UPSC Previous Year Question Papers From 2014 to 2023

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers are important that can help aspirants effectively to cover vast UPSC syllabus. Download UPSC IAS Previous year papers from 2014-2023.

Table of Contents

UPSC is a highly competitive exam, with lakhs of students appearing for it each year. As we all know the UPSC Syllabus 2024 is very vast. Each of its sub-topics is a graduation subject in itself. Does this mean that UPSC wants aspirants to fathom it all? The answer is clearly no. UPSC wants aspirants to be smart enough to be able to cover the entire syllabus as per the requirements of the exam.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers act as a guiding light in an aspirant’s preparation journey. Going through them carefully, one can understand the nature of questions asked by UPSC and the probable areas. This will make preparation more exam-oriented. Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Question Papers from 2014 to 2023 for both UPSC Prelims (both general studies and CSAT) and UPSC Mains Papers and also providing UPSC Optional Subjects Previous Question Papers.

UPSC Prelims Previous Year Question Papers From 2014 to 2023

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Prelims Papers from 2014 to 2023 for both General Studies and CSAT:

Year	Question Paper PDF Links
2014	General Studies CSAT
2015	General Studies CSAT
2016	General Studies CSAT
2017	General Studies CSAT
2018	General Studies CSAT
2019	General Studies CSAT
2020	General Studies CSAT
2021	General Studies CSAT
2022	General Studies CSAT
2023	GS Paper I (Set A) GS Paper I (Set B) GS Paper I (Set C) GS Paper I (Set D) GS Paper I in Hindi (Set A) CSAT Set A CSAT Set A in Hindi

Check here: UPSC Prelims 2023 Answer Keys

UPSC Mains Previous Year Question Papers From 2014 to 2023

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Mains Papers from 2014 to 2023 from a general studies perspective:

Year	Question Papers PDF Link
2014	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2015	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2016	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2017	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2018	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2019	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2020	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2021	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2022	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper
2023	General Studies – I General Studies – II General Studies – III General Studies – IV Essay paper

UPSC Geography Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Geography Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC History Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year History Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Sociology Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Sociology Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Public Administration Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Public Administration Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC PSIR Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Political Science & International Relations Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Anthropology Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Anthropology Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Philosophy Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Philosophy Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Mathematics Optional Previous Year Question Papers

Here we are providing year-wise UPSC Previous Year Mathematics Optional Papers from 2018 to 2023 in the table:

Year	Question Papers
2018	Paper – I Paper – II
2019	Paper – I Paper – II
2020	Paper – I Paper – II
2021	Paper – I Paper – II
2022	Paper – I Paper – II
2023	Paper – I Paper – II

UPSC Previous Year Papers Importance

To understand the demand of the UPSC.
It helps us understand the exam pattern of UPSC.
Practising Previous Year Questions helps understand the UPSC Exam Pattern 2024 of asking questions.
It also helps us with time management while solving questions.
To effectively cover the UPSC Syllabus.
To gauge the depth of understanding needed in each topic.
To predict probable areas from which questions can be asked.
Practice with good-quality questions, that check your conceptual clarity.

Why Should Aspirants Solve The UPSC Previous Year Question Papers?

The UPSC preparation process heavily relies on UPSC’s previous year questions. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t avoid looking at the UPSC previous year’s test questions.

Recognize the questions that are being asked.

The applicants will be able to assess the type of questions that are asked by quickly reading through the UPSC previous year’s test questions at the start of their UPSC preparation.

This will assist you in determining whether a news story or other piece of information is pertinent solely from the standpoint of the exam. The pool of information can be divided according to its importance. It will also assist you in sifting through a big amount of information to find the pertinent pieces where the query might be raised.

Recognise the significance of a certain subject

The importance of particular areas is also hinted at in some detail by UPSC previous year questions. The syllabus covers a wide range of subjects. But certain subjects are more crucial than others. As a result, when our specialists discuss significant themes with you in class, they always refer to papers from the previous year as their source of information.

Therefore, it is crucial that you carefully read the exams from the previous year to obtain that notion if you are preparing on your own without any professional supervision or coaching. It will assist you in removing the curriculum.

Determine the priority of the subjects

Now, what we said about the topics also applies to the subjects. For instance, the curriculum lists all the fundamental courses for the General Studies-I question on the UPSC preliminary test. But does that imply that they will all be given equal weight? NO! All of the subjects are not given equal weight.

On the aforementioned links, you may view the Prelims analysis for the years 2017 and 2018. You’ll see that from the perspective of the Prelims, some subjects are more crucial than others. An examination of UPSC previous year question papers will reveal these crucial insights that will significantly improve your preparation since it may differ for the Mains tests.

Understand how to answer the questions in Mains

Examining the copies of responses written by test-takers is one of the best approaches to start composing replies. You will also need to check the top scorers’ responses to the UPSC previous year’s exam questions. The only way to perform this examination of what to include in your responses is to thoroughly complete previous year’s papers.

Our experts at StudyIQ UPSC programmes strongly advise solving UPSC previous year’s question papers for effective exam preparation. Therefore, each aspirant ought to review the PYQs at the start of their preparation process. To help you improve your preparation for the UPSC exam, StudyIQ offers aspirants specialised online courses.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers FAQs

Do UPSC repeat questions?

This happens very rarely. Thus, it is advisable to scan the previous year's questions.

Is UPSC a hard exam?

If one looks at the selection ratio, it is certainly a tough exam. However, with the right approach and hard work, it can be easily cracked.

Is UPSC full of MCQ?

MCQs are asked in the prelims stage of this exam. Mains stage is subjective in nature where one is expected to write with a pen as in a conventional copy pen exam.

Why I failed in UPSC?

There can be many reasons depending on the individual’s circumstances. A common reason for failure despite hard work is lack of proper guidance, not understanding the requirement of the exam etc.

Who cleared UPSC without coaching?

Many aspirants do so every year. One needs the right strategy and guidance which can be sought through coaching institutes, seniors, mentors or any other source.

When will UPSC Prelims 2024 examination will be conducted?

UPSC Prelims 2024 examination will be conducted on 16th June 2024.

Is previous year question paper enough for UPSC?

UPSC Previous year question papers (PYQs) are an essential resource for UPSC Exam preparation, but they are not enough on their own also supplement your preparation with current affairs.