The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) conducts the Provincial Civil Service (PCS) Exam every year. In 2020, PCS Prelims is going to take place on 11th October while PCS Mains will take place next year from January 22, 2021, onward. Aspirants preparing for PCS Exam should know the important topics to cover from UPPSC Syllabus which is given along with the PCS notification.
Before we talk about the important focus areas in the PCS syllabus, aspirants should know the exam pattern of the examination. It is given below:
UPPSC Prelims Exam Pattern:
| Number of Papers conducted in PCS Prelims | There are two papers:
|
| The duration of the PCS Prelims GS I and GS II | Each paper is of two hours |
| Marks allotted to each PCS Prelims papers GS I and GS II | GS I and GS II are of 200 marks each. Candidates should note that GS II is of qualifying nature while only GS I marks are used for merit ranking |
| Nature of the Exam | UPPSC PCS Prelims is of objective type |
| The negative marking in PCS Prelims | There is a negative marking of 0.33% of the total marks assigned to that question for every incorrect answer |
UPPSC PCS Mains Exam Pattern:
| Number of Papers conducted in PCS Mains | There are 8 papers:
|
| The duration of the PCS Mains Papers | Each paper is of three hours |
| Marks allotted to each PCS Mains papers | While General Hindi and Essay papers are of 150 marks each; every other GS papers and optional papers are of 200 marks each |
| Nature of the Exam | UPPSC PCS Mains is an essay-format paper, i.e., aspirants have to write subjective answers |
Focus Areas in PCS Syllabus
The focus areas are those important topics which should be read by aspirants carefully. Questions from these areas are usually asked often and these topics make important points in UPPSC Syllabus.
We are giving focus areas for PCS Prelims and Mains both and aspirants should try to put extra vigil on these topics:
| Topic | Focus Area |
| Current Events | Aspirants should try focusing every current news that is relevant from the state of Uttar Pradesh’s perspectives and also is relevant to the nation along with some international relevance |
| History | Aspirants should focus on Indian history with major emphasis on:
Ancient History – Topics like IVC, Vedic Literature, Magadha Empire should be well-read Medieval History – Topics like Delhi Sultanate, Administration of rulers like Alauddin Khilji etc should be well-read Modern History – It is always a hot topic and aspirants should try and focus on freedom struggle movements |
| Geography | Aspirants should focus on Indian Geography giving importance to:
For World Geography, aspirants should focus on maps and topics like major seas, bordering countries etc. |
| Economics | As syllabus mentions social and economic development, aspirants should focus on SDGs, Government schemes for vulnerable sections, and other social issues apart from important basic concepts in Economics |
| Environment | Aspirants should focus on general issues which are debated like climate change, global warming, coral reefs, biodiversity etc. |
What are the focus areas of PCS Mains?
Aspirants should note that the Mains stage of the PCS Exam is a very important stage. The marks scored here majorly decide the final rank. Hence, topics mentioned in the UPPSC Syllabus should be well-adhered to, for success. Candidates should note below points:
- Art and culture, Modern History and World history are important.
- Indian Society and Geography questions are based on current events.
- Indian Polity always remains important for PCS Mains
- Economics is again current affairs related to the demand for basic knowledge of economics concept
- The environment is a hot topic and aspirants should focus on current events.
- Ethics and integrity should be well-read and case studies should be followed.
Aspirants should know the PCS Exam dates for the year 2020:
- PCS Prelims 2020 – 11th October 2020
- PCS Mains 2020 – 22nd January 2021 onward
Tips to be taken away by the PCS aspirants is that they should always be updated with the notification and keep UPPSC syllabus handy before starting their preparation.
Focus areas mentioned above can act as a score-booster for the aspirants and once these topics are well-versed with by the aspirants, surely, it becomes easier to crack the PCS exam.