Wednesday, June 1, 2011

History Syllabus

( UPSC Syllabus )
Part B - Main Examination - Optional Subjects
Main Examination Syllabus - Subject : History

Paper-I
Section-A
 
  1. Sources and approaches to study of early Indian history.
  2. Early pastoral and agricultural communities. The archaeological evidence.
  3. The Indus Civilization: its origins, nature and decline.
  4. Patterns of settlement, economy, social organization and religion in India (c. 2000 to 500 B.C.) : archaeological perspectives.
  5. Evolution of north Indian society and culture: evidence of Vedic texts (Samhitas to Sutras).
  6. Teachings of Mahavira and Buddha. Contemporary society. Early phase of state formation and urbanization.
  7. Rise of Magadha; the Mauryan empire. Ashoka's inscriptions; his dhamma. Nature of the Mauryan state.
  8. Post-Mauryan period in northern and peninsular India: Political and administrative history,. Society, economy, culture and religion. Tamilaham and its society: the Sangam texts.
  9. India in the Gupta and post-Gupta period (to c. 750) : Political histroy of northern and peninsular India; Samanta system and changes in political structure; economy; social structure; culture; religion.
  10. Themes in early Indian cultural history: languages and texts; major stages in the evolution of art and architecture; major philosphical thinkers and schools; ideas in science and mathematics.
Section-B
 
  1. India, 750-1200 : Polity, society and economy. Major dynasties and political structurs in North India. Agrarian structures. " Indian feudalism". Rise of Rajputs. The Imperial Cholas and their contemporaries in Peninsular India. Villagle communities in the South. Conditions fof women. Commerce mercantile groups and guilds; towns. Problem of coinage. Arab conquest of Sind; the Ghaznavide empire.
  2. India, 750-1200: Culture, Literature, Kalhana, historian. Styles of temple architecture; sculpture. Religious thought and institutions: Sankaracharya's vedanta. Ramanuja. Growth of Bhakti, Islam and its arrival in India. Sufism. Indian science. Alberuni and his study of Indian science and civilization.
  3. The 13th Century. The Ghorian invasions. Factors behind Ghorian success. Economic, social and cultural consequences. Foundation of Delhi Sultanate. The "slave" Dynasty. IItutmish; Balban. "The Khalji Revolution". Early Sultanate architecture.
  4. The 14th Century. Alauddin Khalji's conquests, agrarian and economic measures. Muhammad Tughluq's major "projects". Firuz Tughluq's concessions and public works. Decline of the Sultante. Foreing contacts: Ibn Battuta.
  5. Economy societyand culture in the 13th and 14th centureis. Caste and slavery under sultanate. Tehnological changes. Sultanate architecture. [persian literature: Amir Khusrau, Historiography; Ziya Barani. Evolution of a composite culture. Sufism in North India. Lingayats. Bhakti schools in the south.
  6. The 15th and early16th Century (Political History). Rise of Provincial Dynasties: Bengal, Kashmir (Zainul Abedin), Gujarat, Malwa, Bahmanids. The Vijayanagra Empire. Lodis. Mughal Empire, First phase : Babur, Humayun. The Sur Empire : Sher Shah's administration. The Portuguese colonial enterprise.
  7. The 15th and early 16th Century (society, economy and culture). Regional cultures and literatures. provincial architectural styles. Society, culture, literature and the arts in Vijayanagara Empire. Monotheistic movements: Kabir and Guru Nank. Bhakti Movements: Chaitanya. Sufism in its pantheistic phase.
  8. Akbar: His conquests and consolidation of empire. Establishment of jagir and mansab systems. His Rajput policy. Evolution of religious and social outlook. Theory of Sulh-i-kul and religious policy. Abul Fazl, thinker and historian. Court patronage of art and technology.
  9. Mughal empire in the 17th Century. Major policies (administrative and religious) of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. The Empire and the Zamindars. Nature of the Mughal state. Late 17th Century crisis: Revolts. The Ahom kingdom, Shivaji and the early maratha kingdom.
  10. Economy and society, 16th and 17th Centuries. Population. Agricultural and craft production. Towns, commerce with Europe through Dutch, English and French companies- a "trade revolution". Indian mercantile classes. Banking, insurance and credit systems. Conditions of peasants, famines. Condition of Women.
  11. Culture during Mughal Empire. Persian literature (including historical works). Hindi and relgious literatures. Mughal architecture. Mughal painting. Provincial schools of architecture and painting. Classical music. Science and technology. Sawai Jai Singh, astronomer. Mystic eclecticism : Dara Shukoh. Vaishnav Bhakti. Mahrasthra Dharma. Evolution of the Sikh community (Khalsa).
  12. First half of 18th Century: Factors behind decline of the Mughal Empire. The regional principalities (Nizam's Deccan, Bengal, Awadh). Rise of Maratha ascendancy under the Peshwas. The Maratha fiscal and financial system. Emergency of Afghan Power. Panipat, 1761. Internal weakness, political cultural and economic, on eve of the British conquest.
Paper-II
Section-A
 
