MASTER UPSC

ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

TO THE POINT NOTES – 2024 EDITION

ANCIENT HISTORY
R.S.SHARMA

EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

FOR UPSC AND STATE PSC

1
 MASTER UPSC
ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY BY R.S.SHARMA

EXCLUSIVE SUMMARY SHORT NOTES

Contents
PREHISTORIC PERIOD IN INDIA ......................................................................................................................................... 2
INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION ............................................................................................................................................. 7
VEDIC CIVILIZATION ........................................................................................................................................................ 14
RISE OF MAHAJANAPADA ............................................................................................................................................... 24
MAGADHA EMPIRE – HARYANKA DYNASTY .................................................................................................. 31
BUDDHISM AND JAINISM ................................................................................................................................................ 33
JAINISM ........................................................................................................................................................................... 40
MAURYAN EMPIRE .......................................................................................................................................................... 44
THE GUPTA EMPIRE......................................................................................................................................................... 49
SANGAM AGE .................................................................................................................................................................. 53

2
 MASTER UPSC
ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

PREHISTORIC PERIOD IN INDIA

Ancient history can be divided into different periods according to the tools used by people then.

1. Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age): 500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE

2. Mesolithic Period (Late Stone Age): 10,000 BCE – 6000 BCE
3. Neolithic Period (New Stone Age): 6000 BCE – 1000 BCE
4. Chalcolithic Period (Stone Copper Age): 3000 BCE – 500 BCE
5. Iron Age: 1500 BCE – 200 BCE

Stone Age
The stone age is the prehistoric period, i.e., the period before the development of the script, therefore the
main source of information for this period is the archaeological excavations. Robert Bruce Foote is the
archaeologist who discovered the first palaeolithic tool in India, the Pallavaram handaxe.
On the basis of geological age, the type and technology of stone tools, and subsistence base, the Indian
stone age is classified primarily into three types-

• Palaeolithic age (old stone age): Period – 500,000 – 10,000 BCE

• Mesolithic age (late stone age): Period – 10,000 – 6000 BCE
• Neolithic age (new stone age): Period – 6000 – 1000 BCE

Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

The term ‘Palaeolithic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘palaeo’ which means old and ‘lithic’ meaning stone.
Therefore, the term Palaeolithic age refers to the old stone age. The old stone age or palaeolithic culture of
India developed in the Pleistocene period or the Ice Age, which is a geological period of the age when the
earth was covered with ice and the weather was so cold that human or plant life could not survive. But in
the tropical region, where ice melted, the earliest species of men could exist.

Main characteristics of the Palaeolithic age –

1. The Indian people are believed to have belonged to the ‘Negrito’ race, and lived in the open air,
river valleys, caves and rock shelters.
2. They were food gatherers, ate wild fruits and vegetables, and lived on hunting.
3. There was no knowledge of houses, pottery, agriculture. It was only in later stages they discovered
fire.
4. In the upper palaeolithic age, there is evidence of art in the form of paintings.
5. Humans used unpolished, rough stones like hand axes, choppers, blades, burins and scrapers.

Palaeolithic men are also called ‘Quartzite’ men in India as the stone tools were made of a hard rock called
quartzite.
The old stone age or palaeolithic age in India is divided into three phases according to the nature of the
stone tools used by the people and also according to the nature of the change of climate.

1. Lower Palaeolithic Age: up to 100,000 BC

2. Middle Palaeolithic Age: 100,000 BC – 40,000 BC

3
 MASTER UPSC
ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

3. Upper Palaeolithic Age: 40,000 BC – 10,000 BC

Lower Palaeolithic Age (Early Palaeolithic Age)

• It covers the greater part of the Ice Age.

• Hunters and food gatherers; tools used were hand axes, choppers and cleavers. Tools were rough
and heavy.
• One of the earliest lower Palaeolithic sites is Bori in Maharashtra.
• Limestone was also used to make tools.
• Major sites of lower Palaeolithic age
• Soan valley (in present Pakistan)
• Sites in the Thar Desert
• Kashmir
• Mewar plains
• Saurashtra
• Gujarat
• Central India
• Deccan Plateau
• Chotanagpur plateau
• North of the Cauvery River
• Belan valley in UP
There are habitation sites including caves and rock shelters.
An important place is Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.

Middle Palaeolithic age

• Tools used were flakes, blades, pointers, scrapers and borers.

• The tools were smaller, lighter and thinner.
• There was a decrease in the use of hand axes with respect to other tools.
• Important middle Palaeolithic age sites
• Belan valley in UP
• Luni valley (Rajasthan)
• Son and Narmada rivers
• Bhimbetka
• Tungabhadra river valleys
• Potwar Plateau (between Indus & Jhelum)
• Sanghao cave (near Peshawar, Pakistan)

Upper Palaeolithic age

• The upper palaeolithic age coincided with the last phase of the ice age when the climate became
comparatively warmer and less humid.
• Emergence of Homo sapiens.
• The period is marked by innovation in tools and technology. A lot of bone tools, including needles,
harpoons, parallel-sided blades, fishing tools and burin tools.
• Major sites of Upper Palaeolithic age

4
 MASTER UPSC
ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

• Bhimbhetka (South of Bhopal) – hand axes and cleavers, blades, scrapers and a few burins
have been found here.
• Belan
• Son
• Chota Nagpur plateau (Bihar)
• Maharashtra
• Orissa and
• The Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh
• Bone tools have been found only at cave sites of Kurnool and Muchchatla Chintamani Gavi
in Andhra Pradesh.
Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age)
The term Mesolithic is derived from two Greek words – ‘meso’ and ‘lithic’. In Greek ‘meso’ means middle
and ‘lithic’ means stone. Hence, the Mesolithic stage of prehistory is also known as the ‘Middle Stone Age’.
Both Mesolithic and Neolithic phases belong to the Holocene era. In this era, there was a rise in
temperature, the climate became warm which resulted in melting of ice and also brought changes in flora
and fauna.
Characteristic Features of the Mesolithic Era

• The people of this age lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering initially but later on they
also domesticated animals and cultivated plants, thereby paving the way for agriculture.
• The first animal to be domesticated was the wild ancestor of the dog. Sheep and goats were the
most common domesticated animals.
• The Mesolithic people lived in semi-permanent settlements along with occupying caves and
open grounds.
• The people of this era believed in life after death and hence they buried the dead with food items
and other goods.
• The characteristic tools of this era were microliths – the miniature stone tools usually made of
crypto-crystalline silica, chalcedony or chert, both of geometrical and non-geometrical shapes.
They were not only used as tools but were also used to make composite tools, spearheads,
arrowheads, and sickles after hafting them on wooden or bone handles. These microliths enabled
the Mesolithic man to hunt smaller animals and birds.
• The Mesolithic men started to wear clothes made of animal skin.
• The Mesolithic people were art lovers and initiated rock art. The subject matter of these paintings
was mostly wild animals and hunting scenes, dancing and food collection were also depicted in such
paintings. These rock paintings give an idea about the development of religious practices and also
reflect the division of labour on the basis of gender.
• The first human colonization of the Ganga Plains happened during this period.

Important Mesolithic Sites

• Bagor in Rajasthan is one of the biggest and best-documented Mesolithic sites in India. Bagor is on
river Kothari where microliths along with animal bones and shells have been excavated.
• Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh provides the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals.
• There are about 150 Mesolithic rock art sites across India, with a rich concentration in
Central India such as Bhimbetka caves (Madhya Pradesh), Kharwar, Jaora and Kathotia (M.P),
Sundargarh and Sambalpur (Odisha), Ezhuthu Guha (Kerala).
• Microliths have also been found in some valleys of river Tapi, Sabarmati, Narmada, and Mahi.

5
 MASTER UPSC
ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

• Langhnaj in Gujarat and Biharanpur in West Bengal are also important Mesolithic sites. Bones
of wild animals (rhinoceros, blackbuck, etc.) have been excavated from Langhnaj. Several human
skeletons and a large number of microliths have been recovered from these places.
• Though pottery is absent at most Mesolithic sites, they have been found in Langhnaj (Gujarat)
and in the Kaimur region of Mirzapur (U.P).

Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

The term Neolithic is derived from the Greek word ‘neo’ which means new and ‘lithic’ meaning stone.
Thus, the term Neolithic Age refers to the ‘New Stone Age’. It is also termed as ‘Neolithic revolution’ since
it introduced a lot of important changes in man’s social and economic life. The Neolithic age saw man
turning into a food producer from food gatherer.
Characteristic Features of the Neolithic Age

• Tools and Weapons – The people used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of
polished stones. The use of celts was especially important for ground and polished hand axes. They
also used tools and weapons made of bones – such as needles, scrapers, borers, arrowheads, etc. The
use of new polished tools made it easier for humans to cultivate, hunt and perform other activities
in a better manner.
• Agriculture – The people of the Neolithic age cultivated land and grew fruits and corn like ragi
and horse gram (kulati). They also domesticated cattle, sheep and goats.
• Pottery – With the advent of agriculture, people were required to store their food grains as well
as to cook, eat the product, etc. That’s why it is said that pottery appeared in this phase on a large
scale. The pottery of this period was classified under greyware, black-burnished ware, and mat
impressed ware. In the initial stages of the Neolithic age, handmade pottery was made but later on,
foot wheels were used to make pots.
• Housing and Settled Life – The people of Neolithic age lived in rectangular or circular
houses which were made of mud and reeds. Neolithic men also knew how to make boats and could
spin cotton, wool and weave cloth. The people of the Neolithic age led a more settled life and paved
the way for the beginning of civilization.
The neolithic people did not live far away from the hilly areas. They inhabited mainly the hilly river
valleys, rock shelters and the slopes of the hills, since they were entirely dependent on weapons and tools
made of stone.
Important Neolithic Sites

• Koldihwa and Mahagara (lying south of Allahabad) – This site provides evidence of circular
huts along with crude hand made pottery. There is also evidence of rice, which is the oldest
evidence of rice, not only in India but anywhere in the world.
• Mehrgarh (Balochistan, Pakistan) – The earliest Neolithic site, where people lived in houses built
of sun-dried bricks and cultivated crops like cotton and wheat.
• Burzahom (Kashmir) – The domestic dogs were buried along with their masters in their graves;
people lived in pits and used tools made of polished stones as well as bones.
• Gufkral (Kashmir) – This neolithic site is famous for pit dwelling, stone tools and graveyards in
houses.
• Chirand (Bihar) – The neolithic men used tools and weapons made of bones.
• Piklihal, Brahmagiri, Maski, Takkalakota, Hallur (Karnataka) – The people were cattle
herders. They domesticated sheep and goats. Ash mounds have been found.
• Belan Valley (which is located on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas and middle part of Narmada
valley) – All the three phases i.e., palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic ages are found in sequence.

6
 TO THE POINT NOTES – 2024 EDITION

MEDIEVAL HISTORY
SATISH CHANDRA

EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

FOR UPSC AND STATE PCS
1
Contents
MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY BY SATISH CHANDRA........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
NORTHERN INDIA .......................................................................................................................................... 3
THE CHOLA EMPIRE [9th To 12th Century] ................................................................................................... 7
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL LIFE, EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF.................................................................. 9
THE RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN THE 15TH & 16TH CENTURIES ................................................................ 15
AGE OF CONFLICT [9TH TO 12TH CENTURIES] ............................................................................................ 18
THE DELHI SULTANATE ................................................................................................................................ 25
ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL LIFE DURING DELHI SULTANATE ............................................... 40
THE AGE OF VIJAYNAGARA AND THE BAHAMANIDS .................................................................................. 45
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (13TH TO 15TH CENTURY)................................................................. 56
STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE IN NORTH INDIA (1525-1555) .............................................................................. 65
CONSOLIDATION OF MUGHAL EMPIRE (AGE OF AKBAR) ........................................................................... 70
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE UNDER MUGHAL .......................................................................................... 74
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS IN MUGHAL PERIOD ...................................................... 79
CLIMAX & DISINTEGRATION OF MUGHAL EMPIRE- 1 ................................................................................. 82
CLIMAX & DISINTEGRATION OF MUGHAL EMPIRE- 2 ................................................................................. 85
THE DECCAN & THE SOUTH (UPTO 1656) ................................................................................................... 88
THE MARATHA KINGDOM ........................................................................................................................... 91

2
 NORTHERN INDIA
The Medieval Indian History period lies between the 8th and the 18th century A.D. Ancient
Indian history came to an end with the rule of Harsha and Pulakesin II. The medieval period
can be divided into two stages:

• Early medieval period: 8th - 12th century A.D.

• Later Medieval period: 12th-18th century.

1. TRIPARTITE STRUGGLE FOR KANAUJ

(a) The Tripartite Struggle for Kanauj was between the Pratiharas of Central India, the Palas of
Bengal and the Rashtrakutas of Deccan.

(b) As all these three dynasties wanted to establish their supremacy over Kanauj and the fertile
Gangetic Valley.

(c) The Tripartite Struggle lasted for 200 years and weakened all of them which enabled the
Turks to overthrow them.

PALAS

(i) Gopala (765-769 A.D.)

(a) Founder of Pala Dynasty and he also restored order, o Ruled over Northern and Eastern
India.

(b) He expanded the Pala dynasty and extended his power over Magadha.

(ii) Dharmapala (769-815 A.D.)

(a) He is the son of Gopala and succeeded his father,

(b) He brought Bengal, Bihar, and Kanauj under his control,

(c) He defeated the Pratiharas and became the master of Northern India,

(d) He was a steadfast Buddhist and founded the famous Vikramasila University atop a hill near
Ganga in Magadh and several monasteries.

(e) He also restored the Nalanda University and set aside 200 villages for its expenses.

(f) had close cultural relations with Tibet and with the Sailendra dynasty.

(iii) Devapala (815-855 A.D.

(a) Devapala is the son of Dharmapala who succeeded his father.

(b) He kept the Pala territories intact.

3
(c) He captured Assam

(d) Orissa.

(iv) Mahipala (998-1038 A.D.)

(a) The Palas became powerful during his reign.

(b) The Pala dynasty declined after the death of Mahipala.

(v) Govinda Pala: He is the last Pala King.

PRATIHARAS

The Pratiharas were also called as Gurjara. They ruled between 8th and 11th century A.D.
over I northern and western India. Pratiharas: A fortification-The Pratiharas stood as a
fortification of India's defence against the hostility of the Muslims from the days of Junaid of
Sind (725.A.D.) to Mahmud of Ghazni.

Rulers:

(i) Nagabhatta I (725-740 A.D.)

Founder of the Pratihara dynasty with Kanauj as it's capital.

(ii) Vatsaraja and Nagabhatta II

Played a vital role in merging the empire.

(iii) Mihirabhoja

(a) The most powerful Pratihara king.

(b) During his period, the empire expanded from Kashmir to Narmada and from I Kathiawar to
Bihar.

(c) Was a devotee of Vishnu and took the title "Adivaraha".

(iv) Mahendrapala (885-908 A.D.)

(a) Son of Mihirabhoja, was also a powerful ruler.

(b) He extended his control over Magadha and North Bengal.

(v) Decline of the Pratiharas

(a) Rajyapala was the last Pratihara king.

(b) Vast empire was reduced to Kanauj.

4
(c) The Pratihara power began to decline after Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the I kingdom in
1018 A.D.

(d) After the decline of the Prathiharas their feudatories Palas, Tomars, Chauhans, Rathors,
Chandellas.

(e) Guhilas and Paramaras became independent rulers.

(f) There was complete anarchism in Bengal between 750-760 A.D.

(vi) Pratiharas were patrons of learning - Great poet Rajashekhar lived at court of Mahipala.
Bhoja's grandson. Al-Masudi visited Gujarat from Baghdad in 915 and tells about Pratihara
kingdom.

RASHTRAKUTAS

(i) Dantidurga: Founded the kingdom with capital at Malkhed (near Solapur). Dominated
northern Maharashtra.

(ii) Govinda III annexed Kanauj, Malwa and turned South and defeated Lankan rulers.

(iii) Amoghvarsha: preferred pursuit of literature and religion than that of war. Wrote first
Kannada book on poetics. Faced many rebellions in far-flung areas of empire. Empire weakened
hereafter.

(iv) Indra III: amoghvarsha's grandson (915-927) re-established it. Fie was the most powerful
ruler after death of Mahipala and sacking of Kanauj.

(v) Balhara or Vallabhraja: Al-Masudi says he was the greatest king of India and most Indian
rulers accepted his suzerainty.

(v) Krishna III (934-963) was the last ruler.

(vi) Rashtrakutas patronized Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Jainism. Rock-cut Shiva temple at
Ellora = Rashtrakuta king Krishna I. They were great patrons of arts and literature. Great
apabhramsha poet Svayambhu resided at Rashtrakuta court.

2. STRUGGLE FOR DOMINANCE

(i) Palas warred with Pratiharas for control over Banaras to South Bihar. Dharampal was
defeated by Rashtrakuta Dhruva and failed to consolidate power over Kanauj.

(ii) Pratiharas was revived under Nagabhatta II. Dharampal fell back and was killed.

(iii) Devapala diverted energies towards east and conquered parts of Assam, Orissa and Nepal.
Palas were restricted to east India more often than not.

