RAS Prelims Previous Year Paper Analysis 2024, 2023 & 2021: Subject-Wise Questions, Trends & Strategy

If you are preparing for the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) Prelims, the best syllabus guide is the question paper itself. In this article we have gone through the RAS Pre GK & GS papers of 2021 (held 27 Oct 2021), 2023 (held 1 Oct 2023) and 2024 (held 2 Feb 2025) question by question and sorted all 450 questions subject-wise. You will see how many questions came from each subject, which topics keep repeating, how the difficulty is changing, and how to plan your preparation around it.

Quick Takeaways

• Every paper has 150 questions for 200 marks (3 hours; 2023 and 2024 gave 10 extra minutes for filling the OMR sheet).

• The split across the seven areas is remarkably stable: History & Culture (23–26), Polity (23–24), Economy (21–22), Geography (19–21), Science & Tech (20–21), Reasoning & Maths (20) and Current Affairs (20).

• Roughly 35% of the paper (52–53 questions every year) is purely Rajasthan-specific static content: Rajasthan history, art & culture, polity, economy and geography. Add Rajasthan-flavoured current affairs and science questions and the share is even higher.

• History & Culture is the single largest section in all three years, and about two-thirds of it is Rajasthan history, art, literature and culture.

• Reasoning, Maths and Current Affairs are fixed at exactly 20 questions each in all three papers. These are the most predictable marks.

• Many topics repeat across years: Krishnadevaraya and Vijayanagara, the World Happiness Index, SHRC, RPSC, Governor of Rajasthan, compound interest, probability, coding-decoding, mirror images and blood relations all appeared in more than one paper.

• Wording has become more statement-based ("Consider the following statements"), with the fifth option "Question not attempted" in 2023 and 2024.

RAS Prelims Exam Pattern at a Glance (as seen in the 2021, 2023 and 2024 papers)

What this means for you: each question is worth about 1.33 marks, and a wrong answer costs about 0.44 marks. Since 2023 you must darken option 5 for questions you skip. Leaving too many bubbles empty can lead to disqualification, so always fill every question.

Subject-Wise Distribution of Questions (2021 vs 2023 vs 2024)

Rajasthan vs India vs World split inside each subject

Reading the table: Rajasthan content makes up about 64% of History & Culture, 56% of Polity, 54% of Economy and 60% of Geography over the three years. Geography is the most predictable section: every year gives 5 India and 3 World geography questions and the rest from Rajasthan.

How the paper is arranged

The order of sections changed, and it is worth knowing for time management.

Since 2023 the paper opens with Geography and ends with History, so the longest, most fact-heavy section arrives when you are already tired. Plan your time accordingly.

Note on method: questions were classified by content. A few borderline questions (for example a Rajasthan scheme in the Economy block, or a science institution's history) could be placed in a neighbouring subject, so treat any single count as accurate within one or two questions.

Subject-Wise Analysis

1. History, Art, Culture, Literature & Heritage

This is the heaviest section (74 questions in three years) and also the one with the most obscure facts.

Rajasthan history and culture (47 of 74 questions). The same families of topics return every year:

• Saints, sects and folk deities: Dadu Panth, Laldasi and Ramsnehi sects (2021); Bishnoi, Jasnathi and Agni dance (2023); Saint Laldas (2024); Ramdevji, Pabuji and Tejaji pairs (2023).

• Literature: Books and authors (2021), Kuvlayamala, Achaldas Khichi ri Vachanika and Lalit Vigraharaj (2023), Raso literature and Aadi/Hiyali words (2024).

• Painting, music and costume: Folk instruments and artists (2021), court painter Muhammad Shah (2023), painting schools and painters, Chautara and the Kasumal colour (2024).

• Peasant and people's movements: Bijolia (2021 and 2024), Prajamandal movements (2023), Aki movement (2023), Matsya Union and Matsya Sangh (2023 and 2024).