  1. Establishment of British rule in India: Factors behind British success against Indian powers-Mysore, Maratha Con federacy and the Punjab as major powers in resistance; Policy of subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse.
  2. Colonial Economy : Tribute system. Drain of wealth and "deindustrialisation", Fiscal pressures and revenue settlements (Zamindari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari settlements); Structure of the British raj up to 1857 (including the Acts of 1773 and 1784 and administrative organisation).
  3. Resistance to colonia rule : Early uprisings; Causes, nature and impact of the Revolt of 1857; Reorganisation of the Raj, 1858 and after.
  4. Socio-cultural impact of colonial rule: Official social reform measures (1828-57); Orientalist-Anglicist controversy; coming of English education and the press; Christian missionary activities;Bengal Renaissance; Social and religious reform movements in Bengal and other areas; Women as focus of social reform.
  5. Economy 1858-1914: Railways; Commercialisation of Indian agriculture; Growth of landless labourers and rural indebtedness; Famines; India as market for British industry; Customs removal, exchange and countervailing excise; Limited growth of modern industry.
  6. Early Indian Nationalism: Social background; Formation of national associations; Peasant and tribal uprising during the early nationalist era; Foundation of the Indian National Congress; The Moderate phase of the Congress; Growth of Extremism; The Indian Council Act of 1909; Home Rule Movement; The Government of India Act of 1919.
  7. Inter-War economy of India: Industries and problem of Protection; Agricultural distress; the Great Depression; Ottawa agreements and Discriminatory Protection; the growth of trade unions; The Kisan Movement; The economic programme of the Congress' Karachi resolution, 1931.
  8. Nationalism under Gandhi's leadership: Gandhi's career, thought and methods of mass mobilisation; Rowlatt Satyagraha, Khilafat- Non Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, 1940 Satyagraha and Quit India Movement; State People's Movement.
  9. Other strands of the National Movement:
    1. Revolutionary movements since 1905
    2. Constitutional politics; Swarajists, Liberals, Responsive Cooperation
    3. Ideas of Jawharlal Nehru
    4. The Left (Socialists and Communists)
    5. Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army
    6. Communal strands: Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha
    7. Women in the National Movement.
  10. Literary and cultural lmovements: Tagore, Premchand, Subramanyam Bharati, Iqbal as examples only; New trends in art; Film industry; Writers' Organisations and Theatre Associations.
  11. Towards Freedom: The Act of 1935; Congress Ministries, 1937-1939; The Pakistan Movement; Post-1945 upsurge (RIN Mutiny, Telangana uprising etc.,); Consititutional negotiations and the Transfer of Power, 15 August 1947.
  12. First phase of Independence (1947-64): Facing the consequences of Partition; Gandhiji's murder; economic dislocation; Integration of States; The democratic constitution, 1950; Agrarian reforms; Building an industrial welfare state; Planning and industrialisation; Foreign policy of Non-alignment; Relations with neighbours.
Section-B
 
