section

SECTION - III(SYLLABI FOR THE EXAMINATION)

(1)SYLLABUS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONAt the Preliminary Examination stage, there will be two objective-type question papers common for all the candidates. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only and the marks obtained by the successful candidates (who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination) will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.

PAPERI: GENERAL STUDIESCurrent events of national and international importance History of India and Indian National MovementIndian and World GeographyPhysical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.Indian Polity and GovernanceConstitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.Economic and Social DevelopmentSustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change that do not require subject specializationGeneral Science

PAPER-II: (CIVIL SERVICES) APTITUDE TEST ComprehensionInterpersonal skills including communication skills; Logical reasoning and analytical abilityDecision making and problem solving General mental abilityBasic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Class X level)English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).

NOTES:(I)All the sections in both the question papers will be set both in Hindi and English mediums. However, questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of PaperII) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper. This section will be available exclusively in English language, indicating a need of understanding of English language in prospective IAS officers as English is the Lingua Franca of our country.(II)The questions will be of multiple choices, objective type.

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Raus IAS UPSC Syllabus for Civil Services Exam

PREPARATION STRATEGY FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

The Right Approach

Paper I: General Studies

The candidate should see the last ten years question papers of General Studies

Preliminary Exam. These questions will give them a fair idea as to how the

questions are framed from the respective themes of the syllabus and also know

the difficulty level.

Current Events of National and International Importance Here, questions

generally revolve around such happenings that have taken place during the

previous 12 months.

History of India and Indian National Movement Under this topic, questions

include social, economic and political aspects of ancient, medieval and modern

Indian history. Special emphasis should be given to 19th century resurgence and

the attainment of the Indian Independence.

Indian and World Geography Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and

the World - Geography questions usually focus on Indian geography, with regard to

physical, social and economic aspects.

Indian Polity and Governance Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj,

Public Policy, Rights Issues etc. In these topics, an analysis of the previous years

questions suggests that majority of the questions cover the themes related to the

Indian Constitution and the existing political system.

Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion,

Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. Recent developments in the field of

economic priorities are also a favourite area for questioning. The candidate

should be more focused on various policy programmes initiated by the

government to eradicate poverty.

General Issues on Environment ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change This

theme is different from some of the other themes in this paper like History, Culture

and Physical Geography etc in that this is dynamic in nature. By dynamic is meant

something that is continuously changing and therefore, this theme requires more

attention as it is to be covered on a day to day basis. Candidates should

understand the basic concepts of Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change and

keep themselves abreast of the recent debates on the issues.

General Science In this segment, questions include the basics and scientific

awareness of related areas. It comprises themes such as Physics, Astrophysics,

Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Agriculture, Medicine & Life Sciences, etc. Though,

each one of these is a fully developed discipline, but the questions asked here are

the ones that can be expected from a well-educated person without any special

knowledge of these disciplines.

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Paper II: (Civil Services) Aptitude Test

The Prelims Paper-II is an Aptitude Test for Civil Services. All Aptitude Tests are

basically IQ Tests (Intelligence Quotient Tests) modified for a specific requirement.

The specific requirement in Civil Services Aptitude Test - Paper II is checking for

abilities required to function as a Civil Servant. IQ Tests have been designed by

specially trained psychologists, who perceive that three abilities reflect a persons

intelligence:

1.Language/verbal ability,

2.Numerical ability and

3.Logical ability

Psychologists believe that if a person can communicate in an articulate manner

and can understand what the other person has spoken then it reflects intelligence.

Intelligence is also reflected by the comfort a person has in playing with numbers

add, subtract, multiply, divide and make sense of data in various forms. Another

hallmark of intelligence is the ability to think logically. Moreover Civil Services

requires a Public Service attitude and knowledge of English language because a lot

of files and communication will be in English so to customise the test according to

Civil Services needs two more components

4.Knowledge of the Lingua Franca of India i.e. English

5.The ability to make decisions focussing on public service without

compromising on ethics or law of the land.

Lets understand in detail what types of questions you will encounter in these

areas:

Comprehension, the first topic of the syllabus, comes from the Verbal Ability

stable. About 40 % of the questions in Paper II come from Comprehension. Two

important changes are required to excel in this topic:

(i)Improve your English Language potential by reading more and reading widely.

