GPSC Prelims: General Studies

About this paper

General Studies is the only paper of the GPSC Preliminary Examination for the Gujarat Administrative Service, