About this UPSC Aptitude practice test

UPSC CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) is Paper 2 of the Prelims and is qualifying in nature — a minimum of 33% (66 of 200 marks) is required. The paper tests Reading Comprehension (40-50% of marks), Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability, Basic Numeracy (Class 10 level), Data Interpretation (simple charts and tables), Decision-Making and Problem-Solving, General Mental Ability, and Interpersonal Skills. Many candidates underestimate CSAT; failing to clear it disqualifies the GS Paper 1 score entirely, no matter how well that paper was written.

UPSC Prelims CSAT Practice Test sample questions

These starter questions help you launch a aptitude mock test quickly. Swap them with your own worksheet, notebook, or textbook questions any time.

1. 1. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

2. Passage: Decentralisation is often celebrated as an unqualified good, yet the transfer of powers to local bodies achieves little if it is not accompanied by a matching transfer of finances and functionaries. Many state governments have devolved subjects listed under the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules on paper, while continuing to control the purse strings through parallel bodies and centrally sponsored schemes. The result is a curious inversion: elected panchayats and municipalities bear the burden of local expectations without possessing the fiscal autonomy to meet them. Genuine empowerment of the third tier of government, therefore, cannot be measured merely by the number of subjects transferred, but by the proportion of untied funds and trained staff placed at its disposal.

3. Question: Which of the following best captures the central idea of the passage?

4. (a) State governments should abolish centrally sponsored schemes entirely

5. (b) Devolution of functions to local bodies is meaningless without corresponding devolution of finances and functionaries

6. (c) The Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules should be removed from the Constitution

7. (d) Panchayats and municipalities are incapable of handling any additional responsibility

8. 2. Refer to the same passage on decentralisation as in the previous question.

9. Passage: Decentralisation is often celebrated as an unqualified good, yet the transfer of powers to local bodies achieves little if it is not accompanied by a matching transfer of finances and functionaries. Many state governments have devolved subjects listed under the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules on paper, while continuing to control the purse strings through parallel bodies and centrally sponsored schemes. The result is a curious inversion: elected panchayats and municipalities bear the burden of local expectations without possessing the fiscal autonomy to meet them. Genuine empowerment of the third tier of government, therefore, cannot be measured merely by the number of subjects transferred, but by the proportion of untied funds and trained staff placed at its disposal.

10. Question: In the passage, the phrase 'curious inversion' refers to which situation?

11. (a) Local bodies having more money than functions to perform

12. (b) State governments devolving finances but not functions

13. (c) Local bodies being held responsible for outcomes despite lacking financial control

14. (d) The central government bypassing state governments entirely

15. 3. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

16. Passage: Several High Courts in India have begun experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to translate judgments into regional languages and to assist in listing and case management, but none has yet permitted algorithms to have a role in adjudication itself. Proponents argue that such tools merely reduce clerical drudgery and delay, freeing judicial time for reasoning and deliberation. Critics counter that even ostensibly neutral tasks, such as ranking cases for urgency, embed assumptions that can quietly reshape which litigants are heard sooner. The debate, at its core, is not about machines replacing judges but about where the line between administrative assistance and judicial discretion should be drawn.

17. Question: What is the central theme of the passage?

18. (a) AI should be given a role in delivering verdicts to reduce judicial workload

19. (b) Indian courts have banned all use of technology in judicial administration

20. (c) The real debate is about where administrative assistance ends and judicial discretion begins, not about machines replacing judges

21. (d) Translation of judgments is the only legitimate use of AI in courts

22. 4. Refer to the same passage on AI tools in the judiciary as in the previous question.

23. Passage: Several High Courts in India have begun experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to translate judgments into regional languages and to assist in listing and case management, but none has yet permitted algorithms to have a role in adjudication itself. Proponents argue that such tools merely reduce clerical drudgery and delay, freeing judicial time for reasoning and deliberation. Critics counter that even ostensibly neutral tasks, such as ranking cases for urgency, embed assumptions that can quietly reshape which litigants are heard sooner. The debate, at its core, is not about machines replacing judges but about where the line between administrative assistance and judicial discretion should be drawn.