  1. Enlightenment and Modern ideas
    1. Renaissance Background
    2. Major Ideas of Enlightenment: Kant, Rousseau
    3. Spread of Enlightenment outside Europe
    4. Rise of socialist ideas (to Marx)
  2. Origins of Modern Politics
    1. European States System
    2. American Revolution and the Constitution.
    3. French revolution and after math, 1789-1815.
    4. British Democratic Politics, 1815-1850; Parliamentary Reformers, Free Traders, chartists.
  3. Industriatization
    1. English Industrial Revolution: Causes and Impact on Society
    2. Industrialization in other countries: USA, Germany, Russia, Japan
    3. Socialist Industrialization: Soviet and Chinese.
  4. Nation-State System
    1. Rise of Nationalism in 19th century
    2. Nationalism : state-building in Germany and Italy
    3. Disintegration of Empires through the emergence of nationalities.
  5. Imperialism and Colonialism
    1. Colonial System (Exploitation of New World, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Tribute from Asian Conquests)
    2. Types of Empire: of settlement and non-settlement: Latin America, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia.
    3. Imperialism and Free Trade: The New Imperialism
  6. Revolution and Counter-Revolution
    1. 19th Century European revolutions
    2. The Russian Revolution of 1917-1921
    3. Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany.
    4. The Chinese Revolution of 1949
  7. World Wars
    1. 1st and 2nd World Wars as Total Wars: Societal Implications
    2. World War I : Causes and Consequences
    3. World War II : Political Consequence
  8. Cold War
    1. Emergence of Two Blocs
    2. Integration of West Europe and US Strategy; Communist East Europe
    3. Emergence of Third World and Non-Alignment
    4. UN and Dispute Resolution
  9. Colonial Liberation
    1. Latin America-Bolivar
    2. Arab World-Egypt
    3. Africa-Apartheid to Democracy
    4. South-East Asia-Vietnam
  10. Decolonization and Underdevelopment
    1. Decolonization: Break up of colonial Empires: British, French, Duth
    2. Factors constraining Development : Latin America, Africa
  11. Unification of Europe
    1. Post War Foundations : NATO and European Community
    2. Consolidation and Expansion of European Community/European Union.
  12. Soviety Disintegration and the Unipolar World
    1. Factors in the collapse of Soviet communism and the Soviet Union, 1985-1991
    2. Political Changes in East Europe 1989-1992
    3. End of the Cold War and US Ascendancy in the World
    4. Globalization

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Geography Syllabus

( UPSC Syllabus )
Part B - Main Examination - Optional Subjects
Main Examination Syllabus - Subject : Geography

Paper-I (Principles of Geography)
Section-A (Physical Geography)
 
  1. Geomorphology
    Factors controlling landform development; endogenetic and exogenetic forces; origin and evolution of the earth’s crust; physical conditions of the earth’s interior; geosynclines; continental drift; isostasy; sea-floor spreading; plate tectonics; mountain building; volcanicity; earthquakes; concepts of geomorphic cycles; landforms associated with fluvial, arid, glacial, coastal and karst cycle; groundwater; Applied Geomorphology.

  2. Climatology
    Temperature and pressure belts of the world; heat budget of the earth; atmospheric circulation; planetary and local winds; monsoons and jet streams; air masses and fronts; temperate and tropical cyclones; types and distribution of precipitation; Koppen’s and Thornthwaite’s classification of world climate; hydrological cycle; climatic change.

  3. Oceanography
    Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; temperature and salinity of the oceans; ocean deposits; ocean currents and tides; marine resources–biotic, mineral and energy resources; coral reefs; sea-level changes.

  4. Biogeography
    Genesis of soils; classification and distribution of soils; soil profile; soil erosion and conservation; factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals; problems of deforestation and conservation measures; social forestry, agro-forestry.

  5. Environmental Geography
    Human ecological adaptations; transformation of nature by man; environmental degradation and conservawtin; ecosystems and their management; global ecological imbalances–problems of pollution, global warming, reduction in bio-diversity and depletion of forests.

Section-B (Human Geography)
 
  1. Perspectives in Human Geography
    A real differentiation; regional synthesis; dichotomy and dualism; environmentalism; quantitative revolution and locational analysis; radical, behavioural, human and welfare approaches; cultural regions of the world human and welfare approaches; cultural regions of the world; human development indicators.

