The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Indian Economic Service (IES) and Indian Statistical Service (ISS) examinations to recruit Group ‘A’ officers for key economic and statistical roles in various central ministries, departments, and institutions like:

Ministry of Finance
Planning Commission/NITI Aayog
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Economic & Statistical Divisions of Departments

The UPSC IES/ISS 2026 exam evaluates candidates’ analytical ability, subject mastery, and problem-solving skills. This article includes UPSC IES/ISS syllabus 2026, exam pattern, selection process, preparation strategies, and official PDF links.

🧭 2. UPSC IES/ISS 2026 Selection Process

The UPSC IES/ISS selection process includes:

Written Examination
Interview/Personality Test
Final Merit List

Candidates must qualify each stage for final selection.

📘 3. UPSC IES/ISS 2026 Exam Pattern (Updated)

3.1 IES (Indian Economic Service) – Written Exam Pattern

Paper	Subject	Marks	Duration
Paper I	General Economics-I	200	3 hours
Paper II	General Economics-II	200	3 hours
Paper III	General Economics-III	200	3 hours
Paper IV	Indian Economics	200	3 hours
Paper V	General Studies	100	3 hours
Total	—	900 Marks	—

3.2 ISS (Indian Statistical Service) – Written Exam Pattern

Paper	Subject	Marks	Duration
Paper I	General Studies	100	3 hours
Paper II	Statistics-I (Objective)	200	2 hours
Paper III	Statistics-II (Objective)	200	2 hours
Paper IV	Statistics-III (Descriptive)	200	3 hours
Paper V	Statistics-IV (Descriptive)	200	3 hours
Total	—	900 Marks	—

3.3 Personality Test

Stage	Marks
Interview	100 Marks

📚 4. UPSC IES/ISS 2026 Syllabus (Detailed Section-Wise)

4.1 IES Syllabus (Indian Economic Service)

General Economics – I

Microeconomics
Theory of Production & Costs
Market Structures
Welfare Economics
Mathematical methods in economics

General Economics – II

Macroeconomic models
Economic growth & development
Inflation & unemployment
SEZ, FDI, globalization
Money & banking

General Economics – III

International trade & finance
Balance of payments
Public finance & fiscal policy
Econometrics basics
Financial markets

Indian Economics

Indian planning models
Poverty, inequality, and unemployment
Industrialization & economic reforms
Agriculture, rural development
Sustainable development

General Studies

Indian polity
Geography
Current events
Government policies
Basic reasoning

4.2 ISS Syllabus (Indian Statistical Service)

Statistics-I (Objective)

Probability
Random variables
Standard distributions
Statistical inference
Sampling theory

Statistics-II (Objective)

Regression & correlation
Multivariate analysis
Time series analysis
Index numbers
ANOVA & ANCOVA

Statistics-III (Descriptive)

Statistical methods
Demography
Econometrics
Design of experiments
Reliability & survival analysis

Statistics-IV (Descriptive)

Statistical quality control
Operations research
Multivariate techniques
Bayesian inference
Stochastic processes

General Studies

Indian polity
Economy
Geography
Current affairs

📝 5. Final Selection & Marks Weightage (2026)

Stage	Marks
Written Exam	900
Interview	100
Total	1000 Marks

Final selection is based on:

Written exam score
Interview performance
Category rules
Medical fitness

✅ 6. Practical Preparation Tips for UPSC IES/ISS 2026

Study NCERTs for basics of economics, statistics, and general studies
Use standard reference books aligned with the UPSC syllabus
Solve previous year IES/ISS papers (10–15 years)
Practice descriptive answer writing for Statistics III/IV and Economics papers
Improve calculation speed and accuracy
Strengthen conceptual clarity rather than rote learning
Read government reports (Economic Survey, Budget, MoSPI publications)
Revise formulas, theorems, diagrams, and models regularly
Attempt mock tests to improve time management
Prepare current economic affairs from official sources

🔗 7. Useful Resource Links

UPSC Official Website: https://upsc.gov.in
IES/ISS 2026 Notification (PDF will appear here):
https://upsc.gov.in/examinations
UPSC IES/ISS Syllabus PDF:
https://upsc.gov.in/examinations/syllabus
Previous Year Question Papers (Official):
https://upsc.gov.in/examinations/question-papers

Notification) UPSC Indian Economic ...

UPSC Indian Economic Service / Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS) – 2026 Exam Complete Guide