24. Question: According to the passage, what concern do critics raise about AI-assisted case management?

25. (a) It is too expensive for High Courts to implement

26. (b) Even seemingly neutral administrative tasks, like ranking case urgency, can embed assumptions that affect which litigants are heard sooner

27. (c) It will replace judges within a decade

28. (d) It violates the right to a speedy trial

29. 5. Refer to the same passage on AI tools in the judiciary once more.

30. Passage: Several High Courts in India have begun experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to translate judgments into regional languages and to assist in listing and case management, but none has yet permitted algorithms to have a role in adjudication itself. Proponents argue that such tools merely reduce clerical drudgery and delay, freeing judicial time for reasoning and deliberation. Critics counter that even ostensibly neutral tasks, such as ranking cases for urgency, embed assumptions that can quietly reshape which litigants are heard sooner. The debate, at its core, is not about machines replacing judges but about where the line between administrative assistance and judicial discretion should be drawn.

31. Question: Which statement would the author most likely agree with?

32. (a) Any use of technology in courts is inherently dangerous

33. (b) The distinction between clerical assistance and judicial discretion deserves careful, ongoing scrutiny

34. (c) Judicial discretion is no longer relevant in a data-driven age

35. (d) Only High Courts, and not the Supreme Court, should use AI tools

36. 6. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

37. Passage: The philosopher Isaiah Berlin distinguished between negative liberty, the absence of external constraints upon a person's actions, and positive liberty, the capacity for self-mastery and self-realisation. A society preoccupied only with negative liberty may guarantee citizens freedom from interference while leaving them unable to exercise that freedom meaningfully, for want of education, health, or economic security. Conversely, an excessive pursuit of positive liberty, in the name of enabling citizens, has historically been used to justify coercive paternalism by the state. The enduring challenge for democratic governance is to expand the substantive capacities of citizens without allowing that very project to become a pretext for controlling them.

38. Question: What is the central idea of the passage?

39. (a) Negative liberty is always superior to positive liberty

40. (b) Democratic governance must expand citizens' real capacities without letting that project justify state control over them

41. (c) Positive liberty should be abandoned in favour of unregulated markets

42. (d) Berlin considered both forms of liberty to be identical in practice

43. 7. Refer to the same passage on Isaiah Berlin's distinction between liberties.

44. Passage: The philosopher Isaiah Berlin distinguished between negative liberty, the absence of external constraints upon a person's actions, and positive liberty, the capacity for self-mastery and self-realisation. A society preoccupied only with negative liberty may guarantee citizens freedom from interference while leaving them unable to exercise that freedom meaningfully, for want of education, health, or economic security. Conversely, an excessive pursuit of positive liberty, in the name of enabling citizens, has historically been used to justify coercive paternalism by the state. The enduring challenge for democratic governance is to expand the substantive capacities of citizens without allowing that very project to become a pretext for controlling them.

45. Question: Based on the passage, excessive pursuit of positive liberty has historically been used to justify:

46. (a) Greater judicial independence

47. (b) Coercive paternalism by the state

48. (c) Complete withdrawal of the state from citizens' lives

49. (d) Federal devolution of powers

50. 8. Pointing to a photograph, Rina says, 'She is the daughter of my paternal grandfather's only son.' How is the woman in the photograph related to Rina?

51. (a) Sister

52. (b) Cousin

53. (c) Mother

54. (d) Aunt

55. 9. Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row, all facing north. A sits second from the left end. B sits immediately to the right of A. E sits at the extreme right end. D sits immediately to the left of E. Who sits exactly in the middle of the row?

56. (a) A

57. (b) B

58. (c) D

59. (d) C

60. 10. In a certain code, 'MOUNTAIN' is written as 'NPVOUBJO'. How is 'VALLEY' written in that code?

61. (a) WBMMFZ

62. (b) WBMMEZ

63. (c) UBMMFZ

64. (d) WBNMFZ

65. 11. A man walks 8 km towards south, then turns left and walks 6 km, then turns left again and walks 8 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction?

66. (a) 6 km, North

67. (b) 6 km, East

68. (c) 14 km, South

69. (d) 6 km, West

70. 12. In a class test, Meena scored higher than Rohit but lower than Kavya. Suresh scored higher than Kavya. Rohit scored higher than Anil. Who scored the lowest among the five?