  2. Economic Geography
    World economic develpment–measurement and problems; world resources and their distribution; energy crisis; the limits to growth; world agriculture–typology of agricultural regions; agricultural inputs and productivity; food and nutrition problems; famine–causes, effects and remedies; world industries–location patterns and problems; patterns of world trade.

  3. Population and Settlement Geography
    Growth and distribution of world population; demographic atrributes; causes and consequencies of migration; concepts of over–, under– and optimum population; world population problems.
    Types and patterns of rural settlements; hierarchy of urban settlements; concept of primate city and rank-size rule; functional classificatipn of towns; sphere of urban influence; rural-urban fringe; satellite town; problems of urbanisation.

  4. Regional Planning
    Concept of a region; types of regions and methods of regionalisation; growth centres and growth poles; regional imbalances; environmental issues in regional planning; planning for sustainable development.

  5. Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography
    System analysis in Human Geography; Malthusian, Marxian and Demographic Transition models; Central Place theories of Christaller and Losch; Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location; Weber’s model of industrial location; Rostov’s model of stages of growth. Heart-land and Rimland theories; laws of international boundaries and frontiers.
Note : Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper.
Paper-II (Geography of India)
Section-A.
 
  1. Physical Setting
    Space relationship of India with neighbouring countries; structure and relief; drainage system and watersheds; physiographic regions; mechanism of Indian monsoons; tropical cyclones and western distrubances; floods and droughts; climatic regions; natural vegetation, soil types and their distributions.

  2. Resources
    Land, surface and groundwater, energy, minerals, and biotic resources, their distribution, utilisation and conservation; energy crisis.

  3. Agriculture
    Infrastructure–irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, power; institutional factors–land holdings, land tenure and land reforms; agricultural productivity, agricultural intensity, crop combination, land capability; agro-and social forestry; green revolution and its socio-economic and ecological implications; significance of dry farming; livestock resources and white revolution; blue revolution; agricultural regionalisation; agro-climatic zones.

  4. Industry
    Evolution of industries; locational factors of cotton, jute, iron and steel, fertiliser, paper, drugs and pharmaceutical, automobile and cottage indusries; industrial complexes and industrial regionalisaiton; new industrial policy; multinationals and liberalisation.

  5. Transport, Communication and Trade
    Road, railway, waterway, airway and pipeline networks and their complementary roles in regional development; growing importance of ports on national and foreign trade, trade balance; free trade and export promotion zones; developments in communication technology and its impact on economy and society.
Section-B
 
  1. Cultural Setting
    Racial and ethnic diversities; major tribes, tribal areas and their problems; role of langague, religion and tradition in the formation of cultural regions; growth, distribution and density of population; demographic attributes–sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force, dependency ratio and longevity; migration (inter-regional, intra-regional and international) and associated problems, population problems and policies.

  2. Settlements
    Types, patterns and morphology of rural settlements; urban development; census definition of urban areas; morphology of Indian cities; functional classification of Indian cities; conurbations and metropolitan regions; urban sprawl; slums and associated problems; town planning; problems of urbanisaiton.

  3. Regional Development and Planning
    Experience of regional planning in India; Five Year Plans; integrated rural development programmes; panchayati raj and decentralised planning; command area development; watershed management; planning for backward area, desert drought-prone, hill and tribal area development; multi-level planning; geography and regional planning.

  4. Political Aspects
    Geographical basis of Indian federalism; state reorganisation; regional consciousness and national integration; international boundary of India and related issues; disputes on sharing of water resources; India and geopolitics of the Indian Ocean.

  5. Contemporary Issues
    Environmental hazards–landslides, earthquakes, floods and droughts, epidemics; issues related to environmental pollution; changes in patterns of land use; principles of environmental impact assessment and environmental management; population explosion and food security; environmental degradation; problems of agrarian and industrial unrest; regional disparities in economic development; concept of sustainable growth and development.
Note : Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper.

