The UPSSSC Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) covers 15 subjects in a single 100-mark paper – a mix of static GK, current affairs, language, arithmetic, reasoning, and data-interpretation sections. There’s no separate exam for each UPSSSC post; PET is the one common syllabus every candidate needs to prepare, regardless of which post-specific Mains exam they’re eventually aiming for. Here’s the complete subject-wise breakdown.
PET Exam Pattern at a Glance
| Detail | Particulars |
|---|---|
| Total Questions | 100 |
| Total Marks | 100 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Question Type | Objective (MCQ), OMR-based, offline mode |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer |
| Number of Subjects/Sections | 15 |
Subject-Wise Marks Distribution
| Sl No | Subject | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian History | 5 |
| 2 | Indian National Movement | 5 |
| 3 | Geography | 5 |
| 4 | Indian Economy | 5 |
| 5 | Indian Constitution & Public Administration | 5 |
| 6 | General Science | 5 |
| 7 | Elementary Arithmetic | 5 |
| 8 | General Hindi | 5 |
| 9 | General English | 5 |
| 10 | Logic & Reasoning | 5 |
| 11 | Current Affairs | 10 |
| 12 | General Awareness | 10 |
| 13 | Analysis of 2 Unseen (Hindi) Passages | 10 |
| 14 | Graph Interpretation & Analysis | 10 |
| 15 | Table Interpretation & Analysis | 10 |
Subject-Wise Topics
Indian History
- Ancient, medieval and modern India in balanced proportion
- Major dynasties, empires and rulers
- Key events, freedom movements and their timelines
Indian National Movement
- Phases of the freedom struggle in chronological order
- Role of the Indian National Congress and major leaders
- Revolutionary movements, Partition and Independence
Geography
- Physical and political geography of India
- Natural resources and their distribution
- Basic world geography and Uttar Pradesh-specific geography
Indian Economy
- Basic structure of the Indian economy
- Five-Year Plans and major economic policies
- Current economic indicators and schemes
Indian Constitution & Public Administration
- Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles
- Structure of the Union and State governments
- Basics of local self-government and public administration in UP
General Science
- Basic physics, chemistry and biology (up to Class 10 level)
- Science in everyday life
- Recent developments in science and technology
Elementary Arithmetic
- Percentages, ratio and proportion, simple equations
- Profit and loss, simple and compound interest
- Time and work, time and distance, averages
General Hindi
- Sandhi, vilom shabd (antonyms), muhavare-lokoktiyan (idioms/proverbs)
- Basic Hindi grammar
- Comprehension-based questions
General English
- Basic English grammar
- One unseen passage
- Vocabulary and sentence correction
Logic & Reasoning
- Analogy, series completion, coding-decoding
- Blood relations, calendar and clock-based questions
- Direction sense, ranking and cause-effect reasoning
Current Affairs
- National and international events from the last 12 months
- Uttar Pradesh-specific current affairs
- Government schemes, appointments and awards in the news
General Awareness
- Static GK – India and world basics, states and capitals
- Important days, sports, books and authors
- Organisations, headquarters and honours
Analysis of 2 Unseen (Hindi) Passages
- Reading comprehension and inference-based questions
- Vocabulary and tone of the passage
- Two passages carrying 10 marks combined
Graph Interpretation & Analysis
- Reading and interpreting line, bar and pie charts
- Identifying data trends and comparisons
- Drawing conclusions from visual data
Table Interpretation & Analysis
- Reading and interpreting tabular data
- Calculations based on table values
- Drawing logical conclusions from tabular comparisons
Where to Focus First
Current Affairs, General Awareness, the two unseen Hindi passages, Graph Interpretation and Table Interpretation together carry 50 of the 100 marks – the single biggest chunk of the paper. The remaining ten subjects carry 5 marks each and draw mostly from Class 6-10 NCERT-level material, which makes them steady, predictable scorers once covered. A balanced plan usually means building the ten 5-mark subjects into a strong base first, then spending sustained daily time on current affairs and practicing graph/table/passage questions for speed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How many subjects are there in the UPSSSC PET syllabus?
15 subjects/ sections, covered in a single 100-mark paper.
2. Which sections carry the highest marks in PET?
Current Affairs, General Awareness, Analysis of 2 Unseen Passages, Graph Interpretation and Table Interpretation each carry 10 marks – together they make up half the paper.
3. Is there negative marking in UPSSSC PET?
Yes, 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
4. What is the difficulty level of the UPSSSC PET syllabus?
Most sections are based on Class 6-10 NCERT-level material, making the overall difficulty moderate and accessible with consistent preparation.
5. Does the PET syllabus change for different UPSSSC posts like Lekhpal or VDO?
No, PET has one common syllabus for all posts. Post-specific syllabus differences only come in at the Mains exam stage.
