SSC CGL General Awareness 2025 - Syllabus, Topics & Best Books

The Staff Selection Commission will conduct the SSC CGL exam (Tier 1) from September 12, based on the SSC CGL syllabus as mentioned in the official notification. The candidates can check here the SSC CGL General Awareness syllabus in detail. The candidates can see here the SSC CGL General Awareness Syllabus, Topics and best books.

SSC CGL General Awareness Syllabus and Topics

SSC CGL General Awareness Syllabus 2025: The candidates find it most difficult to prepare the SSC CGL General Awareness syllabus because of the enormity of the syllabus. The candidates find it difficult to prepare the General Awareness syllabus in its constituent parts. The Commission can ask any number of questions from any subsection of the SSC CGL General Awareness syllabus, and hence, the candidates cannot anticipate the importance of any topic. The previous year SSC CGL question papers are very helpful in anticipating such things. The candidates must practice with the SSC CGL question papers to get the real feel of the SSC CGL exam. 

The General Awareness syllabus is the most understated part of the Combined Graduate Level syllabus. The candidates are required to think about the General Awareness events occurring in the day-to-day life and link them with the previous year's question papers. This will provide insight into the General Awareness syllabus. The SSC CGL 2025 exam will be conducted from September 12 to 24. The SSC CGL general awareness section is considered the toughest to prepare among all the sections because of the enormity of its syllabus. The candidate struggles to prepare the general awareness topics because the syllabus is not explained in the official notification. SSC CGL preparation requires in-depth preparation of the general awareness section. 

The Commission mentions very broad topics in the name of the general awareness syllabus. The following topics can be deduced from the official syllabus as mentioned in the official notification:

• Current Events
• History
• Culture
• Geography
• Economic Scene
• General Policy and Scientific Research

The above can be considered as the broad outline of the SSC CGL syllabus but the candidates require much more than that to prepare it. The candidate can see below the SSC General Awareness syllabus and associated topics.

SSC CGL General Awareness: Current Affairs Topics

Current events or current affairs is the most dynamic part of the general awareness syllabus. The current affairs change and add up for preparation with each passing day. The candidates are required to update their current affairs daily because it changes with each day.

Today's current event becomes History tomorrow. The commission mentioned that the events occurring in the neighbouring countries can be discussed in the paper. The candidates should divide the current affairs syllabus into the following part to prepare this section in a better way.

• National
• Polity and Governance
• Economy
• Environmental Issues
• Geography and Agriculture
• International News
• Science & Tech.
• Society
• Government Schemes
• Person in News and Awards
• Sports
• Others

The candidates should prepare the current affairs of the last six to nine months because the Commission can ask for anything from last year. It is seen that sometimes the Commission asks questions about events over one year.

SSC CGL General Awareness: History Topics

The candidates need to prepare the History section because the Commission asks at least 3 to 7 questions from this section. The candidates find it difficult to prepare History because this section is very large and the candidates are required to learn the facts of History. The candidates can do the following division of the History section to prepare it in a better way:

• Ancient History
• Medieval History
• Modern History & Indian National Movement

To simplify it further, the candidates must dilute the above broad topics into simpler ones.

SSC CGL General Awareness Questions

Ancient History Topics

 The Commission asks two or three questions from the Ancient History section. The most common questions asked in the SSC CGL exam are based on the architecture of historical monuments, their location, the emperors who built them and the like.

 The Ancient History Topics can be summarised as follows:

Harappan Civilisation /Indus Valley Civilisation

• Geographical Extent
• Major Cities
• Town Planning and Structures
• Agriculture and the Domestication of Animals
• Art and Crafts

Aryan and the Age of the Rig Vedas

• Aryans – their origin and identity
• Tribal Conflict
• Life and Culture
• Family and Social Divisions
• Rig Vedic Gods

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

Mauryan Empire

• Period, leaders, hierarchy
• Causes of rising, growth, success and decline
• Social Institutions, Political structure and governance
• Significance of the 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, and language

Sangam Age

• Three Kingdoms of South – Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas
• Religion and Economy
• Decline of the Sangam Age
• Art and Literature

Gupta Age

• Period, leaders, hierarchy
• Social Institutions, Political structure and governance
• Significance of the Gupta Age
• Society and Culture: the position of women
• Economic system, trade

Harsha and his times

• Harsha Kingdom
• Administration, Political Structure, Rise of Nalanda

Formation of new states in India

Transformation of the Ancient Age

The above topics are not a complete list and the candidates can add other topics if they have completed the above list.

