UPSC Optional Subject: Sociology Syllabus

The optional subject carries two papers of 250 marks each (500 marks in total) in the Civil Services Main Examination, and both papers are descriptive. Candidates choose one subject from the list prescribed by UPSC.

Paper Pattern

Paper 1: Fundamentals of Sociology

1. Sociology as a Discipline

• Modernity and the social changes in Europe that gave rise to sociology
• Scope of the subject and its comparison with other social sciences
• Sociology and common sense

2. Sociology as Science

• Science, the scientific method and its critique
• Major theoretical strands of research methodology
• Positivism and its critique; fact, value and objectivity; non-positivist methodologies

3. Research Methods and Analysis

• Qualitative and quantitative methods; techniques of data collection
• Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity

4. Sociological Thinkers

• Karl Marx: historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle
• Emile Durkheim: division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society
• Max Weber: social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism
• Talcott Parsons: social system and pattern variables
• Robert K. Merton: manifest and latent functions, anomie, conformity and deviance, reference groups
• G. H. Mead: self and identity

5. Stratification and Mobility

• Concepts: equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation
• Theories of stratification: structural-functionalist, Marxist and Weberian
• Dimensions: class, status groups, gender, ethnicity and race
• Social mobility: open and closed systems, types, sources and causes

6. Work and Economic Life

• Social organisation of work in slave, feudal and industrial or capitalist societies
• Formal and informal organisation of work; labour and society

7. Politics and Society

• Sociological theories of power; power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups and political parties
• Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society and ideology
• Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action and revolution

8. Religion and Society

• Sociological theories of religion
• Types of religious practice: animism, monism, pluralism, sects and cults
• Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularisation, revivalism and fundamentalism

9. Systems of Kinship

• Family, household and marriage; types and forms of family
• Lineage and descent; patriarchy and the sexual division of labour; contemporary trends

10. Social Change in Modern Society

• Sociological theories of social change; development and dependency
• Agents of social change; education, science and technology and social change

Paper 2: Indian Society: Structure and Change

A. Introducing Indian Society

• Perspectives on the study of Indian society: Indology (G. S. Ghurye), structural-functionalism (M. N. Srinivas) and Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai)
• Impact of colonial rule: social background of Indian nationalism, modernisation of tradition, protests and movements, social reforms

B. Social Structure

• Rural and agrarian structure: the idea of the Indian village and village studies; evolution of land tenure and land reforms
• Caste system: perspectives of Ghurye, Srinivas, Louis Dumont and Andre Beteille; features of caste; untouchability
• Tribal communities: definitional problems, geographical spread, colonial policies, integration and autonomy
• Social classes: agrarian and industrial class structure; the middle classes
• Kinship: lineage and descent, kinship types, family and marriage, household dimensions, patriarchy and entitlements
• Religion and society: religious communities and the problems of religious minorities

C. Social Change in India

• Visions of change: development planning and the mixed economy; Constitution, law and social change; education and social change
• Rural and agrarian transformation: rural development programmes, cooperatives, poverty alleviation, the Green Revolution, changing modes of production, rural labour, bondage and migration
• Industrialisation and urbanisation: evolution of modern industry, growth of urban settlements, the working class, the informal sector, child labour, slums
• Politics and society: nation, democracy and citizenship; parties, pressure groups and elites; regionalism and decentralisation; secularisation
• Social movements: peasant and farmer, women's, backward class and Dalit, environmental, ethnic and identity movements
• Population dynamics: size, growth, composition and distribution; birth, death and migration; population policy; ageing, sex ratio, child and infant mortality, reproductive health
• Challenges of transformation: displacement and sustainability, poverty and inequality, violence against women, caste and ethnic conflict, communalism, illiteracy and educational disparities

UPSC Optional Subject: Anthropology Syllabus

The optional subject carries two papers of 250 marks each (500 marks in total) in the Civil Services Main Examination, and both papers are descriptive. Candidates choose one subject from the list prescribed by UPSC.

