COMPULSORY SUBJECTS

General Studies is the other compulsory paper, it is composed of two Papers. Under the syllabus of the General Studies is that the nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The nature of question comes under this topic is such that a Civil Servant must aware and understand very well. It also tests the general awareness of the candidates. The questions are set as to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant issues of socio-economic. It is expected from the candidates that they must give relevant, meaningful and compendious answers.

It is usually observed that among aspirants there are some sort of fear of General Studies paper. But with proper orientation and good strategy the General Studies could become very interesting and scoring one. It is seen that candidate’s more concentration is on optional rather than General Studies. This may not be a good strategy, as General Studies gives good marks with lesser efforts. The General Studies is also helpful in essay and interview, and also later on in career. Therefore, the paper requires proper attention. Firstly, the nature of General Studies should be understood. This can be done by a thorough analysis of the previous year’s papers. It says that the questions are focused only on certain dimensions, especially those relevant for an administrative career

General Studies (Paper IV)

General Studies - Paper I Duration : 3 Hours Marks : 300 1. History of Modern India and Indian Culture. 2. Geography of India. 3. Constitution of India and Indian Polity. 4. Current National Issues and Topics of Social Relevance.

History of Modern India and Indian Culture.

Syllabus: The History of Modern India will cover history of the Country from about the middle of nineteenth century and would also include questions on important personalities who shaped the freedom movement and social reforms. The part relating to Indian culture will cover all aspects of Indian culture from the ancient to modern times as well as principal features of literature, arts and architecture. This is one of the very important area of the syllabus because it develop our understanding of our History and Culture. The Indian national movement (freedom struggle) and developments during the period have to be studied. Here note down that the General Studies paper is only test basic clarity on the national movement.

This is considered that the freedom movement starts with the inception of Indian National Movement, so candidate need to study right from here and up to 1947 when India got independent. It passed through several phases i.e. the moderate, the extremist, the Gandhian, the revolutionaries, the leftist and the socialist. All phased should be learned in details. Usually, in the UPSC exam questions are formed in nature, cause, impact and failure of any movement or other issue. Along with, Do you agree? Do you think? What is your opinion? What do you think? etc. Our answer should be in the line of the question being asked and should be analytical rather than not merely the collection of facts. Indian freedom struggle is comprises of topics, Swadeshi Movement, Home Rule League Movement, Rowlatt Satyagraha, Khilafat Movement, Non-cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement. All movement is incorporated with each other in one or another way this should keep in mind while preparing for the General Studies History. For Cultural part of Indian history, it should not limited to factual information rather it should go beyond the factual, its impact on the society should be well discussed in the answer. This portion should be studied after through study of the history, once you have gained some insights into the values of Indian society and culture. You can make a list of important popular freedom fighters or personalities of various regions, religion, class, caste, creed, sex etc. Try to write down the basis of them. For example: Mohandas Das Karam Chand Gandhi : Known as the ‘Father of the Nation’, helped in the India’s freedom Struggle, was the leader of various movement i.e. Swadeshi movt., Civil disobedience, Quit India etc.

Lastly, it should not be understand that history is not all about mugging up events, dates, rulers, chronology etc. rather than we should understand that to know our self it is important to know our history and culture. For the larger goal of society is should achieve in this way.

Suggested Reading:

• Indian Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
• India After Independence by Bipin Chandra.
• NCERT books for Modern India for a basic understanding

Geography of India

Syllabus: In this part, questions will be on the physical, economic and social geography of India. The General Studies paper I syllabus for geography section bring in about 30 marks in Mains examination. There is one section of Environment which comes under this Geography part. This makes the importance of Geography more, in all it has total contribution of marks in both the papers is 50 around. There is misconception that this part is more fact based because of the presence of the topics like physical feature, climate, census etc. but the subject should not be judged by merely it. Students should concentrate on human and economic geography. Population is one of the section which is related to the human geography. Everyear United Nations Development Programme releases Human Development Report, the report is important for the candidates. Classical geography like types of soil and rocks etc should be given less importance as compared to the other topics. Preparing cultural and economic geography should be on priority. But do not invest too much in the pure Geography rather focus should be on issues like ecology, sustainable development, green living, environmental impact assessment etc. There should be a good understanding about the geography of India. This will also help a lot in prelims. Geography has changed in nature and can no way it can be approached in a conventional manner, it is theoretical as well as practical and applied We can sketch the major topics of as:

1. Physical Geography of India: Physiographic regions, drainage system, soil, vegetation climate, natural disasters, wildlife.
2. Economic Geography of India: Energy, Metallic, Non-Metallic resources, Water resources, Industries, Transport sector, Agriculture.
3. Social Geography of India: Population growth, distribution, Demographic attributes, Urbanization, Races, linguistic, Religious groups, SCs & STs etc.
4. Environmental Geography: Global warming, Climatic change, Ozone depletion, Biodiversity, Summits on environments, Soil erosion etc.