• Forts, temples, archaeology: Bayana's Vishnuvardhan tower, Bhatiyani Pratapkunwari's temple and Ahar civilisation (2021); Giri forts, Jharol-Kurada-Sabania and Nagar (2023); Ojiyana excavation, Mathandev temple at Rajorgarh and Bairath (2024).

• Medieval rulers: Battles of Gagron, Sarangpur, Summel and Saheba (2021), Chauhans (2023), Rao Chunda and Rao Jaitsi of Bikaner (2024).

National history (27 of 74 questions). Questions come in two clusters: ancient and early medieval India (Mauryan art, Chandragupta II, Bharhut stupa, Buddhist texts, Ajivika sect, Jain doctrines) and the freedom struggle and social reform (conspiracy cases, Quit India, Servants of India Society, 1920 Congress session, liberal phase of the national movement, Bharat Mata painting). Vijayanagara and Krishnadevaraya has been asked in all three years.

Trend: the 2024 history questions were the most detailed, with the names of excavators, committee reports (for example the Sudhalkar report), and sub-statements asking whether "A only / B only / both" are true. Pair-matching dominated 2021, while statement-evaluation dominates 2023 and 2024.

Difficulty (our assessment): moderate to hard. Fact density is high, but the syllabus is finite and the Rajasthan portion rewards reading from standard sources.

2. Polity & Governance

Polity is the most stable and the most scoring section, with 23–24 questions every year and a nearly even split between the Indian Constitution (10–11) and Rajasthan polity (12–14).

Indian polity: Constituent Assembly (committees, final session, party positions), Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive Principles with their article numbers, constitutional amendments (1st, 42nd, 99th NJAC, 105th), landmark cases (Maneka Gandhi, Minerva Mills, Kihoto Hollohan), Rajya Sabha, no-confidence motion, Speaker's powers, Election Commission, President's election, Finance Commission, CAG, CVC and RTI.

Rajasthan polity: Governor and Rajpramukh, Council of Ministers, Legislative Assembly procedures and committees, RPSC, State Election Commission, State Human Rights Commission, State Information Commission, Lokayukta, Panchayati Raj and municipal laws, citizen charter and administrative bodies like JDA. Questions on Chief Ministers (who served how many times, who faced President's Rule, shortest tenure) appear in all three papers.

Trend: direct fact questions of 2021 have given way to multi-statement questions in 2023 and 2024. Rajasthan current governance is also tested (for example, the number of women ministers as of November 2024 and the new Governor in 2024).

Difficulty: moderate. If you have covered Laxmikanth plus a Rajasthan polity source thoroughly, 18 or more correct answers are realistic.

3. Economy (India and Rajasthan)

Economy has 21–22 questions, split almost equally between national concepts (10 each year) and Rajasthan economy including state schemes (11–12).

• National economy: national income concepts (NNP, base year, IIP, GNI growth), inflation (headline vs core), GST input tax credit, fiscal deficit and FRBM, credit control measures, WPR and census work participation, Ease of Doing Business, pharma and automobile sector facts, budget-related questions and central schemes (PM Kisan Maandhan, Atal Bhujal, PM Surya Ghar, Ayushman Bharat).

• Rajasthan economy: Economic Review and Budget numbers (GSDP share, per capita income, fiscal deficit, GFCF, sector-wise GSVA), RIICO industrial areas and parks, state policies (Solar Policy, Mineral Policy 2024, M-Sand Policy 2024), infrastructure projects and the state's own welfare schemes.

• State schemes of the sitting government are a guaranteed 4–6 questions: Chiranjeevi, UDAN and Indira Mahila Shakti Nidhi (2021); Indira Rasoi, Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee and Shakti Udaan (2023); Aastha and Mukhyamantri Svanidhi (2024).

Trend: questions are shifting from "which year/amount" to "which statement is correct", and they depend heavily on the latest Economic Review and Budget. Policy documents announced in 2024 appeared in the same year's paper.

Difficulty: moderate. Rajasthan numbers need a dedicated revision.