71. (a) Anil

72. (b) Rohit

73. (c) Meena

74. (d) Suresh

75. 13. A sum of Rs. 12,000 is lent at 10% simple interest per annum. What amount of interest will it earn in 3 years?

76. (a) Rs. 3,600

77. (b) Rs. 3,200

78. (c) Rs. 4,000

79. (d) Rs. 3,000

80. 14. The present age of a father is 4 times the present age of his son. After 5 years, the father's age will be 3 times the son's age at that time. What is the son's present age?

81. (a) 8 years

82. (b) 10 years

83. (c) 12 years

84. (d) 15 years

85. 15. A shopkeeper marks an article 40% above its cost price and then offers a discount of 25% on the marked price. What is his overall profit or loss percentage?

86. (a) 5% profit

87. (b) 5% loss

88. (c) 15% profit

89. (d) 10% loss

90. 16. A can complete a piece of work in 12 days and B can complete the same work in 18 days. If they work together, in how many days will the work be completed?

91. (a) 7.2 days

92. (b) 6 days

93. (c) 8 days

94. (d) 9 days

95. 17. The average weight of 8 students in a class is 45 kg. When a new student joins, the average weight becomes 46 kg. What is the weight of the new student?

96. (a) 46 kg

97. (b) 54 kg

98. (c) 50 kg

99. (d) 53 kg

100. 18. A survey of 500 students recorded their preferred mode of transport to school: 200 students walk, 150 use a bicycle, 100 use a school bus, and the remaining use private vehicles. What percentage of students use private vehicles?

101. (a) 8%

102. (b) 10%

103. (c) 12%

104. (d) 15%

105. 19. The population of a town grew as follows: 2018: 40,000; 2019: 44,000; 2020: 46,200; 2021: 50,820. What was the approximate percentage growth in population from 2020 to 2021?

106. (a) 8%

107. (b) 10%

108. (c) 9%

109. (d) 12%

110. 20. In a factory, the output of units produced over four quarters was: Q1 = 2,400 units, Q2 = 2,700 units, Q3 = 3,000 units, Q4 = 2,100 units. What was the average quarterly output for the year?

111. (a) 2,500 units

112. (b) 2,550 units

113. (c) 2,600 units

114. (d) 2,450 units

115. 21. A company's annual expenditure of Rs. 60 lakh is distributed as follows: 40% on salaries, 25% on raw materials, 20% on logistics, and the rest on miscellaneous costs. How much, in lakh rupees, is spent on miscellaneous costs?

116. (a) Rs. 6 lakh

117. (b) Rs. 7.5 lakh

118. (c) Rs. 9 lakh

119. (d) Rs. 12 lakh

120. 22. A pie chart shows the distribution of 720 students across four streams: Science accounts for 150 degrees, Commerce for 120 degrees, Arts for 60 degrees, and the remainder is Vocational. How many students are enrolled in the Vocational stream?

121. (a) 60 students

122. (b) 90 students

123. (c) 100 students

124. (d) 120 students

125. 23. You are a Sub-Divisional Magistrate. During a communally sensitive local festival, you receive credible intelligence that a provocative rumour is spreading on social media and could trigger unrest within hours. The local police force is thin, and senior officials are unreachable for the next few hours. What should be your immediate course of action?

126. (a) Wait until senior officials become reachable before taking any action, to avoid overstepping authority

127. (b) Immediately invoke available legal provisions to caution against rumour-mongering, engage community leaders to counter the rumour, and mobilise available police resources, while simultaneously informing seniors as soon as possible

128. (c) Ignore the intelligence unless an actual incident occurs, since the report is unconfirmed

129. (d) Publicly announce a curfew immediately without engaging any community leaders

130. 24. As the head of a government hospital, you discover that a well-regarded senior doctor has been arriving late and leaving early for weeks, though patient care has not yet suffered because junior doctors have quietly covered for him. Confronting him publicly could humiliate a respected colleague, but ignoring the pattern could normalise indiscipline and overburden junior staff. What is the most appropriate course of action?

