The UPSC IAS Prelims 2021 exam is scheduled for June 27 as per the new UPSC Exam Calendar 2021. The candidates sometimes feel anxious during their preparation because of the extensive and dynamic syllabus to study. But here, we have tried to compile all the important topics from every section that comes in this exam to make the revision process productive and easier.
Current events of national and international importance and the General Studies topics are important either for the IAS prelims exam, mains, or for the IAS interview. All the aspects of Current affairs and general studies need to be clearly understood for The IAS exam.
Here in this article, we provide a detailed list of important topics for the IAS 2021 exam so the preparation should revolve around these IAS topics primarily.
IAS 2021 Syllabus:
The IAS 2021 syllabus can be divided into two parts as General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper-II (or CSAT). The detailed IAS syllabus for the 2021 exam is given below:
Syllabus of General Studies Paper I
- Current events of national and international importance
- History of India and Indian National Movement
- Indian and World Geography: Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World
- Indian Polity & Governance: Political System, Constitution, Panchayati Raj, Rights Issues, Public Policy, etc.
- Social & Economic Development: Poverty, Sustainable Development, Inclusion, Social Sector initiatives, Demographics, etc.
- General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change that do not require subject specialization
- General Science
Syllabus of General Studies Paper II (CSAT):
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and problem-solving
- General mental ability
- Basic numeric such as orders of magnitude, numbers, and their relations, etc. form Class 10 level
- Data interpretation such as graphs, charts, data sufficiency, tables, etc. from Class 10 level
- English language comprehension skills – Class X level.
Important topics for IAS 2021 exam:
Topics on Current Affairs
The main section for IAS preparation is the Current events of national and international importance and the current affairs of the last 100 days are most essential for the IAS exam. The candidates need to prepare for the current affairs from 01 Jan 2020 till 20 days prior to the exam. The important topics from the current affairs section are as follows:
- Recovery of Indian Economy
- New Agriculture Laws
- New National Education Policy
- Digital Education Report
- Stages of Vaccine Development
- ASEEM Platform
- Postal Ballet in India
- Net Zero Carbon Emission - Meaning
- 5G technology - Beam formation, Mass MIMO
- Working of ICMR
- Drug testing regulation in India
- String of Pearl’s theory and India's counter
- Sea Lines of Communication in the Indian Ocean
- One Belt One Road (OBOR) Policy and India's Counter
- Cyclone Nisarga affected areas
- Fabric required for PPE kit
- What percentage of oxygen is required for the normal functioning of the brain?
- Shifting of Earth's Geo-Magnetic field and its impact
- Indo-Nepal & Indo-China Border dispute
- Virus and Bacteria borne diseases differences
- Outbreak-Epidemic-Pandemic
- CORONA Test Techniques - Viral vs. Antibody Test
- Recent NAM and SCO Summit
- Recent Dhaula-Vira Discoveries
- Coronavirus Pandemic
- China – Wuhan
- Facts related to the Citizenship Amendment Act
- The Jammu & Kashmir, Leh, and Ladakh formation
- Sir Creek dispute
- Uttarakhand Summer Capital
- Environment Summits 2019-2020
Topics on Economy
Indian Economy oriented topics are also important aspects of current events. The candidates also need to prepare for the current economic events happening in India and whole over the world. The candidates have to understand the structure of Indian economics and its connection with the world. The important topics from the economy section are as follows:
- Role of RBI in post-COVID-19 recovery
- Recovery of Indian Economy after the pandemic
- FATF Review of Indian Economy Pushed to 2021
- IMF projection and Indian Economy
- Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan
- Zoram Food Park, Mizoram
- Google to invest 75000 Cr. in India
- National Infrastructure Pipeline
- Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund
- What is Negative Growth?
- Deflation and Recession
- Indian Economic Structure
- The primary, secondary and tertiary producers
- Agriculture in India
- Banking Structure of India (Recent Bank Mergers)
- RBI Mandate and its functioning
- SEBI, IRDA
- REPO rate, Reverse Repo Rate, Marginal Standing Facility, Bank Rate
- Crypto-currency and issues related to it ( Recently Supreme Court gave an order related to it)
Topics on Geography
Geography is a science-based subject and many candidates found it difficult to prepare so the geography topics are as important as the others. The important topics from the geography section are as follows:
- The increasing frequency of Cyclone
- Bihar and Assam Floods
- Flood and the Indian preparations across the state
- The naming convention of cyclones
- Physical Features along Indo-China Border
- Geo-Magnetic Field and its significance
- Cyclone Amphan & Cyclone Nisarga
- Formation of Himalaya and structure of Himalayas, Importance of Himalayas
- Physical Geography of India
- The drainage system in India
- Monsoon pattern in India
- Rock System in India
- Formation of Rocks
- Recent Census figures
- Climatology
- Hydrology
Topics on Indian Polity
A good amount of questions have been asked every year from the Indian Polity section and the question seems easy and direct but the close analysis of the question offers the insight that those are tricky. The important topics from the Indian Polity section are as follows:
- New Agriculture Laws are essential for long-pending Agricultural reforms
- All India orientation of CBI investigation
- Implications of J & K reorganization Act, 2019
- Difference between Minister with Independent Charge and Cabinet Minister
- Prime Minister as the Residuary Legatee
- Preamble
- Article related to the Land Boundaries and their redrawing
- Articles related to the Citizenship of India
- Citizenship Act
- Fundamental Rights
- Fundamental Duties
- Articles related to the Supreme Court of India
- Articles related to the Emergency Provisions in India
- Article related to the Union-State relations with social emphasis on Article 256, 356
- National Security Act
- Essential Commodities Act
- Important SC Judgments related to Fundamental Rights and Basic Structure Doctrine
- Panchayati Raj Institutions
- Lokpal Institution
- NITI Aayog functioning
Topics on History
In the IAS syllabus, India’s history is one of the largest sections. Most of the important topic is either based on the recent discoveries or previous year trends. The important topics from the history section are as follows:
- History of Galwan Valley
- Dholavira excavation and the related discoveries
- Government of India Act 1935
- All the events occurred in the years 1919 and 1920.
- All the events related to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru
- The Round Table Conferences – I, II, and III. (III is most important)
- Poona Pact
- Jaliawalan Bagh Tragedy
- Civil Disobedience Movement
- Cabinet Mission Plan
- Quit India Movement
- The Social movements in Modern India
- The Formation of the Indian National Congress, the Democratic Socialist Party, and the local parties
- The chronology of events leading to the Indian Independence
- National Leaders related to the National Movement
- Liberal Viceroys of India
