The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the UPSC CSE (IAS) prelims 2024 on June 16, 2024. The candidates are suggested to revise the UPSC Ancient History syllabus and the associated topics to prepare better for the exam. The candidates must prepare the Art and Cuture topics in the light of Ancient History because it help them in correlation of the Macro Societal Structures prevailing during the ancient times.
UPSC Syllabus for History
UPSC History Syllabus: The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the UPSC IAS prelims exam on June 16, 2024. The candidates can check here the most important topics of the UPSC Ancient History syllabus. The candidates are suggested to analyse the previous year's question papers to extract the most important topics of Ancient History. Though the Union Public Service Commission does not ask a good number of questions from the Ancient History section but the candidate should prepare the Ancient History topics because it will help them in answering the questions of the Art an Culture section.
Also Read: UPSC Answer Key 2024 Live Updates
UPSC Syllabus for the History section is not defined in the official prelims syllabus. The ancient History section is important but the number of questions asked in the IAS prelims exam is somewhat not fixed and often very fewer questions have been asked in the exam. The total number of questions varies from 5 to 8. To answer these questions, the candidates are required deep study the Ancient History topics which require enormous time to read and retain for the long term. Moreover, the questions are mainly focused on the broad knowledge of an era and sometimes on the architecture of the temples and other things. NCERT books n Ancient History can give a brief idea of events but it is very difficult to cover all the topics from the NCERT books only.
Some candidates skip the History section during their prelims preparation but it is not a great strategy because History questions will be asked in the main exam also as it is one of the important sections of General Studies Paper-I. The history of India topic includes all the historical events that occurred in India. One of the most important points to note here is that it does not include World History in the prelims exam. NCERT books are very helpful in clearly explaining the topics which need to be covered. But only NCERT books are not sufficient for preparation. IAS Syllabus is the key to unlocking the exam and hence it should be understood in its entirety.
History Syllabus for UPSC Prelims
History for the prelims exam is limited to Indian events only. The candidates need to divide the History of India topic into three sub-topics
- Ancient History of India
- Medieval History of India
- Modern History of India including the Indian National Movement
Ancient History Topics for UPSC IAS Prelims
It includes the civilizations and cultures which evolve in the Indian sub-continent. There is no written evidence of the events, only the remains as found in different excavations. The prehistoric records include the inscriptions, pillars, statues and the likes. Following topics can be included in the Ancient History of India section.
Q: What are the five fundamental subjects of IAS syllabus?
The candidates should prepare the five fundamental subjects as mentioned for the IAS prelims exam. These fundamental subjects are
- History
- Geography
- Economy
- Polity
- Current Affairs
- Environment issues
- General Science
The candidates should also prepare the Environmental issues because they have gained more importance in the recent years.
Q: How can I download the IAS syllabus PDF?
The candidates should note that the IAS syllabus is not released separately on the official website. The Union Public Service Commission releases the IAS syllabus as a section in the IAS notification. The candidates can download the IAS syllabus pdf as given here for all their preparation references.
The candidates can check the subject-wise IAS main syllabus in the official pdf.
Q: Does the syllabus of IAS change every year?
No, IAS syllabus is same in last few years and before changing the syllabus, the UPSC needs to take approval from the Ministry of Personnel and Training before changing the IAS syllabus. The candidates should prepare the UPSC IAS syllabus in its present form and do not fear the change that will be made in the syllabus because in any way, the topics prepared will be relevant to the IAS exam irrespective of any change in UPSC IAS syllabus.
