Nothing teaches the Civil Services Examination like the examination itself. This archive holds the question papers of every cycle of the modern examination — from 2026 all the way back to 1979, when the three-stage Prelims–Mains–Interview pattern first ran — preserved as issued, year by year.
Pick a year below. Each plate lights up as its papers are compiled; the rest carry a Coming soon pill until their page is on disk.
The archive, 2026 → 1979
What one recent cycle holds
From 2013 onward, a year’s page carries the seven papers of the merit and qualifying core — the two Prelims papers, the Essay, and the four Mains General Studies papers. Earlier eras were structured differently, and their pages present the papers as those cycles actually set them.
- Prelims GS Paper 1
- Prelims CSAT (Paper 2)
- Mains Essay
- Mains GS Paper 1
- Mains GS Paper 2
- Mains GS Paper 3
- Mains GS Paper 4
Reading the eras
Three dates explain almost every difference you will notice as you move through the archive.
The shape of the examination
- 1979
The modern pattern begins
The three-stage Preliminary, Main, and Interview structure runs for the first time. Every paper in this archive belongs to this pattern.
- 2011
CSAT replaces the Prelims optional
The Civil Services Aptitude Test becomes Prelims Paper 2, ending the optional-subject Prelims era.
- 2013
The current Mains structure
The four General Studies papers and the Essay settle into the pattern still in force, and the seven-paper cycle this site documents begins.
Frequently asked questions
How far back does the archive go?
To 1979, the first cycle of the modern three-stage examination. The grid lists every year from the current cycle back to that first one, and each year lights up as its page is compiled and uploaded.
Why do the papers look different across the years?
The examination itself changed. The three-stage pattern arrived in 1979, the CSAT replaced the Prelims optional subject in 2011, and the current Mains structure has run since 2013. The archive preserves each era exactly as it was set, so the format you see is the format candidates faced.
Are these the original question papers?
Yes. Papers are reproduced as issued, and any defects in the original settings are preserved verbatim in the question text and addressed only in the explanations.
How many papers does one recent cycle include?
Seven from the merit and qualifying core: two Prelims papers, the Essay, and the four Mains General Studies papers. That is the structure the current Mains pattern has used since 2013.
How should I use past papers in preparation?
Map the trend first, then sit the paper. Reading a decade of questions on one subject shows what the Commission actually asks; sitting a full paper under time shows what you can actually finish. Pair the archive with the timed mock tests to close the loop.
