Full-Form Of CSAT in UPSC | Meaning & Details of CSAT

Are you here to find the full form of CSAT?

CSAT’s full form is Civil Services Aptitude Test. It is a part of the UPSC civil services exam introduced in 2011. CSAT exam is used for the recruitment of IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IFS ( Indian Forest Service), IPS ( Indian Police Service), and many other government posts.

CSAT is a national-level government Exam. Every year CSAT exam is conducted by the UPSC. CSAT exam is part of UPSC prelims.

full form of csat

CSAT Full Form

CSAT stands for "Civil Services Aptitude Test".

Eligibility Criteria For CSAT

Many students want to appear in the CSAT exam but they don’t know the eligibility criteria. Below here I have described the educational qualification, age, and nationality you need to appear in the CSAT exam:

1. Educational Qualification

  1. You should have a degree from a recognised university. Your university could be a state university or a central university.
  2. A degree received by distance education
  3. A degree received from an open university.
  4. A qualification recognized by the Government of India which is equivalent to one of the above

2. Age

  1. For the general category minimum age is 21 and the maximum age is 32.
  2. For the OBC category minimum age is 21 and the maximum age is 35.
  3. For the SC/ST, the minimum age is 21 and the maximum age is 37.
  4. Disabled personnel in enemy operations for the Defense Service has a maximum age limit is 40.

3. Nationality

  1. For the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service, the candidate should have Indian citizenship.
  2. For other services, the candidate must have one of the following
  • Indian citizenship
  • Nepali citizenship
  • A Tibetan refugee who is an Indian resident since 1 January 1962
  • A person of Indian origin who came from Pakistan, Kenya  Zambia, Myanmar, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Guyana has come to India with the intention of settling permanently.

Exam Pattern Of CSAT

CSAT exam or Civil Services Aptitude Test is used for testing the analytical skills of a candidate. The second paper of UPSC prelims is known as the CSAT paper. CSAT is also known as General Studies Paper-II. CSAT paper contains 80 objectives (MCQ) questions. For one negative answer, 1/3rd of the marks are deducted. The question paper duration is 2 hours.

CSAT is an offline paper you have to reach the center at the time. English and Hindi are the two language options available for the CSAT exam. If you are good at Hindi you can choose the Hindi language for your CSAT paper.

If your English is good you can choose the English language for the CSAT paper. The maximum mark you can obtain in the CSAT exam is 200. You need a minimum of 66 (33% qualifying criteria) marks to qualify for the CSAT exam. You can apply for the CSAT examination on the UPSC official website.

CSAT Syllabus

The success rate of the CSAT exam is only 3%. UPSC prelims second paper is known as the CSAT paper. The paper mostly contains mathematics and reasoning. The student who does not have good mathematics or reasoning has a hard time to qualify that exam. The CSAT syllabus is mentioned below-

  1. Comprehension
  2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
  3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  4. Decision-making and problem-solving
  5. General mental ability
  6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level)

Books are the main source of cracking the exam. If you do not study from the right book it would possible that all your hard work will go to waste. The following are the best books recommended by teachers and toppers for the CSAT exam. I hope these books will help you to qualify for the exam-

  1. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R. S. Aggarwal
  2. CSAT Paper – 2 Manual by TMH
  3. Analytical Reasoning – M. K. Pandey
  4. General Studies Paper-II for UPSC Preliminary Examination by Tata McGraw Hill
  5. Cracking the Civil Services Aptitude Test Paper-II by Arihant
  6. The Mantra of CSAT Paper II by Gautam Puri

Strategy For Qualifying for the CSAT Exam

Everyone has a dream to become IAS, IPS, IFS, or a government employee but many few of them can succeed in qualifying exams. Other students fail because they lack the strategy for the exam.

No student can qualify for the exam without the right strategy. So here I have to give you some tips for qualifying for the CSAT exam:

  1. Students should not take this paper lightly just by thinking that it is a qualifying paper.
  2. If your English, reasoning and mathematics are not good then you should spend a decent amount of time on those subjects.
  3. After completing the syllabus you should give test series on a weekly basis. If you do not practice the test series then it would be very difficult for you to do the 80 questions in 2 hours in the exam.
  4. You need only 66 marks out of 200 hundred to qualify for the exam don’t go for higher marks because it is only a qualifying exam. 

Take the help of Grammarly for students for exam preparation as it helps improve your writing skills.

FAQ about Civil Services Aptitude Test

What is the minimum age for the general category to appear in the CSfAT exam?

For the general category minimum age is 21 and the maximum age is 32. For other categories like OBC and SC/ST, the maximum age is different but the minimum age is the same for all categories.

What are the best books for the preparation of CSAT?

I have listed some of the best books for the preparation of CSAT:
1. Analytical Reasoning: M. K. Pandey
2. General Studies Paper: II for UPSC Preliminary Examination by Tata McGraw Hill
3. Cracking the Civil Services Aptitude Test Paper-II by Arihant
4. The Mantra of CSAT Paper II by Gautam Puri

What are the qualifying marks for CSAT?

You need 66 marks out of 200 to qualify for the CSAT exam.

What is the exam duration of the CSAT exam?

CSAT exam contains 80 questions and you will have 2 hours of time to attempt those questions.

What is CSAT Educational Qualification Eligibility?

The candidate must have completed his Bachelor’s from any recognized university or have any graduation degree.

What is the syllabus for CSAT UPSE?

The CSAT UPSE syllabus includes Logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision-making and problem-solving, General ability test, and basic numerical (numbers, relations, orders, and magnitudes).

Conclusion: Full Form Of CSAT and Meaning

CSAT means Civil Services Aptitude Test.

In this article, you would find a structured and detailed knowledge of CSAT. You will know the full form of CSAT, what is CSAT, the exam pattern, the syllabus of CSAT, and the strategy you will need to qualify for the CSAT. This article will help you to understand the CSAT in a better way.

Many people who are appearing for the exam first time get confused this article will help those people. If you are appearing for the exam of CSAT then this article is very beneficial for you. I hope you like this article if any of your friends is appearing for the CSAT exam then plz share this article with them.

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