5
(iv) Earlier pratihara rulers failed to control upper ganga valley and Malwa due to
Rashtrakutas, who defeated Pratiharas twice and later retreated to Deccan.

(v) Bhoja revived the pratiharas empire, recovered Kanauj in 836 and made it the capital for a
century. Went east but stopped by Devapala, went South for Malwa and Gujarat but stopped
by Rashtrakutas. Finally turned west and conquered till east bank of Sutlej. Had the best
cavalry with horses imported from central asia. Spread empire to east after death of Devapala.

(vi) Rashtrakuta king Indra III attacked Kanauj between 915 and 918 and weakened Pratiharas.
Gujarat also passed in Rashtrakuta hands. Loss of coast led to decline in revenues from sea
trade and led to dissolution of the pratiharas empire. Later rashtrakutas Fought constantly
with eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, Pallavas of Kanchi and Pandyas of Madurai.

(vii) Krishna lll(last rashtrakuta) Fought eastern chalukyas of Vengi and annexed northern part
of Chola empire, built a temple at Rameswaram. All opponents united after his death and
Malkhed was sacked and burnt in 972.

(viii) RASHTRAKUTA EMPIRE LASTED THE LONGEST. IT WAS NOT ONLY THE
MOST POWERFUL EMPIRE BUT ALSO ACTED AS BRIDGEBETWEEN NORTH AND
SOUTH.

3. POLITICAL IDEAS & ORGANIZATION

Administrative system was based on Gupta empire, Harsha's kingdom in the north and
Chalukyas in the Deccan.

ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

(i) King = head administrator and commander-in-chief of armed forces. Usually the eldest son
succeeded, younger sons were made provincial governors, brothers fought to gain throne.
Princesses were rarely appointed, but Chandrobalabbe, Amoghvarsha I's daughter,
administered Raichur doab for some time.

(ii) Kings were aided by ministers, who were also hereditary. There were ministers for foreign
affairs, revenue, treasurer, armed forces chief, chief justice and purohit. More than one post
could be combined. There were also officials of the household (antahpur).

(iii) Court was a centre of dispensing justice, policy making and cultural events. King's position
was hereditary. Wars were frequent.

(iv) Bearing arms for self-protection was the right of an individual, according to writer
Medhatithi.

(v) Territories were:

1. Directly administered and

6
2. Ruled by vassals.

TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS

PALAS & PRATIHARAS

(i) Bhukti (province) under Uparika (governor)

(ii) Mandala / Visaya (district) under Visayapati (head)

(iii) Pattala (unit for realization of land revenue and law and order)

Bhukti > Visaya > Pattala

IN RASHTRAKUTA EMPIRE

(i) Rashtra (province) under Rashtrapati

(ii) Visaya (dist) under Visayapati

(iii) Bhukti (unit for realization of land revenue and law and order)

Rashtra > Visaya > Bhukti

• VILLAGE was placed below these administrative units. Its administration was carried
out by village headman whose posts were hereditary. They were paid by rent-free land
grants.
• Headman was helped by village elders = gram-mahajan OR gram-Mahattara.
• Law and order responsibility = koshta-pala = kotwal
• Hereditary revenue officers in Deccan = nad-gavundas or desa-gramakutas.

THE CHOLA EMPIRE [9th To 12th Century]

1. RISE OF THE CHOLA EMPIRE

(i) Arose in 9th century. Developed large navy and conquered SL and Maldives. Climax in
South Indian history.

(ii) Founder = Vijayalaya, a feudatory of Pallavas. Captured Tanjore in 850. Pandyas and
Pallavas defeated by 9th cent. And Tamil land brought under control.

2. AGE OF RAJARAJA & RAJENDRA I

Rajaraja (985-1014)

7
(i) Rajaraja spread kingdom EVERYWHERE. Quilon, Madurai, parts of SL, Maldives, NW
parts of Ganga region in K'taka and Vengi.

(ii) Built many temples to commemorate victories. Famous = Rajarajeshwara temple @ Tanjore
completed in 1010. Long victory narratives inscribed on walls of the temples.

Rajendra I (1014-1044)

(i) Rajendra continued annexation: SL, Pandya and Chera countries totally overrun.

(ii) Exploits of Rajendra I: Marched across Kalinga, crossed Ganga and captured two kings =
assumed title Gangaikondachola and founded a city Gangaikondacholapuram on mouths I of
Kaveri. Captured Kadaram and parts of Malay peninsula by mounting an expedition on I
revived Sri Vijaya empire. Both had cordial relations but Cholas wanted to remove I barriers to
trade with Chinese and also increase trade.

Contemporaries

(i) Fought constantly with Chalukyas (not of Badami, but of Kalyani) over Vengi (Rayalseema),
Tungabhadra doab and NW Karnataka. Destroyed Pandya cities and SL I capital Anuradhapur.

(ii) However, once conquered, Cholas set up sound administration in these cities. Stressed on
local self-government.

(iii) The place of Cholas was taken by Pandyas & the Hoyasalas in the south

(iv) The later Chalukyas replaced by the Yadavas and Kakatiyas.

(v) Infighting amongst each other weakened them and ultimately they were destroyed by the
Sultans of Delhi.

3. CHOLA GOVERNMENT

(i) The king was the most important person in the administration. All decisions taken in by the
king but advised by the council of ministers.

(ii) Mandalams (provinces) → valanadu → Nadu

(iii) Built royal road for travel and movement of army.

(iv) Built wells for irrigation.

(v) Officers did elaborate surveys to fix land revenue.

(vi) In villages, ur = general assembly.

8
 TO THE POINT NOTES – 2024 EDITION

MODERN HISTORY
SPECTRUM

EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

FOR UPSC AND STATE PCS

1
Contents
ADVENT OF EUROPEANS ............................................................................................................................... 3
THE REVOLT OF 1857 .................................................................................................................................. 11
GENERAL FEATURES OF SOCIO-RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENTS ........................................................... 16
SOCIO-CULTURAL REFORM MOVEMENTS AND THEIR LEADERS ................................................................ 21
BEGINNING OF MODERN NATIONALISM IN INDIA ..................................................................................... 34
MODERATES VS EXTREMIST ........................................................................................................................ 35
ERA OF MILITANT NATIONALISM (1905-1909) ........................................................................................... 43
FIRST PHASE OF REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES (1907-1917) ....................................................................... 51
FIRST WORLD WAR & NATIONALIST RESPONSE.......................................................................................... 53
EMERGENCE OF GANDHI ............................................................................................................................ 57
EMERGENCE OF SWARAJISTS, SOCIALIST IDEAS, REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES & NEW FORCES................ 63
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT & KHILAFAT AANDOLAN....................................................................... 72
SIMON COMMISSION & THE NEHRU REPORT ............................................................................................ 76
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT & ROUND TABLE CONFERENCES .......................................................... 80
DEBATES ON THE FUTURE STRATEGY AFTER CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ............................................................ 93
QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT, DEMAND FOR PAKISTAN AND THE INA.............................................................. 97
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE IN INDIA................................................................................. 103
NATIONALIST RESPONSE IN THE WAKE OF WORLD WAR II ...................................................................... 107
DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN PRESS ............................................................................................................. 115
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION ................................................................................................................ 117
PEASANT MOVEMENTS 1857-1947 .......................................................................................................... 122
THE MOVEMENT OF THE WORKING CLASS............................................................................................... 126
TRIBAL REVOLTS ........................................................................................................................................ 129
CONGRESS RULES IN PROVINCES .............................................................................................................. 133
SURVEY OF BRITISH POLICIES IN INDIA ..................................................................................................... 135
CONSTITUTIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS ..................................................... 138

2
 ADVENT OF EUROPEANS
DISCOVERY OF A SEA ROUTE TO INDIA

✓ After the decline of the Roman Empire in the seventh century, the Arabs established
their domination in Egypt and Persia.
✓ Direct contact between the Europeans and India declined. The easy accessibility to
Indian commodities like spices, calicoes, silk, and various precious stones was greatly
affected.
✓ In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, and the Red Sea trade route was a
state monopoly from which Islamic rulers earned tremendous revenues.
✓ The Arabs also controlled land routes to India.
✓ Fifteenth-century spirit of the Renaissance in Europe. Prosperity also grew, and with it,
the demand for oriental luxury goods also increased.
✓ Prince Henry of Portugal, who was nicknamed the 'Navigator' Treaty of Tordesillas
(1494), rulers of Portugal and Spain divided the non-Christian world between them by
an imaginary line in the Atlantic, some 1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.
✓ Portugal could claim and occupy everything to the east of the line while Spain could
claim everything to the west.

