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SECTION III: SYLLABI FOR THE EXAMINATION

Note: Candidates are advised to go through the Syllabus published in this Section for the Preliminary
Examination and the Main Examination, as periodic revision of syllabus has been done in several subjects.

Part A—Preliminary Examination

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

 Current events of national and international importance.

 History of India and Indian National Movement.
 Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
 Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights
Issues, etc.
 Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social
Sector Initiatives, etc.
 General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require
subject specialization.
 General Science.

Paper II-(200 marks) Duration : Two hours

 Comprehension;
 Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
 Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
 Decision making and problem solving;
 General mental ability;
 Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data
interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level);
Note 1 : Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with
minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
Note 2 : The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

Note 3 : It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim)
Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does
not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Part B—Main Examination

The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding
of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory.

The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such
that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will
be such as to test a candidate’s general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a
career in Civil Services. The questions are likely to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant
issues, and ability to analyze, and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands.
The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers.

Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is
broadly of the honours degree 1evel i.e. a level higher than the bachelors’ degree and lower than the masters’
degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelors’ degree.

Syllabi of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows :—

QUALIFYING PAPERS ON INDIAN LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH

The aim of the paper is to test the candidates' ability to read and understand serious discursive prose,
and to express ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian language concerned.

The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows :

(i) Comprehension of given passages.

(ii) Precis Writing.

(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.

(iv) Short Essays.

Indian Languages :—

(i) comprehension of given passages.

(ii) Precis Writing.

(iii) Usage and Vocabulary.

(iv) Short Essays.

(v) Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.

Note 1 : The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and
will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.

Note 2 : The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the
respective Indian language (except where translation is involved).

PAPER-I

Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely
to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be
given for effective and exact expression.

PAPER-II

General Studies-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.

 Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to
modern times.

 Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant
events, personalities, issues.

 The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different
parts of the country.

 Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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 History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars,
redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism,
capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.

 Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

 Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and
developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

 Effects of globalization on Indian society.

 Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

 Salient features of world’s physical geography.

 Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-
continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in
various parts of the world (including India).

 Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,
geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies
and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

PAPER-III

General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.

 Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions

and basic structure.

 Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the
federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

 Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.

 Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

 Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges
and issues arising out of these.

 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and
Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the
Polity.

 Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

 Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various

Constitutional Bodies.

 Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.

 Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and
associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.

 Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the

Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection
and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,

Education, Human Resources.

 Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

 Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models,

successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional
and other measures.

 Role of civil services in a democracy.

 India and its neighborhood- relations.

 Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s
interests.

 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian
diaspora.

 Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

PAPER-IV

General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and
Disaster Management

 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and
employment.

 Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

 Government Budgeting.

 Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, - different types of irrigation and
irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related
constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

 Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution
System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security;
Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.

 Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and
downstream requirements, supply chain management.

 Land reforms in India.

 Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial
growth.

 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

 Investment models.

 Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

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 Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new
technology.

 Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues
relating to intellectual property rights.

 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

 Disaster and disaster management.

 Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

 Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

 Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking
sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.

 Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism.

 Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

PAPER-V

General Studies- IV: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

 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.

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Nutrition, nutritional diseases/diorders and Nutrition Programmes.

Health information Collection, Analysis and Presentation.

Objectives, components and critical analysis of National programmes for control/eradication of :

Malaria, Kala-azar, Filaria and Tuberculosis,

HIV/AIDS, STDs and Dengue.

Critical appraisal of Health care delivery system.

Health management and administration; Techniques, Tools, Programme Implementation and Evaluation.

Objectives, Components, Goals and Status of Reproductive and Child Health, National Rural Health Mission
and Millennium Development Goals.

Management of hospital and industrial waste.

PHILOSOPHY

PAPER-I

History and Problems of Philosophy

1. Plato and Aristotle : Ideas; Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality.

2. Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz); Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance;
God; Mind-Body Dualism; Determinism and Freedom.

3. Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume) : Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God;
Scepticism.

4. Kant: Possibility of Synthetic a priori Judgments; Space and Time; Categories; Ideas of Reason;
Antinomies; Critique of Proofs for the Existence of God.

5. Hegel : Dialectical Method; Absolute Idealism.

6. Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein : Defence of Commonsense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical
Atomism; Logical Constructions; Incomplete Symbols; Picture Theory of Meaning; Sying and Showing.

7. Logical Positivism : Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics; Linguistic Theory of

Necessary Propositions.

