12/2/2015 General Studies 2 Paper Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

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General Studies 2 Paper Syllabus – Civil Services Mains ExamUPSC

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General Studies 2 Paper Syllabus for UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam consists of thebelow major areas : Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and Internationalrelations. Detailed syllabus is given below:• Indian Constitution­ historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments,significant provisions and basic structure.• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challengespertaining to thefederal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challengestherein.• Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms andinstitutions.• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries• Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers& privilegesand issues arising out of these.• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries andDepartmentsof the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in thePolity.• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities ofvariousConstitutional Bodies.• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi­judicial bodies• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issuesarising out oftheir design and implementation.• Development processes and the development industry­ the role of NGOs, SHGs,various groups and

12/2/2015 General Studies 2 Paper Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

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associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States andtheperformance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted fortheprotection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating toHealth,Education, Human Resources.• Issues relating to poverty and hunger.• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e­governance­applications,models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency &accountability andinstitutional and other measures.• Role of civil services in a democracy.• India and its neighborhood­ relations.• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affectingIndia’sinterests• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests,IndianDiaspora.• Important International institutions, agencies and fora­ their structure, mandate.

Reference Books for General Studies Paper 2 [Suggestions by ClearIAS.com]

The basic book­list recommended by many toppers is provided in the link IAS Books forUPSC Mains. If you need additional books/weblinks for reference, the below mentionedlinks might turn useful. Tip : You can search/buy online these books using the FlipkartSeach Box provided in this website. (Right Side Bar)

1. The Constitution of India.2. An Introduction to the Constitution of India by M.V. Pylee.

12/2/2015 General Studies 2 Paper Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

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3. Introduction to the Constitution of India by Durga Das Basu.4. Select Constitutions by Anup Chand Kapur, A.C. Kapur & K.K. Misra.5. Fifty Years of Indian Parliament by G.C. Malhotra.6. Social Theory, Development Administration & Development Ethics by Mohit

Bhattacharya.7. Our Parliament by Subhash Kashyap.8. Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design by Devesh Kapur & Pratap

Bhanu Mehta.9. Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri.10. India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt.11. ARC reports; special focus to the fourth report on Ethics in Governance and the fifth

report on Public Order.12. PIB.13. India.gov.in for Welfare Schemes.14. Articles from Planning Commission Website.15. The Diplomat Magazine.16. Briefs on Foreign Relations from MEA.