Indian Language Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

The qualifying paper on Indian Languages will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard.The marks obtained in this paper will not be counted for ranking. The aim of the paper is to test the candidates’s ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian Language concerned. Minimum marks needed is 30%. (UPSC says, the papers on Essay, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance who attain 30% marks in Indian Language and 25% marks in English as minimum qualifying standards in these qualifying papers.)

Qualifying Indian Language Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam

The pattern of questions in the qualifying Indian Language Paper would be broadly as follows:

(i) Comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.
(iv) Short Essay
(v) Translation from English to the Indian language and vice‐versa.

Indian Languages and Scripts Allowed by UPSC for Civil Services Exam

For the Language medium/ literature of languages, the scripts to be used by the candidates will be as under:—

•  Language                              Script

1. Assamese                             Assamese
2. Bengali                                  Bengali
3. Gujarati                                 Gujarati
4. Hindi                                     Devanagari
5. Kannada                                Kannada
6. Kashmiri                                Persian
7. Konkani                                 Devanagari
8. Malayalam                            Malayalam
9. Manipuri                               Bengali
10. Marathi                                 Devanagari
11. Nepali                                   Devanagari
12. Oriya                                     Oriya
13. Punjabi                                 Gurumukhi
14. Sanskrit                                 Devanagari
15. Sindhi                                   Devanagari or Arabic
16. Tamil                                    Tamil
17. Telugu                                  Telugu
18. Urdu                                     Persian
19. Bodo                                    Devanagari
20. Dogri                                     Devanagari
21. Maithilli                                 Devanagari
22. Santhali                                 Devanagari or Olchiki

Note: For Santhali language, question paper will beprinted in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.

Note: Paper A will not be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

Additional Links:

1. Useful Civil Services Books
2. Civil Services Study Materials for Online Preparation
3. IAS Question Papers