A Detailed Guide to Choose the Best Optional Subject for UPSC Exam: Find out WHich Optional is Best!

The decision of selecting a UPSC Optional Subject is a deep-rooted situation for civil services aspirants. According to the latest syllabus, the number of optional subjects for UPSC to be chosen is reduced to one. This naturally leads aspirants to wonder what the Best Optional Subject for UPSC could be.

In spite of the fact that the weightage of the optional paper is just 500 marks out of 2025 marks according to the most recent pattern of UPSC Civil Services exam, it is still an integral factor in the final ranks because of the inconsistency related to General Studies Papers (1000 marks GS + 250 marks essay) and Interview (275 marks).

UPSC Optional Subject

The prominent Civil Services exam held by the Union Public Service Commission has 3 phases. The candidates have different questions when they start with their preparation for the Civil Service examination like “How many options are there in the Civil Service examination?”, “How many subjects are there in the Civil Service examination”, and many more. 

This article will try to clarify all the doubts that come into the minds of the candidates related to the Union Public Service Commission examination subjects. Also, help them choose the best UPSC optional subject which will help them score more. The Union Public Service Commission mains (written) exam includes 9 papers. This contains 2 qualifying papers and 7 papers which shall be evaluated for ranking. Read on to learn more about the UPSC optional subjects.

Optional Subject for UPSC

As per the current Civil Service examination pattern, the number of elective subjects for the Union Public Service Commission examination to be opted by the aspirant for the Mains examination has been reduced to a single optional paper. 

The UPSC mains examination GS papers hold 1000 marks and the 2 elective subjects hold 250 marks each. Thus, it is extremely crucial for a candidate to contemplate different advantages and disadvantages before selecting an optional subject for UPSC Mains.

Every year, the number of elective subjects for UPSC used to be declared along with their syllabus every year. This article provides you with data about the number of elective papers there are in the Union Public Service Commission examination. Here, we provide you with the entire list of optional subjects for the UPSC civil service Mains Exam.  

Also Read: 6 Best Optional Subjects in UPSC: Guide to Choose the Most Scoring Non-technical Subjects

GS- Paper I to IV for Civil Service Mains Examination 

The 4 GS (General Studies) Papers are given below:

General Studies (GS)	Topics	Marks in Total
GS Paper-I	History, Geography of the World and Society and Indian Heritage and Culture	250 marks
GS Paper-II	International relations, Governance, Polity, Constitution and Social Justice	250 marks
GS Paper-III	Disaster Management, Technology, Environment, Economic Development, Biodiversity and Security	250 marks
GS Paper IV	Aptitude, Ethics and Integrity	250 marks

UPSC Optional Subject List

For the civil services exam, the Union Public Service Commission gives a record of elective subjects. Aspirants need to select one optional for the Civil Service mains examination. The elective subject has 2 papers and the papers hold 250 marks each. Aspirants can select the UPSC Optional subject list which is given below, which also comprises literature subjects (Indian and English languages).

The nature of the subjects for the exam will be descriptive. Every paper for the Civil Service mains examination will be given 3 hrs of the duration period. The medium of paper will be set in either Hindi or English language for the literature portion. The optional subjects play a significant part in the Civil service mains examination.

UPSC Optional Subject List

Sl.No.	UPSC Optional Subject List
1	Agriculture
2	Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
3	Anthropology
4	Botany
5	Chemistry
6	Civil Engineering
7	Commerce & Accountancy
8	Economics
9	Electrical Engineering
10	Geography
11	Geology
12	History
13	Law
14	Management
15	Mathematics
16	Mechanical Engineering
17	Medical Science
18	Philosophy
19	Physics
20	Political Science & International Relations
21	Psychology
22	Public Administration
23	Sociology
24	Statistics
25	Zoology

List of Literature Subjects as Optional

The optional literature subject’s list in the Union Public Service Commission is given below. Candidates have an option of opting for an optional literature subject for the Civil Service Commission Mains. 

During graduation if they did not have a language subject the candidates don’t have to worry about it they can easily opt for it. There will be 2 papers. Both the papers are of 250 marks. The languages specified here are from the Indian Constitution’s 8th Schedule.

