Prelims Combined Mains Courses
The Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is spread over an entire year, divided into three extremely competitive stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview.
The PCM course covers all the 3 stages of the examination.
This course follows an integrative approach of covering UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains Syllabus Together. This approach makes it easier for the students to cover the syllabus on time, practice more test, answer writing and helps in comprehensive understanding of all the topics.
The Prelims Combined Mains program at Kamaraj IAS Academy in Chennai is strategically planned to help you ace your UPSC prep. Given that the Prelims are more of a filtering stage, you need to prep for it smartly and boldly. Covering General Studies (GS) topics, this exam is a multiple-choice paper, testing your conceptual knowledge.
The mains are written exams comprising nine papers, 5 of which involve GS, but only 7 papers get counted for the final ranking. For the rest, you only need to secure the minimum marks prescribed by the UPSC. This exam is more subjective, calling for analytical thinking and being prepared for dynamic questions.
To help you ably tackle the needs of both exams, this UPSC coaching program trains you for the theoretical questions and also invokes your thought process through interactive learning and group discussions. Our weekly mock tests further help you get the practice you need to think clearly and apply your understanding of concepts effectively. Spanning for a duration of 16 months, this program will hone not just your ability to understand complex topics better, but also apply them to real-life situations, which is what gets tested in the Mains.
Salient Features of the Course
1 Dedicated Mentor through Kamaraj Genius Forum (KGF)
2 Regular Doubt Clearing Session and interactive with the subject faculty
3 Regular One—to-One session with our Honorary Faculty
4 Motivational and personality Grooming Session
5 Guest Lecturers by Officers in Service and Subject Matter Experts
6 Both Online and Offline Classes
7 Availability of Recording till the end of Mains 2023
8 Access to Updated Value Added Materials
9 No further payment is required for repetition of classes within the duration of the course
10 Free Current Affair Classes till you clear your exam
11 Ideal Batch size of 60 Students per class
12 Prelims Test Series
13 Mains Answer Writing Practice
14 Mains Test Series
15 Essay Classes and Test
16 Access to reference books in the institute library
Upcoming Batch Tentative Schedule
| Batch | Date Of Commencement | Timing | Duration |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 4) | 06-06-2024 | 08:00 am - 10:30 am | 16 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 5) | 07-07-2024 | 08:00 am - 10:30 am | 15 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 1) | 21-07-2024 | 09:00 am - 04:30 pm | 15 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 6) | 15-08-2024 | 08:00 am - 12:30 pm | 14 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 2) | 18-08-2024 | 09:00 am - 04:30 pm | 13 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 7) | 07-09-2024 | 08:00 am - 12:30 pm | 12 Months |
| Prelims Combined Mains (Batch 3) | 15-09-2024 | 09:00 am - 04:30 pm | 12 Months |
Exam Pattern
Prelims
| Paper Name | Time Duration | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Nature of Paper |
| GS Paper I | 2 hours | 100 | 200 | Marks considered for Preliminary Exam Merit |
| GS Paper II (CSAT) | 2 hours | 80 | 200 | Qualifying in nature (33% of total marks) |
Mains and Interview
| S.No | Exam Paper | Name of the Paper | Nature of the Paper | Duration of the Exam | Marks |
| 1 | Paper – A | Compulsory Indian Language | QUALIFYING NATURE | 3 Hours | 300 Marks |
| 2 | Paper – A | Compulsory Indian Language | 3 Hours | 300 Marks | |
| 3 | Paper – I | ESSAY | MERIT RANKING NATURE | 3 Hours | 250 Marks |
| 4 | Paper – II | General Studies I | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 5 | Paper – III | General Studies II | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 6 | Paper – IV | General Studies III | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 7 | Paper – V | General Studies IV | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 8 | Paper – VI | Optional Paper I | 3 Hours | 250 Marks | |
| 9 | Paper – VII | Optional Paper II | 3 Hours | 250 Marks |
Syllabus
The syllabus of the exam is huge, covering many subjects. So, an IAS aspirant is generally much more aware than others. What is required is a general understanding of the topic and conceptual clarity. The exam does not require one to be an expert in a topic, rather, aspirants should have general awareness and analytical skills.
Refer to the below link for the syllabus
Previous Year Questions
Previous year Questions gives you a better idea of the need of UPSC and the ever evolving nature of the exam. PYQs are the tool that will help you to have a right direction in the preparation.
Prelims General Studies Paper II
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 2022 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER II.pdf |
| 2021 | 2021 General Studies Paper II.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 General Studies Paper II.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 General studies Paper II.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 General Studies Paper II .pdf |
Prelims General Studies Paper I
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2022 | GENERAL STUDIES PAPER I 2022 .pdf |
| 2021 | 2021 General Studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 General Studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 General Studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains General studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 General Studies Paper I .pdf |
Mains Essay
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021 Mains Essay.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 Mains Essay.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 Mains Essay.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains Essay.pdf |
Mains - General Studies Paper I
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2021 | QP-CSM-21-GENSTUDIESPAPER-I-110122.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 Mains General Studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 Mains General Studies Paper I.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains General studies Paper I.pdf |
Mains - General Studies Paper II
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2021 | QP-CSM-21-GENSTUDIESPAPER-II-110122.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 Mains General studies Paper II.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 Mains General studies Paper II.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains General Studies Paper II.pdf |
Mains - General Studies Paper III
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2021 | QP-CSM-21-GENSTUDIESPAPER-III-110122.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 Mains General Studies Paper III.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 Mains General Studies Paper III.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains General Studies Paper III.pdf |
Mains - General Studies Paper IV
| Year | Question Paper |
|---|---|
| 2021 | QP-CSM-21-GENSTUDIESPAPER-IV-110122.pdf |
| 2020 | 2020 Mains General Studies Paper IV.pdf |
| 2019 | 2019 Mains General Studies Paper IV.pdf |
| 2018 | 2018 Mains General Studies Paper IV.pdf |
IAS -2025 Prelims Combined Mains Batch - III Starts - 14-04-2024