UPSC ESE prelims 2024 registration ends on November 22; paper pattern, marking scheme

NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will end the registration process for Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025 on November 22. Interested candidates will be able to register for UPSC ESE 2025 prelims through the official website, upsc.gov.in. The UPSC ESE 2025 exam will be conducted on June 8, 2025 at various centres across the country.

The UPSC ESE prelims exam will be held in two shifts- paper 1 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am and paper 2 from 2 pm to 5 pm. The examination authority will open the UPSC ESE application correction window from November 23 to 29, 2024.

UPSC ESE Paper 1 will consist of 200 mark questions, and Paper 2 will carry questions of 300 marks. Candidates qualifying the Preliminary exam will be shortlisted to appear for the main exam scheduled for August 10, 2025. The recruitment drive aims to fill a total of 457 vacancies in the department.

UPSC ESE 2025 exam pattern

Candidates can check the UPSC ESE exam pattern in the table given below-

The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination (UPSC Prelims) consists of two mandatory papers: General Studies (Paper I) and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT, Paper II). Both papers are objective-type exams with multiple-choice questions (MCQs).

Paper 1 (General Studies) is worth 200 marks and tests a broad range of subjects, including current affairs, history, geography, polity, economics, general science, and environmental issues. The paper lasts for two hours, and candidates must carefully answer questions within this time frame.

Paper 2 (CSAT), also for 200 marks and lasting two hours, assesses the candidate’s aptitude, including comprehension, logical reasoning, decision-making, numerical ability, and basic data interpretation. However, Paper II is qualifying, meaning candidates must score at least 33% in this paper to move on to the Mains exam, but the marks from Paper II are not included in the final ranking for the Prelims.