Paper Pattern

Paper 1: Fundamentals of Anthropology

1. Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology

• Relationship with social, behavioural, life, medical and earth sciences and the humanities
• Main branches: social-cultural, biological, archaeological and linguistic anthropology
• Human evolution: biological and cultural factors; Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian, post-Darwinian and synthetic theories; brachiation, bipedalism and tool making

2. Primates and Human Fossils

• Primate characteristics, adaptations, taxonomy and behaviour; Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates
• Comparative anatomy of man and apes; skeletal changes due to erect posture
• Australopithecines, Homo erectus, Neanderthal, Rhodesian man and Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon, Grimaldi, Chancelade)

3. Biological Basis of Life

• Cell, DNA structure and replication, protein synthesis, gene, mutation, chromosomes and cell division

4. Prehistoric Archaeology

• Principles of prehistoric archaeology; relative and absolute dating
• Prehistoric cultures: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Copper-Bronze and Iron Age

5. Culture, Society and Institutions

• Culture and civilisation; ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
• Society, social institutions, groups and stratification
• Marriage: forms, rules, functions and marriage payments
• Family: types, functions and the effect of urbanisation, industrialisation and feminism
• Kinship: descent principles and groups, terminology, filiation and alliance

6. Economic, Political and Religious Organisation

• Economic anthropology: formalist and substantivist debate; reciprocity, redistribution and market; economies of hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and cultivators; globalisation
• Political organisation: band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom and state; power, authority and legitimacy; social control and law
• Religion: approaches to its study; sacred and profane; myth and ritual; animism, totemism and related forms; religion, magic and science; religious functionaries

7. Anthropological Theories

• Classical evolutionism, historical particularism and diffusionism
• Functionalism and structural-functionalism; structuralism
• Culture and personality; neo-evolutionism; cultural materialism
• Symbolic, interpretive and cognitive theories; postmodernism

8. Language and Research Methods

• Nature and origin of language; verbal and non-verbal communication
• Fieldwork tradition; technique, method and methodology
• Tools: observation, interview, schedule, questionnaire, case study, genealogy, life history, oral history and participatory methods; analysis and presentation of data

9. Human Genetics and Growth

• Methods of genetic study: pedigree, twin, cytogenetic, biochemical and immunological methods, DNA and recombinant technology
• Mendelian inheritance, genetic polymorphism, Hardy-Weinberg law, mutation, isolation, migration, selection and genetic drift
• Consanguinity and genetic load; growth and development from prenatal life to senescence; menarche and menopause

10. Human Variation, Adaptation and Applied Anthropology

• Human variation and the concept of race; racial criteria and ethnic groups
• Demographic and epidemiological anthropology: fertility, mortality, migration, health and disease
• Ecological anthropology and biological and cultural adaptation to heat, cold and high altitude
• Applications: anthropology of sports, nutritional anthropology, equipment design for defence and other uses, forensic anthropology and personal identification
• Applied human genetics: paternity diagnosis, genetic counselling, DNA technology in disease diagnosis

Paper 2: Indian Anthropology and Tribal Studies

1. Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation

• Prehistoric cultures of India: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic-Chalcolithic; ethno-archaeology
• Protohistoric Indus Civilisation: pre-Harappan, Harappan and post-Harappan cultures; contributions of tribal cultures to Indian civilisation
• Palaeo-anthropological evidence from the Siwaliks and Narmada basin

2. Demographic Profile and Social System

• Ethnic and linguistic elements in the Indian population and their distribution; factors shaping population growth
• Traditional social system: Varnashram, Purusharthas, Karma, Rina and rebirth
• Caste system: structure, varna and caste, theories of origin, dominant caste, mobility, Jajmani system and tribe-caste continuum
• Sacred complex and the nature-man-spirit complex; impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity on Indian society