Suggested Reading:

• Physical Geography of India, NCERT Class XI
• Land and People, NCERT Class XI
• Indian People and Economy, NCERT class XII
• Geography of India by Khullar – Selective Reading only
• IAS aspirants should try to get new edition of NCERT books, because they are according to changing trend in our society, in other words – beside traditional topics they also include current developments in Geography.
• Physical and Human Geography by G. C. Leong
• Atlas (Oxford and Orient Longmon)

Constitution of India and Indian Polity

Syllabus: This part will include questions on the Constitution of India as well as all constitutional, legal, administrative and other issues emerging from the politico-administrative system prevalent in the country.

The topic strictly limited to Indian Polity and Indian Constitution, the syllabus requires a candidate to known the Political-Administrative structure of India and its implication in the practical terms. However fundamental concepts of Political Science like democracy, equality, freedom, authority, power, states etc. should also be studied. This section is even more importance in the context of the fact that politics in some or the other way touches the lives of all members of the society and thus carries enormous capacities to bring about changes either better or worse. Thus it is imperative for an IAS to have knowledge of Indian Constitution, Indian Polity and Indian Political System.

In the Indian polity section of General Studies paper I the nature of questions asked in IAS exam is of two types (i) conventional and, (ii) Current Affairs based. Conventional types of questions are mostly from ‘Constitution of India’ such as Constitution and its main provisions, important amendments, relations between and among executive, legislature and judiciary; union and state; state and local government etc. Administrative reforms, provisions related to budget. In the second type of questions in Indian polity section is based on current political issues such as important judgements of Supreme Court, recent amendment in constitution and its impact, constitutional bodies, executive, judiciary under debate due to specific reasons etc.

The questions are mostly asked directly. So scoring becomes easy with good understanding with clarity. The knowledge in polity also helps a lot in the essay and interview.

Suggested Reading:

• NCERT books, 10th and 12th standard which provide the various topics from which questions can be asked and also provide material with good clarity.
• Indian Polity by Laxmikant, TMH - it is a very good available in the market which is the compilation from various sources.
• Indian Constitution by DD Basu
• Indian Constitution by Subash kashyap.
• Indian Constitution and Bare Act by P.M.Bakshi

Current National Issues and Topics of Social Relevance

Syllabus: This part is intended to test the candidate’sawareness of current national issues and topics of social relevance in present-day India, such as the following:

1. The Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
2. Issues arising from the social and economic exclusion of large sections from the benefits of development.
3. Other issues relating to the development and management of human resource.
4. Health issues including the management of Public Health, Health education and ethical concerns regarding health-care, medical research and pharmaceuticals.
5. Law enforcement, internal security and related issues such as the preservation of communal harmony.
6. Issues relating to good governance and accountability to the citizens including the maintenance of human rights, and of probity in public life.
7. Environmental issues, ecological preservation, conservation of natural resources and national heritage.

To be a good and administrator you should have good amount of knowledge of current affairs which is happening around you not only national news but also international news. There is dearth of material for this section, though material is available in the market but they are not worthy for the examination point of view. So its better not to spend much time on search of material. Prepare well for other parts of GS and later if time permits then come to these areas. To score high on topics of social relevance and current national issues candidate should thick before writing an answer, the answer should logically explain the reasons behind the issue. For example, to deal with the issue of ‘alcoholism’ one should take into account its social, economic, political, religious as well as educational aspects and perspectives. You only need a basic logical structure for each topic. If there is no proper material, just spend time in thinking on the topic and to prepare a basic structure.

In IAS exam, the right approach for preparing the current national issues and topics of social relevance is to get familiarity with such topics with necessary information. One national newspaper (preferred- The Hindu) and a monthly competitive magazine is good for the preparation for this section.

