Paper II
- Comprehension.
- Interpersonal skills, including communication skills.
- Logical reasoning and analytical abilities.
- Problem-solving and decision-making.
- General mental ability.
- Basic numeracy.
- Data interpretation.
IPS Syllabus for Mains
The main examination of IPS involves analysing your overall academic expertise and ability to present knowledge more concisely. The exam also assesses your overall intellectual ability to test your understanding of several key concepts.
Here is an overview of the exam pattern for the upcoming IPS Mains for your understanding:
| Papers | Subjects | Marks | Duration |
| Paper A | Any Indian Language (qualifying paper) | 300 | 3 hours |
| Paper B | English (qualifying paper) | 300 | 3 hours |
| Paper I | Essay | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper II | General Studies I | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper III | General Studies II | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper IV | General Studies III | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper V | General Studies IV | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper VI | Optional Subject: Paper I | 250 | 3 hours |
| Paper VII | Optional Subject: Paper II | 250 | 3 hours |
The IPS Mains exam includes the following papers, which are in the form of written tests:
Paper A: Modern Indian Languages
In this paper, the following parameters will be used to check your eligibility:
- Comprehension of given passages.
- Precise writing.
- Usage and vocabulary.
- Short essay.
- English translation to an Indian language and vice versa.
Check out the table below that includes a list of the 22 modern Indian languages that you can select to appear in this paper:
| Assamese | Telugu |
| Marathi | Bengali |
| Gujarati | Dogri |
| Kashmiri | Hindi |
| Malayalam | Konkani |
| Nepali | Manipuri |
| Punjabi | Oriya |
| Santali | Sanskrit |
| Sindhi | Urdu |
| Bodo | Kannada |
| Maithili | Tamil |
Paper B: English
This particular paper is a way of testing your ability as an IPS candidate to read and understand serious discursive prose. You must also be able to express your ideas regarding any topic clearly and correctly in English.
Here, the following parameters test the abilities of candidates:
- Comprehension of given passages.
- Precise writing.
- Usage and vocabulary.
- Short essay.
Here is a breakdown of the IPS Mains papers that will eventually be counted for merit. Please note that the markings of these papers will also affect the final ranking of a particular candidate.
| Paper | Topic | Marks |
Paper I: Essay You will be asked to write two essays from a given list of topics. | The given topics will be in accordance with the subject matter at hand. As a candidate, you will be advised to frame your ideas in a concise and orderly manner. | 250 |
| Paper II: General Studies I |
| 250 |
| Paper III: General Studies II |
| 250 |
| Paper IV: General Studies – III |
| 250 |
| Paper V: General Studies – IV |
| 250 |
| Paper VI: Optional Paper – I | Topics for this particular paper will be decided according to the optional subject you choose for your exam. | 250 |
| Paper VII: Optional Paper – II | Topics for this particular paper will be decided according to the optional subject you choose for your exam. | 250 |
Total marks: 1750
List of Optional Subjects for the IPS Mains Exam
You are free to choose any of the following optional subjects for your IPS Mains exam as listed in the table below:
| Agriculture | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science |
| Anthropology | Chemistry |
| Botany | Commerce and Accountancy |
| Civil Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Economics | Geology |
| Geography | Law |
| History | Mathematics |
| Management | Medical Science |
| Mechanical Engineering | Physics |
| Philosophy | Psychology |
| Political Science | Sociology |
| Public Administration | Zoology |
| Statistics |
IPS Interview (Personality Test): Final Stage of Selection
Once you clear both the Prelims and Mains exams for IPS, you will be shortlisted for the final stage: the Personality Test or Interview round.
The UPSC board conducts this to evaluate your personality traits, ethical values, decision-making skills, mental alertness, and leadership capabilities.
Here is a list of the key highlights of the interview stage:
- The interview carries 275 marks, which are added to your main total (1750 marks), making the final score.
- The board analyses your general knowledge, awareness of current affairs, and ability to tackle real-world administrative challenges.
- Your communication skills, clarity of thought, moral integrity, leadership skills, depth of interest, balance of judgment, etc., are also evaluated.
- There are no minimum qualifying marks for the interview, but scoring high can improve your rank.
Final Thoughts
The IPS exam may seem complicated at first, but with the right approach to learning and practice, anyone can pass the examination. The most important thing to remember is to seek an overview of the syllabus before proceeding with the preparation.
This will allow you to gain the knowledge needed to showcase your skills and talent in the Prelims and Mains tests.