Public Admin Syllabus

( UPSC Syllabus )
Part B - Main Examination - Optional Subjects
Main Examination Syllabus - Subject : Public Administration


Paper-I (Administrative theory)
Section-A
 
  • Introduction
    Meaning, scope and significance of Public Administration, Public and Private Administration, Wilson's vision of Public Administration, Evolution of the discipline and its present status. New Public Administration. Public choice approach and New Public Management perspective. Features of Entrepreneurial Government, Good Governance : concept and application.

  • Theories of Administraiton
    Nature and typologies; Scientific Management (Taylor and the Scientific Management Movement), Classical Theory (Fayol, Urwick, Gulick and others), Bureaucratic Theory. (Marxist view, Weber's model and its critique, post-Weberian developments.) Ideas of Mary Parker Follett and (C.I. Barnard) Human Relations School (Elton Mayo and and others). Behavioral Approach to Organizational Analysis. Participative Management; (McGregor, Likert and others). The Systems Approach; Open and closed systems.

  • Structure of public organisations
    Typologies of Political Executive and their functions. Forms of public organizations : Ministries and Departments : Corporations; Companies, Boards and Commissions; Ad hoc and Advisory bodies. Headquarters and field relationships.

  • Administrative Behaviour
    Decision making with special reference to Herbert Simon, Theories of Leadership, Communication, Morale, Motivation (Maslow and Herzberg.)

  • Accountability and Control
    Concepts of Accountability and Control; Legislative Executive and Judicial Control over Administration. Citizen and Administration, Role of civil society, people's participation, Right to information. Administrative corruption, machinery for redressal of citizens' grievances. Citizens Charter.

  • Administrative Law
    Meaning and significance. Delegated Legislation : Types, Advantages, Limitations, Safeguards, Administrative Tribunals : limitations and methods of ensuring effectiveness.

Section-B
 
  • Administrative Reforms
    Meaning, process and obstacles. Techniques of administrative improvement : O and M; Work Study and Work Management, Information Technology.

  • Comparative Public Administration
    Meaning, nature and scope. Models of Comparative Public Administration : Bureaucratic and ecological.

  • Development Administration
    Origin and purpose, Rigg's Prismatic-Sala Model; Bureaucracy and Development; Changing profile of Development Administration; new directions in people's self development and empowerment.

  • Public Policy
    Relevance of Policy making in Public Administration. Model of Policy-making Sectoral policies (e.g. Energy, Industries Education and Transport Policies) Process of Policy formulation, problems of implementation, feed-back and evaluation.

  • Personnel Administration
    Objectives of Personnel Administration. Importance of human resource development. Recruitment, training, career development, position classification, discipline, Performance Appraisal, Promotion, Pay and Service Conditions; employer- employee relations, grievance redressal mechanism integrity and code of conduct.

  • Financial administration
    Monetary and fiscal policies. Resource mobilisation : tax and non-tax sources. Public borrowings and public debt. Concepts and types of budget. Preparation and execution of the budget. Deficit financing Performance budgeting. Legislative control, Accounts and Audit.
Paper-II (Indian Administration)
Section-A
 
  • Evolution of Indian Administration Kautilya, Mughal period, British legacy.
  • Constitutional framework value premises of the Constitution, Parliamentary democracy, federalism, Planning. Human Rights : National Human Rights Commission.
  • Union Government and Administration President Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Cabinet committees, Cabinet Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office, Central Secretariat, Ministries and Departments, Advisory Bodies, Boards and Commissions, Field Organizations.
  • State Government and Administration–Governor, Chief Minsiter, Council of Ministers, Chief Secretary, State Secretariat Directorates.
  • District Administration Changing role of the District Collector : Law and Order and Development Management. Relationship with functional departments. District administration and the Panchayati Raj institutions. Role and functions of the Sub-Divisional Officer.
  • Local Government : Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Government. Structures, Functions, finances. Main featues of 73rd and 74rd Constitutional Amendements : Problemes of implementation. Major rural and urban development programmes and their management.
  • Public Sector : Forms of public undertakings. Their contribution to the economy; problems of autonomy and accountability. Changing role of the Public Sector in the context of liberalisation.
Section-B
 
  • Public Services : All India Services Constitutional position , role land functions. Central Services : nature and functions. Union Public Service Commission.State Services and the State Public Service Commissions. Training in the changing context of governance.
  • Control of Public Expenditure. Parliamentary control Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Public Undertakings, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Role of the Finance Ministry in monetary and fiscal policy area, co-ordination and economy in expenditure.
  • Administrative Reforms : Reforms since independence. Reports of the Administrative Reforms Commission, Problems of implementation.
  • Machinery for Planning : Role, composition and review of functions of the Planning Commission; Role of the National Development Council. Process of Plan formulation at Union and State levels. Decentralized planning.
  • Administration of Law and Order : Role of Central and State Agencies in maintenance of law and order. Criminalisation of politics and administration.
  • Welfare Administration : Machinery for welfare administration at the national and state levels. Central Social Welfare Board and the State, Social Welfare Boards. Special organizations for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Welfare Programmes for women and children. Problems of child labour. Role of civil society.
  • Major issues in Indian Administration : problems of Centre-State Relations; Relationship between political and permanent Executives. Values in Public Service and Administrative Culture. Lok Pal and Lok Ayuktas. Development and environmental issues. Impact of information Technology on Public Administration. Indian Administration and Globalisation.

Political Science Syllabus

Paper-I
Section-A (Political Theory and Indian Politics)
 
  • Approaches to the study of political theory: historical, normative and empirical.
  • Theories of state: Social contract, Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, communitarian, post-colonial.
  • State Sovereignty: Marxist and pluralistic theories; globalisation and the State.
  • Democracy and Human Rights: Democratic theory-classical and contemporary. Theories of Human Rights; Theories of Justice, Equality and Revolution, political obligation; New Social Movements.
  • Theories of Political Culture; Culture and politics in Third World countries.
  • Theories of Political Economy-Classical and contemporary.
  • Political Ideologies: Nature of Ideology; Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Anarchism.
  • Theories of Power and Hegemony: Pareto, Mosca, Mitchels, C. Wright Mills, Weber, Gramsci, Hannah Arendt.
  • Indian Political Thought: Manu, Kautilya M.N. Roy Gandhi Ambedkar and E V Ramswami Naicker.
  • Political Thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, J S Mill, Hegel and Marx, Lenin, Rosa Luxemberg and Mao Zedong.
Section-B (Indian Government and Politics)
 
  • Indian Nationalism: Dadabhai Naoroji, Tilak, Savarkar, Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narain, Nehru, Subhas Bose, Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia.
  • Nature and struggle of Indian freedom struggle : From constitutionalism to Mass Satyagraha, Revolutionary movements Non Co-operation, Civil disobedience and Quit India, Indian Naval uprising, Indian National Army; role of women in freedom struggle.
  • Socio- economic dimensions of the nationalist movement: The communal question and the demand for partition; backward caste movements, Trade union and Peasant movements, Civil rights movement.
  • Landmarks in Constitutional Development during British Rule: Morley-Minto Reforms; Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms; Simon Commission; Government of India Act, 1935; Cripps Mission : Indian Independence Act, 1947.
  • Salient Features of the Indian Constitution: The Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive Principles; federalism, parliamentary system; amending procedures; judicial review.
  • The Executive System in theory and practice: President, Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers; Governor, Chief Minister and the State Council of Ministers. The Bureaucracy.
  • Role and function of the Parliament and Parlimentary Committee-Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; changing socio economic profile.
  • The Supreme Court and the High Courts; Judicial Activism; PIL.
  • Statutory institutions/commis sions-UPSC, Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Backward Classes Commission, National Commission for women; National Human Rights Commission; Minorities Commission.
  • Party system : ideology and social base of parties; fragmentation and regionalisation. Pressure groups; patterns of coalition politics; trends in electoral behaviour.
  • Class, caste, ethnicity and gender in Indian politics; politics of regionalism, communalism, backward class and Dalit movements, Tribal people movements, struggle for gender justice.
  • Planning and Economic Development : Role of the Planning Commission; Planning in the era of liberalisation; political dimensions of economic reforms.
  • Grassroots democracy : Panchayati Raj and municipal government; significance of 73rd and 74th Amendements. Grass root movement and women's empowerment.
Paper - II (Comparative Politics and International Relations)
Section-A (Comparative Analysis and International Politics)
 
