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Subject-Wise Break up of IAS Preliminary Examination (GS Paper - I)

(IAS Preliminary Examination) Subject-Wise Break up of GS Paper - I

The UPSC notification of 2015 for the Civil Services preliminary examination has been published.

Since UPSC fixed qualifying of 33% fixed for GS Paper II (CSAT), so the marks and hard work you perform GS Paper I will decide your success in Civil Services Preliminary.

The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 200 marks each. There are 100 questions for the Paper I and 80 questions for Paper II.

There are 100 questions to be answered in two hours, each question carries two marks. It means there is about 80 seconds to answer each question.

Speed and accuracy is essential to tackle this examination. While the correct answer will fetch 2 marks, a wrong answer means a loss of 0.66 marks.

The 100 questions can be grouped into three categories:

Multiple Choice Questions - Single response correct
Multiple Choice Questions - Multiple response correct
Multiple Choice Questions - Matching type

(1) Polity

In polity, there are chapters from which questions are frequently being asked. These are the Constitutional Developments, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles of State Policy, Union Government, Judiciary, Constitutional Amendments, Local Governments, Federalism , Electoral process and Parliamentary Procedures.

Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution
Preamble
Union and its Territory
Citizenship in India
Fundamental Rights
Fundamental Duties
Directive Principles of State Policy
Constitution Amendment
Emergency Provisions
President of India
Vice-President
Attorney General of India
Parliament of India
Office of Profit
The Judiciary
Lokpal and LokAyukta
Federal System
Governor
Anti—defection law
Inter State Council
Electoral System in India
Panchayati raj Institutions
Nagarapalikas
Delegated Legislation
Public Service Commission
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Delimitation of Constituencies
River Water Disputes of India
Right to Information
Good Governance
Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers
Professional Tax
Order of Precedence
Delhi Government
Article 371
Fifth and Sixth Schedules
Current Affairs: Polity updates

(2) General Science

It can be divided into 4 parts—Science and Technology, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Basic understanding of Science, especially a thorough understanding of NCERTs, can solve most of the questions.

Science and Technology

Questions are mainly from the developments in India. Give special attention on Computers and Information Technology.

India’s Nuclear Programme
India’s Defence Programme
India’s Space Programme
Science and Technological Development in India

Biology

General Science covers general appreciation and understanding of day-to-day science. So, observing and experiencing everyday science could be handy.

From Botany, particularly from agriculture, biological diversity and plant system.

In Zoology, most of the questions are related to human system and diseases. Communicable diseases and nutrition have always been significant.

Tissue
Muscular and Skeletal System
The Nervous System
The Endocrine System
Lymphatic System and Immunity
The Respiratory System
The Circulatory System
The Reproductive System
The Digestive System
The Excretory System
Photosynthesis
Digestion in Plants
Plant Reproduction
Diversity in Living Organisms
The Animal Kingdom

Chemistry

Application part of chemistry is more important in the exam.

The states of matter
The physical and chemical changes
Oxidation and Reduction
Acids, Bases and Salts
Atom
Catalysts
Petroleum and Fertilizer
General Procedure of Preparation - Soap, comb, ink, cement, paint, match box, gun powder and alum etc.

Physics

Questions are frequently asked from the chapters like

Mechanics,
Optics,
Heat and Thermodynamics,
Electricity,
Nuclear Physics,
Modern Physics,
Sound
Universe.

(3) Economy

In Economy, even though most of the questions are from Indian Economy, one has to keep abreast of International Economics that has its impact on India.

In Indian Economy, now-a-days, most of the questions are asked from National Income and International Economic Forums, Industry, Agricultural production, Exim Policy, Money and Banking, Public Finance and Reforms and Different programmes announced in the previous and the current fiscal year.

Combine the reading of Economy book with the Economic Survey by Government of India.

Economic Planning in India
Fiscal System
Monetary and Credit Policy
Money Market and Capital Market in India
Stock Markets in India
Taxation System in India: Concepts and Policies
Inflation: Concepts, Facts and Policy
Public Sector
Banking System in India
Poverty and Inequality Concepts, Data Policy and Analysis
Unemployment
Agriculture
Important Indices
Bretton Woods Institutions and Others
GATT and WTO
Foreign Trade
External Sector
Economy Updates

(4) Geography

In ‘Indian Geography’ a thorough understanding of physical aspects of India with a proper clarity of locations, is the minimum requirement. This will help in the economic as well as the human aspects of Indian Geography.

In General Geography, the emphasis is on conceptual aspects.

In World Geography, the emphasis is more on current developments, which can be covered by map reading while going through the newspaper. Also keep the habit of reading geography with help of any reliable Map.

WORLD GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

North America
Middle America
South America
Africa
Europe
Australia
Asia
Antartica
Climatic Regions

WORLD GEOGRAPHY ---PHSICAL

Lithosphere
Atmosphere
World Climatic Type

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY-PHYSICAL

India Physical

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

Land and the People
States and Union Territories
Non-Conventional Energy
Nuclear Energy
Conventional Energy in India
Electricity in India

(5) History

In ‘Indian History’, maximum number of questions have been asked from the Modern History.

In Ancient India, the Vedic Age, Mauryan Period and the Gupta Period are dominating every year.

Sultanate and Mughal periods , Marathas, Vijaynagar and Bahmani kingdoms are the most important areas in the Medieval India.

The period between 1857 to 1947, i.e. the 1857 uprising, social reform movements, British reforms in civil administration and in the other fields, Governor Generals and Nationalist Movement under the Congress are the important areas of Modern India.

ANCIENT INDIA

Sources of Indian History
The Harappan Civilization
The Vedic
The Mauryan
Post-Mauryan period(200BC-300AD)
Gupta &Post-Gupta period

MEDIEVAL INDIA

Chronology of Events in Medieval India
North India between 750-1200
The Sultans of Delhi
The Mughals
The Marathas
Vijayanagar Empire

MODERN INDIA

Indian in the Eighteenth Century
Rise of the Regional Powers
Economic Impact of The British
Indian Renaissance and Reform Movement
Early Uprisings Against The British
The Revolt of 1857
Nature and Causes For The Rise of National Movement
The Rise of Neo-Nationalists or Extremists
The Beginning of the Gandhian Era
The National Movements in 1940s
Chronology of The National Movement

(6) Environment

The environment section under it carries environmental concept, bio-diversity, pollution and environmental movement.

CONCEPT

Organisms and the Environment
Environment, Habitat and Niche
Environmental Factors
Ecological Adaptations
Population, Biotic Community and Succession
Ecosystem: Structure and Function
Natural Resources and their Conservation
Biodiversity
Pollution and Global Environmental Change
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment(1972)
Brutland Commission(1983)
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development(1992)

BIODIVERSITY

Biosphere
Conservation
Commission on sustainable Development(1992)
Nagoya Protocol
National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai
Project Tiger(1973)
The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004
Concerns & Issues
The Biological Diversity Act 2002
Biological Diversity Rules2004
Biodiversity Act/Rules and Intellectual Property Rights
The Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD)
The International Year of Biodiversity(IYB)
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
Top10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India
Types of Biodiversity
Genetic Diversity
Species Diversity
Ecosystem
Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management(CBIPM)
Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS)

(7) Current Affairs

Current Affairs is a vast area comprising of events of national and international affairs, bilateral developments, sports and personalities in various fields along with prizes and honours of highest accolade.