Philosophy comes under the category of optional subjects for UPSC civil service examination. The relevance of philosophy has always been taken to be quite theoretical and uninteresting. However, the subject seems to be a choice of many in the civil services examination.

Division of the paper:

The paper I is mainly about Indian philosophy and Western philosophy. Section-A contains question on western philosophy where as the section-B is about Indian philosophy.

Time allotted for the examination and marks:

The allowed time for the examination is three hours and the total mark is 300.

The paper pattern:

The question paper is printed in both Hindi and English. Candidates should write their answer in the medium specified in their Admission Certificate. No marks will be given if the answer is written in any medium other than the specified medium in the Admission Certificate. Here a candidate has to attempt 5 questions in total. Question no 1 from section-A and 5 from section-B is compulsory. Candidates should select any 3 of the remaining question selecting at least one question from each section. The questions which are compulsory in the paper are either a long description or is short notes. There are plenty of internal choices in questions for the convenience of the candidates. All the questions carry equal mark. The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of each question.