  • Approaches to the study of comparative politics : traditional approaches; political economy, political sociology or political system approaches; Nature of political process in the Third World.
  • The Modern State : Evolution, the contemporary trends in the advanced industrial countries and the third world.
  • Development : Strategies and contemporary discourse.
  • Concepts of International politics : Power, national interest, balance of power, national security, collective security and peace.
  • Theories of International politics Marxist, Realist, Systems, Decision-making and Game Theory.
  • Determinants of foreign policy : Domestic compulsions, geopolitics, geoeconomics and global order.
  • Origin and contemporary relevance of the Cold War, nature of the post-cold war global order.
  • Major issues of world politics : Cuban Missile Crisis; Vietnam War, Oil Crisis, Afghan Civil War, Gulf War, Collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslav Crisis.
  • Non-alignment : Concept and movement; Third World Movements for global justice, Non-alignment in the post cold war era.
  • The evolution of the international economic system-from Bretton woods to WTO, the North-South dimension.
  • International organisations UN and its specialized agencies : International Court of Justice; ILO, UNICEF, WHO UNESCO.
  • Regional, organizations such as the ASEAN, APEC, EU, SAARC, NAFTA
  • Contemporary Global Concerns : Democracy, Human Rights, Ecology, Gender Justice, Global commons, Communication.
Section-B (India and the World)
 
  • Indian Foreign Policy : Historical origins, determinants; the institutions of policy-making; continuity and change.
  • India and the Non-Alignment Movement : Evolution and contemporary relevance. Socio- political basis of non-alignment-domestic and global.
  • Major issues in Indian foreign policy : Sino-Indian Border War (1962); Indo-Pakistan War (1971) and the liberation of Bangladesh; IPKF in Sri Lanka; India as military nuclear power (1998).
  • Conflict and co-operation in South Asia : India's relations with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal. Regional co-operation and SAARC. Kashmir question in India's foreign policy.
  • India's relation with Africa and Latin America.
  • India and South East Asia; ASEAN.
  • India and the major powers : USA, EU, China, Japan and Russia.
  • India and the UN System : India's role in UN Peace Keeping and global disarmament.
  • India and the emerging international economic order; multilateral agencies-WTO, IMF, IBRD, ADB.
  • India and the question of nuclear weapons : NPT and CTBT.

Optional Subjects

Agriculture Management
Animal Husbandry & Vetinary Science Mathematics
Anthropology Mechanical Engineering
Botany Medical Science
Chemistry Philosophy
Civil Engineering Physics
Commerce & Accountancy Political Science & International Relations
Economics Psychology
Electrical Engineering Public Administration
Geography Sociology
Geology Statistics
Indian History Zoology
Law  
Arabic Gujarati Manipuri Sanskrit
Assamese Hindi Nepali Sindhi
Bengali Kannada Oriya Tamil
Chinese Kashmiri Pali Telugu
English Konkani Persian Urdu
French Marathi Punjabi  
German Malayalam Russian  

Main Paper Scheme

Paper-I One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18 languages included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution (Qualifying Paper) 300 Marks
Paper-II English (Qualifying Paper) 300 Marks
Paper-III Essay 200 Marks
Papers IV & V General Studies (300 Marks for each paper) 600 Marks
Papers VI, VII, VIII & IX Any two subjects (each having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (300 marks for each paper) 1200 Marks
Total Marks for Written Examination 2000 Marks
Interview Test 300 Marks
Grand Total 2300 Marks

Prelim Syllabus

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.

  • Current events  of national and international importance
  • History of India  and Indian national movement
  • Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
  • Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
  • Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
  • General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that  donot require subject specialization
  • General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

  • Comprehension
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  • Decision making and problem solving
  • General mental ability
  • Basic 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)