Newspapers and magazines help in raising this potential and meeting the dual

objective of also keeping oneself abreast with current affairs.

(ii)Understand the mechanics of questions: Attempt Reading Comprehension

passages and learn from the questions in which you gave an incorrect answer.

Understand why your chosen answer is wrong and what makes a particular answer

the credited one. Learn from your mistakes and do not repeat them.

In this section, the aim will be to test how good a candidate is at fact-finding,

sifting through information, interpreting text, predicting and inferring events and

recognising implied meanings. In order to be good at Comprehension, a candidate

must have the ability to understand the basic information given to solve a question

/ problem on the basis of rules. Being a bilingual section, Comprehension does not

test English skills; rather its focus is on Understanding of Text.

Inter-personal skills including Communication Skills: Direct questions based on

Inter-personal skills including Communication Skills have not figured in the

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exams conducted in the last two years. Inter-personal communication implies face-

to-face interaction involving few people (typically two) rather than large groups.

This section is aimed to test the candidates ability to understand and manage the

dynamics of social interaction. Communication skills are a function of certain

psychological / attitudinal / personality traits and a sense of language. Although,

the best way to check Inter-personal skills / Communication Skills would be in a

Personal Interview or a Group Discussion, in these test formats, in order to be

excellent at communication, a candidate needs to be excellent at:

(i)Language - The language in question (Hindi for candidates taking the exam

with Hindi as the medium and similarly English for candidates taking the exam with

English as the medium) in terms of vocabulary, grammar, common sense, etc.

(ii)Listening and comprehending Ability to understand what is being discussed

and asked. This requires attention and the rare ability to be a patient listener.

(iii) Speaking Ability to convey / speak clearly what information the candidate

has in mind in response to the question asked and decide what part of the

information should be conveyed to the listener with clarity.

(iv) Psychological / Personality Traits Eloquent speakers are not only good at

language, listening, comprehending and speaking, but also need to be good at

effectively deciding when to speak, what to speak, how to speak, how to flexibly

mould what you speak according to the target audience and the rest of the rules

governing dynamics of social interaction.

Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability: Logical reasoning measures your ability

to understand, analyse and evaluate arguments. Each question is based on a short

passage or a set of conditions. Questions on Logical Reasoning may focus on

Logical Consistency as well as Deductive and Inductive Logic governing Syllogistic

Situations or Assertion-Reason-Conclusion type questions. Analytical Reasoning

questions require you to make deductions from a set of rules, protocols,

statements or conditions that describe relationships among entities such as

persons, places, things, or events. These problems simulate the kinds of detailed

analyses of relationships that an IAS officer must be adept at handling.

Decision-Making and Problem-Solving: This section measures a candidates ability

take a decision based on given set of conditions and information. The question will

generally relate to situations that require you either to take some action, to

explain why an action should be taken or infer what the action implies. This will

also need a certain reading between the lines and fine tuning the difference of a

hint and an assumption. Questions based on real life law and order situation or

administrative stalemate and the ethical and moral basis of decision making are an

integral component of this area.

Questions can range from basic reasoning problems to intricate caselets (short

case studies) to check a candidates ability to take a technically sound decision

under a proclivity to ethics. Reasoning is the ability to correlate information

properly and reach a technically correct conclusion on the basis of rules.

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General Mental Ability (GMA): verifies a candidates cognitive skills. From a

students perspective General Mental Ability, as a subject, does not require any

formal learning of subject specific rules but an exposure of possible question types

and finding your own way to handle tricky questions, where you tend to make

mistakes, can help you get an impeccable score.

The questions check the common sense clubbed with the basic mathematics skills

that one is exposed to till class Xth, a competency that will impact on job

performance irrespective of the cadre one selects. GMA can test for Verbal and

Non-Verbal Reasoning skills. Questions can be based on coding-decoding, ages,

relations, Venn diagrams, sets, dices, direction sense, abstract figures, logical

number/alphabetical/ diagrammatic sequences, etc. So the way to gain proficiency

at GMA is to get a wide exposure of all possible question types and have a

perfectionist attitude. If you get a single question wrong, then that question is

important for you as it possibly has something that you need to learn. But then

isnt this the strategy for any and all tested areas?