3. History of Anthropological Studies in India

• Contributions of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century scholar-administrators
• Contributions of Indian anthropologists to tribal and caste studies
• Village studies: the Indian village as a structural-functional unit and changes in village India

4. Tribal India

• Bio-genetic variability, linguistic and socio-economic features and distribution of tribal populations
• Problems of tribals: land alienation, poverty, indebtedness, low literacy, unemployment, health and nutrition
• Developmental projects and their impact on tribal and rural populations

5. Social Change and Tribal Development

• Exploitation and deprivation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes; constitutional safeguards
• Impact of democratic institutions, development programmes, industrialisation and urbanisation on tribal societies; pseudo-tribalism
• Tribal movements, ethnicity and ethnic movements; tribe and nation-state; globalisation and indigenous peoples
• Tribal development: Tribal Sub-Plan, particularly vulnerable tribal groups, the Panchsheel policy, role of NGOs and of anthropology in development

UPSC Optional Subject: Psychology Syllabus

The optional subject carries two papers of 250 marks each (500 marks in total) in the Civil Services Main Examination, and both papers are descriptive. Candidates choose one subject from the list prescribed by UPSC.

Paper Pattern

Paper 1: Foundations of Psychology

1. Introduction

• Definition of psychology; historical background and trends of the twentieth century
• Psychology and scientific methods; relation to other social and natural sciences
• Application of psychology to societal problems

2. Methods of Psychology

• Types of research: descriptive, evaluative, diagnostic and prognostic
• Methods: survey, observation, case study and experiment; experimental, non-experimental and quasi-experimental designs
• Focus group discussions, brainstorming and grounded theory approach

3. Research Methods and Statistics

• Characteristics of psychological research; data collection, analysis and interpretation, both qualitative and quantitative
• Descriptive statistics, parametric and non-parametric tests, correlation, regression, ANOVA, factor analysis

4. Human Development

• Growth and development and their principles; role of heredity and environment
• Influence of culture on socialisation; life-span development, its tasks and hazards

5. Sensation, Attention and Perception

• Thresholds, signal detection and vigilance; factors influencing attention
• Perceptual organisation, constancy, illusions, space, depth and movement perception; theories of perception
• Cultural factors in perception; perception of time

6. Learning

• Behaviourist, Gestalt and information-processing theories of learning
• Extinction, discrimination and generalisation; programmed and self-instructional learning
• Reinforcement schedules, escape, avoidance, punishment, modelling and social learning

7. Memory

• Encoding, storage, retrieval and transfer; working and long-term memory
• Theories of forgetting; ways of enhancing memory

8. Thinking and Problem Solving

• Piaget's theory of cognitive development; concept formation; information processing
• Reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making; creative thinking and its fostering

9. Motivation and Emotion

• Psychological and physiological bases and measurement of motivation and emotion
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; emotional competence

10. Intelligence and Aptitude

• Theories of intelligence: Spearman, Thurstone, Guilford, Vernon, Sternberg and J. P. Das
• Emotional and social intelligence; fluid and crystallised intelligence; measurement of mental abilities
• Aptitude and its measurement; intellectual deficiency and giftedness; heredity and environment

11. Personality

• Theories: psychoanalytic, socio-cultural, interpersonal, developmental, humanistic, behaviourist, trait and type
• Measurement: projective and pencil-and-paper tests; the Big Five; Indian approaches to personality and the notion of self

12. Attitudes, Values and Interests

• Formation, maintenance, measurement and change of attitudes; theories of attitude change
• Stereotypes and prejudice; strategies for fostering values; theories of attribution

13. Language and Communication

• Properties and determinants of language; biological and socio-cultural influences on language development
• Bilingualism and multilingualism; barriers and facilitators of communication

14. Issues and Perspectives in Contemporary Psychology

• Computer applications and artificial intelligence in psychology
• Consciousness: sleep-wake cycles, dreams, meditation, hypnosis, intuition and sleep disorders

15. Psychometrics

• Types of psychological tests; test construction; reliability, validity, norms and item analysis

Paper 2: Psychology: Issues and Applications

1. Individual Differences and Testing

• Nature of individual differences; characteristics and construction of standardised tests
• Uses, misuse and limitations of tests; ethical issues in testing

2. Well-being and Mental Disorders

• Health and ill health; positive health, well-being, lifestyle and quality of life
• Causes of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia and delusional disorders; happiness disposition

3. Therapeutic Approaches

• Psychodynamic, behavioural, client-centred and cognitive therapies
• Indigenous therapies such as yoga and meditation; biofeedback
• Prevention and rehabilitation of the mentally ill; fostering mental health

4. Work Psychology and Organisational Behaviour

• Personnel selection and training; use of tests in industry; human resource development
• Work motivation theories (content and process); leadership and participatory management
• Advertising and marketing; stress and its management; ergonomics; entrepreneurial behaviour
• Organisational development, restructuring and change

5. Psychology in Education

• Guidance and counselling; use of tests in schools
• Identifying and training the gifted, mentally retarded and learning disabled
• Psychological problems in different educational settings; population education

6. Community Psychology

• Concept of community psychology; use of small groups in social action
• Arousing community consciousness to handle social issues; role of social agencies

7. Rehabilitation Psychology

• Rehabilitation of persons with intellectual, mental, visual, hearing and motor disabilities
• Rehabilitation in cases of substance abuse, crime and delinquency, violence and HIV/AIDS; role of social agencies

8. Psychology of Disadvantaged Groups

• Concepts of disadvantage and deprivation; their social, physical, cultural and economic consequences
• Educational and psychological problems of the disadvantaged; theories and planning of social change; role of psychologists in social development

9. Social Integration

• Caste, class, religion and language conflicts; in-group and out-group prejudice and its causes
• Psychological strategies to handle conflict and prejudice; role of mass media in integration

10. Information Technology and Mass Media

• Role of psychologists in IT; selection and training for the IT industry; training in the use of IT
• Effects of media, including television violence

11. Psychology and Economic Development

• Achievement motivation and economic development; entrepreneurial behaviour and training
• Consumer rights and awareness; government policies promoting entrepreneurship, including women entrepreneurs

12. Environment and Related Fields

• Environmental psychology: effects of noise, pollution and crowding
• Population psychology: consequences of population explosion; motivation for the small family norm; impact of unemployment

13. Other Applied Fields

• Military psychology: selection tests, training and promoting positive health among defence personnel
• Sports psychology: performance, motivation, anxiety and training of athletes
• Forensic psychology: crime, police work, juvenile delinquency and correctional settings

14. Psychology of Gender

• Issues of discrimination and gender roles; gender-related violence and management of related problems

UPSC Optional Subject: Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Syllabus

The optional subject carries two papers of 250 marks each (500 marks in total) in the Civil Services Main Examination, and both papers are descriptive. Candidates choose one subject from the list prescribed by UPSC.

Paper Pattern

Paper 1: Political Theory and Indian Politics

Section A: Political Theory

• Political theory: meaning and approaches
• Theories of the state: liberal, neo-liberal, Marxist, pluralist, post-colonial and feminist
• Justice: Rawls' theory and its communitarian critique
• Equality: social, political and economic; equality and freedom; affirmative action
• Rights: meaning, theories and kinds; the concept of human rights
• Democracy: classical and contemporary theories; representative, participatory and deliberative models
• Power, hegemony, ideology and legitimacy
• Political ideologies: liberalism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, Gandhism and feminism
• Indian political thought: Dharmashastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar and M. N. Roy
• Western political thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, J. S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci and Hannah Arendt