131. (a) Issue a public reprimand at the next staff meeting to set an example

132. (b) Ignore the matter since patient care has not been affected so far

133. (c) Speak to the doctor privately, acknowledge his contribution, but firmly state the need for regularity, and monitor the situation going forward

134. (d) Immediately recommend suspension without any prior conversation

135. 25. You are a district-level officer implementing a welfare scheme with a fixed budget and a hard deadline. Midway through implementation, you realise that strictly following the eligibility criteria as written will exclude a small number of genuinely deserving families due to a technical documentation gap, while a subset of technically eligible but comparatively well-off applicants would benefit. What should you do?

136. (a) Follow the written criteria strictly in every case, since deviating could invite allegations of favouritism

137. (b) Exercise the discretion available within the scheme's guidelines to verify and include the deserving families through alternate documentation, while recording clear justification for the decision

138. (c) Exclude the deserving families and quietly complete the target enrolment with easier cases to meet the deadline

139. (d) Delay the entire scheme's rollout in your district until the guidelines are formally amended

140. 26. Find the missing number in the series: 3, 8, 15, 24, 35, ?

141. (a) 46

142. (b) 48

143. (c) 50

144. (d) 45

145. 27. Each letter of the alphabet is assigned its position number (A=1, B=2, and so on). What is the sum of the position numbers of the letters in the word 'DESK'?

146. (a) 39

147. (b) 41

148. (c) 43

149. (d) 37

150. 28. A cube is painted red on all its faces and then cut into 27 identical smaller cubes of equal size. How many of the smaller cubes have paint on exactly two faces?

151. (a) 8

152. (b) 12

153. (c) 6

154. (d) 4

155. 29. During a team meeting, a junior colleague repeatedly interrupts others while they are speaking, causing frustration among team members. As the team leader, what is the most effective way to address this?

156. (a) Publicly reprimand the colleague in front of the entire team to discourage the behaviour

157. (b) Ignore the behaviour since raising it might create workplace conflict

158. (c) Speak to the colleague privately, explain the impact of the behaviour on team dynamics, and agree on a constructive way to contribute during discussions

159. (d) Exclude the colleague from future meetings

160. 30. Two colleagues in your team have a longstanding personal disagreement that is beginning to affect their professional collaboration and, in turn, the team's output. As their supervisor, what is the most constructive first step?

161. (a) Assign them to separate, unrelated projects permanently to avoid friction

162. (b) Hold a joint conversation to understand each person's perspective, and help them agree on professional ground rules for working together

163. (c) Take no action since personal disagreements are not a workplace concern

164. (d) Publicly instruct the team that personal issues must not affect work, without further engagement

Answer key & quick explanations

Short answers for the sample questions above. Use this to self-check before generating a fresh AI-built mock test.

1. 1. RC Passage 1 (Decentralisation) - central idea

   (b) Devolution of functions to local bodies is meaningless without corresponding devolution of finances and functionaries

   The passage argues that transferring subjects on paper is insufficient unless matched by fiscal and staffing autonomy. This is the passage's core argument, stated explicitly in the final sentence about untied funds and trained staff.

2. 2. RC Passage 1 - meaning of 'curious inversion'

   (c) Local bodies being held responsible for outcomes despite lacking financial control

   The passage describes elected local bodies bearing the burden of public expectations while state governments retain control of funds through parallel bodies and schemes. That mismatch between responsibility and control is the 'inversion' referred to.

3. 3. RC Passage 2 (AI in judiciary) - central theme

   (c) The real debate is about where administrative assistance ends and judicial discretion begins, not about machines replacing judges

   The passage explicitly states this in its concluding sentence, framing the disagreement between proponents and critics as one about boundaries of AI's role, not about replacement of judges.

4. 4. RC Passage 2 - critics' concern

   (b) Even seemingly neutral administrative tasks, like ranking case urgency, can embed assumptions that affect which litigants are heard sooner

   The passage directly attributes this concern to critics, noting that ostensibly neutral prioritisation tasks can quietly influence outcomes for litigants, which is a subtler harm than adjudication by algorithm itself.

5. 5. RC Passage 2 - author's likely view

   (b) The distinction between clerical assistance and judicial discretion deserves careful, ongoing scrutiny

   The passage presents both proponent and critic views without dismissing either, and frames the debate as about where a line should be drawn, implying the author favours continued careful examination rather than a fixed, dismissive position.

