The syllabus of General Studies consists of syllabus from social sciences, behavioural sciences, philosophy, psychology and applied science and technology. Upon careful reading and analysis of the GS syllabus, it can be aptly described as inter-disciplinary as well as multi-disciplinary. The strategy, thus, for the preparation of General Studies is a bit different from that of preparation of any optional subject, since none of the segments of the syllabus can be studied as isolated disciplines. So, the question is,
“what is the right approach and strategy”?
Well, for that, one needs to keep in mind the basic fact that if the goal is to reach the highest level of achievement, then one must have not only ample patience for details, but should be able to keep the big picture regarding any theme in one’s mind at the time of study. Thus the preparation strategy is to follow a mix of both micro and macro level approaches.
The first step in this direction is the comprehension of the syllabus in its true orientation. One must look at the syllabus closely and in detail and try and understand its nature.
The basic characteristic of the GS syllabus is that it is inter-disciplinary as well as multi-disciplinary.The social, economic, political and administrative aspects must merge to analyze a topic. For example, study of India’s economic growth will require good knowledge of disparities in society, administrative issues relating to implementation of programmes, external factors, etc. In other words, the new syllabus being inter disciplinary requires a synthesis of ideas.
Also, the syllabus is a combination of traditional and dynamic aspects. Traditional aspects are those which remain more or less the same like History, Culture, and Physical Geography etc. The dynamic aspects are those which are continuously changing like environmental, socio-economical and international issues etc. The dynamic aspects require more attention as those are to be covered on day to day basis. Amongst dynamic aspects, emphasis on issues which have a bearing on our society, economy and administration test a candidate’s awareness about new challenges of our country and society on various fronts.
After understanding the true orientation of the syllabus, the second step is the selection of right study material(s) for each segment of the GS syllabus and an efficient method to study them. The basic strategy at the start of preparation of the GS syllabus for both Pre and Mains exam is to refer to NCERT books on related topics. Refrain in the beginning from reading guidebooks, as they load you with information, but with very little concept.
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GS Paper-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society
The part related to Indian Heritage and Culture will require appreciation of Indian art sculpture, dance, architecture, music, festivals, folklore, drama; literature etc. One has to capture the evolution of Indian art and culture since ancient times. Out of 250 marks in this paper, it is expected that approximately 50-70 marks will be allotted to this section.
The part related to Modern Indian History shall cover the period between The Revolt of 1857 and modern times. It is expected that this section will account for 70-80 marks and will have the following components:
Political History: British conquest of India; Freedom Struggle: The moderates, the militants, the revolutionaries and the Gandhian Era; Important leaders of freedom movement, their ideologies and contributions; Social-Religious movements; British administrative ‘structure; British Economic policies and their consequences; Revolts:
Tribal, peasant and popular revolts; Educational and Press policies; Important Governor Generals and the significant measures initiated by them.
The Post-independent India section will have questions relating to the following areas:
Integration of Indian States; Linguistic Reorganisation of States; Task of nation building; Secularism, communalism, backward classes and affirmative action
World History: One can conceptualize and systematize the syllabus of the World History as follows: Industrial Revolution and its impact; the two world wars: causes and effects; The League of Nations and the UNO; The process of decolonization; Major ideologies: communism, socialism, capitalism; The Cold War; Policy of Non-Alignment;
Globalization.
Geography of the World: Applied aspects have been emphasized in both Indian and World Geography syllabus.
GS Paper II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations
This paper is likely to find utmost favour with the aspirants because it contains interesting areas like Polity, Constitution and International Relations.
The new polity syllabus is very well outlined this time and it emphasizes on the following: Structure of our polity i.e. the Constitutional framework of our political system; Operational aspects of our polity; Issues relating to governance; Public Administration.
International Relations: covers three areas: Indian Foreign Policy, International affairs, and International Organizations. Since very contemporary issues will be asked in this section one has to keep a close watch on day to day happenings on international affairs specially those which have a bearing on India. The best way to cover these
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areas is to read relevant articles in leading newspapers. This gives a proper perspective and balanced approach and understanding of a particular issue.
GS Paper III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
Questions related toTechnology will be framed on latest developments on the front of technology such as nano-technology, robotics, IT, space etc. Emphasis would be on India’s advances and future programmes on Science and Technology.
Security: Since internal security is the greatest threat to our country, a good number of questions can be expected from this section of the syllabus. The Home Ministry is responsible for internal security. Its website contains vital information on the internal security architecture including agencies, plans, mechanism. Therefore, one must visit this site and extract highly useful material relating to internal security.
GS Paper-IV: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
This paper aims to evaluate the candidate’s attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life. Further, it also seeks to test a candidates approach towards problem solving of various issues and conflicts while dealing with society as a civil servant.
Ethics and Integrity: These two concepts have been borrowed from public administration. They deal with administrative ethics and integrity in public life. A regular study of Newspapers with focus on issues before society and issues raised by Civic Society groups will help.
Aptitude: This topic belongs to the realm of psychology. Its theoretical aspects can be comprehended by referring to any good text book of psychology. A candidate ‘also has to inculcate the values which would orient his aptitude towards society. These values are: integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
Essay Paper
The candidates are advised to prepare for this paper keeping some major themes in mind. Besides their preparation for the contents, aspirants are also advised to polish their basic skills for essay-writing. The basic idea behind the Essay Writing paper is to test the candidate’s grasp of his material, its relevance to the subject chosen, and to his ability to think constructively and the present his ideas concisely, logically and effectively.
The vastness and the nature of the GS syllabus indeed pose an up-hill challenge before aspirants. The two main challenges we have already discussed here are viz; collection
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of study material from a diverse range of sources and secondly, to use these materials to suit the interdisciplinary needs of the syllabus. This requires maturity of mind and proper guidance. A candidate has to prepare for the new GS syllabus for at least one year in advance in order to command it.
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