FROM TRADING TO RULING

VASCO DA GAMA

✓ Vasco Da Gama, led by a Gujarati pilot named Abdul Majid, at Calicut in May 1498.
Ruler of Calicut -Zamorin (Samuthiri)-1498.
✓ Arab traders, who had a profitable business on the Malabar Coast. Participants in the
Indian Ocean —Indians, Arabs, Africans from the east coast, Chinese, and Javanese
dealt with Pedro Alvarez Cabral to trade for spices. After negotiating the Portuguese
established a factory at Calicut, where he arrived in September 1500.
✓ Vasco da Gama set up a trading factory at Cannanore, Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin
became the Portuguese's important trade centers.

FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA

✓ In 1505, the King of Portugal appointed a governor in India for a three-year term and
equipped the incumbent with sufficient force to protect the Portuguese interests.
✓ Francisco De Almeida, the newly appointed governor, was asked to consolidate the
Portuguese position in India and destroy Muslim trade by seizing Aden, Ormuz, and
Malacca. He was also advised to build fortresses at Anjadiva, Cochin, Cannanore, and
Kilwa.

ALFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE

✓ The real founder of the Portuguese power in the East.

3
 ✓ In East Africa, Portuguese strongholds off the Red Sea, at Ormuz, in Malabar, and at
Malacca.
✓ The principal port of the sultan of Bijapur became the first bit of Portuguese territory in
India.
✓ Nino da Cunha
✓ Nino da Cunha assumed the governor of Portuguese interests in India in November
1529 and almost one year later shifted the headquarters of the Portuguese government
in India from Cochin to Goa.
✓ Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, during his conflict with the Mughal emperor Humayun,
secured help from the Portuguese by ceding to them in 1534 the island of Bassein with
its dependencies and revenues. He also promised them a base in Diu.
✓ However, Bahadur Shah’s relations with the Portuguese became sour when Humayun
withdrew from Gujarat in 1536.

FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR PORTUGUESE

(i) Gujarat, ruled by the powerful Mahmud Begarha (1458-1511).

(ii) The Portuguese had cannons placed on their ships.

PORTUGUESE STATE

✓ Sixty miles of coast around Goa, The Portuguese established military posts and
settlements on the east coast at San Thome (in Chennai) and Nagapattinam (in Tamil
Nadu)
✓ Treaties were signed between Goa and the Deccan sultans in 1570
✓ The Portuguese always had a role to play in successive battles for the balance of power
between Vijayanagara and the Deccan sultans, between the Deccan and the Mughals,
and between the Mughals and the Marathas.

PORTUGUESE ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

✓ The Vedor da Fazenda, is responsible for revenues and the cargos and dispatch of fleets.
✓ Religious Policy of the Portuguese
✓ Intolerant toward the Muslims
✓ Zeal to promote Christianity
✓ Portuguese Lose Favor with the Mughals
✓ 1608, Captain William Hawkins with his ship Hector reached Surat. Jahangir appointed
him as a mansabdar of 400 at a salary of Rs 30,000.
✓ In November 1612, the English ship Dragon under Captain Best and a little ship, the
Osiander successfully fought a Portuguese fleet.

4
CAPTURE OF HOOGHLY

✓ Based on an imperial Farman circa 1579, the Portuguese had settled down on a
riverbank which was a short distance from Satgaon in Bengal and later migrated to
Hooghly.
✓ On June 24, 1632 - Hooghly was seized. Bengal governor becomes Qasim Khan.
✓ The decline of the Portuguese
✓ The emergence of powerful dynasties in Egypt, Persia, and North India and the rise of
the turbulent Marathas as their immediate neighbors.
✓ The union of the two kingdoms of Spain and Portugal in 1580-81, dragging the smaller
kingdom into Spain's wars with England and Holland, badly affected India's Portuguese
monopoly of trade.
✓ The religious policies of the Portuguese gave rise to political fears and, Dishonest trade
practices.
✓ They earned notoriety as sea pirates.
✓ Goa which remained with the Portuguese had lost its importance as a port after the
Vijayanagara empire's fall.
✓ Marathas invaded Goa-1683.
✓ Rise of dutch and English commercial ambitions.
✓ Diversion to the west due to the discovery of Brazil.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PORTUGUESE

✓ Marked the emergence of naval power.

✓ Portuguese ships carried cannons.
✓ The Portuguese onshore's significant military contribution was the system of drilling
groups of infantry, on the Spanish model, introduced in 1630.
✓ Masters of improved techniques at sea.

THE DUTCH-1596

Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutchman to reach Sumatra and Bantam in 1596.

DUTCH SETTLEMENTS

✓ The Dutch founded their first factory in Masulipatnam (in Andhra) in 1605.
✓ Captured Nagapatam near Madras (Chennai) from the Portuguese and made it their
main stronghold in South India.
✓ The Dutch established factories on the Coromandel coast, in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
Bengal, and Bihar.
✓ In 1609, they opened a factory in Pulicat, north of Madras. Their other principal
factories in India were at Surat (1616), Bimlipatam (1641), Karaikal (1645), Chinsura

5
 (1653), Baranagar, Kasimbazar (near Murshidabad), Balasore, Patna, Nagapatami 1658),
and Cochin (1663).
✓ They carried indigo manufactured in the Yamuna valley and Central India, textiles and
silk from Bengal, Gujarat, and the Coromandel, saltpetre from Bihar, and opium and
rice from the Ganga valley.

ANGLO-DUTCH RIVALRY

✓ This posed a severe challenge to the commercial interests of the Dutch by the English.
✓ The climax of the enmity between the Dutch and the English in the East was reached at
Amboyna (a place in present-day Indonesia, which the Dutch had captured from the
Portuguese in 1605) where they massacred ten Englishmen and nine Japanese in 1623.
✓ 1667- Dutch retired from India and moved to Indonesia.
✓ They monopolized the trade in black pepper and spices. The most important Indian
commodities the Dutch traded in were silk, cotton, indigo, rice, and opium.
✓ The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 AD facilitated the restoration of Dutch Coromandel
and Dutch Bengal to Dutch rule, but they were returned to British rule as a result of the
clause and provisions of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 AD.
✓ Which required the Dutch to ensure all property and establishment transfers until
March 1, 1825 AD.
✓ As a result, by the middle of 1825 AD, the Dutch had lost all of their commercial sites in
India.
✓ The obvious happened as a result of the compromise. In 1667 AD, all parties reached an
agreement in which the British committed to withdrawing fully from Indonesia in
exchange for the Dutch withdrawing from India to trade in Indonesia, based on a give-
and-take formula.

THE DECLINE OF THE DUTCH IN INDIA

✓ The Dutch got drawn into the trade of the Malay Archipelago.
✓ Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-74), links between Surat and the new English town of
Bombay were disrupted, resulting in the Dutch forces capturing three homebound
English ships in the Bay of Bengal.
✓ The English retaliation resulted in the defeat of the Dutch, in the battle of Hooghly
(November 1759), thereby ending Dutch ambitions in India.
✓ Their concerns were trade.
✓ Commercial interest lay in the Spice Islands of Indonesia.
✓ Battle of bedara-1759 the English defeated Dutch.

THE ENGLISH-1599
Charter of Queen Elizabeth I

6
 ✓ Francis Drake's voyage around the world in 1580 and the English victory over the
Spanish Armada in 1588. In 1599 'Merchant Adventurers' formed a company.
✓ On December 31, 1600, Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter with exclusive trading rights
to the company named the 'Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading
into the East Indies'.

FOOTHOLD IN WEST AND SOUTH

✓ In 1611, the English started trading at Masulipatnam on the southeastern coast of India
and later established a factory in 1616.
✓ Establish a factory at Surat under Thomas Aldworth-1613.
✓ In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe came as an accredited ambassador of James I to Jahangir's
court.
✓ Secure permission to set up factories at Agra, Ahmedabad, and Broach.
✓ Bombay had been gifted to King Charles II by the King of Portugal as a dowry when
Charles married the Portuguese princess Catherine in 1662. Bombay was given over to
the East India Company on an annual payment of ten pounds only in 1668.
✓ Bombay was made the headquarters by shifting the Western Presidency's seat from
Surat to Bombay in 1687.
✓ 'Golden Farman' was issued by the Sultan of Golconda in 1632. On payment of 500
pagodas a year, they earned the privilege of trading freely in the ports of Golconda.
✓ The British merchant Francis Day, in 1639 received from the ruler of Chandragiri
permission to build a fortified factory at Madras which later became Fort St. George
and replaced Masulipatnam as the headquarters of the English settlements in south
India.
✓ English extended their trading activities to the east and started factories at Hariharpur
in the Mahanadi delta and Balasore (in Odisha) in 1633.