Medieval History Topics

• The Commission asks only one or two questions from the Medieval History of India. The candidates can check below the list of topics for Medieval History
• Major Dynasties that ruled India and their chronology
• Mughal Dynasty and its rulers
• Mughal Architecture and Important Monuments
• Hindu Kings in the Medieval Period and their Architecture
• Important Battles fought in this period
• Foreign Invaders during this period
• Important Maratha Rulers
• Establishment of East India Company

The above are the most important topics for the Medieval History of India. The candidates should prepare these topics on priority and then only delve into other topics.

Modern History and Indian National Movement Topics

This is one of the most important sections of the History part. The Commission asks 2-3 questions from this section in the paper. The candidates can see below the most important topics for this part:

• Later Mughals
• Social and Economic Conditions in the Eighteenth Century
• Beginning of European Settlement in India
• The British Conquest of India
• Important Governors General of India
• Important wars fought by the Company in India
• Administrative Reforms during British Rule
• Judicial Reforms
• Police Reforms
• Revenue and Commercial Reforms
• Revolt of 1857 and important leaders
• Indian National Movement
• Economic Impact of British Rule
• Mahatma Gandhi's Era, including his agitations
• Simon Commission and the Nehru Report 
• Cripps Mission
• Puna Pact
• Round Table Conferences
• Women Freedom Fighters
• Indian National Congress Annual Sessions
• Socio-Religious Reform Movements(late 18th to mid-20th century)
• Caste Movements
• Peasant Movements
• Newspapers and Journals 

SSC CGL General Awareness: Polity and Governance Topics

To effectively cover these topics, the candidates must refer to the newspaper to get the latest policy and governance issues worked upon by the government. The candidates can prepare the polity and governance topic by dividing it into smaller topics such as

• Constitution of India (Articles 1 to 150) 
• NITI Aayog
• Finance Commission
• Election Commission
• Central Information Commission of India
• Lokpal and Lokayukta
• National Disaster Management Authority
• National Green Tribunal
• Special Status of States
• Important Constitutional Amendments
• Current Legislation in the news

SSC General Awareness: Geography Topics

The candidates find the Geography section of general awareness most difficult because the syllabus is enormous and the candidates are required to learn the physical features and locations of important geographical features. The candidates should learn the following:

• Important Peaks in India and the World
• River System in India
• Cited at the banks of River
• Agriculture Crops in India
• Oceans and Lakes in the World
• Climate System 
• Atmosphere
• Planetary System

SSC CGL General Awareness: Economy Topics

The Economy topics can be prepared with current affairs and the most important source of Economy topics is the newspaper and current affairs magazines. Some of the most important Economy topics are:

• Monetary Policy Components
• Inflation and Its Components
• Reserve Bank Policy Initiatives
• Indian Economic Structure
• Budget of the Current Year
• Government Social Schemes

Important Commercial Crops in India

SSC CGL General Awareness: General Science Topics

The candidates can prepare the General Science topics by studying the Science books of Class VIII to XII. The candidates can check some of the most important topics for the SSC CGL exam are 

• Laws of Electricity
• Semi-Conductors
• Photosynthesis
• Plant Ecosystem
• Human Body and the systems associated
• Food web

Best Books for SSC CGL General Awareness

The candidates need the best books for the exam so that they can score better in the general awareness section. Some of the books given below should be referred by the candidates

• NCERT Books from Class VIth to 12th of History, Geography
• Indian Political System
• Constitution at work
• Indian Constitution
• Newspaper
• Current Affairs Magazine
• Lucent General Knowledge

The candidates should complete the above reference material first and then only go for the specialised books for each section.