Basic Numeracy and Data Interpretation: This topic is related to numbers and

their relations, order of magnitude etc., data interpretation which covers questions

based on data analysis. The data can be represented in different forms such as

tables, graphs, charts etc. and Data Sufficiency where one just has to check the

sufficiency of data for the question asked. It measures the numerical ability and

accuracy in mathematical calculations. The questions range from purely numeric

calculations to problems of arithmetical reasoning, graph and table reading,

percentage analysis and quantitative analysis. In this we require more reasoning

ability to solve mathematical problems than pure mathematics itself. As a whole

the students are tested for their sharpness to analyze the given data in a short

span of time. Basic Numeracy Section can be divided into five modules- Numbers

and their properties, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Modern Math.

The Data Interpretation part has questions based on data represented in the form

of tables, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, combinational graphs etc and

students are required to analyze the data and solve the questions in context to the

data given. We basically have three types of questions in the Data interpretation

i.e. calculation, counting and reasoning based questions. In Calculation based

questions we have to do mathematical calculations to find the answer and in

counting based we have to do counting while following certain constraints. In

reasoning based questions more than one constraint is given to solve the question

asked.

A lot of practice is required to do well in the Basic Numeracy section and the

students are advised not to look at the solution of the problem if they are not

getting a clue to solve it, instead attempt the question at least twice before

looking the solution. This will help in the development of their aptitude in solving a

new question. Also, one should learn the techniques to solve the questions from

the given options or try to solve the questions by eliminating the options.

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English Language Comprehension Skills: This is the only monolingual part of the

exam and a Hindi version of English Language Comprehension Skills is not given on

the premise that English being the lingua franca of the country should be known to

officers in civil services. About ten percent of the questions are based on English

Language Comprehension skills. These are simple Reading Comprehension

questions with easy passages and easy non-twisted answer options.

(2)SYLLABUS FOR MAIN EXAMINATIONThe Main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a welleducated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a candidates general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in Civil Services. The questions are likely to test the candidates basic understanding of all relevant issues, and ability to analyze, and take a view on conflicting socio economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers.The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelors degree and lower than the masters degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and Law, the level corresponds to the bachelors degree.Syllabi of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows:

(A) Non-Ranking (and Qualifying) papers on Indian languages and English

PAPER A: Indian languageThe pattern of questions in the Indian Language paper would be broadly as follows: (i)Comprehension of given passages. (ii)Precis Writing(iii) Usage and Vocabulary. (iv) Short Essay(v)Translation from English to the Indian language and viceversa.

PAPER B: ENGLISHThe aim of the paper is to test the candidates ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian Language concerned.The pattern of questions in the English paper would be broadly as follows: (i)Comprehension of given passages

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(ii)Precis Writing(iii) Usage and Vocabulary (iv) Short Essay

NOTES:(I)The Papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.(II)The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved).(III) The paper on Indian Language will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

(B) Ranking Papers

PAPERI: ESSAYCandidates will be required to write an essay on a specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

PAPERII: GENERAL STUDIES IIndian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issuesThe Freedom Struggle its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.Postindependence consolidation and reorganization within the country.History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. their forms and effect on the society.Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.Role of women and womens organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.Effects of globalization on Indian societySocial empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism. Salient features of worlds physical geography.

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Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India)Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and icecaps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

PAPERIII: GENERAL STUDIES IIGovernance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations. IndianConstitutionhistoricalunderpinnings,evolution,features,amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countriesParliament and State Legislatures structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.Salient features of the Representation of Peoples Act.Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.Statutory, regulatory and various quasijudicial bodiesGovernment policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholdersWelfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.Issues relating to poverty and hunger.Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, egovernance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.Role of civil services in a democracy.

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India and its neighborhood relations.Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting Indias interestsEffect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias interests, Indian diasporas.Important International institutions, agencies and further structure, mandate.

PAPERIV: GENERAL STUDIES-IIITechnology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster ManagementIndian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting.Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; etechnology in the aid of farmersIssues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animalrearing.Food processing and related industries in India scope and significance, location,upstreamanddownstreamrequirements,supplychain management.Land reforms in India.Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Investment models.Science and Technology developments and their applications and effects in everyday lifeAchievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessmentDisaster and disaster management.Linkages between development and spread of extremism.Role of external state and nonstate actors in creating challenges to internal security.Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention

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Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorismVarious security forces and agencies and their mandate

PAPERV: GENERAL STUDIES IV Ethics, Integrity and AptitudeThis paper will include questions to test the candidates attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society.Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. Human Values lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service , integrity, impartiality and nonpartisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weakersections.Emotional intelligenceconcepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizens Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.Case Studies on above issues.

PAPERVI and PAPER-VIINOTE: Paper VI & VII are two papers of any one optional subject that the candidate may choose from amongst the List of Optional Subjects given by UPSC.PREPARATION STRATEGY FOR MAIN EXAMINATION

The Right Approach

The syllabus of General Studies consists of syllabus from social sciences, behavioural

sciences, philosophy, psychology and applied science and technology. Upon careful

reading and analysis of the GS syllabus, it can be aptly described as inter-disciplinary as

well as multi-disciplinary. The strategy, thus, for the preparation of General Studies is

a bit different from that of preparation of any optional subject, since none of the

segments of the syllabus can be studied as isolated disciplines. So, the question is,

what is the right approach and strategy?

Well, for that, one needs to keep in mind the basic fact that if the goal is to reach the

highest level of achievement, then one must have not only ample patience for details,

but should be able to keep the big picture regarding any theme in ones mind at the

time of study. Thus the preparation strategy is to follow a mix of both micro and

macro level approaches.

The first step in this direction is the comprehension of the syllabus in its true

orientation. One must look at the syllabus closely and in detail and try and understand

its nature.

The basic characteristic of the GS syllabus is that it is inter-disciplinary as well as multi-

disciplinary.The social, economic, political and administrative aspects must merge to

analyze a topic. For example, study of Indias economic growth will require good

knowledge of disparities in society, administrative issues relating to implementation of

programmes, external factors, etc. In other words, the new syllabus being inter

disciplinary requires a synthesis of ideas.

Also, the syllabus is a combination of traditional and dynamic aspects. Traditional

aspects are those which remain more or less the same like History, Culture, and

Physical Geography etc. The dynamic aspects are those which are continuously

changing like environmental, socio-economical and international issues etc. The

dynamic aspects require more attention as those are to be covered on day to day

basis. Amongst dynamic aspects, emphasis on issues which have a bearing on our

society, economy and administration test a candidates awareness about new

challenges of our country and society on various fronts.

After understanding the true orientation of the syllabus, the second step is the

selection of right study material(s) for each segment of the GS syllabus and an efficient

method to study them. The basic strategy at the start of preparation of the GS syllabus

for both Pre and Mains exam is to refer to NCERT books on related topics. Refrain in

the beginning from reading guidebooks, as they load you with information, but with

very little concept.

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GS Paper-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and

Society

The part related to Indian Heritage and Culture will require appreciation of Indian art

sculpture, dance, architecture, music, festivals, folklore, drama; literature etc. One has

to capture the evolution of Indian art and culture since ancient times. Out of 250

marks in this paper, it is expected that approximately 50-70 marks will be allotted to

this section.

The part related to Modern Indian History shall cover the period between The Revolt

of 1857 and modern times. It is expected that this section will account for 70-80 marks

and will have the following components:

Political History: British conquest of India; Freedom Struggle: The moderates, the

militants, the revolutionaries and the Gandhian Era; Important leaders of freedom

movement, their ideologies and contributions; Social-Religious movements; British

administrative structure; British Economic policies and their consequences; Revolts:

Tribal, peasant and popular revolts; Educational and Press policies; Important

Governor Generals and the significant measures initiated by them.

The Post-independent India section will have questions relating to the following areas:

Integration of Indian States; Linguistic Reorganisation of States; Task of nation

building; Secularism, communalism, backward classes and affirmative action

World History: One can conceptualize and systematize the syllabus of the World

History as follows: Industrial Revolution and its impact; the two world wars: causes

and effects; The League of Nations and the UNO; The process of decolonization; Major

ideologies: communism, socialism, capitalism; The Cold War; Policy of Non-Alignment;

Globalization.