Suggested Reading:

• The Hindu News Paper
• Frontline” Magazine
• Competition magazines
• Yojana
• Kurushetra
• Social problems by Ram Ahuja
• Internet

Duration : 3 Hours

Marks : 300

1. India and the World.

2. India’s Economic interaction with the World.

3. Development in the field of Science & Technology, IT and Space.

4. International Affairs and Institution .

5. Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams.

India and the World

Syllabus: This part will include questions to test candidate’s awareness of India’s relationship with the world in various spheres such as the following:-

• Foreign Affairs with special emphasis on India’s relations with neighbouring countries and in the region.
• Security and defence related matters.
• Nuclear policy, issues, and conflicts.
• The Indian Diaspora and its contribution to India and the world.

This section form a core part in the General Studies Mains Exam and over the year the emphasis has increased for instance in the GS Paper two of 2011 this section 200 marks out of 300. It shows growing importance of this section in the Exam. We are in the era of Globalization it makes national boundary meaningless. India has grown as a developed nation it marks the importance of India with the other nations in the world. In the present era the interdependence among the states has increased and has led to the emergence of an international system which is totally different from the earlier international system. India's foreign policy in this changed era has also undergone changes. For instance, the focus of India's foreign policy in the contemporary times is building good relations with the economic blocks like the European Union, the ASEAN etc. and participate more on the global issues, in this terms we can say India’s participation on the issues like Climate Change, global financial crisis etc.

In simpler terms, we can say that economic diplomacy has gained importance in the present times. Thus the study of India’s relation with the world and its international relations has also become important because they influence the realm of policy and decision making internally. The questions are asked to test the basic understanding about the relations with other nations and India’s foreign policy and aim to test the candidate's understanding of India's relations with the contemporary world. Indian's relations with major world powers like US, China, Russia, France, UK and European Union should be covered in detail. For example the recent positive developments in Indo-US relations particularly in areas like civilian nuclear energy deal, space cooperation and education will be important in the examination. Our immediate neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar too play an important role in India's foreign policy. Disputes with Pakistan and China on the one hand and Bangladesh and Nepal on the other have come to play an important role in India's tryst to create a space in world politics. We should preparation this paper in this whole scenario. The trend of the questions over the years shows that we should concentrate on topics like: India and its neighbours, India and Superpowers, India and regional economic blocks like the European Union, ASEAN, Look East Policy and India's foreign policy (India's Nuclear Policy etc.).. Mostly, questions are related to current affairs. There is a need to have clarity about the basic contours of the evolution of India’s foreign policy. Along with a candidate must be aware of the events in international arena. Indian Diaspora has also growing importance in the contribution of India’s growth.

Broadly we can divide this section into following sub sections:

• India’s relations with neighboring countries and the World (Foreign Affairs)
• India’s foreign policy (Security and Defence)
• India’s nuclear strategy ( Nuclear Policy)
• Indian Diaspora and its contribution to India and the World.

Suggested Reading:

There are many books available in the market on Indian Foreign Policy but as per questions are being asked in this section spending a lot of time in reading these textbooks is useless, however for basics such as India‘s foreign policy since independence may be read. In reality, the international events dealt in the text books become outdated by the time of the IAS mains examination. For this reason it is suggested that the candidates shall base their preparations on journals, magazines and newspapers to prepare for this part. The candidates may refer:

• World Focus (Monthly journal)
• Chronicle, CCST, PD (any one)
• Frontline
• The Hindu (Newspaper).
• AIR spot light- analysis by experts.
• Foreign Ministry website

For basics

• NCERT 12th std. book on Political science

India’s Economic interaction with the World

Syllabus: In this part, questions will be on economic and trade issues such as foreign trade, foreign investment; economic and diplomacy issues relating to oil, gas and energy flows; the role and functions of I.M.F., World Bank, W.T.O., WIPO etc. which influence India’s economic interaction with other countries and international institutions.

As per the new and changed syllabus of Indian Economy section it has now become India’s Economic interaction with the World. Now it covers both the papers- Paper 1 and Paper 2, earlier Paper was on the domestic aspect of the Economy while Paper two was India’s Economic Interaction to the world. In this way it has not changed rather it has been elaborated and reshuffled. Now we broadly divide whole this section into two areas : The domestic sector and The external sector.