Section B: Indian Government and Politics

• Indian nationalism: political strategies of the freedom struggle from constitutionalism to mass satyagraha; militant, revolutionary, peasant and workers' movements; liberal, socialist, Marxist, radical humanist and Dalit perspectives
• Making of the Constitution: colonial legacies and differing social and political perspectives
• Salient features: Preamble, fundamental rights and duties, directive principles, parliamentary system, amendment, judicial review and basic structure
• Union and State organs: envisaged role and actual working of the executive, legislature and judiciary
• Grassroots democracy: Panchayati Raj and municipal government; the 73rd and 74th Amendments; grassroots movements
• Statutory bodies: Election Commission, CAG, Finance Commission, UPSC and the national commissions for SCs, STs, women, human rights, minorities and backward classes
• Federalism: constitutional provisions, changing centre-state relations, regional aspirations, inter-state disputes
• Planning and development: Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives, the public sector, Green Revolution, land reforms, liberalisation
• Caste, religion and ethnicity in politics; party system, coalitions, pressure groups, trade unions and interest groups
• Social movements: civil liberties and human rights, women's and environmental movements

Paper 2: Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics

Section A: Comparative Politics and International Relations

• Comparative politics: nature, major approaches, political economy and political sociology perspectives, limits of the comparative method
• The state in comparative perspective: capitalist and socialist economies, advanced industrial and developing societies
• Politics of representation and participation: parties, pressure groups and social movements
• Globalisation: responses of developed and developing societies
• Approaches to IR: idealist, realist, Marxist, functionalist and systems theory
• Key concepts: national interest, security and power, balance of power, deterrence, transnational actors, collective security, world capitalist economy
• Changing international order: superpower rivalry, bipolarity, arms race and the Cold War; Non-Aligned Movement; collapse of the Soviet Union, unipolarity and American hegemony; relevance of non-alignment today
• International economic system: from Bretton Woods to the WTO, North-South dialogue, dependency theory and neo-liberalism
• United Nations: envisaged role and record, specialised agencies, need for reform
• Regionalisation of world politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC and NAFTA
• Contemporary global concerns: democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice, terrorism and nuclear proliferation

Section B: India and the World

• Indian foreign policy: determinants, institutions of policy-making, continuity and change
• India and the Non-Alignment Movement: different phases and current role
• India and South Asia: SAARC, South Asia as a free trade area, the Look East policy, and obstacles such as river-water disputes, illegal migration, ethnic conflicts and border disputes
• India and the Global South: relations with Africa and Latin America; demand for a new international economic order
• India and global centres of power: USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia
• India and the UN system: peacekeeping role and the demand for a permanent Security Council seat
• India and the nuclear question: changing perceptions and policy
• Recent developments: India's position on Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, relations with the US and Israel, and the vision of a new world order

UPSC Optional Subject: Geography Syllabus

The optional subject carries two papers of 250 marks each (500 marks in total) in the Civil Services Main Examination, and both papers are descriptive. Candidates choose one subject from the list prescribed by UPSC.

Paper Pattern

Paper 1: Principles of Geography

Physical Geography: Geomorphology

• Factors controlling landform development; endogenetic and exogenetic forces
• Origin and evolution of the earth's crust; geomagnetism; interior of the earth; geosynclines
• Continental drift, isostasy, plate tectonics, mountain building, vulcanicity, earthquakes and tsunamis
• Geomorphic cycles, denudation chronology, channel morphology, erosion surfaces and slope development
• Applied geomorphology: geohydrology, economic geology and environment

Physical Geography: Climatology

• Temperature and pressure belts; heat budget; atmospheric circulation, stability and instability
• Planetary and local winds, monsoons, jet streams, air masses, fronts, temperate and tropical cyclones
• Precipitation types and distribution; weather and climate; Koppen, Thornthwaite and Trewartha classifications
• Hydrological cycle; global climatic change; applied and urban climatology

Physical Geography: Oceanography

• Bottom relief of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; temperature and salinity; heat and salt budgets
• Ocean deposits; waves, currents and tides; marine biotic, mineral and energy resources
• Coral reefs and bleaching; sea-level change; law of the sea; marine pollution

