KAS 2022 Syllabus: Check Section-wise Exam Syllabus Here

KAS syllabus for prelims and main exam is defined separately in the official notification. The candidates need to check both the syllabus and their explanation given here. 

KAS Prelim Syllabus 2022.

The KAS Prelims is an objective type exam. KAS prelims is the screening exam only, and the marks secured in the KAS prelims exam are not considered for the final merit. The candidate needs to qualify in the KAS prelims exam to get selected for the main exam. KAS prelims syllabus has been defined as per the rules of conducting the Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Exam. The KAS prelims exam consists of two objective-type papers. The KAS prelims exam pattern is as follows.

The KAS prelims syllabus, as defined in the official rule SRO 103 of 2018, is as follows

General Studies Paper I (200 Marks)

• Current events of National and International importance;
• History of India and Indian National Movement;
• Indian and World Geography–Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the world;
• Indian Polity and Governance–Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues etc;
• Economic and Social Development–Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives etc;
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change–that do not require subject specialization;
• General Science

Note: Questions pertaining to the state of Jammu & Kashmir may also be asked in this paper.

General Studies Paper-II (200 Marks)

• Comprehension;
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
• Decision-making and problem-solving;
• General mental ability;
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.–Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc.–Class X level)

Note 1: Paper-II of the Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

Note 2: The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type.

Note 3: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore, a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination.

Candidates should understand that though the Preliminary exam is the first and important stage, KAS main, as the name suggests, is the critical stage of the KAS exam. The marks secured in the KAS main exam are counted for the final merit list. The KAS main exam syllabus is very similar to the IAS main syllabus.

The KAS notification mentions that “The Main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory”.

There will be eight descriptive type papers in the KAS main exam. The details of their names, marks and other details are given in the KAS exam pattern page.

The KAS main exam syllabus is defined below

The paper will check the candidate’s ability to understand the discursive prose and the ability to express his or her ideas clearly and correctly.

• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precis Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.
  (The paper will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks scored in this paper will not be counted for final ranking.)

The essay is an avenue for the candidates to write and present his or her ideas with no bounds. KAS essay is an open-ended paper and the candidates can score better marks without preparing much for it. The KAS essay preparation is the corollary to the KAS preparation.

There is no syllabus for the Essay paper. The candidates are expected to present their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely. The credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.

Indian Heritage and Culture

Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

History

Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.
Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redraw of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the society.

Society

Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Effects of globalization on Indian society

Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

Geography

Salient features of the world’s physical geography.

Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).

Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, Cyclone etc., geographical features and their location, changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and icecaps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.

Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
  Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
  Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, egovernance-applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Role of civil services in a democracy.
• India and its neighbourhood- relations.
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
• Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
• Government Budgeting.
• Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
• Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
• Land reforms in India.
• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
• Investment models.
• Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
• Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
• Disaster and disaster management.
• Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cybersecurity; money-laundering and its prevention.
• Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem-solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilize the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; the role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
• Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
• Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
• Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.
• Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
• Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
• Case Studies on above issues.

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There will be two papers of the Optional subject. The optional subject will be elected by the candidates from the list of subjects given in the KAS notification. The list of optional subjects are given below:

1) Agriculture:

2) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science:

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) Medical science;

18) Philosophy;

19) Physics;

20) Political Science & International Relations;

21) Psychology;

22) Public Administration:

23) Sociology;

24) Statistics;

25) Zoology;

26) Literature of any one of the following languages:

Arabic, Dogri, English, Hindi, Kashmiri, Persian, Punjabi,

Sanskrit and Urdu.

The syllabus for the optional subject will be available in some time.

The objective of the KAS interview is to evaluate the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service. The interview test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are

• Mental alertness
• Critical powers of assimilation
• Clear and logical exposition
• Balance of judgement
• Variety and depth of interest
• Ability for social cohesion and leadership
• Intellectual and moral integrity

KAS syllabus for the main exam also includes the KAS interviews. The KAS interview will be conducted by the panel of members of the JKPSC. The panel members will have the access to the record of the career of the candidate.

The interview will be a purposive and directed conversation between the board members and the candidates. The commission shall be assisted by experts in the Behavioural Sciences and Public Administration, as may be selected/nominated by the Chairman of the commission.