6. 6. RC Passage 3 (Berlin's liberties) - central idea

   (b) Democratic governance must expand citizens' real capacities without letting that project justify state control over them

   This is stated as the 'enduring challenge' in the passage's final sentence, synthesising the tension between negative and positive liberty into a single governance imperative.

7. 7. RC Passage 3 - paternalism detail

   (b) Coercive paternalism by the state

   The passage states that excessive pursuit of positive liberty 'has historically been used to justify coercive paternalism by the state,' directly answering what such overreach has historically enabled.

8. 8. Blood relations - photograph puzzle

   (a) Sister

   Rina's paternal grandfather's only son is Rina's father. The woman in the photograph is the daughter of Rina's father, which makes her Rina's sister, since Rina and the woman share the same father.

9. 9. Linear seating arrangement

   (b) B

   Working through the clues fixes the order as C, A, B, D, E from left to right: A is second, B is immediately right of A (third), E is at the extreme right (fifth), and D is immediately left of E (fourth), leaving C in the first position. The middle (third) position is occupied by B.

10. 10. Coding-decoding - letter shift

    (a) WBMMFZ

    Comparing MOUNTAIN to NPVOUBJO shows each letter is shifted forward by one position in the alphabet (M to N, O to P, and so on). Applying the same +1 shift to VALLEY gives V to W, A to B, L to M, L to M, E to F, Y to Z, producing WBMMFZ.

11. 11. Direction sense test

    (b) 6 km, East

    Plotting the path on a coordinate grid: starting at the origin, moving 8 km south, then two consecutive left turns (south to east, then east to north) followed by 6 km and 8 km respectively brings the man to a point 6 km east of the origin, since the two 8 km legs cancel out in the north-south direction.

12. 12. Ranking-based reasoning

    (a) Anil

    Combining all the given comparisons yields the order Suresh > Kavya > Meena > Rohit > Anil from highest to lowest score. Anil is therefore the lowest scorer among the five students.

13. 13. Simple interest calculation

    (a) Rs. 3,600

    Using the simple interest formula SI = (Principal x Rate x Time) / 100, the calculation is (12000 x 10 x 3) / 100 = Rs. 3,600. This is a direct one-step application of the standard SI formula.

14. 14. Age-based linear equation

    (b) 10 years

    Let the son's present age be x, so the father's present age is 4x. Five years later, the equation 4x + 5 = 3(x + 5) simplifies to x = 10, meaning the son is currently 10 years old.

15. 15. Profit and loss with markup and discount

    (a) 5% profit

    Taking the cost price as Rs. 100, a 40% markup gives a marked price of Rs. 140. A 25% discount on Rs. 140 is Rs. 35, giving a selling price of Rs. 105, which is a 5% profit over the original cost price of Rs. 100.

16. 16. Work and time - combined rate

    (a) 7.2 days

    A's one-day work rate is 1/12 and B's is 1/18; their combined rate is 5/36 of the work per day (using the LCM of 12 and 18, which is 36). The total work is completed in 36/5 = 7.2 days when they work together.

17. 17. Average with a new entrant

    (b) 54 kg

    The total weight of the original 8 students is 8 x 45 = 360 kg. After the new student joins, the total for 9 students becomes 9 x 46 = 414 kg, so the new student's weight is 414 minus 360, which equals 54 kg.

18. 18. DI - transport mode survey percentage

    (b) 10%

    Adding the students who walk, cycle, or use the school bus gives 200 + 150 + 100 = 450 out of 500. The remaining 50 students use private vehicles, and 50 out of 500 is exactly 10%.

19. 19. DI - year-on-year population growth

    (b) 10%

    The population increased from 46,200 in 2020 to 50,820 in 2021, an increase of 4,620. Dividing 4,620 by the base year figure of 46,200 gives exactly 0.10, or a 10% growth rate.

20. 20. DI - average quarterly output

    (b) 2,550 units

    Summing the four quarterly figures gives 2,400 + 2,700 + 3,000 + 2,100 = 10,200 units for the year. Dividing this total by 4 quarters gives an average quarterly output of 2,550 units.

