Remember how I mentioned the Himalayan valley reminding me of the UPSC syllabus? It was the UPSC Mains syllabus that came to mind at the time.
The enormity of the IPS/IAS Mains syllabus is capable of sending even the most experienced applicants into nervous chills.
The following is a summary of the main points from the UPSC Mains syllabus for IAS/IPS:
Mains Syllabus Highlights
This is due to the fact that only those applicants who pass Phase 1, or the Prelims, are eligible to take the Phase 2 or Mains exam. In other words, only those applicants who pass the UPSC Prelims exam with a score higher than the UPSC cut-offs are eligible to take the Mains exam.
Fundamentally, the UPSC 2022 Mains exam is designed to evaluate your grasp of the many subjects covered by the UPSC Mains syllabus, and it is designed to do so in a timed manner.
It’s worth noting that, with the exception of the two language papers in the UPSC Mains curriculum, all of the papers can be written in any of the languages listed in Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the two language papers, it’s time to look at the UPSC Mains exams’ seven main papers. To help you understand, I’ve created a table that lists all of the subjects in each of the seven papers that make up the Mains curriculum, as well as their weightage:
UPSC Mains Syllabus for General Studies 1 (GS 1)
The IPS/IAS syllabus for GS 1 includes the Culture, History, Heritage & Geography of India and the World. I have listed below the points in detail:
- Culture of India: Major aspects of the various Indian art forms, Architecture & literature of India, from ancient to modern India.
- Modern Indian History
- Personalities from the mid 18th century to the present, issues, Important events, etc.
- Stages of the freedom struggle and the people who played a part in it.
- History from the post-independence perspective and the reorganization and consolidation of the Indian states following that.
- World History
- World events from the 18th century onwards and their effects on society & the world at large. (Industrial Revolution, World Wars, delineation of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, effects of political philosophies like communism, capitalism, etc.)
- Society
- Society of India, its diversity and important aspects.
- Population and issues related to it, the role of women and women-led organizations in Indian societies, poverty, and development-related issues, urbanization, problems due to it and solutions, etc.
- Geography
- Important natural resources around the globe especially in South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent; factors affecting the location of the primary, secondary and tertiary sector industries across the world along with India.
- Key geographical phenomena and their causes like tsunamis, earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic activities, etc.
UPSC Syllabus for Mains paper: General studies 2 (GS 2)
The IPS/IAS syllabus for GS 2 includes the subjects of Polity, Constitution, Governance, International Relations, and Social Justice. I have listed below the points in detail:
- The Indian Constitution
- Responsibilities and functions of the Union & States, challenges and issues related to the federal structure, finances, and devolution of powers down to the local levels, and the challenges that lie therein.
- Segregation of power between the various government bodies, redressal mechanisms pertaining to conflict, and dispute management and the various institutions.
- Organization, structure, and functions of the Judiciary, legislature, & Executive.
- State and Parliamentary legislatures:
- Departments & Ministries of the government; pressure groups and their informal/formal roles and associations in the polity.
- Key features of the Representation of people’s Act
- How the various constitutional posts are appointed, their functions, & powers. Also, those of the various constitutional bodies.
- Various quasi-judicial, statutory, and regulatory bodies.
- The various governmental interventions and policies are aimed at developing various sectors.
- The development sector and its processes – the role of SHGs, NGOs, and other associations and groups, institutions, and other stakeholders.
- Welfare schemes issued by the Centre and states for vulnerable sections, the performance of these schemes; laws, mechanisms, bodies and institutions set up for the protection, and development of the vulnerable sections.
- Issues in development and management of the social/service sectors.
- Problems pertaining to hunger and poverty.
- Key aspects of governance, e-governance- applications, successes, potential, accountability and transparency, models, limitations; citizen charters, and other measures.
- The role of Civil Services in a democracy.
- International Relations
UPSC Syllabus for Mains paper: General studies 3 (GS 3)
The UPSC Mains syllabus for GS 3 includes the subjects of Economic Development, Environment, Disaster Management & Security, Technology, and Biodiversity. I have listed below the points in detail:
- Economy
- The economy of Indian and planning-related issues.
- Government budgeting.
- Inclusive growth and issues/challenges associated with it.
- Liberalization and its effects on the economy (post-1991).
- Infrastructure – Ports, Airports, Roads, Energy, Railways, etc.
- Investment models like PPP, etc.
- Agriculture
- Predominant cropping patterns in various parts of the nation, various types of irrigation techniques and systems, storage, marketing, transportation of agricultural produce, and challenges/issues related to it; use of e-technology in the agricultural sector.
- Rearing of animals and the economics related to it.
- Industries related to food processing and its kind in India – significance and scope, upstream-downstream requirements, location, supply chain management.
- Problems related to indirect and direct farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Objectives of Public Distribution System, functioning and its limitations, revamping; food security and buffer stock issues; technological missions.
- Land reforms in India
- Science & Technology
- Recent technological developments and their effects.
- Indians and their achievements in science & technology.
- Indigenous technological innovation and the development of new tech.
- General Awareness of Space, IT, Robotics, Computers, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.
- Problems related to intellectual property rights.
- Environment
- Conservation
- Pollution of the environment and its degradation
- EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)
- Disaster Management (Act, laws, etc.)
- Security
- Challenges to internal security (non-state actors and external state)
- How extremism develops and spreads.
- Internal security challenges pertaining to the communication networks.
- Fundamentals of cyber security; money laundering and how to prevent it.
- Challenges to security and managing security in border areas; the connection between organized crime and terrorism.
- The names of the various security agencies and forces and their mandates.