Geography of the World: Applied aspects have been emphasized in both Indian and

World Geography syllabus.

GS Paper II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International

Relations

This paper is likely to find utmost favour with the aspirants because it contains

interesting areas like Polity, Constitution and International Relations.

The new polity syllabus is very well outlined this time and it emphasizes on the

following: Structure of our polity i.e. the Constitutional framework of our political

system; Operational aspects of our polity; Issues relating to governance; Public

Administration.

International Relations: covers three areas: Indian Foreign Policy, International affairs,

and International Organizations. Since very contemporary issues will be asked in this

section one has to keep a close watch on day to day happenings on international

affairs specially those which have a bearing on India. The best way to cover these

47


areas is to read relevant articles in leading newspapers. This gives a proper perspective

and balanced approach and understanding of a particular issue.

GS Paper III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment,

Security and Disaster Management

Questions related toTechnology will be framed on latest developments on the front of

technology such as nano-technology, robotics, IT, space etc. Emphasis would be on

Indias advances and future programmes on Science and Technology.

Security: Since internal security is the greatest threat to our country, a good number of

questions can be expected from this section of the syllabus. The Home Ministry is

responsible for internal security. Its website contains vital information on the internal

security architecture including agencies, plans, mechanism. Therefore, one must visit

this site and extract highly useful material relating to internal security.

GS Paper-IV: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

This paper aims to evaluate the candidates attitude and approach to issues relating to

integrity, probity in public life. Further, it also seeks to test a candidates approach

towards problem solving of various issues and conflicts while dealing with society as a

civil servant.

Ethics and Integrity: These two concepts have been borrowed from public

administration. They deal with administrative ethics and integrity in public life. A

regular study of Newspapers with focus on issues before society and issues raised by

Civic Society groups will help.

Aptitude: This topic belongs to the realm of psychology. Its theoretical aspects can be

comprehended by referring to any good text book of psychology. A candidate also has

to inculcate the values which would orient his aptitude towards society. These values

are: integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public

service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.

Essay Paper

The candidates are advised to prepare for this paper keeping some major themes in

mind. Besides their preparation for the contents, aspirants are also advised to polish

their basic skills for essay-writing. The basic idea behind the Essay Writing paper is to

test the candidates grasp of his material, its relevance to the subject chosen, and to

his ability to think constructively and the present his ideas concisely, logically and

effectively.

The vastness and the nature of the GS syllabus indeed pose an up-hill challenge before

aspirants. The two main challenges we have already discussed here are viz; collection

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of study material from a diverse range of sources and secondly, to use these materials

to suit the interdisciplinary needs of the syllabus. This requires maturity of mind and

proper guidance. A candidate has to prepare for the new GS syllabus for at least one

year in advance in order to command it.

SUGGESTED READING

(BOOKS, PERIODICALS, NEWS)

NCERT BOOKS

The basic concepts of different segments of General Studies are derived from

NCERT books, as mentioned below:

General Science: 9th and 10th standards

Biology: 11th & 12th standards

History: 11th and 12th standards

Geography: 11th and 12th standards

Economics: 11th and 12th standards

BOOKS LIST

General Studies - Paper I

Indian Heritage and Culture

Gazetteer of India - Volume II

L. Basham: The wonder that was India

S. A. A Rizvi : The wonder that was India (volume II)

Books on Indian dance, painting, temples etc of Publications Divisions and

National Book Trust (NBT)

Modern Indian History & Post-independent India

NCERT: Modern India

B.L. Grover: Modern India

NBT : Freedom Struggle

Bipan ChandraIndias Struggle for Independence

Bipan Chandra: Post Independent India

R.C. Guha: India after Gandhi

Gazetteer of India: Volume II

World History

NCERT: The Story of Civilization (2 Volumes)

NCERT: Contemporary World History

L. Mukherji: A History of the World

Geography of the World

NCERT books on Indian and world Geography (11th & 12th Standards)

G.C. Leong: Physical and Human Certificate Geography

Survey of Indian Agriculture: The Hindu Publications.