21. 21. DI - expenditure breakdown percentage

    (c) Rs. 9 lakh

    Salaries, raw materials, and logistics together account for 40% + 25% + 20% = 85% of the total expenditure, leaving 15% for miscellaneous costs. Fifteen percent of Rs. 60 lakh works out to Rs. 9 lakh.

22. 22. DI - pie chart degree-to-count conversion

    (a) 60 students

    A full pie chart represents 360 degrees; Science, Commerce, and Arts together account for 150 + 120 + 60 = 330 degrees, leaving 30 degrees for Vocational. Since 30 out of 360 degrees represents (30/360) of 720 students, the Vocational stream has 60 students.

23. 23. Decision-making - communal tension emergency

    (b) Immediately invoke available legal provisions, engage community leaders, and mobilise available resources while keeping seniors informed

    A field officer facing an imminent law-and-order risk must act swiftly and proportionately using lawful means available at that level, rather than waiting for unreachable seniors or ignoring credible intelligence. Simultaneously informing seniors preserves accountability without causing a dangerous delay in response.

24. 24. Decision-making - senior doctor's punctuality issue

    (c) Speak to the doctor privately, acknowledge his contribution, but firmly state the need for regularity, and monitor going forward

    A private, respectful but firm conversation addresses the behaviour without public humiliation, which is disproportionate for a first instance of an issue that has not yet harmed patients. Ignoring the pattern would be unfair to the junior staff quietly covering for him, so some corrective action is necessary, but escalation should be graduated.

25. 25. Decision-making - welfare scheme eligibility gap

    (b) Exercise available discretion to verify and include deserving families through alternate documentation, with recorded justification

    Good administrative practice uses legitimate, documented discretion to serve the purpose of a scheme when rigid literal compliance would defeat that purpose and exclude genuinely eligible citizens. Recording justification ensures transparency and guards against any perception of arbitrary favouritism.

26. 26. Number series pattern

    (b) 48

    Each term follows the pattern n(n+2): 1x3=3, 2x4=8, 3x5=15, 4x6=24, 5x7=35, and 6x8=48. Recognising this multiplicative pattern, rather than only checking differences, confirms 48 as the next term.

27. 27. Letter-to-number sum

    (a) 39

    Using A=1 through Z=26, the letters in DESK correspond to D=4, E=5, S=19, and K=11. Adding these gives 4+5+19+11 = 39.

28. 28. Cube-painting spatial reasoning

    (b) 12

    When a cube is cut into a 3x3x3 arrangement of 27 smaller cubes, the 8 corner cubes have 3 painted faces, the 12 edge cubes (excluding corners) have exactly 2 painted faces, the 6 face-centre cubes have 1 painted face, and the 1 innermost cube has none. So exactly 12 smaller cubes have paint on exactly two faces.

29. 29. Interpersonal skills - interrupting colleague

    (c) Speak to the colleague privately, explain the impact on team dynamics, and agree on a constructive way to contribute

    Addressing disruptive behaviour privately and constructively, with a focus on its impact rather than blame, corrects the issue while preserving the colleague's dignity and the team's trust. Public reprimand or exclusion is disproportionate and tends to damage morale rather than improve communication.

30. 30. Interpersonal skills - colleagues' personal conflict affecting work

    (b) Hold a joint conversation to understand each person's perspective and agree on professional ground rules

    A supervisor should first understand both viewpoints through open, balanced dialogue before deciding on a resolution, since this builds mutual accountability for a working relationship rather than avoiding the problem. Permanent separation avoids the issue rather than resolving it, and a directive without engagement rarely changes underlying behaviour.

Curriculum Mapping & Learning Guide

Use this breakdown to identify which skills each question tests and guide post-test review.

UPSC Aptitude units covered

1. Chapter 1: Reading Comprehension (Passages from UPSC papers)
2. Chapter 2: Logical and Analytical Reasoning
3. Chapter 3: Basic Numeracy (Arithmetic up to Class 10)
4. Chapter 4: Data Interpretation (Tables, Graphs, Charts)
5. Chapter 5: Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
6. Chapter 6: General Mental Ability
7. Chapter 7: Interpersonal Skills and Communication