UPSC - CSAT

The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) is part of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in India. CSAT is the second paper in the Preliminary stage of the CSE. Here's the detailed pattern and syllabus for the CSAT exam: Exam Pattern: 1. Preliminary Examination: • The CSAT paper (Paper-II) is conducted on the same day as the General Studies paper (Paper-I) in the Preliminary stage. • The CSAT paper is a qualifying paper with 33% marks as the passing criteria. • The CSAT paper is of 200 marks and 2 hours duration. 2. Main Examination: • CSAT is not a part of the Main Examination. The Main Examination consists of written exams in various subjects including Essay, General Studies, and Optional subjects. Syllabus: The CSAT syllabus is designed to test the candidate's aptitude and comprehension skills. The syllabus broadly includes the following areas: 1. Comprehension Skills: • Reading Comprehension: Candidates are required to read passages and answer questions based on understanding the content, identifying the main idea, drawing inferences, etc. 2. Analytical Ability: • Logical Reasoning: This includes questions on syllogism, logical sequencing, analogies, classification, etc. • Analytical Reasoning: Questions on blood relations, seating arrangements, puzzles, direction sense, etc. 3. Quantitative Aptitude: • Data Interpretation: Tabular data, graphs, charts, etc., to be interpreted and questions to be answered. • Basic Numeracy: Questions on numbers, percentages, fractions, decimals, ratios, and proportions, etc. 4. Decision Making and Problem Solving: • Decision Making: Questions testing decision-making skills in practical situations. • Problem Solving: Questions on application of logic and reasoning to solve problems. 5. General Mental Ability: • This section tests general mental ability including numerical ability, logical reasoning, and analytical ability.