FOOTHOLD IN BENGAL

✓ Shah Shuja, the subahdar of Bengal in 1651, allowed the English to trade in Bengal in
return for an annual payment of Rs 3,000.
✓ Factories in Bengal were started at Hooghly (1651) and other places like Kasimbazar,
Patna, and Rajmahal.
✓ William Hedges, the first agent and governor of the Company in Bengal and Shaista
Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal in August 1682.
✓ The English retaliated by capturing the imperial forts at Thana (modern Garden
Reach), raiding Hijli in east Midnapur, and storming the Mughal fortifications at
Balasore.
✓ On February 10, 1691, the English factory was established the day an imperial Farman
was issued permitting the English to "continue contentedly their trade-in Bengal" on
payment of Rs 3000 a year instead of all dues.

7
 ✓ In 1698, the English succeeded in getting permission to buy the zamindari of the three
villages of Sutanuti, Gobindapur, and Kalikata (Kalighat) on payment of Rs 1,200.
✓ The fortified settlement was named Fort William in the year 1700 when it also became
the seat of the eastern presidency (Calcutta) with Sir Charles Eyre as its first president.
✓ Farrukhsiyar’s Farmans
✓ In 1715, an English mission led by John Surman to the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar
secured three famous farmans, giving the Company many valuable privileges in Bengal,
Gujarat, and Hyderabad. The farmans thus obtained were regarded as the Magna Carta
of the Company.

Their important terms were:

(i) Company’s Exports and imports are exempted from customs duties except for the annual
payment of 3000 rupees in Bengal.

(ii) Issues of dastak (passes) for transportation.

(iii) East India Company was exempted from the levy of all duties in surat on an annual
payment of 10000.

(iv) The coins of the Company minted at Bombay were to have currency throughout the
Mughal empire.

Sir William Norris was its ambassador to the court of Aurangzeb (January 1701-April 1702).

Under pressure from the Crown and the Parliament, the two companies were amalgamated in
1708 under the title of 'United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies.

THE FRENCH-1667
FOUNDATION OF FRENCH CENTRES IN INDIA

✓ Louis XIV, the king’s famous minister Colbert, laid the Compagnie des Indes Orientals
(French East India Company) in 1664 the Compagnie des Indes Orientales was granted
a 50-year monopoly.
✓ In 1667, Francois Caron headed an expedition to India, setting up a factory in Surat.
Mercara, a Persian who accompanied Caron.
✓ Founded another French factory in Masulipatnam in 1669, In 1673 established a
township at Chandernagore near Calcutta.
✓ Pondicherry Nerve Centre of French Power in India
✓ In 1673, Sher Khan Lodi, the governor of Valikondapuram (under the Bijapur Sultan)
granted Francois Martin, the Masulipatnam factory director.
✓ Pondicherry was founded in 1674. And Caron became the French governor.
✓ Mahe, Karaikal, Balasore, and Qasim Bazar were a few important trading centers of the
French East India Company.

8
 ✓ Early Setbacks to the French East India Company

The Dutch captured Pondicherry in 1693.

✓ The Treaty of Ryswick concluded in September 1697 and restored Pondicherry to the
French, the Dutch garrison held on to it for two more years.
✓ Francois Martin died on December 31, 1706.
✓ In 1720, the French company was reorganized as the 'Perpetual Company of the Indies’.

THE ANGLO-FRENCH STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY: THE CARNATIC WARS

FIRST CARNATIC WAR (1740-48)

Background - Carnatic-Coromandel coast and its hinterland, Extension of the Anglo-French

War caused by the Austrian War of Succession.

Immediate cause - France retaliated by seizing Madras in 1746, Thus beginning the First
Carnatic War.

The result - The treaty of Aix-La Chapelle was signed bringing the Austrian War of
Succession to a conclusion.- Madras was handed back to the English. The French got their
territories in North America.

Significance - The First Carnatic War is remembered for the Battle of St. Thome (in Madras)
on the banks of the River Adyar fought between the French forces and the forces of Anwar-ud-
din, the Nawab of Carnatic, to whom the English appealed for help.

SECOND CARNATIC WAR (1749-54)

The background for the Second Carnatic War was provided by rivalry in India.

Cause -

(i) The opportunity was provided by the death of Nizam-ul-Mulk, the founder of the
independent kingdom of Hyderabad, in 1748, and the release of Chanda Sahib, the son-in-law of
Dost Ali, the Nawab of Carnatic, by the Marathas.

(ii) The French supported Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib's claims in the Deccan and
Carnatic, respectively, while the English sided with Nasir Jang and Anwar-ud-din.

During the course of the war

(i) The combined armies of Muzaffar Jang, Chanda Sahib, and the French defeated and killed
Anwarud- din at the Battle of Ambur (near Vellore) in 1749.

(ii) Muzaffar Jang became the subahdar of Deccan, and Dupleix was appointed governor of all
the Mughal territories to the south of the River Krishna.

9
 TO THE POINT NOTES – 2024 EDITION

ECONOMY
RAMESH SINGH

EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

FOR UPSC AND STATE PCS
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition

INDIAN ECONOMY BY RAMESH SINGH

EXCLUSIVE SUMMARY SHORT NOTES

Contents

EVOLUTION OF INDIAN ECONOMY ............................................................................................................... 2

ECONOMIC PLANNING .................................................................................................................................. 4
ECONOMIC REFORMS ................................................................................................................................... 6
INFLATION & BUSINESS CYCLE .................................................................................................................... 11
BUSINESS CYCLE AND INFLATION................................................................................................................ 17
INDIAN MONEY MARKET ............................................................................................................................ 19
BANKING IN INDIA....................................................................................................................................... 24
INSURANCE IN INDIA ................................................................................................................................... 44
SECURITY MARKET IN INDIA ........................................................................................................................ 50
EXTERNAL SECTOR IN INDIA ........................................................................................................................ 64
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS AND INDIA ........................................................................ 79
TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA............................................................................................................................ 86
SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE : INDIA AND THE WORLD ........................................................... 95
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA ............................................................................................................. 104

1
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition

EVOLUTION OF INDIAN ECONOMY

PRIME MOVING FORCE : AGRICULTURE VS. INDUSTRY :

• Every economy has to go for its development through exploitation of its natural and
human resources. There are priorities of objectives set by the economy which is
attempted to be realised in a proper time frame.
• The availability and non-availability of resources are not the only issues which make
an economy decide whether to opts for agriculture or industry as its prime moving
force.
• There are many more socio-political compulsions and objectives which play their
roles in such decision making.
• Given the available resource base it seems an illogical decision as India lacked all
those prerequisites which could suggest the declaration of industry as its prime
mover:
• Almost no presence of infrastructure sector, i.e., power, transportation and
communication. Negligible presence of the infrastructure industries, i.e., iron and
steel, cement, coal, crude oil, oil refining and electricity.

(i) Lack of investible capital—either by the government or the

(ii) Absence of required technology to support the process of industrialisation and no

research and development.

(iii) Lack of skilled manpower.

(iv) Absence of entrepreneurship among the people

(v) Absence of a market for industrial goods.

(vi) Many other socio-psychological factors which acted as negative forces for the proper
industrialisation of the economy.

The obvious choice for India would have been the agriculture sector as the prime moving
force of the economy because :

(i) The country was having the natural resource of fertile land which was fit for cultivation.

(ii) Human capital did not require any kind of higher training.

• There were many decisions which were taken under the influence of the main
political force of the times, still some very vital ones were influenced by the
visionary hunches of the political leadership mainly being J. L. Nehru. This is why

2
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
the economic thinking of independent India is considered and said to be nurtured by
Nehruvian Economics even today.
• Looking at the resources available, agriculture would have been the obvious choice
as the prime moving force (PMF) of the economy
• The dominant ideology around the world as well as in the WB and the IMF was in
favour of industrialisation as a means to faster growth, which could be translated
into faster development.
• The second World War has proved the supremacy of defence power. For defence a
country needs not only the support of science and technology, but also an industrial
base. India also required a powerful defence base for herself as a deterrent force.
• Even before Independence, there was a socio-economic consensus among social
scientists along with the nationalist leaders, that India needed a boost towards social
change as the country lagged behind in the areas of modernisation.
• By the time India got her independence the might of industrialisation was already
proven and there were no doubts regarding its efficacy.

As per the Planning Commission such a policy shift will solve the three major challenges
faced by the economy :

(i) Economy will be able to achieve food security with the increase in agricultural
production. Besides, the agricultural surplus will generate exports in the globalising world
economy benefiting out of the WTO regime.

(ii) The challenge of poverty alleviation will be solved to a great extent as the emphasis will
make agriculture a higher income-generating occupation and induce growth in the rural
economy by generating more gainful employment.

(iii) The situation of India as an example of 'market failure' will cease.