Geographical Extent of Ancient India
Stone Age
- Old Stone Age
- Phases in the Palaeolithic Age
- Late Stone Age
- News Stone Age
Stone –Copper Phase
- Chalcolithic Settlements and Culture
- Importance and Limitation of Chalcolithic Culture
- Copper Age in India
Harappan Civilisation /Indus Valley Civilisation
- Geographical Extent
- Major Cities
- Town Planning and Structures
- Agriculture and Domestication of Animal
- Art and Crafts
- Trade
- Social and Political Organisations
- Religious Practices
- Deities in Indus Valley Civilisation
- Tree and Animal Worship
- Harappan Script
- Pottery – Seals, Images
- Terracotta figures
- Origin, Maturity and Decline of Indus Valley Civilisation
Aryan and the Age of Rig Vedas
- Aryans – their origin and identity
- Tribal Conflict
- Life and Culture
- Family and Social Divisions
- Rig Vedic Gods
Later Vedic Period
- Period
- Printed Grey Ware Culture
- Iron Phase Culture
- Economic and Social Divisions in the Indian Society
- Political and Social Organisation
- Gods, Rituals and Philosophy
Rise of Jainism and Buddhism
- Causes of Origin
- Their founders and other heads
- Caste and Varna system in the age of Buddha
- Religious Doctrines of Jainism and Buddhism
- Geographical Spread, Influence and decline
Mahajanpads
- Names and geographical extent
- Growth and rise of Mahajanpads
Magadh Empire
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- Period, leaders, hierarchy
- Causes of rising, growth, success and decline
- Structure of Society, Political structure and governance
- The economic system, trade
- Weights and Measures
Iranian and Macedonian Invasion
Mauryan Empire
- Period, leaders, hierarchy
- Causes of rising, growth, success and decline
- Social Institutions, Political structure and governance
- Significance of Mauryan Empire
- Mauryan Culture
- The economic system, trade
Sakas, Pratiharas, Kushans and other Central Asian Contacts
Age of Satavahanas
- Period, leaders, hierarchy
- Rise, Growth, Political Structure
- Administration, Architecture, Religion, language
Sangam Age
- Three Kingdoms of South – Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas
- Polity and Administration
- Society and Position of Women in Sangam Period
- Religion and Economy
- Decline of Sangam Age
- Art and Literature
Gupta Age
- Period, leaders, hierarchy
- Causes of rise, growth, success and decline
- Social Institutions, Political structure and governance
- Significance of Gupta Age
- Society and Culture, position of women
- Economic system, trade
Harsha and his times
- Harsha Kingdom
- Administration, Political Structure, Rise of Nalanda
Formation of new states in India
- Various Kingdoms which spread alongside during that age
Transformation of Ancient Age
- Social Crisis, origin of land grants,
- Decline of Central Control,
- Changes in the Varna System
- Cultural Development
- Sequence of Social Change
- Religion and formation of Social Classes
- Philosophical system
- Art and literature
Also Read: IAS Prelims Syllabus
The Ancient history questions specifically ask about Buddhism and its doctrine, the mudra taken by Buddh on various occasions and other details. The candidates need to prepare these topics from NCERT and other important books so that they can answer the questions asking the intrinsic details about the topic.
Q: Does the UPSC releases the IAS syllabus in a separate PDF?
The Union Public Service Commission releases the IAS syllabus as a part of the Civil Service Exam notification PDF. The candidates are required to download the Notification PDF to get the IAS syllabus PDF. The candidates can download the IAS syllabus PDF available here.
The candidates can download here the IAS Syllabus PDF
Q: Does IAS syllabus change every year?
No, the Union Public Service Commission does not change the IAS syllabus every year. The Commission is required to take the approval of the Ministry of Personnel before changing the syllabus of the IAS exam. So we can say that, the IAS syllabus does not change every year.
The candidates need to read the Civil Service Exam Notification (IAS notification) as released by the Union Public Service Commission to know all the topics mentioned in the IAS syllabus.
Q: Which topics are mentioned in the IAS Ethics Syllabus for the main exam?
The Ethics paper in the UPSC IAS main exam is a relatively new paper. It is recently introduced and the candidates are required to prepare all the topics mentioned in the official syllabus and the case studies. The candidates face difficulty in answering the questions having case studies because the questions have the inter-twined problem involving the problem related to more than one basic principle of probity in the administration.
The candidates are tested for their clarity of the behaviour in the Public life. It tests, how the candidate prioritise and choose from the various options available to them. The UPSC mentioned the following broad topics in the IAS Ethics Syllabus:
- Ethics and Human Interface:
- Attitude
- Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service
- Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration:
- Emotional intelligence
- Probity in Governance
- Ethics, Codes of Conduct
Q: What is the Ethics syllabus in the IAS Main exam?
The Union Public Service Commission mention the Ethics syllabus in the IAS notification. The candidates can see below the IAS main Ethics syllabus as mentioned in the official notification:
- 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 nonpartisanship, 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, and challenges of corruption.
- Case Studies on the above issues.
Q: Why Ethics syllabus is important for IAS main exam?
The Union Public Service Commission introduced the Ethics paper in 2013. The ethics paper is an essential component of the IAS Main Examination, and a comprehensive understanding of ethics can greatly benefit candidates in several ways. The Ethics syllabus is important because the right strategy can fetch good marks in the paper. The Ethics papers is designed to check the following qualities in the candidates:
- Understanding the role of civil servants
- Moral principles
- Integrity
- Problem-solving skills
- Communication skills
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