The questions asked in this section are generally contemporary, analytical, and applied in nature. The domestic sector of the Indian Economy includes:

1. Indian planning in the reform era (post 1991)

2. Human capital and development inflation growth and its impact on the common man, etc.

3. The Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

4. Issues arising from the social and economic exclusion of large sections from the benefits of development.

5. Other issues relating to development and management of human resources.

This section is on the fundamentals of the Indian Economy, growth and development, Economic Planning, social issues like poverty, unemployment, inequalities etc, Money and Banking, Fiscal system, Industry and agriculture. The nature of the questions are being asked from this section it becomes essential for the candidates to keep an eye on the current developments which could have a significant impact on the economy and the society.

The external sector itself Shows the India’s interactions with international happening and its impact on the Indian Economy. This section includes:

1. Economic and trade issues such as foreign investment.

2. Economic and diplomacy issues relating to oil, gas and energy flows.

3. The role and functions of IMF, World Bank, WTO, WIPO etc. which influences India's economic interaction with other countries and international institutions. A candidate need to cover all the multilateral economic organization of which India is a part or can have a impact on the Indian economy.

4. Candidate needs to cover reports like Human Development Index Report, Global Competitiveness Report, etc.

5. India’s Foreign Trade Policy.

6. Energy Diplomacy. To achieve energy security India has cooperated with several international bodies, this needs to be done in detail.

To effectively answer the questions for this section is that students should have a grip over the basic economic concepts and selected current topics should be studied intensively. An interdisciplinary approach of study could be useful for this section as most of topics is integrates to each other, most of the questions require integration of various concepts because every social phenomenon is interrelated and interdependent. Candidate need to first clear their basics then go further in any topics.

Suggested Reading:

• India’s Economic Development 11th NCERT book, it is one of the basic which should be studied in minutely. It may be referred for the overview of the Indian economy. Along new NCERT books on the Economy is also useful for this section.

• 'Macro-economics', NCERT of class XII is useful for basic concepts and economic terms which are important for the two mark questions.

• Indian Economy Books by Dutt and Sundaram or Mishra and Puri - These books have good amount of material to tackle questions on this section, you may clear your basics from these books though these books have also lots of unnecessary facts try to skip them. Do not read the book from end to end. You should be able to get clarity out of every topic. The chapters or topics which are to be referred from these books include planning, Agriculture, Unemployment, External sector etc.

• Indian Economy since Independence by Uma Kapila for quality improvement purpose.

• Economic Survey- It is a very useful document, which should be focused upon. Prepare notes from it. Also observe the graphs, which can be used as innovations in answers. While reading, note the terms, which can be asked for two markers. The box items are very important. There are questions which is directly comes from this section for example, what is the impact on Indian Economy of Global meltdown.

• Indian Economy by Pratyogita Darpan Publications

• India Economy and Social Issues by Arihant publication

• India Year book

• Candidate should also read business and economy page of any one newspaper preferably The Hindu. From this candidate should make short notes on the current contention macro-economic issues.

• Civil Services exam oriented magazines. For example Pratiyogita Darpan, Civil Services Chronicle, UPSC Portal Monthly Magazine etc.

Development in the Field of Science & Technology, IT and Space

Syllabus: In this part, questions will test the candidate’s awareness of the developments in the field of science and technology, information technology, space and basic ideas about computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and related issues regarding intellectual property rights.

This is one of the area where candidate require some attention but it dosent want a candidate to acquire specialist knowledge of the S&T field as a civil servant is not expected to be a scientist. Even it requires a candidate to aware of the development in this field. Like politics or economics played as an instrument for social change and delivering good for the society, technology also played for the enhancement for the society. Those candidates who is from Humanities background finds this section relatively difficult. Most of those candidates leave this section. This is because technicality of this section. However, note that the examiner is not interested in the technical aspects. They are only testing if the candidate has basic understanding on the technological developments. The questions are to check the basic knowledge of the student about the particular topic and its development. There is no requirement of in depth knowledge of any topic. Here is caution for the science background candidate should opt for the technical aspect of any topic rather your answer should be simple and easy language. In fact, technology is going to play a very key role in changing the administration. So, do take an active interest in the technological developments, as they will help you in being an effective change agent when you join the service.