Sl.No.	List of Literature Optional Subjects
1	Assamese
2	Bengali
3	Bodo
4	Dogri
5	Gujarati
6	Hindi
7	Kannada
8	Kashmiri
9	Konkani
10	Maithili
11	Malayalam
12	Manipuri
13	Marathi
14	Nepali
15	Oriya
16	Punjabi
17	Sanskrit
18	Santhali
19	Sindhi
20	Tamil
21	Telugu
22	Urdu
23	English

UPSC Best Optional Subject

It completely depends on the candidate’s abilities and knowledge, and accordingly, they can opt for the UPSC Best optional subject. Usually, aspirants go for the optional which they already did during their graduation time as they are already aware of the basics. So it will help during the Civil Service preparation to understand the topic better. 

Candidates should also think about which subject they are most interested in because interest leads to curiosity so you will want to read more. It is advised that the candidates should analyse their strengths and weaknesses so they can select the Union Public Service Commission best elective subjects. 

For example, if the candidate’s weakness is in mathematics then they should not opt for mathematics elective subjects.

How Important is the Decision of Choosing IAS Mains Alternative?

With newspaper reading and note-making tendencies, the choice of IAS mains optional won’t play a major difference in your outcomes. Be that as it may, lamentably not very many aspirants fall into the “strong GS” category of students and it is difficult to get into the club without serious long-term preparation.

The choice of IAS mains optional is exceptionally crucial. You have to choose an alternative subject in which you are comfortable to score high in UPSC mains.

The level of comfort relies upon numerous elements like the familiarity of the subject, accessibility of books and other examination materials, availability of staff, recent trends of marks, the scope of peer discussion, the level of difficulty according to the syllabus and previous question papers and so on.

Important Thing to Keep in Mind

In the event that the subject you took for graduation is available in the rundown of subjects given, in most cases, a similar alternative will turn out as a comfortable option. All others (who don’t have a choice for an alternative subject), search for an alternative subject which you can complete in a period bound way without encroaching the time for GS preparation.

Important Steps to Consider for Choosing the Optional Subject

# First, go through the list of all the optional subjects (the list is provided below). Read the names of the subjects over and over again for a time period of 15 minutes.

# Now backpedal to your school and college days. Take into consideration your most favourite subjects at that point. Think about every subject in which you exceeded expectations, in which subject you showed more interest in, in which subject you got great marks.

# Now come to the present. See which parts of news you are more interested in. Think about which subjects of GS you like more. A few people like history, some like polity/ sociology and continue pursuing those books as though they are doing masters in those topics. Consider short-listing them as your alternative subject.

Some individuals likewise have a pastime of reading the literature of their mother language.

List of UPSC Optional Subjects
Sl.No.	Optional Subject	Number of candidates appeared	No. of candidates recommended	Success Rate
1	Agriculture	220	41	18.6
2	Medical Science	98	16	16.3
3	Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science	65	8	12.3
4	Economics	326	37	11.3
5	Psychology	1061	116	10.9
6	Anthropology	345	37	10.7
7	Public Administration	3201	337	10.5
8	Political Science	1320	85	6.4
9	Geography	4049	236	5.8
10	Sociology	1555	89	5.7

Recommended Topics by Previous UPSC Aspirants

Following the above mentioned 10 best optional subjects, below mentioned are the other subjects that are taken as alternatives by aspirants who appeared for the UPSC 2016 Exam and were recommended:

Sl.No.	Optional Subject	Number of candidates appeared	No. of candidates recommended	Success Rate
1	Chemistry	124	7	5.6
2	Commerce and Accountancy	266	15	5.6
3	History	3870	212	5.5
4	Law	365	19	5.2
5	Philosophy	2092	84	4
6	Zoology	484	18	3.7
7	Mathematics	277	8	2.9

Top Literature Subjects as Optional

Additionally, there were numerous applicants who chose literature as their optional subject, however, few literature subjects made it in the 10 best optional, read through to know the top literature subjects as optional.