PLANNED AND MIXED ECONOMY

• India was constitutionally declared a federation of states, in the process of planning,

the authority of regulation, directing and undertaking economic activities got more
and more centralised in the Union government,
• The Great Depression of 1929 and the reconstruction challenges after the second
world War had made experts to conclude in favour of a state intervention in the
economy.
• It was the same time that the command economies (i.e., state economies) of the
soviet Union and the East European countries started making news about their
faster economic growth. In the 1950s and 1960s, the dominant view among
policymakers around the world was in favour of an active role of the state in the
economy.
• A dominant role for the state in the economy to neutralise market failure situations
was gaining ground around the world.

EMPHASIS ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR

3
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
• Infrastructural Needs : Every economy whether it is agrarian, industrial or post-
industrial, needs suitable levels of infrastructure such as power, transportation and
communication. Without their healthy presence and expansion, no economy can
grow and develop.
• Industrial Needs : India had opted for the industrial sector as its prime moving force.
• Employment Generation : The PSUs were also seen as an important part of the
employment generation strategy. A government in a democratic set up cannot think
only economics, but it has to realise the socio-political dimensions of the nation too.
The country was faced with the serious problem of poverty and the workforce was
increasing at a fast rate. Giving employment to the poor people is a time-tested tool
of poverty alleviation. The PSUs were thought to create enough jobs for the
employable workforce of the economy.
• Profit and Development of the Social Sector : The investment to be made by the
government in PSUs was in the nature of asset creation and these entities were to be
involved in production activities. It was natural for the government to gain control
over the profits and dividends accruing from them.
• Rise of the Private Sector : As the PSUs took the responsibility of supplying the
infrastructure and the basic industries to the economy, a base for the rise of private
sector industries was slowly established. With the rise of private sector industries in
the country, the process of industrialisation was thought to be completed. Out of the
many roles the PSUs were supposed to play, this was the most far-sighted.

ECONOMIC PLANNING
DEFINITION

• Planning is a process : It means planning is a process of doing something. Till we

have some goals and objectives left regarding our lives, the process might continue.
• Planning must have well-defined goals : After the Second World War. several
countries went for development planning. As these nations had enormous
socioeconomic hurdles, they first set some goals and objectives and then started
their process of realising them via planning.

Optimum utilisation of the available resources :

(i) The way of utilising the resources.

(ii) The idea of the natural resources which are available.

ORIGIN AND EXPANSION OF PLANNING

(i) Regional Planning :

• It was at the regional level that planning was used as a part of development policy
by any country for the first time.

4
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
• It was the USA which started the first regional planning after the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) was set up in 1916—for a large-scale rehabilitation in south-
eastern USA covering parts of seven states.
• With the primary aim of flood control, soil conservation and providing electricity,
the TVA/the regional plan was also involved in many related activities such as
industrial development, forestry, wildlife conservation, town planning, construction
of road and rail, encouraging sound agricultural practices and malaria control in the
defined region

(ii) National Planning :

• The official experiment in the area of national planning is rooted in the Bolshevik
Revolution of Russia (1917)—the Soviet Union.
• Dissatisfied with the pace of industrialisation, it was in 1928 that Joseph Stalin
announced its policy of central planning for the Soviet Union.
• The collectivisation of agriculture and forced-draft industrialisation were other
radical new policy initiatives announced by Stalin besides economic planning in
1928.
• The Soviet Union went for its first five y ear plan for the period 1928-33 and the
world was to have its first experience of national planning.
• The nature and scope of Soviet planning (called the Gosplan) will have its direct or
indirect bearings on all those countries which went for economic planning.

TYPES OF PLANNING

(i) Imperative Planning

• The planning process followed by the state economies (i.e., the socialist or
communist) is known as the imperative planning.
• Such planning is also called as directive or target planning. Such planning had two
main variants. In the socialist system, all economic decisions were centralised in the
hands of the state with collective ownership of resources (except labour).

Basic features of such planning are as under :

(i) Numerical (i.e., quantitative) targets of growth and development are set by the plan.

(ii) As the state controls the ownership rights over the resources, it is very much possible to
realise the above-cited planned targets.

(iii) Almost no role for the market, no price mechanism with all economic decisions to be
taken in the centralised way by the state/government.

(iv) No private participation in the economy, only the state plays the economic role.

(ii) Indicative Planning

5
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
After the soviet planning commenced, the idea of planning got attention from the
democratic world, neither state economies nor communist/socialist political systems, the
nature of their planning was different from the command economies. Such planning has
been termed as indicative planning by economists and experts.

The identifying features of indicative planning may be summed up as under :

(i) Every economy following the indicative planning were mixed economies.

(ii) Unlike a centrally planned economy indicative planning works through the market
(price system) rather than replaces it.

(iii) Side by side setting numerical/quantitative targets a set of economic policies of

indicative nature is also announced by the economies to realise the plan targets.

(iv) The indicative nature of economic policies, which are announced in such planning,
basically encourage or discourage the private sector in its process of economic decision
making.

NITI Aayog

• In January 2015, the Government of India replaced the erstwhile body, Planning
Commission, by the NITI Aayog.
• The functions and guiding principles of the new body we come to know that India
has officially moved towards normative planning—the new body has to follow a
development model which is 'all round, all pervasive, all inclusive and holistic'.
• In this process the NITI Aayog has been further asked to enable the country to draw
on the vitality and energy of the bedrock of our ethos, culture and sustenance

ECONOMIC REFORMS
PLANNING MODEL

• Till the rise of the Soviet Union, the prevalent development strategy in the Euro-
American countries was the capitalist system of economy, which promoted the
principles of laissez-faire and dominant role for private capital in the economy.
• Once the Soviet Union went for the planning model most of the developing
countries after their independence were influenced by socialism and the governments
there took a central role in planned development.
• As these economies were dominated by foreign colonisers, they worried that opening
the economy to foreign investment would lead to a new form of domination, the
domination by large multinationals.

WASHINGTON CONSENSUS

6
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
• By the early 1980s, a new development strategy emerged. Though it was not new, it
was like the old idea getting vindicated after failure of a comparatively newer idea.
• After the world recognised the limits of a state-dominated economy, arguments in
favour of the market, i.e., the private sector, was promoted emphatically.
• Many countries shifted their economic policy just to the other extreme arguing for a
minimal role of the government in the economy. Governments of the socialist or the
planned economies were urged/suggested to privatise and liberalise, to sell off state-
owned companies and eliminate government interventions in the economy.
• These governments were also suggested to take measures which could boost the
aggregate demand in the economy (i.e., macroeconomic stability measures).
• The broad outlines of such a development strategy were regarded as being inspired
by the Washington Consensus.

MIXED ECONOMY

• By the mid-1990s, it had become increasingly clear that neither of the extremes—the
Washington Consensus or the state-led planned economy—were the ultimate
strategies of development.
• The success achieved by the East Asian economies even if we take into account their
setback due to the financial crisis of 1997-98, stands out in marked contrast to the
experiences of other economies of the time who were following the Washington
Consensus.
• The East Asian economies have not only been able to propel higher growth rates,
but they have been greatly successful in reducing poverty, promoting education and
healthcare, etc.

ECONOMIC REFORMS IN INDIA

• On July 23,1991, India launched a process of economic reforms in response to a fiscal

and balance- of-payment (BoP) crisis.
• The reforms were historic and were going to change the very face and the nature of
the economy in the coming times.
• The reforms and the related programmes are still going on with changing emphasis
and dimensions, but they are criticised as being slow ever since the UPA
Government came to power in May 2004.
• Back in the mid-1980s, the governments had taken its first steps to economic
reforms.
• While the reforms of the 1980s witnessed rather limited deregulation and 'partial
liberalisation of only a few aspects of the existing control regime, the reforms started
in early 1990s in the fields of industries, trade, investment and later to include
agriculture, were much 'wider and deeper'.

OBLIGATORY REFORM

7
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
• Similar reform process started by some other economies since the 1980s were
voluntary decisions of the concerned countries. But in the case of India it was an
involuntary decision taken by the government of the time in the wake of the BoP
crisis.
• Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme of the IMF, countries get
external currency support from the fund to mitigate their BoP crisis, but such
supports have some obligatory conditionalities put on the economy to be fulfilled.
• There are no set rules of such conditions already available with the IMF, though
they are devised and prescribed to the BoP-crisis-ridden economy at the time of
need.
• The masses were convinced that the government has bowed down to the diktats of
the IMF, the imperialist forces, the multinationals, etc.
• The politics of economic reforms damaged India more than the reform has benefitted
the country. It would not be an exaggeration if we conclude that economic reforms
had no political consensus.
• There was enough scope for the critics to criticise India's economic reforms as
prescribed and dictated by the IMF. The process of economic reforms in India had to
face severe criticism from almost every quarter of the economy concerned, although
the reforms were aimed to boost growth and deliver competitiveness to the
economy.