Survey of Indian Economy: The Hindu Publications

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India Yearbook : Publications Division

Indian Society

NCERT: Sociology (12th standard)

S.C Dubey: Indian Society (NBT)

General Studies - Paper II

Governance, Constitution & Polity

D.D. Basu: Indian Constitution.

P.M. Bakshi: Indian Constitution

S.C. Kashyap: Citizens and the Constitution (Publications Division)

B.S. Baviskar & Ash Narain Roy Local Governance - A Global Perspective

(Publications Division)

S.C. Kashyap: Our Parliament (NBT)

S.C. Kashyap: Our Constitution (NBT)

S.C. Kashyap: Our Political System (NBT)

M.R. Singh: Indian Federalism (NBT)

Kuldeep Mathur: From Government to Governance (NBT)

International Relations

Rajiv Sikri: Challenge and Strategy- Understanding Indias foreign policy

C. Rajamohan: Crossing the Rubicon

General Studies - Paper III

Science & Technology

India Yearbook: brought out by Publications Division : Chapter on Science and

Technology

Annual Reports of the department of Space, Atomic Energy, Ministry of

Environment etc

Economic Survey

Indian Economy

NCERT: Indias Economic Development

Mishra and Puri: Indian Economy

Dutt & sunderam: Indian Economy

Relevant Economic Survey

12th Five Year Plan Document

Bimal Jalan: Indias Economy Challenges and Prospects

Any one Economic Newspaper like The Economic Times, Business Standard,

Financial Express.

Yojana which comes every month in Hindi, English, Assamese, Bangali, Gujarathi,

Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu

Kurukshetra in Hindi/English

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Environment and Bio-diversity

NCERT: Indias Physical Environment

Together, Towards a Safer India: CBSE Publication

Encyclopedia of Disaster Management: S.L. Goel (Deep and Deep Publications)

Economic Survey

Security

Annual Reports of Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence and External Affairs

General Studies - Paper IV

Ethics and Integrity

NCERT: Psychology (11th & 12th standards)

Ramesh K Arora - Ethical Governance in Business and Government

Ramesh K Arora - Ethics in Governance

Ramesh K Arora & Tanjul Saxena - Ethics and Accountability in Government and

Business

Stephen Law: The Worlds Greatest Thinkers

NEWSPAPERS

A regular study of newspapers with focus on issues before society and issues raised by

civic society groups will be beneficial. All events of National and International

importance which effect human lives at large are important from the point of view of

General Studies.

The Hindu

The Times of India

MAGAZINES

Pratiyogita Darpan

Special Issues of Pratiyogita Darpan (latest issues in in History, Geography, Indian

Polity and Indian Economy)

Frontline

World Focus (for International Relations)

The Economist (for International Relations)

Down to Earth (for Science & Technology)

ELECTRONIC NEWS

Doordarshan News

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV

BBC World News (6:20 am to 7:00 am and 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm in Hindi)

All India Radio News (9:00 pm to 9:30 pm in English)

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PAPER - I1.Circuit Theory:Circuit components; network graphs; KCL, KVL; circuit analysis methods: nodal analysis, mesh analysis; basic network theorems and applications; transient analysis: RL, RC and RLC circuits; sinusoidal steady state analysis; resonant circuits; coupled circuits; balanced 3-phase circuits; Two-port networks.2.Signals & Systems:Representation of continuoustime and discrete-time signals & systems; LTI systems; convolution; impulse response; time-domain analysis of LTI systems based on convolution and differential/difference equations. Fourier transform, Laplace transform, Z-transform, Transfer function. Sampling and recovery of signals DFT, FFT Processing of analog signals through discrete-time systems.3.E.M. Theory:

