UPSC - How to prepare for General Studies

The syllabus of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) CSE is vast, especially the General Studies section. One of the challenges that candidates face while preparing for general studies is that the syllabus is vast, there are multiple study materials and people most of the times don’t know what to read and from where. Therefore, for your assistance, we bring to you a preparation guide on how to prepare for general studies. This guide is brought to you by Oliveboard, an online exam preparation platform for government and banking exams.

First, let’s have a look at the UPSC CSE Prelims Exam Pattern:

Paper	Evaluation	Question type	Marks/duration
General Studies Paper I	Selection based on cut offs	General Studies	Marks: 200 Duration: 2 Hours
General Studies Paper II	Qualifying paper (33% min)	Aptitude Test (CSAT)	Marks: 200 Duration: 2 Hours

                                          

The Question papers will be set both in Hindi & English.The Prelims Exam comprises of two compulsory Objective Type papers of 200 marks each. The General Studies Paper II is qualifying in nature with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

General Studies Paper I Detailed Syllabus

Total Marks: 200

Total Duration: 2 Hours

1.     Current Events of National and International Importance

Resources:

·         Newspapers: The Hindu/ The Indian Express

·         Magazines: Yojana/ Kurukshetra

·         pib.nic.in (Press Information Bureau releases)

·         Websites of different Ministries of India

2.     History of India and Indian National Movement

Resources:

·         All new NCERT books- Class 6^th to 12^th

·         History of Modern India: Bipin Chandra

·         Tamil Nadu NCERT- Class 11^th and 12^th

·         CCRT website for Art and Culture

·         An Introduction to Indian Art (Part-1)- Class 11^th NCERT

·         Craft Tradition of India- Class 12^th NCERT

3.     Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World

Resources:

·         All new NCERT books- Class 6^th to 12^th

·         Certificate Physical and Human Geography- G.C. Leong

·         Any good school Atlas

4.     Indian Polity and Governance Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Right Issues, etc.

Resources:

·         Indian Polity: M. Laxmikanth

·         NCERT Books: Class 11^th and 12^th for Political Science and Sociology

5.     Economic and Social Development – Sustainable development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Resources:

·         NCERT Books: Class 11^th and 12^th

·         Budget and Economic Survey

·         India Year Book 2017 for Schemes launched by Government

6.     General Issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate change

Resources:

·         India Year Book 2017- Chapters on Environment

·         Topics in news in last one year related to environment such as conventions, treaties, organizations, IUCN Red list species etc.

·         NCERT- Biology Class 12^th– Unit 9 and 10 (Biotechnology and Ecology Chapters)

7.     General Science

Resources:

·         NCERT books- Class 7^th to 10^th

·         Topics in news related to Science and Technology

GK Video:

We hope the above helps you with your UPSC CSE Prelims Exam Preparation. Now, you can ace your UPSC preparation with Oliveboard Mocks.

All the best!