Preliminary Examination Syllabus 2011

Scheme of CS (Preliminary) Examination

The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions)
carrying a maximum of 400 marks. The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English &
Hindi

Civil Services Aptitude Test

The new Recruitment Process of Civil Services Exam is called the CSAT or the Civil Services
Aptitude Test. The CSAT is coming into effect from the Civil Services Examination, 2011. CSAT
will not only enable us to choose civil servants with right aptitudes but also end the use of scaling
system for varying subjects that has been a matter of concern for many. No changes are being
introduced at this stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the
scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE).

From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers-
Paper I and Paper II. The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as
under :

(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)
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item
in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only
without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
 • The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

UPSC Aptitude Test Syllabus

The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) 2011 would consist Paper I and Paper II. Full
knowledge of the English applicants has superior opportunity to succeed in CSAT 2011.

Paper 1

Pattern:

Total Marks: 200

Duration : 2 Hours

Syllabus

• 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 2

Pattern:

Total Marks: 200

Duration : 2 Hours

Syllabus

• 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)
Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item
in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only
without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

The prospective candidates are advised to note that no changes are being introduce at this
stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of
Civil Services Examination (CSE).

General Studies Mains Exam Syllabus

General Studies

General Guidelines:

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
questions will be such as to test a candidate's general awareness of a variety of subjects,
which will have relevance for a career in Civil Services. The questions are likely to test
the candidate's 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.

PAPER - I

1. History of Modern India and Indian Culture

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.

2. Geography of India

In this part, questions will be on the physical, economic and social geography of India.

3. Constitution of India and Indian Polity

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.
4. Current National Issues and Topics of Social Relevance

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

(i) The Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,
growth, development and employment.

(ii) Issues arising from the social and economic exclusion of large sections from the
benefits of development.

(iii) Other issues relating to the development and management of human resource.

(iv) Health issues including the management of Public Health, Health education and
ethical concerns regarding health-care, medical research and pharmaceuticals.

(v) Law enforcement, internal security and related issues such as the preservation of
communal harmony.

(vi) Issues relating to good governance and accountability to the citizens including the
maintenance of human rights, and of probity in public life.

(vii) Environmental issues, ecological preservation, conservation of natural resources and

national heritage.

PAPER - II

1. India and the World

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.

2. India's Economic Interaction with the World

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.

3. Developments in the Field of Science & Technology, IT and space

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.

4. International Affairs and Institutions

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

5. Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams

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

Public Administration
PAPER - I

Administrative Theory

1. Introduction:

Meaning, scope and significance of Public Administration; Wilson’s vision of Public

Administration; Evolution of the discipline and its present status; New Public
Administration; Public Choice approach; Challenges of liberalization, Privatisation,
Globalisation; Good Governance: concept and application; New Public Management.

2. Administrative Thought:

Scientific Management and Scientific Management movement; Classical Theory;

Weber’s bureaucratic model its critique and post-Weberian Developments; Dynamic
Administration (Mary Parker Follett); Human Relations School (Elton Mayo and others);
Functions of the Executive (C.I. Barnard); Simon’s decision-making theory; Participative
Management (R. Likert, C.Argyris, D.McGregor).

3. Administrative Behaviour:
Process and techniques of decision-making; Communication; Morale; Motivation
Theories :content, process and contemporary; Theories of Leadership: Traditional and
Modern.

4. Organisations:

Theories systems, contingency; Structure and forms: Ministries and Departments,

Corporations, Companies, Boards and Commissions; Ad hoc and advisory bodies;
Headquarters and Field relationships; Regulatory Authorities; Public - Private
Partnerships.

5. Accountability and control:

Concepts of accountability and control; Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over
administration; Citizen and Administration; Role of media, interest groups, voluntary
organizations; Civil society; Citizen’s Charters; Right to Information; Social audit.

6. Administrative Law:

Meaning, scope and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation;

Administrative Tribunals.

7. Comparative Public Administration:

Historical and sociological factors affecting administrative systems; Administration and

politics in different countries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration;
Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique.

8. Development Dynamics:

Concept of development; Changing profile of development administration; Anti-

development thesis; Bureaucracy and development; Strong state versus the market
debate; Impact of liberalisation on administration in developing countries; Women and
development - the self-help group movement.

9. Personnel Administration:

Importance of human resource development; Recruitment, training, career advancement,

position classification, discipline, performance appraisal, promotion, pay and service
conditions; employer-employee relations, grievance redressal mechanism; Code of
conduct; Administrative ethics.

10. Public Policy:

Models of policy-making and their critique; Processes of conceptualisation, planning,
implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review and their limitations; State theories
and public policy formulation.

11. Techniques of Administrative Improvement:

Organisation and methods, Work study and work management; e-governance and
information technology; Management aid tools like network analysis, MIS, PERT, CPM.

12. Financial Administration:

Monetary and fiscal policies; Public borrowings and public debt Budgets - types and
forms; Budgetary process; Financial accountability; Accounts and audit.

PAPER - II

Indian Administration

1. Evolution of Indian Administration:

Kautilya’s Arthashastra; Mughal administration; Legacy of British rule in politics and

administration - Indianization of public services, revenue administration, district
administration, local self-government.

2. Philosophical and Constitutional framework of government:

Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and
democracy; Bureaucracy and development.

3. Public Sector Undertakings:

Public sector in modern India; Forms of Public Sector Undertakings; Problems of

autonomy, accountability and control; Impact of liberalization and privatization.

4. Union Government and Administration:

Executive, Parliament, Judiciary - structure, functions, work processes; Recent trends;

Intragovernmental relations; Cabinet Secretariat; Prime Minister’s Office; Central
Secretariat; Ministries and Departments; Boards; Commissions; Attached offices; Field
organizations.

5. Plans and Priorities:

Machinery of planning; Role, composition and functions of the Planning Commission

and the National Development Council; Indicative planning; Process of plan
formulation at Union and State levels; Constitutional Amendments (1992) and
decentralized planning for economic development and social justice.

6. State Government and Administration:

Union-State administrative, legislative and financial relations; Role of the Finance

Commission; Governor; Chief Minister; Council of Ministers; Chief Secretary; State
Secretariat; Directorates.

7. District Administration since Independence:

Changing role of the Collector; Union-state-local relations; Imperatives of development

management and law and order administration; District administration and democratic
decentralization.

8. Civil Services:

Constitutional position; Structure, recruitment, training and capacity-building; Good

governance initiatives; Code of conduct and discipline; Staff associations; Political
rights; Grievance redressal mechanism; Civil service neutrality; Civil service activism.

9. Financial Management:

Budget as a political instrument; Parliamentary control of public expenditure; Role of

finance ministry in monetary and fiscal area; Accounting techniques; Audit; Role of
Controller General of Accounts and Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

10. Administrative Reforms since Independence:

Major concerns; Important Committees and Commissions; Reforms in financial

management and human resource development; Problems of implementation.

11. Rural Development:

Institutions and agencies since independence; Rural development programmes: foci and
strategies; Decentralization and Panchayati Raj; 73rd Constitutional amendment.

12. Urban Local Government:

Municipal governance: main features, structures, finance and problem areas; 74th
Constitutional Amendment; Global-local debate; New localism; Development
dynamics, politics and administration with special reference to city management.

13. Law and Order Administration:

British legacy; National Police Commission; Investigative agencies; Role of central and
state agencies including paramilitary forces in maintenance of law and order and
countering insurgency and terrorism; Criminalisation of politics and administration;
Police-public relations; Reforms in Police.

14. Significant issues in Indian Administration:

Values in public service; Regulatory Commissions; National Human Rights Commission;

Problems of administration in coalition regimes; Citizen-administration interface;
Corruption and administration; Disaster management.

Sociology
PAPER - I

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY

1. Sociology - The Discipline:

(a) Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of sociology.

(b) Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.

(c) Sociology and common sense.

2. Sociology as Science:

(a) Science, scientific method and critique.

(b) Major theoretical strands of research methodology.

(c) Positivism and its critique.

