Which subjects should I opt in BA, I want to appear for UPSC exam?
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Dear aspirant, the best B.A. The subject is that which has a link or some syllabus common to the general studies papers. These types of subjects are - History, Geography, Economics, Political Science
 By opting for these types of subjects for the optional some syllabus of general studies paper get prepared itself. With the optional paper preparation. These subjects are also useful in the preliminary exam. This type of strategy will save a lot of time during preparation. It is a good & smart approach to the exam. You can pick from the following five:
 Geography
 Political Science
 Economics
 Modern History
 Sociology
 You can also take any literature...more
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Honestly, according to the graph analysis of degree background related to IAS qualifiers, its a highly heterogeneous data, Degree in any stream hardly matters when it comes to pursuing IAS exam but yes if you wish to lower your burden to some 20% you may go for B.A. As that will help you make a basic interest and foundation to read subjects related to IAS exam in vast. But personally, IAS exam is not degree or stream or merit oriented; the pure mantra is long sitting hours, long reading hours and the retaining power!
 Any degree in any stream is anyhow going to help you for optional subject choice while in IAS Mains exam. Good Luck!
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Political science honours is the best option if you want to prepare for UPSC with BA. It helps a lot. But still helps more for UPSC.
Similar Questions for you
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the UPSC Civil Service (prelims) exam on May 24, 2026. The exam will be conducted in two sessions and the General Studies Paper 2 will be qualifying only.
 
The Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC IAS 2026 notification on January 14 on its official website - upsc.gov.in. The Commission will also activate the UPSC CSE (IAS) 2026 online application link on its website. The last date for the UPSC IAS application form is February 3, 2026.
The UPSC CSE (IAS) prelims will be conducted on May 24, 2026.
The candidates should analyse the UPSC CSE previous year question papers to know the trend of the most asked topics. The Commission releases the UPSC question paper on its official website - upsc.gov.in. The candidates can get the UPSC question paper of previous year here. The candidates can download the UPSC question paper PDF here.
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