The prestigious Civil Services/IAS exam is conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission). The exam comprises three stages (Prelims, Mains, Interview) and every year lakhs of hopeful IAS aspirants appear for it. Overall, the exam process for every candidate is the same. However, in the IAS mains exam, candidates have to choose an optional subject (2 papers, total 500 marks) and selecting the best optional subject can be the difference between success and failure.
Read on to know which optional subjects have the highest success rate in IAS Exam and whether a candidate should select her/his optional subject based on trends.
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Optional Subjects for IAS 2024 Exam
There are many factors to consider before selecting the best optional subject for UPSC mains exam such as syllabi, time available for preparation, etc. To begin with, the question in most candidates’ mind would perhaps be “How Many Optional Subjects in IAS Mains”. Refer to the link to find out the number of optional subjects and the syllabus for the same.
Success Rate of Optional Subjects in IAS Mains
UPSC Optional Subjects Success Rate – Latest
The following table is taken from the figures of the 2017 civil services examination:
| Optional Subject | No. of Candidates Appeared | No. of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| Assamese Lit. | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Nepali Lit. | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Commerce & Accountancy | 224 | 28 | 12.5 |
| Bodo Lit. | 1 | 1 | 100 |
| Punjabi Lit. | 39 | 6 | 15.4 |
| Agriculture | 89 | 11 | 12.4 |
| Gujarati Lit. | 101 | 8 | 7.9 |
| Kannada Lit. | 115 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Marathi Lit. | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Medical Sciences | 313 | 32 | 10.2 |
| English Lit. | 21 | 2 | 9.5 |
| Urdu Lit. | 26 | 5 | 19.2 |
| Tamil Lit. | 107 | 5 | 4.7 |
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences | 23 | 2 | 8.7 |
| Economics | 233 | 16 | 6.9 |
| Psychology | 193 | 21 | 10.9 |
| Anthropology | 880 | 85 | 9.7 |
| Public Administration | 1165 | 119 | 10.2 |
| Sanskrit Lit. | 70 | 5 | 7.1 |
| Management | 86 | 7 | 8.1 |
| Malayalam Lit. | 111 | 8 | 7.2 |
| Physics | 140 | 14 | 10 |
| Political Science & International Relations | 1246 | 117 | 9.4 |
| Telugu Lit. | 72 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Geography | 2669 | 147 | 5.5 |
| Hindi Lit. | 267 | 19 | 7.1 |
| Sociology | 1421 | 137 | 9.6 |
| Chemistry | 126 | 11 | 8.7 |
| Geology | 37 | 2 | 5.4 |
| History | 1074 | 59 | 5.5 |
| Electrical Engineering | 193 | 19 | 9.8 |
| Law | 304 | 43 | 14.1 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 170 | 19 | 11.2 |
| Botany | 44 | 5 | 11.4 |
| Manipuri Lit. | 13 | 1 | 7.7 |
| Maithili Lit. | 78 | 5 | 6.4 |
| Philosophy | 755 | 53 | 7 |
| Zoology | 55 | 1 | 1.8 |
| Civil Engineering | 124 | 11 | 8.9 |
| Mathematics | 441 | 26 | 5.9 |
| Bengali Lit. | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Oriya Lit. | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Sindhi Lit. | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Statistics | 3 | 0 | 0 |
UPSC 2016 Optional Success Rate
The following table is taken from the figures of the 2016 civil services examination.:
| Optional Subject | No. of Candidates Appeared | No. of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| Assamese Lit. | 5 | 2 | 40 |
| Punjabi Lit. | 19 | 5 | 26.3 |
| Agriculture | 220 | 41 | 18.6 |
| Gujarati Lit. | 42 | 7 | 16.7 |
| Kannada Lit. | 84 | 14 | 16.7 |
| Marathi Lit. | 42 | 7 | 16.7 |
| Medical Sciences | 98 | 16 | 16.3 |
| English Lit. | 40 | 6 | 15 |
| Urdu Lit. | 29 | 4 | 13.8 |
| Tamil Lit. | 225 | 29 | 12.9 |
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences | 65 | 8 | 12.3 |
| Economics | 326 | 37 | 11.3 |
| Psychology | 1061 | 116 | 10.9 |
| Anthropology | 345 | 37 | 10.7 |
| Public Administration | 3301 | 337 | 10.5 |
| Sanskrit Lit. | 122 | 10 | 8.2 |
| Management | 13 | 1 | 7.7 |
| Malayalam Lit. | 67 | 5 | 7.3 |
| Pali Lit. | 255 | 18 | 7.1 |
| Physics | 239 | 16 | 6.7 |
| Political Science & International Relations | 1320 | 85 | 6.4 |
