KAS Syllabus 2020 - KPSC Gazetted Probationers Exam Syllabus (Prelims, Mains)

In this article, you will find the complete KAS Syllabus 2020 for the Gazetted Probationers Exam conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

You can also download the detailed KAS Syllabus PDF for Mains for easy reference.

The Karnataka Public Service Commission recruits for several Group A and Group B posts via the Gazetted Probationers Exam (GPE). For a career in the Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS), the KPSC GPE is the entry point. With an exemplary performance record, the KAS officers can also be promoted to IAS officers.

The KPSC sets the KAS syllabus for the Gazetted Probationers exam. This KPSC syllabus is common for posts of Assistant Commissioner, Dy. Superintendent of Police, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Tehsildar etc.

Aspirants should know that KPSC KAS also stands for Kerala Public Service Commission – Kerala Administrative Service. Aspirants looking for information on Kerala Administrative Service may check the links given below:

KAS Syllabus 2020:- Download PDF Here

The KPSC KAS exam is conducted in three stages:

• Stage 1: Preliminary Exam – 2 papers – objective type (MCQs)
• Stage 2: Mains – 7 papers – essay/descriptive type (Earlier there were 2 optional papers which are have been scrapped now.)
• Stage 3: Interview

It is important to carefully go through the entire syllabus for the KAS exam, so as to not waste time on reading irrelevant things from the exam point of view. Aspirants are also informed that KPSC KAS Prelims and KPSC KAS Mains for the years 2019 and 2020 have not taken place yet.

KAS Prelims Syllabus

The Gazetted Probationers (Preliminary) Exam filters candidates for the Mains exam. As per the Karnataka Recruitment of Gazetted Probationers (Appointment by Competitive Examination), 9th Amendment Rules, 2011, the KAS Prelims exam consists of two papers.

The KAS syllabus for Prelims is given below:

In the KAS Prelims Syllabus, the level of Mental Ability questions will be of 10th standard (SSLC level) and the remaining questions will be of degree level. The latest prelims exam was that of KPSC Gazetted Probationers Exam 2017-18. The examination took place on 24th August 2020. The commission released the KAS Admit Card on its official website. Candidates can read the entire details about the KPSC KAS Admit Card, steps to download the admit card and other important details in the linked article.

KAS Result for prelims will be declared on the KPSC official website. It is expected to be announced in September/October 2020.

The detailed KAS syllabus of Prelims Paper 1 is:

1. Current Affairs
   1. National and International Importance
   2. Check out BYJU’S Current Affairs page for notes from The Hindu, PIB, and Yojana Magazine.
2. Indian History
   1. Broad understanding of Cultural, Social, Political and Economic aspects
   2. Special Emphasis on Karnataka State
   3. Focus on the Indian National Movement
   4. Download NCERT Notes on Modern Indian History here.
3. Indian and World Geography
   1. Focus on Karnataka
   2. Download NCERT Geography notes here.
4. Polity and Indian Economy
   1. Indian Political System
   2. Economic Reforms
   3. Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation
   4. Social Sector initiatives etc.
   5. Download NCERT Books PDF here.

The detailed KAS syllabus of Prelims Paper 2 is:

1. Current events (State)
2. Important State Government schemes.
3. General Science and Technology
   1. Broad understanding as may be expected of a well-educated person
   2. Contemporary issues/developments and implications
4. Environment and Ecology
   1. Broad understanding of general issues on biodiversity, climate change, ecology, health that do not require a subject specialisation
5. General Mental Ability
   1. Basic numeracy
   2. Data interpretation (data sufficiency, charts, tables, graphs etc.)
   3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
   4. Comprehension

To cover broad topics from the subjects mentioned above, candidates can take help of the following links:

KAS Mains Syllabus

As per the KPSC KAS Exam Pattern, the candidates who successfully clear the KAS Prelims are eligible for the Main exam. The Main exam consists of 9 theory papers out of which 2 (Kannada and English Language) papers are qualifying in nature.

