UPSC ESE Syllabus 2026: Branch-wise Technical Syllabus
The ESE syllabus combines General Studies and Engineering Aptitude with technical papers in one of four categories: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics and Telecommunication. Use the official notification and appendices as the final syllabus source.
Common General Studies and Engineering Aptitude
Prepare current issues of national and international importance, reasoning and analytical ability, engineering mathematics and numerical analysis, design and safety, standards and quality practices, energy and environment, project management, material science, ICT and computers, ethics and values in engineering, and industrial engineering and production management.
Make short notes on infrastructure, energy, climate, technology, safety, quality, project delivery and public systems. Practise numerical reasoning, data interpretation and engineering decision-making.
Civil Engineering
Cover building materials and construction, construction planning and management, fluid mechanics, hydraulic machines and hydrology, irrigation, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural analysis, concrete technology and reinforced concrete, steel structures, transportation engineering, surveying, engineering mathematics and design principles.
Prepare sketches, load paths, soil profiles, hydraulic layouts, structural diagrams, standard formulae, units and assumptions for conventional answers.
Mechanical Engineering
Cover engineering mechanics, strength of materials, theory of machines, machine design, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, IC engines, power plants, refrigeration and air conditioning, production engineering, industrial engineering, materials, metrology and manufacturing processes.
Connect thermodynamics with cycles, fluid mechanics with turbomachines, machine design with strength of materials, and manufacturing with materials and metrology.
Electrical Engineering
Cover circuit theory, signals and systems, electrical materials, measurements and instrumentation, power systems, generation and transmission, distribution, power-system analysis, electrical machines, power electronics, control systems, analog and digital electronics, microprocessors and electromagnetic theory.
Maintain separate revision sheets for network theorems, machine characteristics, protection, transmission parameters, control response, semiconductor devices and converters.
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
Cover network theory, electronic devices and circuits, analog and digital systems, signals and systems, communication systems, electromagnetic theory, microwave engineering, antennas and propagation, computer engineering, microprocessors and microcontrollers, control systems and instrumentation.
Practise derivations, frequency response, modulation, transmission lines, logic design, semiconductor circuits, control concepts and numerical problems.
Syllabus tracker and previous papers
Create one row for every official heading. Record first study, objective practice, conventional answer and revision date. Mark topics conceptually clear, formula-ready, objective-ready and conventional-answer-ready.
Download official ESE papers from UPSC. Solve without solutions, classify errors as concept, calculation, interpretation or time management, and revise the source topic. For conventional papers write complete answers, not only final numerical results.
Six-part preparation plan
- Complete fundamentals and short notes.
- Cover the full technical syllabus.
- Solve topic-wise objective questions.
- Add weekly conventional answers.
- Take mixed tests and full mocks.
- Revise formulas, diagrams, standards and weak chapters.
Official sources
The technical syllabus differs by category. Confirm the latest PDF before finalising a study schedule.