(d) Fact value and objectivity.

(e) Non- positivist methodologies.

3. Research Methods and Analysis:

(a) Qualitative and quantitative methods.

(b) Techniques of data collection.

(c) Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity.

4. Sociological Thinkers:

(a) Karl Marx- Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class

struggle.

(b) Emile Durkheim- Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society.

(c) Max Weber- Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic
and the spirit of capitalism.

(d) Talcolt Parsons- Social system, pattern variables.

(e) Robert K. Merton- Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance,
reference groups

(f) Mead - Self and identity.

5. Stratification and Mobility:

(a) Concepts- equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation

(b) Theories of social stratification- Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory,

Weberian theory.

(c) Dimensions Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity

and race.

(d) Social mobility- open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes
of mobility.

6. Works and Economic Life:

(a) Social organization of work in different types of society- slave society,

feudal society, industrial /capitalist society.

(b) Formal and informal organization of work

(c) Labour and society.

7. Politics and Society:

(a) Sociological theories of power

(b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.

(c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.

(d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.

8. Religion and Society:

(a) Sociological theories of religion.

(b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.

(c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious

revivalism, fundamentalism.

9. Systems of Kinship:

(a) Family, household, marriage.

(b) Types and forms of family.

(c) Lineage and descent

(d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour

(e) Contemporary trends.

10. Social Change in Modern Society:

(a) Sociological theories of social change.

(b) Development and dependency.

(c) Agents of social change.

(d) Education and social change.

(e) Science, technology and social change.

PAPER - II

INDIAN SOCIETY : STRUCTURE AND CHANGE

A. Introducing Indian Society:

(i) Perspectives on the study of Indian society:

(a) Indology (GS. Ghurye).

(b) Structural functionalism (M N Srinivas).

(c) Marxist sociology ( A R Desai).

(ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society :

(a) Social background of Indian nationalism.

(b) Modernization of Indian tradition.

(c) Protests and movements during the colonial period.

(d) Social reforms

B. Social Structure:

(i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:

(a) The idea of Indian village and village studies-

(b) Agrarian social structure - evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.

(ii) Caste System:

(a) Perspectives on the study of caste systems: GS Ghurye, M N Srinivas, Louis

Dumont, Andre Beteille.

(b) Features of caste system.

(c) Untouchability - forms and perspectives

(iii) Tribal communities in India:

(a) Definitional problems.

(b) Geographical spread.

(c) Colonial policies and tribes.

(d) Issues of integration and autonomy.

(iv) Social Classes in India:

(a) Agrarian class structure.

(b) Industrial class structure.

(c) Middle classes in India.

(v) Systems of Kinship in India:

(a) Lineage and descent in India.

(b) Types of kinship systems.

(c) Family and marriage in India.

(d) Household dimensions of the family.

(e) Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.

(vi) Religion and Society:

(a) Religious communities in India.

(b) Problems of religious minorities.

C. Social Changes in India:

(i) Visions of Social Change in India:

(a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy.

(b) Constitution, law and social change.

(c) Education and social change.

(ii) Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:

(a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme,

cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.

(b) Green revolution and social change.

(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture .

(d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.

(iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India:

(a) Evolution of modern industry in India.

(b) Growth of urban settlements in India.

(c) Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization.

(d) Informal sector, child labour

(e) Slums and deprivation in urban areas.

(iv) Politics and Society:

(a) Nation, democracy and citizenship.

(b) Political parties, pressure groups , social and political elite.

(c) Regionalism and decentralization of power.

(d) Secularization

(v) Social Movements in Modern India:

(a) Peasants and farmers movements.

(b) Women's movement.

(c) Backward classes & Dalit movement.

(d) Environmental movements.

(e) Ethnicity and Identity movements.

(vi) Population Dynamics:

(a) Population size, growth, composition and distribution.

(b) Components of population growth: birth, death, migration.

(c) Population policy and family planning.

(d) Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive
health.

(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation:

(a) Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and

sustainability.
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.

(c) Violence against women.

(d) Caste conflicts.

(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.

(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.

Scheme of the examination:

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