Sl.No.	Optional Subject	Number of candidates appeared	No. of candidates recommended	Success Rate
1	Assamese	5	2	40
2	Punjabi	19	5	26.3
3	Gujarati	42	7	16.7
4	Kannada	84	14	16.7
5	Marathi	42	7	16.7
6	English	40	6	15
7	Urdu	29	4	13.8
8	Tamil	225	29	12.9
9	Sanskrit	122	10	8.2
10	Malayalam	67	5	7.5
11	Pali	255	18	7.1
12	Telugu	147	9	6.1
13	Hindi	974	56	5.7

How to Shortlist from the Initial List of Optional Subjects?

# Based on the above-mentioned criteria, prepare a list of 4-5 subjects that you think you have an interest in.

# Now, go through the syllabus of each alternative subject. Read all topics precisely. Underline/ highlight the points that you think you know something about or have some interest in the syllabus of each shortlisted optional subject.

# Now go through the previous year question papers (3-4 years) of the shortlisted subjects. Read all the questions. Then again, measure yourself the level of interest you have or the knowledge you hold to answer each question. It’s just to know how compatible you are with a subject, don’t stress on the off chance that you don’t know the answer to any question.

Two More Steps to Shortlist

# Finally, the availability of materials and guidance through training matters a lot. For a few papers, it is hard to get standard books, for some subjects coaching may not be available. Non-technical subjects can be prepared by doing self-study provided you consistently work on writing.

# By now you will have a reasonable picture of choosing between 2-3 papers. For instance, if you are from an engineering background and especially good at your engineering subjects, in the meantime if you have broadly read the literature of your native language, might be since your childhood, you will be in quandary to select between these two subjects.

Other Factors that Matters While Shortlisting

In this scenario, the ‘success rate’ counts. Generally, literature subjects have performed well in all years. You may wind up choosing literature of your native language as your alternative paper. It’s a decent choice.

For a few people who have worked in a big organization, Public Administration is a great choice and in fact, it has been the most prevalent option with working aspirants or with the individuals who have quit their jobs.

Medical students may settle on Medical Science, Zoology or Anthropology as these papers are related to their field.

The choice of selecting the alternative is an individual decision of every competitor as indicated by his/ her qualities and shortcomings. In any case, only the aspirant knows his/ her strengths, weaknesses, taste, and availability of study materials.

Also Read: Understanding the Different Dimensions and Branches of Ethics: Ethics for UPSC

Top 10 Optional Subjects for UPSC IAS Exam

After analyzing the above data, here is the list of the best optional subjects for UPSC.

Agriculture

Medical Science

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Economics

Chemistry

Commerce and Accountancy

History

Law

Psychology

Literature Subject (Any)

UPSC Topper Optional Subject

Given below is the list of the most prominent Union Public Service Commission toppers from different years who opted for different elective subjects:

UPSC Topper Optional Subject
Year	Rank 1-UPSC Topper Name	Optional Subject Opted for The Exam	Cadre Home State
2020	Subham Kumar	Anthropology	Bihar
2019	Pradeep Singh	Public Administration	Haryana
2018	Kanishak Kataria	Mathematics	Rajasthan
2017	Anudeep Durishetty	Anthropology	Telangana
2016	Nandini K. R.	Kannada Literature	Karnataka
2015	Tina Dabi	Political Science	Delhi
2014	Ira Singhal	Geography	Delhi
2013	Gaurav Aggarwal	Economics	Rajasthan
2012	Haritha V. Kumar	Economics & Malayalam Literature	Kerala
2011	Shena Aggarwal	Medical Science and Psychology	Haryana

Also Read: IAS Sonia Meena Biography: Here’s Her UPSC Rank, Optional Subject & Preparation Tips

UPSC Preparation 

Civil Service Mains strategy is the most crucial thing as planning and implementation of every subject and assigning the duration as per, will give enough push to the preparation. The Union Public Service Commission in India is assumed to be the steel structure of the country, and therefore the procedure of nomination is tough to enable only the promising one to be the part of the service. 

The practice might at once appear to be discouraging, and the syllabus lengthy, but it’s not all extremely hard when the proper kind of advice is provided. It is frequently complained by the aspirants that the “mains exam” is the complicated portion, and the “optional subject” is the main determining factor. 

Detailed Strategy for Mains 

The mains exam is seen as an important portion of the Union Public Service Commission preparation. As its syllabus is lengthy as lots of topics need to be covered previously, you need to start preparing one year before. It is adequate, to begin with, the preparation from the 1st year of the college degree. 