There is a significant overlap of the UPSC Syllabus with the KPSC KAS Syllabus apart from sections specific to Karnataka state.

The KAS syllabus for KPSC Gazetted Probationers (Main) exam is as follows:

Qualifying Papers:

1. Kannada
2. English

Both the qualifying papers aim to test the candidate’s ability to read, understand and express in the given language.

Merit-ranking Papers:

1. Essay
2. General Studies 1
3. General Studies 2
4. General Studies 3
5. General Studies 4
6. Optional Paper 1 [Removed]
7. Optional Paper 2 [Removed]

For the Essay paper, the exam duration is of 3 hrs and maximum marks are 250.

• There will be two essays (Kannada or English) of 125 marks each
• The first topic will be on national or international issues
• The second topic will on state or local issues

Just like it is asked in UPSC examination (Mains stage); KPSC KAS mains stage too has a dedicated paper on Essay. BYJU’S came up with a post on how to write an essay for UPSC candidates. KAS candidates too can refer to the same post and learn some tips to write an effective essay.

Also, find free study material and all KAS Preparation related information here.

The KAS syllabus for the General Studies papers in the Main exam is given in the table below:

The exam syllabus of the KPSC KAS is quite similar to UPSC syllabus, except the state-specific topics. More or less, the KAS aspirants have to read the topics mentioned in the KAS syllabus from a wide perspective. BYJU’S strategies for UPSC Mains examination has helped candidates devise a perfect plan to cover the syllabus. KAS aspirants too can take inspiration from IAS Mains strategies posts and devise their own plan with desired modifications. The GS strategies posts for civil services mains examination can be found at the link below:

1. GS 1 Strategy – In KAS syllabus of GS 1; Indian culture and heritage, Modern Indian History, Medieval India, Indian Society, Polity, and Economy-related topics are mentioned. Out of these, GS 1 of IAS Mains covers history and society sections. Hence, aspirants can look for history and Indian society-specific strategy from the linked article.
2. GS 2 Strategy – In KAS syllabus of GS 2; Geography topics and a few topics related to Polity and Economy are mentioned. From these, GS 2 of civil services mains examination covers polity; while GS 1 and 3 cover geography and economy respectively. Hence, aspirants can look for GS strategies with exact GS papers of UPSC, at the linked article.
3. GS 3 Strategy – In KAS syllabus of GS 3; board topics like Science & Technology and Environment are mentioned. These topics are also covered in GS 3 of civil services mains examination. Hence, candidates can take inspiration from GS III strategy at the linked article.
4. GS 4 Strategy – The broad topics like Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude are mentioned in KAS syllabus of mains GS 4. The similar topics make the GS 4 syllabus of the civil services main examination. Hence,  a perfect strategy can be devised using GS 4 strategy that is mentioned at the linked article.

KAS Syllabus 2020:- Download PDF Here

The optional subjects are no longer included in the KAS Mains syllabus. Earlier, the following subjects were mentioned in the list of the optional subjects:

1. Agriculture, Sericulture, Agri Marketing and Cooperation
2. Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Veterinary Sciences
3. Anthropology
4. Botany
5. Chemistry
6. Civil Engineering
7. Commerce and Accountancy
8. Economics
9. Electrical Engineering
10. Geography
11. Geology
12. History
13. Law
14. Management
15. Mathematics
16. Mechanical Engineering
17. Philosophy
18. Physics
19. Political Science and International Relations
20. Psychology
21. Public Administration
22. Sociology
23. Statistics
24. Zoology
25. Rural Development and Cooperation
26. Literature of any one of the following languages:
    1. English
    2. Hindi
    3. Kannada
    4. Urdu

Aspirants preparing for KAS examination 2018-19/ 2019-20 are advised to keep themselves updated about the recruitment details and eligibility criteria. The recruitment details and eligibility details are announced with the KAS notification. You can keep a check on the articles linked below:

If aspirants are sitting for multiple state service examinations, they can get syllabus information about each of the important public service commission examinations from the links mentioned below: