UPSC CSE study plan: 6-month and 12-month tracks (free)

Built from the shared modules mapped to upsc-cse in registry/exams.toml and the UPSC CSE exam page. The official notification on https://upsc.gov.in is the authority for the syllabus and pattern: read it first, then follow the week order below. Everything recommended here is free and official; no paid or coaching material is used.

Start here

• Exam structure, pattern and official links: UPSC CSE page.
• Official syllabus (in the notification) and results: https://upsc.gov.in.
• Official previous papers: https://upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers and the previous-papers guide.
• How to study (diagnostic papers, mistake log, spacing): study methods.
• Free platforms used below (NCERT, PIB, Budget documents, SWAYAM, e-PG Pathshala): free official platforms.
• Other exams these modules count for: overlap map.

Modules in study order

#	Module	Why in this position
1	Indian polity and governance	Highest return per week; the base for governance answers
2	Indian history and culture	Large but stable static syllabus; needs spaced revision
3	Geography of India and the world	Map work and concepts reward steady practice
4	Indian economy	Easier after polity and geography; links to current affairs
5	Environment and ecology	Short module; pairs with science current affairs
6	Science and technology (current)	Mostly current-driven; follows the environment block
7	CSAT	Qualifying (33%): comprehension, reasoning, basic numeracy
8	Essay and descriptive writing	Answer and essay practice once GS base exists
daily	General awareness and current affairs	PIB every day through both tracks, not a separate block

How to use this plan

1. Week 1, before studying: solve one previous GS paper and one CSAT paper cold and timed, from the official archive above. Tag every question with its module; your weakest modules get the earliest revision slots.
2. One module at a time, NCERT first: read the NCERT base for the module, then revise it after a few days, a few weeks and a few months (see study methods).
3. Current affairs daily: 30–45 minutes of the Press Information Bureau (https://pib.gov.in), plus the Economic Survey and Budget documents at https://www.indiabudget.gov.in and Yojana / Kurukshetra at https://www.publicationsdivision.nic.in for the economy block.
4. Write from the middle third: one essay a week and two GS answers a week, using previous-paper questions; compare against the official syllabus, not against coaching model answers.
5. Last month: mocks and previous papers only, no new topics.

12-month track (52 weeks)

Weeks	Module(s)	Work (free sources)
1–2	Diagnostic	Previous GS + CSAT papers cold, timed; read the notification syllabus on https://upsc.gov.in
3–10	Polity	NCERT civics/politics base, then Constitution topics chapter by chapter
11–18	History	Ancient → medieval → modern → culture; timelines revised weekly
19–25	Geography	Physical + India + map work; 10 minutes of map practice daily
26–32	Economy	NCERT economics + Economic Survey/Budget documents + Yojana/Kurukshetra
33–38	Environment + Science-tech	Environment static base, then science current affairs from PIB
39–42	CSAT	Comprehension + reasoning + Class 6–10 numeracy to the 33% qualifying bar
43–48	Weakest-module second pass + Descriptive writing	Re-solve tagged PYQs; weekly essay + answers on previous-paper questions
49–52	Mocks only	Full previous papers timed; mistake log re-solved after a week
1–52 daily	General awareness	PIB daily; monthly self-recap from your own notes

6-month track (26 weeks)

For repeaters or those with a GS base. Same order, half the time; drop the second pass and write from week 8.

Weeks	Module(s)	Work (free sources)
1	Diagnostic	Previous GS + CSAT papers cold, timed; read the notification syllabus
2–5	Polity	Constitution-first fast pass from NCERT base
6–9	History	Modern-heavy pass; ancient/medieval as revision notes
10–12	Geography	India + physical concepts + map work
13–15	Economy	Survey/Budget + current-linked concepts
16–18	Environment + Science-tech	Static base + PIB science current affairs
19–20	CSAT + Descriptive writing	Qualifying-level drills; start weekly essay + answers
21–22	Weakest modules only	Tagged PYQs you got wrong, re-solved
23–26	Mocks only	Full previous papers timed; no new topics
1–26 daily	General awareness	PIB daily; skip older backlog, follow current + last 12 months

Weekly rhythm (both tracks)

• Six study days, one lighter day for revision and rest.
• Every week: one timed sectional or full mock; log every mistake as concept gap, silly mistake, time pressure or guess, and fix each kind differently (see study methods).
• Every month: check remaining weeks against the official exam date and move unfinished modules forward.