 SECTION III PAPER-I

SYLLABI FOR THE EXAMINATION Essay : Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple
topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of
NOTE : Candidates are advised to go through the
the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to
Syllabus published in this Section for the Preliminary
write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact
Examination and the Main Examination, as periodic revision
expression.
 has been done in several subjects.
of syllabus
PAPER-II
PartA—Preliminary Examination
GeneralStudies-I:IndianHeritageandCulture,Historyand
Paper I - (200 marks)  GeographyoftheWorldandSociety.

 • Indian culture will cover the salient aspects ofArt Forms,

Duration:Twohours literature andArchitecture from ancient to modern times.
Current events of national and international importance.
• Modern Indian history from about the middle of the
History of India and Indian National Movement. eighteenth century until the present- significant events,
• IndianandWorld Geography-Physical, Social, Economic  personalities, issues.
Geography of India and the World. 
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and
• Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political  important contributors/contributions from different
System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues,  parts of the country.
etc. 
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization
• Economic and Social Development-Sustainable  within the country.
Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social 
• Historyoftheworldwillincludeeventsfrom18thcentury
Sector Initiatives, etc. 
such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity  national boundaries, colonization, decolonization,
and ClimateChange - that do not require subject  political philosophies like communism, capitalism,
specialization.  socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
• General Science.  • Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
PaperII-(200marks)
• Role of women and women's organization, population
• Comprehension;
and associated issues, poverty and developmental
Duration:Twohours
issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills; 
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability; 
• Effects of globalization on Indian society.

• Decision making and problem solving; 

• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism &
secularism.
• General mental ability; 
• Salient features of world's physical geography.
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of 
magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation 
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world
(charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X  (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent);
level);  factors responsible for the location of primary,
secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts
Note 1 : Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examina- 
of the world (including India).
tion will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualify- 
ing marks fixed at 33%. 
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as
earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,
Note 2 : The questions will be of multiple choice, objective 
geographical features and their location-changes in
type. 
critical geographical features (including water-bodies
Note 3 : It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both  and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of
the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for  such changes.
the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will 
PAPER-III
be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in 
GeneralStudies-II:Governance,Constitution,Polity,Social
boththepapersofCivilServices(Prelim)Examination
Justice and International relations.
• Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings,
evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions
and basic structure.
 structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local –
and responsibilities of the Union and the  PAPER - IV
States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal  GeneralStudies-III:Technology,EconomicDevelopment,Bio
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate. diversity,Environment,SecurityandDisaster Management
levels and challenges therein. 
• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning,
• Separation of powers between various organs dispute  mobilization, of resources, growth, development and
redressal mechanisms and institutions.  employment.
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with  • Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
that of other countries. 
• Government Budgeting.
• Parliament and State legislatures—structure, 
functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges 
• Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the
and issues arising out of these.  country, - different types of irrigation and irrigation
systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural
• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive  produce and issues and related constraints; e-
and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the  technology in the aid of farmers.
Government; pressure groups and formal/informal 
associations and their role in the Polity. 
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and
minimum support prices; Public Distribution System-
• Salient features of the Representation of People's Act.  objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers,  of buffer stocks and food security; Technology
functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional  missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Bodies.  • Food processing and related industries in India- scope'
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.  and significance, location, upstream and downstream
• Government policies and interventions for development  requirements, supply chain management.
in various sectors and issues arising out of their design  • Land reforms in India.
and implementation.  • Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in
• Development processes and the development industry  industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
—the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and  • Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads,Airports, Railways
associations, donors, charities, institutional and other  etc.
stakeholders. 
• Investment models.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the 
population by the Centre and States and the performance 
• Science and Technology- developments and their
applications and effects in everyday life.
of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and 
Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of  • Achievements of Indians in science & technology;
these vulnerable sections.  indigenization of technology and developing new
• Issues relating to development and management of  technology.
Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education,  • Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers,
Human Resources.  robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger.  relating to intellectual property rights.

• Important aspects of governance, transparency and 

• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.
accountability, e-governance- applications, models, 
successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters,  • Disaster and disaster management.
transparency & accountability and institutional and  • Linkages between development and spread of
other measures.  extremism.
• Role of civil services in a democracy.  • Role of external state and non-state actors in creating
• India and its neighborhood- relations.  challenges to internal security.
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements  • Challenges to internal security through communication
involving India and/or affecting India's interests.  networks, role of media and social networking sites in
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and  internal security challenges, basics of cyber security;
money-laundering and its prevention.
developing countries on India's interests, Indian 
diaspora.  • Security challenges and their management in border
areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
 PAPER-V
GeneralStudies-IV:Ethics,IntegrityandAptitude
This paper will include questions to test the candidates'
attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity
in public life and his problem solving approach to various
issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society.
Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine
these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered :
• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and
consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions
of ethics; ethics - in private and public relationships.
Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of
great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family
society and educational institutions in inculcating
values.
• Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and
relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political
attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
• Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service,
integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity,
dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and
compassion towards the weaker-sections.
• Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and
application in administration and governance.
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from
India and world.
• Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public
administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns
and dilemmas in government and private institutions;
laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of
ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance;
strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance;
ethical issues in international relations and funding;
corporate governance.
• Probity in Governance: Concept of public service;
Philosophical basis of governance and probity;
Information sharing and transparency in government,
Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct,
Citizen's Charters, Work culture, Quality of service
delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of
corruption.
• Case Studies on above issues.
PAPER-VI&PAPERVII
OptionalSubjectPapersI&II
Candidate may choose any optional subject from
amongst the List of Optional Subjects.