Important Subjects for UPSC Prelims

UPSC Prelims exam comprises General Studies Paper 1 and Paper 2. General Studies Paper 1 comprises questions related to History, Geography, Economics, Environment etc. On the other hand the General Studies Paper 2 focuses on comprehension, logical reasoning, data interpretation etc. Both the GS papers are equally crucial for aspirants. Important topics for GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 2 are given in the next section.

List of Important Subjects for CSE Prelims

How to find out what is important for UPSC Prelims? The Civil Services exam syllabus is vast and it is important to find the main topics that UPSC focuses on. Aspirants can easily find the important topics by going through the UPSC Syllabus and previous years’ question papers.Important Subjects for UPSC Prelims as per the recent trend are given below:

General Studies Paper 1

As per the recent trend, the following subjects and topics are very important:

Current Affairs

Current affairs play an important role in UPSC prelims and main examination. Lately, the number of current affairs questions has increased. Therefore, candidates should read newspapers daily or at least go through the monthly compilation of current affairs. Reading newspapers may be time-consuming for some, but they are very useful.

Polity

Polity is very important and aspirants should try to study all important topics given in the book on Indian Polity by Laxmikanth. Important topics in Polity are:

• Parliament is one of the most important topics. Candidates should go through the chapter on ‘Parliament’ given in the book on Indian Polity by Laxmikanth.
• Preamble
• Directive Principles of State Policy
• Fundamental Rights
• Fundamental Duties
• Governor
• President
• Vice-President
• Prime Minister
• Supreme Court
• High Court
• The basic structure of the Constitution
• Parliamentary System
• Chief Minister
• Panchayati Raj
• Municipalities
• Attorney General of India
• Anti-defection law
• Constitutional and Non-constitutional bodies

All these are some important topics frequently asked in the UPSC Civil Services examination.

Environment and Ecology

The number of questions for this subject has increased over the years. Aspirants should prepare for this section very well. Some of the important topics include:

• Important National parks, wildlife Sanctuaries and biosphere reserves
• Endangered and Important flora and fauna
• Important environment related treaties and conventions
• Greenhouse gases
• Invasive species
• Ozone depletion
• Pollution
• E-waste
• Air quality
• Coral bleaching
• IUCN and Red data book

You can also refer to the linked article on Environment And Ecology Notes For UPSC.

Geography

Important topics in Geography are given below:

• Major biomes of the world
• Important rivers in India and the World
• Location, latitude, longitude, time zone, etc.
• Neighbouring countries and important cities
• Indian States and cities
• The Himalayas
• The Great North Indian Plains
• Peninsular Plateau
• Indian Desert
• Coastal plains and islands
• Hydropower projects
• West-flowing and east-flowing rivers
• Monsoon
• Cyclones
• Minerals and industries
• Soils and crops
• Irrigation system
• Animal husbandry
• Rainfall distribution in India
• Natural vegetation and fauna
• Transportation
• Power and energy sector
• Conventional and non-conventional sources of energy
• Human geography eg: Demographics, migration, urbanisation
• Origin and interior of Earth
• Wind system
• Volcanoes
• Landforms
• Atmosphere
• Temperature
• Major climate types
• Oceanography eg: ocean relief, El Niño, La Niña, ocean currents

Note: Read NCERT textbook on geography and ‘Certificate Physical and Human Geography’ book written by Goh Cheng Leong to cover the topics mentioned above.

Economics

Important topics in Economics/Indian economy include:

• Budget
• Deficit and its various types eg: fiscal deficit, primary deficit etc
• Inflation, Headline and core inflation, CPI, WPI etc
• Monetary policy: Repo rate, reverse repo etc
• Fiscal policy
• Securities and Exchange Board of India
• Exports and imports
• Balance of Payments
• Reserve Bank of India
• Money supply
• Goods and Services tax
• Primary, secondary and tertiary sector
• Pink revolution, white revolution, green revolution etc
• Minimum Support Price (MSP)
• Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
• Public Distribution System (PDS)
• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Foreign Institutional Investors (FII)
• Masala bonds
• Five year plans
• NITI Aayog
• Finance Commission
• Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS)
• Money market and capital market
• Poverty, Multidimensional Poverty Index etc
• Population eg: demographic dividend, maternal mortality rate
• World Trade Organisation
• International Monetary Fund
• Cryptocurrency
• Employment
• Growth and development, Human Development Index
• Free trade agreements and important treaties
• European Union and Euro
• Privatisation and nationalisation

Note: You should go through the Economic Survey and Union budget.

Science and Technology

Important topics in Science and Technology are given below:

• Gravitational Waves
• Genetically Modified Crops
• Gene Editing and CRISPR-Cas9
• Metaverse
• Artificial Intelligence
• Net Neutrality
• Space technology eg: satellites, PSLV, GSLV, MOM, NAVIC
• Indian Space Research Organisation, its important missions and programmes
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its important missions
• Nanotechnology
• Defence technology
• Blockchain technology
• Internet of Things
• Malware
• Coronavirus
• Nuclear technology
• Robotics and 4th Industrial revolution
• Intellectual property like patents, copyrights etc.
• Cloud computing
• Quantum computing
• Li-Fi
• Cellular networks, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
• Digital signature
• Internet
• Gases causing air and water pollution

History, Art and Culture

Important topics in History, Art and Cultureare given below:

• Indus Valley Civilization
• Jainism
• Buddhism
• Mauryan empire
• Bhakti and Sufi Movement
• Akbar’s rule
• Vijayanagar empire
• The Charter Acts
• Land Revenue System
• Revolt of 1857
• Socio-religious reforms
• Partition of Bengal (1905)
• Swadeshi Movement
• Home Rule Movement (1915–1916)
• August Declaration, 1917
• Champaran Satyagraha (1917)
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918)
• Kheda Satyagraha (1918)
• Government of India Act, 1919
• Rowlatt Act
• Khilafat Movement
• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)
• Nehru Report (1928)
• Lahore Session, 1929
• Civil Disobedience Movement
• First Round Conference, 1930
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931
• Second Round Conference, 1931
• Third Round Conference (17 November 1932)
• Communal Award
• Poona Pact, 1932
• Government of India Act, 1935
• August Offer of 1940
• Cripps Mission (1942)
• Quit India Movement
• I N.A. Trials
• Cabinet Mission (1946)
• Wavell Plan
• Mountbatten Plan of June 1947
• Indian Independence Act 1947]

Art and Culture

• Indian Architecture and Sculpture
• Indian Paintings
• Indian Handicrafts
• Indian Music
• Indian Dance Forms
• Important temples
• Important Festivals
• Indian Theatre Forms
• Indian Literature

Note: Ensure that you prepare the static topics well. This may help you in eliminating wrong options by making educated guesses.

General Studies Paper 2

CSAT is a qualifying paper but you need to practise well to crack it.A list of important topics for CSAT are given below:

• Number series
• HCF and LCM
• Time, Speed and Distance
• Time and work
• Averages
• Permutation and Combination
• Venn Diagram
• Probability
• Ratio Proportion
• Mixture and Alligation
• Percentage
• Clocks and calendars
• Profit and loss
• Linear Equations
• Geometry
• Problems on age
• Pie chart, bar graph etc
• Statement and Assumption
• Statement and Inference
• Statement and Conclusion
• Direction
• Coding decoding
• Circular and Linear Arrangement
• Syllogism
• Data Sufficiency