4. Geography

• Rajasthan geography (11–13 questions): physiographic regions and Aravalli sub-regions, rainfall and soils, rivers and their tributaries, minerals and mining locations (asbestos, lignite, manganese, mica, feldspar), forest cover, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves, tourist circuits, demography (sex ratio, literacy, SC/ST population), power plants and irrigation projects.

• India geography (5 every year): corridors, Himalayan ranges, rivers and tributaries, monsoon, lakes, minerals and power plants.

• World geography (3 every year): lakes and countries, deserts, continents and landforms, industrial regions, agriculture belts, rivers and seas.

Trend: map-based and list-based questions such as arranging districts by rainfall or literacy in order are common. The World geography questions are stable in number and usually of standard-book difficulty.

Difficulty: easy to moderate. The most scoring section for a prepared candidate.

5. Science, Technology & Environment

About 20 questions every year. The themes are consistent:

• Biology and health: diseases and vectors (malaria appeared in both 2021 and 2023), vitamins, proteins, blood groups and Rh factor, nutrition deficiencies, zoonotic diseases, Trisomy 21.

• Physics and chemistry basics: stethoscope, pressure units, lenses, CNG, artificial sweeteners, fourth-generation biofuels.

• IT, AI and emerging tech: MOEMS, quantum dot (2021 and 2023), file formats, digital units, IoT layers, AI and machine learning (2024).

• Space and defence: ASTRA missile, TeLEOS-2 satellite launch (2023); VSHORADS and AESA radar (2024).

• Environment and ecology: biomass pyramids, forest report data, AQI categories, El Nino and La Nina, IUCN Red List, SDG 15 and Rajasthan forestry and biodiversity project (2024).

• Rajasthan-linked science: state remote sensing centre, solar observatory, camel research centre, Kadaknath, centres of excellence for horticulture.

Trend: environment questions increased in 2024, and technology questions are increasingly application-based (which layer, which statement).

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Basic NCERT-level science plus recent science-and-tech news covers most of it.

6. Reasoning & Mental Ability and Maths

A constant 20 questions: 11–12 reasoning and 8–9 quantitative aptitude.

• Reasoning: statement-assumption, statement-conclusion, strong-weak arguments, statement-course of action, assertion-reason, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, seating arrangement, Venn diagrams, mirror images, counting figures and series.

• Maths: ratio and mixtures, percentages, simple and compound interest, probability, permutations and combinations, mean, median and mode, mensuration, data interpretation (pie chart and table).

Repeats worth noting: compound vs simple interest (2021, 2023 and 2024), probability (all three years), blood relations (all three), coding-decoding (all three) and mirror images of capital letters (2023 and 2024).

Trend: the 2024 maths section looked more demanding, with 8-monthly compounding, arrangement of letters with repetition and a geometry-combinatorics question. Still, the topics are standard.

Difficulty: moderate. This is where focused daily practice converts directly into marks.

7. Current Affairs

Exactly 20 questions in each paper. The window is usually the previous 10–12 months, and the latest events are included (the 2024 paper had news from November and December 2024 and an event scheduled for February 2025).

• Sports (4–5 every year): Olympics and Paralympics, Asian Champions Trophy, shooting and chess results, Khelo India and National Games.

• Rajasthan current affairs (4–5 every year): new apps, policies, by-election facts, tiger reserve and wetland notifications, state sports results, local literature awards.

• National and international: awards (Eni Award, Gandhi Peace Prize, Nobel in Literature), appointments (UNGA President, new heads of state), MoUs and defence exercises, space missions, indexes and reports (Hunger Hotspots, TIME 100), and new portals and apps.

Difficulty: moderate to hard because there is no fixed syllabus. A monthly current affairs magazine and the Rajasthan-specific news of the last year are enough for most of the 20.

Topics That Repeat Across 2021, 2023 and 2024

The lesson is simple: topics repeat, but the angle changes. A topic asked as a direct question in one year returns as one statement inside a multi-statement question in the next.

Year-Wise Snapshot

RAS Prelims 2021

• History and Culture came first, as 25 questions, with a heavy dose of match-the-list questions (about 13 in the whole paper).

