Hyderabad: This article intends to create awareness about the syllabus and lists the references for the TSPSC Group I Mains examination.
TSPSC Group I Mains Examination is a descriptive examination consisting of the following six papers with each paper having a weightage of 150 marks.
• Paper-I General Essay
• Paper-II History, Culture and Geography
• Paper-III Indian Society, Constitution and Governance
• Paper-IV Economy and Development
• Paper-V Science & Technology and Data Interpretation
• Paper-VI Telangana Movement and State Formation
General Essay
The first paper in TSPSC Group I Mains is titled General Essay and the syllabus states that essays on the following topics shall be asked:
1. Contemporary Social issues and Social Problems – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper III syllabus. It basically covers all current problems faced by the Indian society such as honour killings, casteism, sexual crimes, and religious intolerance and so on.
2. Issues of Economic Growth and Justice – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper IV syllabus. A thorough understanding of the latest developments in the economic sphere such as doubling farmers’ income, promotion of MSMEs, crypto currency, and disinvestment of PSEs and so on will help answering questions in this area.
3. Dynamics of Indian Politics – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper III syllabus. All developments in the political, legal and administration such as – important judgments of Supreme Court on Fundamental Rights like Right to Privacy, promotion of good governance, necessity of Lokpal and Lokayukta, electoral reforms, working of the Parliament and so on should be keenly followed to answer any question from this topic.
4. Historical and Cultural Heritage of India – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper II syllabus. Candidates should be able to identify the broad themes in Indian History on which essays may be asked, like, Gandhian era, Indian Renaissance, contribution of extremists to the National freedom struggle, India’s composite culture and so on.
5. Developments in Science and Technology – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper III syllabus. Latest developments and innovations in the fields of space, defence, bio-technology and information technology must be keenly observed. Examples of topics relevant and important in this segment are – Artificial Intelligence, Gene editing, India’s achievements in space technology, vaccine hesitancy, bio-wars and so on.
6. Education and Human Resource Development – This area is a part of TSPSC Mains Paper III and Paper IV syllabus. This area is small in comparison with the above five topics as it lists only two aspects of development – education and human resources. To comprehensively cover it, candidates must focus on education, skill development, employment, employability, nutrition and health – policies, measures, schemes, challenges and issues.
Candidates may be expected to attempt three essays with a weightage of 50 marks per essay. Special preparation for essay paper must be started only after completing the remaining five papers as
– Basic information related to most of the areas mentioned above will be extensively covered in the remaining papers
– The essays will be current based and preparing at the end will help students identify contemporary issues then
Suggested references – Yojana, Kurukshetra and Telangana Magazine
History,culture and geography
The second paper in TSPSC Group I Mains deals with the following subjects, having a weightage of 50 marks per area:
1. History and Culture of India, with special reference to Modern Period (1757 to 1947 A.D):
– There are five units in this subject out of which the first unit is on ancient India, the second unit is on medieval India and the remaining three units are on modern India. Therefore, the syllabus includes the words “special reference to Modern Period (1757 to 1947 A.D)”.
– History of any era would have four main spheres namely political, social, economic and cultural. Candidates must focus more on social and cultural history.
Suggested references – NCERT old edition and Tamil Nadu State Board textbooks from Classes 8 to 10
