Mains Syllabus

                                                           General Studies- I

Indian Heritage and Culture

·         Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

History

·         Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

·         The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.

·         Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.4

·         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 - their forms and effect on the society.

Society

·         Salient features of Indian Society

·         Diversity of India.

·         Role of women and women’s organization

·         Population and associated issues

·         Poverty and developmental issues

·         Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

·         Effects of globalization on Indian society

·         Social empowerment,

·         Communalism, regionalism & secularism.

Geography of the World

·         Salient features of world’s physical geography.

·         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 ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

 

General Studies- II

Governance, Constitution, Polity

·         Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, 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 countries

·         Parliament 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 People’s Act.

·         Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

·         Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

·         Government 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 stakeholders

Social Justice

·         Welfare 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, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.

·         Role of civil services in a democracy.

International relations

·         India and its neighborhood- relations.

·         Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

·         Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

·         Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

General Studies-III

Economic Development

·         Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,

·         Growth, development and employment.

·         Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

·         Government Budgeting.

·         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.

Agriculture

·         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; e-technology in the aid of farmers

·         Issues 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 animal-rearing.

·         Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

·         Land reforms in India.

Technology

·         Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

·         Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

·         Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Environment

·         Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Disaster Management

·         Disaster and disaster management.

 

 

 

Security

·         Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

·         Role of external state and non-state 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

·         Security challenges and their management in border areas;

·         Linkages of organized crime with terrorism

·         Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate 

General Studies- IV

·         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 non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections

·         Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance

·         Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world

·         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;

·         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, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption

·         Ethical issues in international relations and funding

·         Corporate governance

·         Case Studies on above issues.

 

 

 

 

GS I - Poverty and developmental issues

Various dimensions of the topic

·         What is Poverty?

·         Poverty data in India

·         Causes of poverty

·         Poverty and unemployment

·         Poverty and social conflict

·         Impact of LPG on poverty

·         Linkage between poverty and development

·         Rural and Urban poverty

·         What is already done? What is yet to be done?

·         Quotes

·         Success Stories

·         Flowcharts

Poverty

·         Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. 

·         Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor.

·         Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read.

·         Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.

·         Poverty is a situation people want to escape.

Previous Year Questions

1.      Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty or poverty is the main cause of population increase in India. – 2015

2.      “An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from deprivation.” Substantiate this statement with suitable examples - 2016

3.      Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing.’ Explain by giving reasons. - 2018

4.      COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment 2020

5.      Besides the welfare schemes, India needs deft management of inflation and unemployment to serve the poor and the underprivileged sections of the society. Discuss 2022

6.      Does urbanisation lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises? 2023