The new Recruitment Process of Civil Services Exam is called the CSAT or the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is coming into effect from the Civil Services Examination, 2011. CSAT will not only enable UPSC to choose civil servants with right aptitudes but also end the use of scaling system for varying subjects that has been a matter of concern for many. No changes are being introduced at this stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE).

From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under :

(Paper 1) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hours

Current events of national and international importance

History of India and Indian national movement

Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world

Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.

Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.

General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that do not require subject specialization

General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) Duration : Two hours

Comprehension

Interpersonal skills including communication skills

Logical reasoning and analytical ability

Decision making and problem solving

General mental ability

Basic numeracy numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Class X level)

English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.