| Telugu Lit. | 147 | 9 | 6.1 |
| Geography | 4049 | 236 | 5.8 |
| Hindi Lit. | 974 | 56 | 5.7 |
| Sociology | 1555 | 89 | 5.7 |
| Chemistry | 124 | 7 | 5.6 |
| Geology | 36 | 2 | 5.6 |
| History | 3870 | 212 | 5.5 |
| Electrical Engineering | 74 | 4 | 5.4 |
| Law | 365 | 19 | 5.2 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 96 | 5 | 5.2 |
| Botany | 312 | 14 | 4.5 |
| Manipuri Lit. | 22 | 1 | 4.5 |
| Maithili Lit. | 25 | 1 | 4 |
| Philosophy | 2092 | 84 | 4 |
| Zoology | 484 | 18 | 3.7 |
| Civil Engineering | 35 | 1 | 3.9 |
| Mathematics | 277 | 8 | 2.9 |
| Arabic Lit. | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bengali Lit. | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dogri LIt. | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Konkani Lit. | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oria Lit. | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Persian Lit. | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Sindhi Lit. | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Statistics | 14 | 0 | 0 |
From the data given above, the success rate for few Literature papers appears to be the highest. However, considering the low number of total candidates who opted for those optionals in IAS mains, these success rates should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The following table is taken from the figures of the 2015 civil services examination.
UPSC 2015 Optional Success Rate (This list does not include Literature optionals)
| Optional Subject | No. of Candidates Appeared | No. of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| Medical Science | 235 | 55 | 23.4 |
| Economics | 269 | 51 | 19 |
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science | 52 | 12 | 23.1 |
| Law | 246 | 42 | 17.1 |
| Agriculture | 122 | 20 | 16.4 |
| Commerce & Accountancy | 188 | 28 | 14.9 |
| Management | 167 | 24 | 14.4 |
| Geology | 28 | 4 | 14.4 |
| Botany | 104 | 12 | 11.5 |
| Zoology | 228 | 29 | 12.7 |
| Political Science & International Relations | 1107 | 121 | 10.9 |
| Chemistry | 104 | 11 | 10.6 |
| Civil Engineering | 47 | 5 | 10.6 |
| Sociology | 2490 | 230 | 9.2 |
| Philosophy | 1116 | 99 | 8.9 |
| History | 2090 | 174 | 8.3 |
| Psychology | 1163 | 92 | 7.9 |
| Geography | 4351 | 314 | 7.2 |
| Anthropology | 579 | 38 | 6.3 |
| Mathematics | 325 | 23 | 7.1 |
| Physics | 266 | 17 | 6.4 |
| Electrical Engineering | 126 | 8 | 6.3 |
| Public Administration | 7077 | 359 | 5.1 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 64 | 3 | 4.7 |
| Statistics | 16 | 1 | 6.3 |
Here we give you UPSC 2014 Optional success rate as given by the commission-
| Optional Subject | Number of Candidates Appeared Recommended | Number of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| Literature of Santhali Language | 1 | 1 | 100 |
| Law | 144 | 35 | 24.3 |
| Economics | 188 | 38 | 20.2 |
| Literature of Urdu Language | 28 | 5 | 17.9 |
| Literature of Bengali Language | 6 | 1 | 16.7 |
| Statistics | 6 | 1 | 16.7 |
| Literature of English Language | 30 | 5 | 16.7 |
| Medical Science | 293 | 48 | 16.4 |
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science | 32 | 5 | 15.6 |
| Botany | 50 | 7 | 14.0 |
| Management | 16723 | 13.8 | |
| Civil Engineering | 54 | 7 | 13.0 |
| Literature of Gujarati Language | 64 | 8 | 12.5 |
| Literature of Kannada Language | 75 9 | 12.0 | |
| Anthropology | 449 | 53 | 11.8 |
| Electrical Engineering | 11313 | 11.5 | |
| Literature of Punjabi Language | 54 6 | 11.1 | |
| Literature of Maithili Language | 84 9 | 10.7 | |
| Literature of Tamil Language | 758 | 10.7 | |
| Literature of Oriya Language | 10 1 | 10.0 | |
| Zoology | 92 9 | 9.8 | |
| Psychology | 34834 | 9.8 | |
| Sociology | 1647 | 150 | 9.1 |
| Agriculture | 77 | 7 | 9.1 |
| Physics | 147 | 13 | 8.8 |
| Literature of Malayalam Language | 69 | 6 | 8.7 |
| Philosophy | 73658 | 7.9 | |
| History | 1303 | 100 | 7.7 |
| Commerce & Accountancy | 20015 | 7.5 | |
| Chemistry | 85 6 | 7.1 | |
| Geology | 151 | 6.7 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | 60 4 | 6.7 | |
| Public Administration | 2840 | 176 | 6.2 |
| Political Science & International Relations | 65140 | 6.1 | |