8. Later Wittgenstein : Meaning and Use; Language-games; Critique of Private Language.

9. Phenomenology (Husserl): Method; Theory of Essences; Avoidance of Psychologism.

10. Existentialism (Kierkegaard, Sarte, Heidegger): Existence and Essence; Choice, Responsibility and
Authentic Existence; Being-in-the-world and Temporality.

11. Quine and Strawson : Critique of Empiricism; Theory of Basic Particulars and Persons.

12. Carvaka : Theory of Knowlegde; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.

13. Jainism : Theory of Reality; Saptabhanginaya; Bondage and Liberation.

14. Schools of Buddhism : Prat Ityasamutpada; Ksanikavada, Nairatmyavada.

15. Nyaya—Vaiesesika : Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramana; Self, Liberation;
God; Proofs for the Existence of God; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.

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16. Samkhya; Prakrit; Purusa; Causation; Liberation.

17. Yoga; Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya.

18. Mimamsa: Theory of Knowlegde.

19. Schools of Vedanta : Brahman; Isvara; Atman; Jiva; Jagat; Maya; Avida; Adhyasa; Moksa;
Aprthaksiddhi; Pancavidhabheda.

20. Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.

PAPER-II

Socio-Political Philosophy

1. Social and Political ldeals : Equality, Justice, Liberty.

2. Sovereignty : Austin, Bodin, Laski, Kautilya.

3. Individual and State : Rights; Duties and Accountability.

4. Forms of Government : Monarchy; Theocracy and Democracy.

5. Political Ideologies: Anarchism; Marxism and Socialism.

6. Humanism; Secularism; Multi-culturalism.

7. Crime and Punishment : Corruption, Mass Violence, Genocide, Capital Punishment.

8. Development and Social Progress.

9. Gender Discrimination : Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights; Empowerment.

10. Caste Discrimination : Gandhi and Ambedkar.

Philosophy of Religion

1. Notions of God : Attributes; Relation to Man and the World. (Indian and Western).

2. Proofs for the Existence of God and their Critique (Indian and Western).

3. Problem of Evil.

4. Soul : Immortality; Rebirth and Liberation.

5. Reason, Revelation and Faith.

6. Religious Experience : Nature and Object (Indian and Western).

7. Religion without God.

8. Religion and Morality.

9. Religious Pluralism and the Problem of Absolute Truth.

10. Nature of Religious Language : Analogical and Symbolic; Cognitivist and Non-cognitive.

PHYSICS

PAPER-I

1. (a) Mechanics of Particles :

Laws of motion; conservation of energy and momentum, applications to rotating frames, centripetal
and Coriolis accelerations; Motion under a central force; Conservation of angular momentum, Kepler’s laws;
Fields and potentials; Gravitational field and potential due to spherical bodies, Gauss and Poisson

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Basic nuclear properties-size, binding energy, angular momentum, parity, magnetic moment; Semi-
empirical mass formula and applications. Mass parabolas; Ground state of a deuteron, magnetic moment
and non-central forces; Meson theory of nuclear forces; Salient features of nuclear forces; Shell model of
the nucleus - success and limitations; Violation of parity in beta decay; Gamma decay and internal
conversion; Elementary ideas about Mossbauer spectroscopy; Q-value of nuclear reactions; Nuclear fission
and fusion, energy production in stars. Nuclear reactors.

Classification of elementary particles and their interactions; Conservation laws; Quark structure of
hadrons : Field quanta of electroweak and strong interactions; Elementary ideas about unification of forces;
Physics of neutrinos.

4. Solid State Physics, Devices and Electronics :

Crystalline and amorphous structure of matter; Different crystal systems, space groups; Methods of
determination of crystal structure; X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies;
Band theory of solids—conductors, insulators and semi-conductors; Thermal properties of solids, specific
heat, Debye theory; Magnetism: dia, para and ferromagnetism; Elements of super-conductivity, Meissner
effect, Josephson junctions and applications; Elementary ideas about high temperature super-conductivity.

Intrinsic and extrinsic semi-conductors- p-n-p and n-p-n transistors; Amplifiers and oscillators. Op-amps;
FET, JFET and MOSFET; Digital electronics-Boolean identities, De Morgan’s laws, Logic gates and truth
tables. Simple logic circuits; Thermistors, solar cells; Fundamentals of microprocessors and digital
computers.

POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

PAPER- I

Political Theory and Indian Politics :

1. Political Theory: meaning and approaches.

2. Theories of state : Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluiralist, post-colonial and Feminist.

3. Justice : Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian
critiques.

4. Equality : Social, political and economic; relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action.

5. Rights : Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; Concept of Human Rights.

6. Democracy : Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy—representative,

participatory and deliberative.

7. Concept of power : hegemony, ideology and legitimacy.

8. Political Ideologies : Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism.

9. Indian Political Thought: Dharamshastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist Traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, M. N. Roy.

10. Western Political Thought : Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci,
Hannah Arendt.

Indian Government and Politics

1. Indian Nationalism :

(a) Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle : Constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-
cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and Revolutionary Movements, Peasant and Workers Movements.

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(b) Perspectives on Indian National Movement; Liberal, Socialist and Marxist; Radical Humanist and
Dalit.

2. Making of the Indian Constitution : Legacies of the British rule; different social and political
perspectives.

3. Salient Features of the Indian Constitution : The Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive
Principles; Parliamentary System and Amendment Procedures; Judicial Review and Basic Structure
doctrine.

4. (a) Principal Organs of the Union Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive,
Legislature and Supreme Court.

(b) Principal Organs of the State Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive,
Legislature and High Courts.

5. Grassroots Democracy : Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; Significance of 73rd and 74th
Amendments; Grassroot movements.

6. Statutory Institutions/Commissions : Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance

Commission, Union Public Service Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women; National Human Rights Commission,
National Commission for Minorities, National Backward Classes Commission.

7. Federalism : Constitutional provisions; changing nature of centre-state relations; integrationist

tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.

8. Planning and Economic development : Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; Role of planning and
public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalization and economic reforms.

9. Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.

10. Party System : National and regional political parties, ideological and social bases of parties; Patterns
of coalition politics; Pressure groups, trends in electoral behaviour; changing socio-economic profile of
Legislators.

11. Social Movement : Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist
movements.

PAPER-II

Comparative Politics and International Relations

Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics :

1. Comparative Politics : Nature and major approaches; Political economy and political sociology
perspectives; Limitations of the comparative method.

2. State in Comparative Perspective : Characteristics and changing nature of the State in capitalist and
socialist economies, and advanced industrial and developing societies.

3. Politics of Representation and Participation : Political parties, pressure groups and social movements
in advanced industrial and developing societies.

4. Globalisation : Responses from developed and developing societies.

5. Approaches to the Study of International Relations : Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and
Systems theory.

6. Key Concepts in International Relations : National interest, security and power; Balance of power and

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deterrence; Transational actors and collective security; World capitalist economy and globalisation.

7. Changing International Political Order :

(a) Rise of super powers; Strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and cold war; Nuclear threat;

(b) Non-aligned Movement : Aims and achievements.

(c) Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; Relevance of non-alignment in
the contemporary world.

8. Evolution of the International Economic System : From Brettonwoods to WTO; Socialist economies and
the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance); Third World demand for new international economic
order; Globalisation of the world economy.

9. United Nations : Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies—aims and functioning;
need for UN reforms.

10. Regionalisation of World Politics : EU, ASEAN, APEC, AARC, NAFTA.

11. Contemporary Global Concerns : Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice terrorism,
nuclear proliferation.

India and the World

1. Indian Foreign Policy : Determinants of foreign policy; the institutions of policy-making; Continuity and
change.

2. India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement Different phases; Current role.

3. India and South Asia :

(a) Regional Co-operation : SAARC-past performance and future prospects.

(b) South Asia as a Free Trade Area.

(c) India’s “Look East” policy.

(d) Impediments to regional co-operation : River water disputes; illegal cross border migration; Ethnic
conflicts and insurgencies; Border disputes.

4. India and the Global South : Relations with Africa and Latin America; Leadership role in the demand
for NIEO and WTO negotiations.

5. India and the Global Centres of Power : USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia.

6. India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; Demand for Permanent Seat in the Security
Council.

7. India and the Nuclear Question : Changing perceptions and policy.

8. Recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy : India’s position on the recent crises in Afghanistan,
Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Isreal; Vision of a new world order.

PSYCHOLOGY

PAPER-I

Foundations of Psychology

1. Introduction : Definition of Psychology; Historical antecedents of Psychology and trends in the 21st
centrury; Psychology and scientific methods; Psychology in relation to other social sciences and natural
sciences; Application of Psychology to societal problems.

Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.