• Polity leaned on Rajasthan institutions and landmark Indian cases.

• Rajasthan government schemes announced in 2021 (Chiranjeevi, UDAN, Mahatma Gandhi Rajasthan health insurance) were tested directly, along with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in current affairs.

• Reasoning had a visible cluster of arguments, courses of action and Venn-type diagrams.

RAS Prelims 2023

• First paper with five options and the 10% blank-OMR rule.

• History was the largest block (26 questions) and sat at the end of the paper.

• Match-the-list questions dropped to just two; "identify the incorrect pair / statement" became more common.

• Economy included many Rajasthan budget and scheme questions; current affairs had five sports questions and several 2023 events such as ASTRA, TeLEOS-2, UDGAM portal and TIME 100.

RAS Prelims 2024 (held in February 2025)

• The most statement-heavy paper of the three, with about nine match-type questions and many "only A / only B / both" formats.

• Heavy Rajasthan policy content: Mineral Policy 2024, M-Sand Policy, MSME Policy 2024, RIICO industrial areas, and Aastha and Svanidhi schemes.

• Polity had the most Rajasthan content (14), including very recent items like women in the Council of Ministers in November 2024.

• Environment and technology (AI, IoT, AESA radar, El Nino, Red List) got more space in the Science section.

How to Prepare: A Priority Plan Based on the Data

1. Lock down the Rajasthan static core first (about 52 questions). Rajasthan history and culture, polity, economy and geography carry more marks than any other single block. Revise it at least three times.

2. Treat Polity and Geography as your guaranteed marks. Both are finite and stable. Aim for 18+ in Polity and 15+ in Geography.

3. Give History a dedicated plan. Use topic lists such as sects, literature, painting, movements, forts and archaeological sites, and revise them with short notes and one-liners.

4. Make Reasoning, Maths and Current Affairs a daily habit since each is fixed at 20 questions. Solve a few questions every day, and keep a monthly current affairs file with a separate Rajasthan section.

5. Read the latest Rajasthan Economic Review, Budget highlights and the schemes of the sitting government a few weeks before the exam; they directly produce 8–10 questions across Economy and Current Affairs.

6. Practise the statement format. Take any chapter and convert facts into "Consider the following statements" questions. Elimination strategies work well for Only A / Only B / Both type questions.

7. Use previous year papers for revision, not only for practice. After solving a paper, tag each question by topic and note which sub-topic it came from.

Negative marking strategy

With one-third negative marking, a guess is worthwhile only when you can eliminate at least two options. Since 2023 an empty bubble also costs marks (and too many blanks lead to disqualification), so mark the fifth option only for questions you really cannot attempt, and keep that number well below 10% of the paper.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are asked in RAS Prelims? The GK & GS paper has 150 questions for 200 marks.

Which subject has the most weightage in RAS Prelims? History, Art, Culture and Literature, with 23–26 questions per paper, followed closely by Polity and Economy. Rajasthan-specific content is about one-third of the paper.

Is there negative marking in RAS Prelims? Yes. One-third of the marks of a question are deducted for each wrong answer. In the 2023 and 2024 papers a deduction also applied if no option was darkened.

How many Current Affairs questions come in RAS Prelims? Exactly 20 in each of the 2021, 2023 and 2024 papers, including 4–5 on sports and 4–5 on Rajasthan.

Are Reasoning and Maths included in RAS Prelims? Yes. Each paper carries about 20 questions on reasoning and quantitative aptitude (11–12 reasoning and 8–9 maths).

Is the paper easier or harder than before? The pattern is stable, but the question style is moving towards multi-statement formats and more recent, policy-based Rajasthan content. This raises the difficulty of the same topics even though the syllabus has not changed.

How should I use these papers? Solve one paper in exam conditions, tag every question by subject and sub-topic, compare it with the tables above, and then build your revision plan around the repeated topics.

Disclaimer: this analysis is based on our own classification of the questions in the question booklets and is meant for preparation guidance. Always refer to the official RPSC notifications for the latest exam pattern and syllabus.