Physical Geography: Biogeography

• Soil genesis, classification, distribution and profile; soil erosion, degradation and conservation
• Factors influencing the distribution of plants and animals; deforestation, conservation, social forestry, agro-forestry and wildlife; gene pool centres

Physical Geography: Environmental Geography

• Principles of ecology; human ecological adaptation; human influence on environment; ecological imbalances
• Ecosystem management; environmental degradation and conservation; biodiversity and sustainable development
• Environmental policy, hazards, education and legislation

Human Geography: Perspectives and Economic Geography

• Perspectives: areal differentiation, regional synthesis, dualism, environmentalism, quantitative revolution, radical, behavioural, humanistic and welfare approaches; cultural regions; Human Development Index
• World development and resources, energy crisis and limits to growth
• World agriculture: regions, inputs, productivity; food security and famine; world industries and trade patterns

Human Geography: Population, Settlement and Planning

• World population growth, distribution, attributes and migration; over-, under- and optimum population; population theories and policies
• Rural settlement types, patterns and issues; urban hierarchy, morphology, primate city, rank-size rule, functional classification, urban influence, rural-urban fringe and town planning
• Regional planning: concept of region, regionalisation, growth centres and poles, regional imbalance, sustainable development planning

Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography

• Systems analysis; Malthusian, Marxian and demographic transition models
• Central place theories (Christaller, Losch), Perroux and Boudeville, Von Thunen, Weber and Rostow's stages of growth
• Heartland and Rimland theories; laws of international boundaries and frontiers

Paper 2: Geography of India

1. Physical Setting

• India's spatial relationship with neighbours; structure, relief and physiographic regions
• Drainage and watersheds; monsoon mechanism and rainfall; cyclones, western disturbances, floods and droughts
• Climatic regions, natural vegetation and soils

2. Resources

• Land, surface and ground water, energy, minerals, biotic and marine resources
• Forest and wildlife conservation; energy crisis

3. Agriculture

• Irrigation, seeds, fertilisers and power; land holdings, tenure and reforms
• Cropping pattern, productivity, intensity, crop combination and land capability
• Green Revolution and its effects; dry farming; livestock and the White Revolution; aquaculture, sericulture, apiculture and poultry; agro-climatic zones and agricultural regionalisation

4. Industry

• Evolution of industry; location factors of cotton, jute, iron and steel, aluminium, fertiliser, paper, chemical, pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage and agro-based industries
• Industrial complexes and public sector undertakings; industrial regionalisation; new industrial policy, multinationals, liberalisation, Special Economic Zones; tourism and eco-tourism

5. Transport, Communication and Trade

• Road, rail, waterway, air and pipeline networks; ports and foreign trade; trade balance and policy; export processing zones
• Communication and IT and their impact; Indian space programme

6. Cultural Setting

• Racial, linguistic and ethnic diversity; religious minorities; tribes, tribal areas and their problems; cultural regions
• Population growth, density, sex ratio, age structure, literacy, workforce, dependency ratio and longevity; migration; population policy and health indicators

7. Settlements

• Rural settlement types and patterns; morphology and functional classification of Indian cities
• Conurbations, metropolitan regions, urban sprawl, slums, town planning, problems of urbanisation

8. Regional Development and Planning

• Regional planning experience and Five Year Plans; integrated rural development; Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning
• Command area development, watershed management, planning for backward, desert, drought-prone, hill and tribal areas; multi-level planning; island territories

9. Political Aspects

• Geographical basis of Indian federalism; state reorganisation and new states; regional consciousness and inter-state issues
• International boundaries and related issues; cross-border terrorism; India's role in world affairs; geopolitics of South Asia and the Indian Ocean

10. Contemporary Issues

• Environmental hazards: landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts and epidemics; pollution and changing land use
• Environmental impact assessment and management; population explosion and food security; deforestation, desertification and soil erosion
• Agrarian and industrial unrest; regional disparities; sustainable development; river linking; globalisation and the Indian economy