| Mathematics | 32920 | 6.1 | |
| Geography | 3158 | 178 | 5.6 |
| Literature of Sanskrit Language | 71 | 4 | 5.6 |
| Literature of Manipuri Language | 20 | 1 | 5.0 |
| Literature of Telugu Language | 93 | 4 | 4.3 |
| Literature of Hindi Language | 284 | 12 | 4.2 |
| Literature of Marathi Language | 26 | 1 | 3.8 |
| Literature of Dogri Language | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Literature of Sindhi (Devanagari) Language | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Literature of Assamese Language | 2 | 0 | 0.0 |
How to select the best optional subject for UPSC
- Start with the syllabus of a few subjects
- Check the success rates in UPSC 2024 exam
- Depending on personal background/interest, shortlist further
- Analyse how much time you can devote for the optional
- Check whether the optional subject has any overlap with other parts of IAS exam (Prelims, GS papers in mains, Essay)
- Research availability of quality study material/teachers
The best optional subject for candidate A is not necessarily the same for candidate B. So, the question “Which Subject is best for IAS Mains Optional” has to be answered from an individual’s perspective. Refer to the link above to get more information on optional subjects for IAS mains.
More UPSC Optionals related queries
- What is the syllabus of UPSC 2024 exam?
- The syllabus for the first stage of the IAS exam (UPSC Prelims) can be divided into:
- General Studies (GS) Paper I – History, Geography, Economics, Current Affairs
- CSAT/ GS Paper II – Analytical and Comprehension questions ( Class X level)
Refer the article UPSC Prelims syllabus for the detailed analysis.
- How many subjects are there in IAS?
- There are a total of 48 optional subjects in UPSC Mains out of which, a candidate has to choose one.
- Is Public Administration a good choice for the UPSC exam?
- For a career in administration, studying Public Administration obviously makes sense. The syllabus overlap with GS makes it one of the most popular choices. Pros and cons of taking Public Administration Optional in the UPSC Mains Exam
- Is History a good optional subject choice in IAS exam?
- History is part of both UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains syllabus so preparing the optional subject will help with the GS part as well. However, the syllabus of history is quite vast so candidates often find it hard. Refer this link for the syllabus of History and the remaining 47 optional subjects in the UPSC exam.
- Is Geography a good optional for IAS?
- Geography is one of the most popular optional subjects for IAS aspirants. The significant overlap of the Geography optional syllabus with GS 1 and CSE Prelims exam is one of the key reasons behind its popularity. In 2015, AIR 1, Ira Singhal aced the exam with the same optional. However, its comprehensive syllabus is a challenge.
To know about the pros and cons of selecting Geography as the optional in the UPSC mains exam, please click here.
- How can I start my preparation for UPSC 2024?
- For all your IAS preparation needs including free study material, strategies, trends, daily news analysis and more, bookmark this link.
UPSC Preparation:
This site very useful for every IAS aspirant
If I have zoology in my bachelors then can I choose any other subject as my optional subject?
Yes
Respected Sir and Ma’am, what about Sociology or Anthropology for optional subject? Please tell me the pros and cons of these two subjects.
1. Learn the pros and cons of Anthropology Optional in UPSC here
2. Pros and Cons of Sociology optional are mentioned here
Where can I find that what all topics does anthropology and Pub Ad will have?
Anthropology Optional Syllabus for UPSC
Pub Ad Optional Syllabus for UPSC
Where can i find syllabus for psychology optional?
Hi
Download UPSC Psychology Optional Syllabus from here.
sir , is it a good decision to choose GEOGRAPHY as optional instead of ELECTRICAL ENGG.
Hi,
If you are comfortable with Geography as an optional subject, it is a good decision. There is plenty of study material available. Jot down your book list and stick to it. Complement geography optional with current affairs.