UPSC History Syllabus with Important Topics for IAS 2024

Manager-Editorial

Updated on Jun 13, 2024 17:56 IST

The UPSC Prelims does not ask many questions from the Ancient History section but the questions from the Art and Culture can be solved with the help of the Ancient History topics. The candidates can not leave the Ancient History for IAS exam. Ancient History Syllabus explained in detail. Check all important topics.

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 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 must prepare the five fundamental subjects as notified for the IAS prelims exam. These are History, Geography, Economy, Polity, Current Affairs, General Science. The candidates should also prepare the Environmental issues too.

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 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

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

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: 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.

The above syllabus is taken from the official notification of UPSC CSE.

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. The Ethics syllabus is important because the right strategy can fetch good marks in the paper. The Ethics papers is designed to check the Integrity and Moral principles in the candidates.

Read More

Most important topics for IAS 2024

Download Important Dates for Sarkari Exams Exams