As there is no proper syllabus has been mentioned for this section and the syllabus is open it is increasing year by year with the latest development in the field. This question from this section covers wide areas of biotechnology, defence, space, computers, nanotechnology, robotics, nuclear science, etc. Few new topics have also emerged like- health, new vaccines, epidemics, superconductivity, etc.
Biotechnology forms a major part of Science and Technology. A candidate should have basic knowledge of biotechnology and its application in the fields of agriculture, industry, medicine, etc. Human Genome Project, Cloning are other topics of this section. India has emerged as a global leader in the Space. Candidate should have basic understanding of Satellite and its launches. SLV, PSLV, GSLV are launching the vehicle of Indian Satellite. All the recent development in the field of space could be studied from the newspaper, ISRO, DRDO website, etc. We are in the age of electronics thus development in this field is occurring day by day. New technologies as VLSI, LED, CFL, LCD, etc should be studied at minutely. The candidate should know the missile programme of India and foreign collaboration in this field with Russia, Israel France, US etc.
While preparing, concentrate on the relevance and the application of the topic.

The following dimensions should be focused:

• What is the basic technological dimension of the topic
• How is it being used; applicability
• Developments in India

Suggested Reading:

• There are several books available in the market this could be helpful for this section. The right approach would be to prepare own notes from various sources.
• The Hindu newspaper Thursday Science &Technology pages
• Competition Magazines
• Internet
• S&T – Spectrum Series
• Visiting the government website like ISRO, DRDO website
• Science Reporter.

International Affairs and Institution

Syllabus: This part will include questions on important events in world affairs and on international institutions.

We are in the era of Globalization; therefore it is imperative that whatever happen in one part of the world has its impact on the other part. The questions that comes in this section are related to those international affairs, which either directly or indirectly affects India on a larger scale. Environmental issue, nuclear deal, IPI gas pipeline are important topics. The topics covered include mainly interrelated sections like Foreign Affairs with special emphasis on India’s relations with the neighouring countries and in the region, Security and defense and Indian Diaspora and its contribution to India and the world. India’s Foreign Policy with special emphasis on Nuclear Issues, Security and defense etc are the utmost importance for this section. The right way to prepare these topics is to look into both bilateral and multilateral issues, disputes and protests.

At the same time role of various institutions have great importance in India’s foreign affairs and it is expected from the civil services aspirants to have a basic understanding about the genesis and functioning of such institutions. For the International Organizations, the main focus clearly should be on 'United Nations' and its six main organs, General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council ,Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Secretariat; along with specialized agencies like WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHRC and others. There are various other international organizations like G-8, G-¬77 and G-15,etc. Moreover, there are organizations that focus on certain other subjects like OPEC, OIC, NATO, NAM, among others. Candidate must know the outcome of their latest summits or meets. SAARC, which is an exclusive organization of seven South Asian Countries; European Union, ASEAN and NAFTA etc are the other organization that must be studied in detail. We can expect questions on leading international non-governmental agencies like Amnesty International, Red Cross, World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature and Greenpeace and such like.

Suggested Reading:

• “International Organizations” by Spectrum Publications.
• Web sites of the major institutions for example UN, IMF, WORLD BANK, WTO etc. for the information.

Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams

Syllabus: This part will test the candidate’s ability to draw conclusions from information presented in statistical, graphical or diagrammatical form and to interpret them.

Statistics is an important part of second paper (General Studies) in IAS mains examination. At the same time it is an area which is very scoring for anybody who can concentrate on the basics and do lots of practice. This section covers 40 marks in the second paper. It tests the candidate's ability to draw conclusions from information given in statistical, graphical manner. Questions which have been generally asked from this section are tabulation, diagram, pie chart, general arithmetical calculation and logic-based questions. It is seen that those candidates who are from arts and humanities background do not pay enough attention to the section due to lack of interest and therefore fails to score. It is suggested here that this section should be done with extensively as scoring in this section is easy as compared to the other section of the General Studies section. The analysis of the previous year’s question papers shows that the questions asked are generally from a few conventional areas, the long questions each of 8 marks are generally asked from the sections of mean, median, mode, bar diagram, pie chart, data related to Tabular form. The short questions each of 2 marks are generally asked from the section consisting of mean and variance or combined set, Index number and average etc. The approach for this section is to first, go through all the basic concepts of statistics, make the fundamentals clear and then solve chapter based problems. Second, take the last 6-7 years questions and solve it, by doing so you will get accustomed of the question asked in the Civil Services Examination.

Suggested Reading:

NCERT 11th std.

Any Books on this section.