Civil services · Updated Oct 2026
UPSC optional subjects: syllabus and study hours for all 48
The optional is 500 of the 1,750 Mains written marks, so the choice matters. Open any subject for its two-paper syllabus broken into units with study hours.
Get my free daily planFree · Hindi + English · No ads
Exam pattern at a glance
- Number of optionals
- 48: 25 subjects and 23 literatures
- Papers
- 2 per optional, 250 marks each
- Pick
- Exactly one optional, declared in the application
Check the latest notification before the exam. Official syllabus ↗
Chapter-wise weightage and study hours
Open any paper or subject below for its full table.
Subject optionals 25 subjects · 9922 h
| # | Chapter / topic | Study hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agriculture | 400 |
| 2 | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | 398 |
| 3 | Anthropology | 382 |
| 4 | Botany | 400 |
| 5 | Chemistry | 399 |
| 6 | Civil Engineering | 400 |
| 7 | Commerce and Accountancy | 398 |
| 8 | Economics | 396 |
| 9 | Electrical Engineering | 398 |
| 10 | Geography | 400 |
| 11 | Geology | 402 |
| 12 | History | 381 |
| 13 | Law | 401 |
| 14 | Management | 396 |
| 15 | Mathematics | 401 |
| 16 | Mechanical Engineering | 400 |
| 17 | Medical Science | 401 |
| 18 | Philosophy | 404 |
| 19 | Physics | 398 |
| 20 | Political Science and International Relations | 392 |
| 21 | Psychology | 391 |
| 22 | Public Administration | 388 |
| 23 | Sociology | 395 |
| 24 | Statistics | 400 |
| 25 | Zoology | 401 |
| Total | 9922 |
Literature optionals 23 subjects · 9259 h
| # | Chapter / topic | Study hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assamese Literature | 403 |
| 2 | Bengali Literature | 398 |
| 3 | Bodo Literature | 403 |
| 4 | Dogri Literature | 403 |
| 5 | English Literature | 398 |
| 6 | Gujarati Literature | 406 |
| 7 | Hindi Literature | 398 |
| 8 | Kannada Literature | 406 |
| 9 | Kashmiri Literature | 401 |
| 10 | Konkani Literature | 400 |
| 11 | Maithili Literature | 407 |
| 12 | Malayalam Literature | 402 |
| 13 | Manipuri Literature | 404 |
| 14 | Marathi Literature | 402 |
| 15 | Nepali Literature | 402 |
| 16 | Odia Literature | 402 |
| 17 | Punjabi Literature | 404 |
| 18 | Sanskrit Literature | 407 |
| 19 | Santhali Literature | 398 |
| 20 | Sindhi Literature | 402 |
| 21 | Tamil Literature | 406 |
| 22 | Telugu Literature | 404 |
| 23 | Urdu Literature | 403 |
| Total | 9259 |
A sample first week
A first week at 6 hours a day, built from the weightage above: each subject gets sessions in proportion to its marks, starting with its heaviest chapters, mixed so no day is one subject only. Your real plan in the app fits your own hours and exam date.
| Day | Session 1 (2 h) | Session 2 (2 h) | Session 3 (2 h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology (contd.) |
| Tue | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology (contd.) | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) |
| Wed | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology (contd.) | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology (contd.) |
| Thu | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) | Paper 1Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology (contd.) | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) |
| Fri | Paper 1Human Evolution and Primates | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) | Paper 1Human Evolution and Primates (contd.) |
| Sat | Paper 2Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation; Ethno-archaeology (contd.) | Paper 1Human Evolution and Primates (contd.) | Paper 2Palaeo-anthropological Evidence from India (Siwaliks, Narmada) |
| Sun | Revise this week's chapters, take one timed mock or sectional test, and log the score. | ||
Example shown for one popular optional.
How Daily Tayyari plans your day
Pick your exam and date
Choose the exam (and GATE paper or UPSC optional) and your exam date. The full official syllabus loads with every chapter listed above.
Tell it your daily hours
Say how many hours you can study on weekdays and weekends. The plan only ever fills that time.
Get today's tasks
Each morning you see a short list of tasks: new chapters weighted by marks, plus practice and revision, sized to fit your day.
Spaced revision, automatically
Finished chapters come back after 1, 3, 7, 15, 30 and 60 days, and sooner if a chapter felt hard.
Green, yellow, red status
See whether you are on track, slightly behind or behind, and when the syllabus will be finished at your real pace.
Mock test tracking
Log scores from any test series. Chapters that went badly are marked weak and revised sooner.
Frequently asked questions
Is this UPSC optional subjects weightage official?
No. UPSC publishes the syllabus, not chapter weightage. These numbers come from analyses of previous years' papers, so treat them as a guide to priority, not a promise of what will be asked.
How should I choose a UPSC optional?
Look at genuine interest, how much of it overlaps with GS, whether good material exists in your medium (Hindi or English), and how its syllabus length fits your timeline. There is no single best optional.
Is Daily Tayyari free, and does it work in Hindi?
Yes. It is free with no ads and no payment; you sign in with Google only so your plan is saved. You can switch between Hindi and English at any time, and chapter names are shown in both.