REFORM MEASURES

1. Macroeconomic Stabilisation Measures : It includes all those economic policies which

intend to boost the aggregate demand in the economy — be it domestic or external. For the
enhanced domestic demand, the focus has to be on increasing the purchasing power of the
masses, which entails an emphasis on the creation o f gainful and quality employment
opportunities.

2. Structural Reform Measures : It includes all the policy reforms which have been initiated
by the government to boost the aggregate supply of goods and services in the economy. It
naturally entails unshackling the economy so that it may search for its own potential of
enhanced productivity.

The LPG

• The process of reforms in India has to be completed via three other processes
namely, liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation , known popularly by theirshort-
form, the LPG.
• These three processes specify the characteristics of the reform process India
initiated.

LIBERALISATION

8
 MASTER
INDIAN ECONOMY
School of UPSC - To the Point Notes 2024 UPSC
Edition
• The term liberalisation has its origin in the political ideology 'liberalism', which took
its form by early nineteenth century.
• The term is sometimes portrayed as a meta-ideology capable of embracing abroad
range of rival values and beliefs.
• The ideology was the product of the break down of feudalism and the growth of a
market or capitalist society in its place, which became popular in economics via the
writings of Adam Smith (its founding father in the USA) and got identified as a
principle of laissez-faire.
• He process of decreasing traits of a state economy and increasing traits of a market
economy is liberalisation.
• In the Indian case the term liberalisation is used to show the direction of the
economic reforms— with decreasing influence of the state or the planned or the
command economy and increasing influence of free market or the capitalistic
economy.

PRIVATISATION

• The policies through which the 'roll back' of the state was done included
deregulation, privatisation and introduction of market reforms in public services.
• Privatisation at that time was used as a process under which the state assets were
transferred to the private sector.
• The root of the term privatisation goes to this period which got more and more
currency around the world once the East Europe an nations and later the developing
democratic nations went for it.
• But during the period several connotations and meanings of the term 'privatisation'
have developed.

GLOBALISATION

• The process of Globalisation has always been used in economic terms though it has
always taken the political and cultural dimensions.
• Once economic changes occur it has several socio-political manifestations.
Globalisation is generally termed as 'an increase in economic integration among
nations'.
• Even before several nation-states were not even born, the countries around the
world had gone for globalisation, i.e., 'a closer integration of their economies'. This
globalisation lasted from 1800 to almost 1930, interrupted by the Great Depression
and the two Wars which led to retrenchment and several trade barriers were erected
since early 1930s.
• The concept was popularised by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) in the mid-1980s again after the Wars,
• The organisation had defined globalisation in a very narrow and business-like sense—
'any cross-border investment by an OECD company outside its country of origin for
its benefit is globalisation'.

9
ENVIRONMENT
SHANKAR IAS

EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES

FOR UPSC AND STATE PCS
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

Contents
ECOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 2
ECOTONE................................................................................................................................................. 5
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM ..................................................................................................................... 13
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM ........................................................................................................................... 21
ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION .................................................................................................................. 30
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES...................................................................................................................... 42
BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................................................................................ 52
WILDLIFE OF INDIA ................................................................................................................................ 59
BIODIVERSITY HOT SPOTS ..................................................................................................................... 64
AGRICULTURE ....................................................................................................................................... 70
CLIMATE CHANGE ................................................................................................................................. 77
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE .............................................................................................................. 81
MITIGATION STRATERGIES.................................................................................................................... 83
OZONE DEPLETION ................................................................................................................................ 85
CLIMATE CHANGE ORGANIZATIONS ..................................................................................................... 87
ENVIRONMENT ISSUES AND HEALTH EFFECTS ..................................................................................... 92
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ..................................................................................................... 97
ACT AND POLICIES ............................................................................................................................... 100
INSTITUTIONS AND MEASURES........................................................................................................... 104
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONVENTION ............................................................................. 109

1
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

ECOLOGY
INTRODUCTION

• Ecology is defined as a scientific study of the relationship of the living organisms with each
other and with their environment.
• It deals with the ways in which organisms are moulded by their environment, how they
make use of environmental resources including energy flow and mineral cycling.

HISTORY OF ECOLOGY

• The classical texts of the Vedic period such as the Vedas, the Samhitas, the Brahmanas the
Aranyakas - Upanishads contain many references to ecological concepts.
• The Indian treatise on medicine, the Caraka - Samhita and the surgical text Susruta -
Samhita.
• Contain classification of animals on the basis of habit and habitat, land in terms of nature of
the soil, climate and vegetation and description of plants typical to various localities.
• Caraka- Samhita contains information where air, land, water and seasons were indispensable
for life and that polluted air and water were injurious for health.

COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

Abiotic - Energy, Radiation, Temperature, Water, etc.

Biotic - Plants, Animals, Man, Decomposer, etc.

LEVELS OF ORGANISATIONS IN ECOLOGY

The main levels of organisation of ecology are six and are as follows:

1. Individual

Individual-Organism is an individual living being that has the ability to act or function
independently.

2. Population

Population-Population is a group of organisms usually of the same species, occupying a defined area
during a specific time.

3. Community

Communities in most instances are named after the dominant plant form (species). A community is
not fixed or rigid; communities may be large or small.

TYPES OF COMMUNITY

On the basis of size and degree of relative independence, communities may be divided into two types.

Major Community: These are large-sized, well organized and relatively independent. They depend
only on the sun's energy from outside and are independent of the inputs and outputs from adjacent
Communities.

Example: Tropical evergreen forest in the North-East.

2
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

Minor Communities: These are dependent on neighbouring communities and are often called
societies. They are secondary aggregations within a major community and are not therefore
completely independent units as far as energy and nutrient dynamics are concerned.

Example: A mat of lichen on a cow dung pad.

4. ECO-SYSTEM

An ecosystem is defined as a structural and functional unit of biosphere consisting of community of

living beings and the physical environment, both interacting and exchanging materials between
them.

It includes plants, trees, animals, fish, birds, micro-organisms, water, soil, and people. When an
ecosystem is healthy (i.e. sustainable) it means that all the elements live in balance and are capable of
reproducing themselves.

COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM

The components of the ecosystem is categorised into abiotic of nonliving and biotic of living
components. Both the components of ecosystem and environment are same.

(a) Abiotic Components: The inorganic and non-living parts of the world. Consists of soil, water,
air, and light energy etc. Involves a large number of chemicals like oxygen, nitrogen, etc. and
physical processes including volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, forest fires, climates, and weather
conditions.

Abiotic factors are the most important determinants of where and how well an organism exists in its
environment. Although these factors Interact with each other, one single factor can-limit the range
of an organism.

Energy - Energy from the sun is essential for the maintenance of life. Energy determines the
distribution of organisms in the environment.

Temperature - Temperature is a critical factor of the environment which greatly influences survival
of organisms, Organisms can tolerate only a certain range of temperature and humidity.

Atmosphere - It is made up of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, 0.038% carbon dioxide and Other inert
gases (0.93% Argon, Neon etc).

Substratum - Land is covered by soil and a wide variety of microbes, protozoa, fungi and small
animals invertebrates) thrive in it.

Materials

(i) Organic compound - Such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, humic substances are formed from
inorganic compound on decomposition.

(ii) Inorganic compound - Such as carbon, carbon dioxide, water, sulphur, nitrates, phosphates, and
ions of various metals are essential for organisms to survive.

Latitude and altitude - Latitude has a strong influence on an area's temperature, resulting in
change of climates such as polar, tropical, and temperate. These climates determine different natural
biomes. From sea level to highest peaks, wildlife is influenced by altitude. As the altitude increases,

3
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

the air becomes colder and drier, affecting wildlife accordingly. (wildlife decrease as altitude
increase).

(b) Biotic Components: Biotic components include living organisms comprising plants, animals and
microbes and are classified according to their functional attributes into producers and consumers.

PRIMARY PRODUCERS

Autotrophs (self-nourishing), primary producers are basically green plants (and certain bacteria and
algae). They synthesise carbohydrate from simple inorganic raw materials like carbon dioxide and
water in the presence of sunlight by the process of photosynthesis for themselves, and supply
indirectly to other non-producers. In terrestrial ecosystem, producers are basically herbaceous and
woody plants, while in aquatic ecosystem producers are various species of microscopic algae.

CONSUMERS

Heterotrophs or phagotrophs (other nourishing) consumers are incapable of producing their own
food (photosynthesis). They depend on organic food derived from plants, animals or both.
Consumers can be divided into two broad groups.

(i) Macro consumers - They feed on plants or animals or both and are categorised on the basis of
their food sources.

» Herbivores are primary consumers which feed mainly on plants. Example: cow, rabbit.

» Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers. Example: wolves.