Nevertheless, those of you who don’t have the freedom of beginning the preparation from university time should start shortly for the following year’s civil service exam. Securing good scores are important as they determine the duty you will be given. Therefore, it is crucial to score well in the Union Public Service Commission mains exam. 

Initial Step to Follow

The initial step is to understand the curriculum of the Mains examination. It’s crucial as a maximum of the time candidates are wasting their precious time learning many of the things that are not necessary. Rather, you should remain focused and have a precise strategy for the Union Public Service Commission exam. Your notes that you made by yourself and the NCERT study materials will have an important part to play in your Civil Service journey.

Knowing the Exam

# The Union Public Service Commission examination is not just an exam of your understanding. It also attempts to examine your tolerance, memory, stability, skill, improvisation, and knowledge of social problems. 

# As a government official, you will be expected to generate effective conclusions, and the paper is made in a manner to test your decision-making capability. 

# The huge curriculum might seem frightening but it should not divert you. You must stick to the curriculum given in the announcement of the Union Public Service Commission exam.  

# Therefore, the main thing is to download the curriculum from the official website for the civil services examination. The syllabus would not just allow you to comprehend what will be expected but also will keep you in the correct direction.

Difference Between General Studies and Optional Subject

The major difference between the General Studies and the optional subject is the technique. You are required to jot down a thorough answer in the elective paper, and also you are expected to have a subject concentrated strategy rather than a generalist strategy. For example,  from the PSIR elective, and the General Studies-2 paper. Determining a question appears on “challenges to democracy” in each of the papers. 

The General Studies answer will discuss the issues to the notion of democracy as we know it. It will speak about the current circumstance considering democracy and the issues it comes across. Whereas, the elective subject will expect you to illustrate the challenges as per the current model in practice, various concepts of democracy, what is a democracy, the challenges as per the definition of democracy, etc. The topic of the answer will differ if the subject changes.

Optional Subject Preparation

It is suitable to start preparing for the elective paper in October of the year coming before the exam year. As most elective subjects will require 4-5 months of preparation, your elective paper would be over by the next year of March. 

This will leave sufficient room for the practice of the preliminary, and also make sure that your elective is readied in due time. Don’t postpone your elective paper preparation, guessing that you will practice after the preliminary since that is going to build a hassle of time for you. It is adequate to prepare ahead rather than staying until the last minute.

Schedule for Preparation

To understand better, we are thinking that a candidate decides to appear in the civil service preliminary 2022. For better preparation for the exam, the given schedule is advisable. 

For the mains:

Start your preparation in June 2021.

Finish the NCERT study material in 1-1.5 months, and start with the subject particular study.

Begin with the practice answer writing from the last part of July 2021.

Begin with your optional subject in October 2021. Start writing preliminary exams around a similar period.

Finalize your Civil Service syllabus by the end of January 2022.

Start the initial revision of the curriculum. Finish the preparation by the end of March 2022

Remain fully concentrated upon the preliminary from here till the preliminary examination.

Begin the practice after the preliminary examination. Resist taking lengthy timeouts, because the cycle will break.

For the mains exam revise again.

Also Read: Ultimate UPSC Preparation Strategy for Beginners: It’s Time to Achieve Your Absolute Dream

For the Optional 

Begin the elective subject in October 2021.

Complete elective by March 2022.

Revise the elective in the first half of June (After preliminary), 2022.

Revision should be completed by August 2022.

At last, revise as much as possible after you are done with your preparation.

Your Union Public Service Commission journey would need you to stay concentrated. keep learning and all the best. Join UPSC Pathshala for excellent guidance.

Also Read: UPSC Study Time Table 2022: The Ultimate UPSC Preparation Schedule to Crack the Exam

Conclusion

At last, what makes a difference is the measure you love the subject. If at all you love every point in it, then it is the ‘One’ you should go along. Not with the ‘best’ or ‘the most popular ones.

The rules and statistics mentioned above may enable you to illuminate a couple of your questions. IAS Aspirants’ who will take the UPSC 2021 exam or any year in future can go through the rundown as they have time left to settle on which optional subject to pick and then to go ahead with their UPSC Preparation.

Do the research and settle on the best choice. All the best!