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Maxwells equations, wave propagation in bounded media. Boundary conditions, reflection and refraction of plane waves. Transmission line: travelling and standing waves, impedance matching, Smith chart.4.Analog Electronics:Characteristics and equivalent circuits (large and small-signal) of Diode, BJT, JFET and MOSFET. Diode circuits: clipping, clamping, rectifier. Biasing and bias stability. FET amplifiers. Current mirror; Amplifiers: single and multi-stage, differential, operational, feedback and power. Analysis of amplifiers; frequency-response of amplifiers. OPAMP circuits.Filters; sinusoidal oscillators: criterion for oscillation; single-transistor and OPAMP configurations. Function generators and wave-shaping circuits. Linear and switching power supplies.5.Digital Electronics:Boolean algebra; minimization of Boolean functions; logic gates; digital IC families (DTL, TTL, ECL, MOS, CMOS). Combinational circuits: arithmetic circuits, code converters, multiplexers and decoders. Sequential circuits: latches and flip-flops, counters and shift-registers. Comparators, timers, multi-vibrators. Sample and hold circuits, ADCs and DACs. Semiconductor memories. Logic implementation using programmable devices (ROM, PLA, FPGA).

6.Energy Conversion:Principles of electromechanical energy conversion: Torque and emf in rotating machines. DC machines: characteristics and performance analysis; starting and speed control of motors; Transformers: principles of operation and analysis; regulation, efficiency; 3-phase transformers. 3-phase induction machines and synchronous machines: characteristics and performance analysis; speed control.7.Power Electronics and Electric Drives:Semiconductor power devices: diode, transistor, thyristor, triac, GTO and MOSFETstatic characteristics and principles of operation; triggering circuits; phase control rectifiers; bridge converters: fully-controlled and half-controlled; principles of thyristor choppers and inverters; DC-DC converters; Switch mode inverter; basic concepts of speed control of DC and AC Motor drives applications of variable-speed drives.8.Analog Communication:Random variables: continuous, discrete; probability, probability functions. Statistical averages; probability models; Random signals and noise: white noise, noise equivalent bandwidth; signal transmission with noise; signal to noise ratio. Linear CW modulation: Amplitude modulation: DSB, DSB-SC and SSB. Modulators and Demodulators; Phase and Frequency modulation: PM & FM signals; narrowband FM; generation & detection of FM and PM, Deemphasis, Preemphasis. CW modulation system: Superhetrodyne receivers, AM receivers, communication receivers, FM receivers, phase locked loop, SSB receiver Signal to noise ratio calculation for AM and FM receivers.

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PAPER - II 1.Control Systems:Elements of control systems; block-diagram representation; open-loop & closed-loop systems; principles and applications of feed-back. Control system components. LTI systems: time-domain and transform-domain analysis. Stability: Routh Hurwitz criterion, root-loci, Bodeplots and polar plots, Nyquists criterion; Design of lead-lad compensators. Proportional, PI, PID controllers. State-variable representation and analysis of control systems.2.Microprocessors and Microcomputers:PC organisation; CPU, instruction set, register set, timing diagram, programming, interrupts, memory interfacing, I/O interfacing, programmable peripheral devices.3.Measurement and Instrumentation:Error analysis; measurement of current, voltage, power, energy, power-factor, resistance, inductance, capacitance and frequency; bridge measurement. Signal conditioning circuit; Electronic measuring instruments: multimeter, CRO, digital voltmeter, frequency counter, Q-meter, spectrum- analyzer, distortion-meter. Transducers: thermocouple, thermistor, LVDT, strain-gauge, piezo-electric crystal.

4.Power Systems: Analysis and Control:Steady-state performance of overhead transmission lines and cables; principles of active and reactive power transfer and distribution; per-unit quantities; bus admittance and impedance matrices; load flow; voltage control and power factor correction; economic operation; symmetrical components, analysis of symmetrical and unsymmetrical faults. Concept of system stability: swing curves and equal area criterion. Static VAR system. Basic concepts of HVDC transmission.5.Power System Protection:Principles of overcurrent, differential and distance protection. Concept of solid state relays. Circuit breakers. Computer aided protection: Introduction; line bus, generator, transformer protection; numeric relays and application of DSP to protection.6.Digital Communication:Pulse code modulation (PCM), differential pulse code modulation (DPCM), delta modulation (DM), Digital modulation and demodulation schemes: amplitude, phase and frequency keying schemes (ASK, PSK, FSK). Error control coding: error detection and correction, linear block codes, convolution codes. Information measure and source coding. Data networks, 7-layer architecture.

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indian geography

world geography questions

indian polity

economic geography of

indian independence

indian national movementindian

general issues

modern indian history