» Carnivores which feed on secondary consumers are called tertiary consumers. Example: lions
which can eat wolves.

» Omnivores are organisms which consume both plants and animals. Example: man.

(ii) Micro consumers - Saprotrophs (decomposers or osmotrophs)

They are bacteria and fungi which obtain energy and nutrients by decomposing dead organic
substances (detritus) of plant and animal origin. The products of decomposition such as inorganic
nutrients which are released in the ecosystem are reused by producers and thus recycled.
Earthworm and certain soil organisms (such as nematodes, and arthropods) are detritus feeders and
help in the decomposition of organic matter and are called detritivores.

4
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

ECOTONE
• A zone of junction between two or more diverse ecosystems.
• Example: The mangrove forests represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial
ecosystem.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOTONE

• It may be very narrow or quite wide. It has the conditions intermediate to the adjacent
ecosystems. Hence it is a zone of tension.
• It is linear as it shows progressive increase in species composition of one in coming
community and a simultaneous decrease in species of the other out going adjoining
community.
• Well-developed ecotones contain some organisms which are entirely different from that of
the adjoining communities.
• Sometimes the number of species and the population density of some of the species is much
greater in this zone than either community. This is called edge effect.
• Example: The density of birds is greater in the mixed habitat of the ecotone between the
forest and the desert.

NICHE

A description of all the biological, physical and chemical factors that a species needs to survive, stay
healthy and reproduce.

No two species have exact identical niches. Niche plays an important role in the conservation of
organisms.

TYPES OF NICHE:

Habitat niche where it lives.

Food niche - What it eats or decomposes & what species it competes with

Reproductive niche - How and when it reproduces.

Physical & chemical niche - Temperature, land shape, land slope, humidity & other requirements.

5. BIOME

The terrestrial part of the biosphere is divisible into enormous regions called biomes, which are
characterized, by climate, vegetation, animal life and general soil type.

No two biomes are alike. The most important climatic factors are temperature and precipitation.

(a) Tundra

• Northernmost region adjoining the ice-bound poles. Devoid of trees except stunted shrubs
in the southern part of tundra biome, ground flora includes lichen, mosses and sedges.
• The typical animals are reindeer, arctic fox, polar bear, snowy owl, lemming, arctic hare, and
ptarmigan. Reptiles and amphibians are almost absent.
• Taiga - Northern Europe, Asia and North America. Moderate temperature than the tundra.
Also known as boreal forest.

5
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

• The dominating vegetation is coniferous evergreen mostly spruce, with some pine and firs.
• The fauna consists of small seed-eating birds, hawks, fur-bearing carnivores, little mink,
elks, puma, Siberian tiger, wolverine, wolves etc.

(b) Temperate Deciduous Forest

• Extends over Central and Southern Europe, Eastern North America, Western China, Japan,
New Zealand etc. Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Moderate average temperature and abundant rainfall. These are generally the most
productive agricultural areas of the earth.
• The flora includes trees like beech, oak, maple and cherry. Most animals are the familiar
vertebrates and invertebrates.

(c) Tropical rain forest

• Tropical areas in the equatorial regions, which is a bound with life. Temperature and rainfall
high. Tropical rainforest covers about 7% of the earth's surface & 40% of the world’s plant
and animal species.
• Multiple stories of broad-leafed evergreen tree species are in abundance.
• Most animals and epiphytic plants (An epiphyte is a plant that grows harmlessly upon
another plant) are concentrated in the canopy or treetop zones.

(d) Savannah

Tropical region: Savannah is most extensive in Africa Grasses with scattered trees and fire-
resisting thorny shrubs. The fauna includes a great diversity of grazers and browsers such as
antelopes, buffaloes, zebras, elephants and rhinoceros; the carnivores include lion, cheetah, hyena
and mongoose, and many rodents.

(e) Grassland - North America, Ukraine, etc. Dominated by grasses.

Temperate conditions with rather low rainfall.

Grasses dominate the vegetation. The fauna include large herbivores like bison, antelope, cattle,
rodents, prairie dog, wolves, and a rich and diverse array of ground-nesting birds.

DESERT

Continental interiors with very low and sporadic rainfall with low humidity.

The days are very hot but nights are cold.

The flora is drought resistance vegetation such as cactus, euphorbias, sagebrush.

Fauna: Reptiles, Mammals and birds.

AQUATIC ZONES

Aquatic systems are not called biomes, The major differences between the various aquatic zones are
due to salinity, levels of dissolved nutrients; water temperature, depth of sunlight penetration.

Fresh Water Ecosystem - Freshwater ecosystem are classified as lotic (moving water) or lentic (still
or stagnant water).

6
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

MARINE ECOSYSTEM

Estuaries - Coastal bays, river mouths and tidal marshes form the estuaries

(i) In estuaries, fresh water from rivers meet ocean water and the two are mixed by action of tides.

(ii) Estuaries are highly productive as compared to the adjacent river or sea.

6. BIOSPHERE

• A part of the earth where life can exist represents a highly integrated and interacting zone
comprising of the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water) and lithosphere (land).Shankar IAS
Summary: Ecology
• Life in the biosphere is abundant between 200 metres (660 feet) below the surface of the
Ocean and about 6,000 metres (20,000 feet) above sea level.
• Absent at extremes of the North and South poles. Living organisms are not uniformly
distributed throughout the biosphere.

FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

Energy Flow

Energy is the basic force responsible for all metabolic activities. The flow of energy from producer
to top consumers is called energy flow which is unidirectional.

Energy flows through the trophic levels: from producers to subsequent Trophic levels.

There is a loss of some energy in the form of unusable heat at each trophic level.

The trophic level interaction involves three concepts:

1. Food Chain - A food chain starts with producers and ends with top carnivores. The sequence of
eaten and being eaten produces transfer of food energy and it is known as food chain.

Grazing food chain - The consumers which start the food chain, utilising the plant or plant part as
their food, constitute the grazing food chain. This food chain begins from green plants at the base
and the primary consumer is herbivore.

Example:

(i) In terrestrial ecosystem, grass is eaten up by caterpillar, which is eaten by lizard and lizard is
eaten by snake.

(ii) In Aquatic ecosystem, phytoplankton’s (primary producers) is eaten by zooplanktons which is

eaten by fishes and fishes are eaten by pelicans.

Detritus food chain - The food chain starts from dead organic matter of decaying animals and plant
bodies to the micro-organisms and then to detritus feeding organism called detritivores or
decomposer and to other predators.

Example: Litter - Earthworms - Chicken - Hawk

2. Food Web: A food web illustrates, all possible transfers of energy and nutrients among the
organisms in an ecosystem, whereas a food chain traces only one pathway of the food.

7
 School
ENVIRONMENT EXCLUSIVE SHORT NOTES
EN Of UPSC

3. Ecological Pyramid

The steps of trophic levels expressed in a diagrammatic way are referred to as ecological pyramids.

The food producer forms the base of the pyramid and the top carnivore forms the tip. Other
consumer trophic levels are in between.

The pyramid consists of a number of horizontal bars depicting specific trophic levels which are
arranged sequentially from primary producer level through herbivore, carnivore onwards.

Length of each bar represents the total number of individuals at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

The Ecological Pyramids are of three categories

1. Pyramid of numbers.
2. Pyramid of biomass.
3. Pyramid of energy or productivity.

(a) Pyramid of Numbers

This deals with the relationship between the numbers of primary producers and consumers of
different levels. Depending upon the size and biomass, the pyramid of numbers may not always be
upright, and may even be completely inverted.

(i) Pyramid of numbers- Upright

In this pyramid, the number of individuals is decreased from lower level to higher trophic level. This
type of pyramid can be seen in grassland ecosystem.

(ii) Pyramid of numbers - Inverted

In this pyramid, the number of individuals is increased from lower level to higher trophic level. A
count in a forest would have a small number of large producers.

Few numbers of big trees. This is because the tree (primary producer) being few in number and
would represent the base of the pyramid and the dependent herbivores (Example - Birds) in the next
higher trophic level and it is followed by parasites in the next trophic level. Hyper parasites being at
higher trophic level represents higher in numbers.

A pyramid of numbers does not take into account the fact that the size of organisms being counted
in each trophic level can vary the pyramid of number does not completely define the trophic
structure for an ecosystem.

(b) Pyramid of Biomass

In this approach individuals in each trophic level are weighed instead of being counted. This gives us
a pyramid of biomass, i.e., the total dry weight of all organisms at each trophic level at a particular
time. Biomass is measured in g/m2.

Upward pyramid - For most ecosystems on land, the pyramid of biomass has a large base of
primary producers with a smaller trophic level perched on top.

Inverted pyramid - In contrast, in many aquatic ecosystems, the pyramid of biomass may assume an
inverted form.