UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper 2025, also known as Paper A, is one of the parts of the UPSC Mains Exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It is one of the two compulsory language papers appeared by those candidates who have qualified the UPSC Prelims. The compulsory Indian Language for the UPSC Mains 2025 was conducted on August 30, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The marks obtained in the UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper are not included in the final merit list calculations. It is only a qualifying paper conducted for 300 marks in which the candidates have to obtain at least 25% marks to qualify.
Union Public Service Commission has allowed candidates to take the UPSC CSE Exam 2025 in any of the 22 Indian languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Although this paper is often overlooked, failing to clear it results in immediate disqualification, making it a crucial element of your exam strategy. Candidates are required to select one language from the approved list in the Eighth Schedule, as shown below.
Language | Script |
---|---|
Assamese | Assamese |
Bengali | Bengali |
Gujarati | Gujarati |
Hindi | Devanagari |
Kannada | Kannada |
Kashmiri | Persian |
Konkani | Devanagari |
Malayalam | Malayalam |
Manipuri | Bengali |
Marathi | Devanagari |
Nepali | Devanagari |
Odia | Odia |
Punjabi | Gurumukhi |
Sanskrit | Devanagari |
Sindhi | Devanagari or Arabic |
Tamil | Tamil |
Telugu | Telugu |
Urdu | Persian |
Bodo | Devanagari |
Dogri | Devanagari |
Maithili | Devanagari |
Santhali | Devanagari or Olchiki |
The UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper 2025 was conducted by UPSC on August 30, 2025, in the forenoon session. UPSC provides the candidates with an option to choose any of the 22 Indian Languages recognized under the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution to appear for this paper. Candidates can download the Question Paper PDF from the table below:
Language | Download Link |
---|---|
Assamese | Out Soon |
Bengali | Out Soon |
Gujarati | Out Soon |
Hindi | Download PDF |
Kannada | Download PDF |
Kashmiri | Out Soon |
Konkani | Out Soon |
Malayalam | Out Soon |
Manipuri | Out Soon |
Marathi | Out Soon |
Nepali | Out Soon |
Odia | Out Soon |
Punjabi | Out Soon |
Sanskrit | Out Soon |
Sindhi | Out Soon |
Tamil | Out Soon |
Telugu | Out Soon |
Urdu | Out Soon |
Bodo | Out Soon |
Dogri | Out Soon |
Maithili | Out Soon |
Santhali | Out Soon |
The official UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper 2025 will be available on the official website of UPSC after the completion of the UPSC Exam cycle for 2025. Once the papers are available on the official website, candidates can follow the steps mentioned below and download the question papers of all 22 Indian languages:
The UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper is conducted for 300 marks, in which the candidates have to secure atleast 25% or 75 marks to qualify. It might seem easy, but this is where candidates often make mistakes and do not prepare properly for this paper. Although the marks obtained in this paper are not included in the final merit list, failure to clear it results in outright rejection without even the other GS papers being evaluated.
The total marks allotted for the UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper is 300 marks, out of which candidates have to secure 75 marks to qualify. Candidates need to clearly understand the Exam pattern for these papers so as not to commit any mistakes during their UPSC Mains preparation. Details regarding the UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Exam Pattern are provided in the table below:
UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Exam Pattern |
|
Particulars |
Details |
Paper Name |
Paper A |
Duration |
3 hours |
Total Marks |
300 |
Qualifying Marks |
75 marks (25%) |
Exam Date 2025 |
August 30, 2025 |
The UPSC CSE Official Notification mentions all the details regarding the syllabus of the UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper. Understanding the syllabus is key to scoring well and comfortably qualifying the Paper A. Candidates can check the table provided below for more details on the Syllabus of the UPSC Mains Indian Language Paper:
UPSC Mains Compulsory Indian Language Paper 2025 Syllabus |
||
Sections |
Details |
Marks Allotted |
Essay |
To assess the candidate’s ability to express thoughts in a structured manner |
100 |
Reading Comprehension |
Candidates are required to understand the passage and answer the questions accordingly |
60 |
Precis Writing |
Candidates will be asked to summarize a given passage in their own words and use fewer words |
60 |
Translation |
Indian Language to English and English to Indian Language |
20X2=40 |
Grammar and Vocabulary, and their Usage |
Basic English Grammar and Vocabulary |
40 |
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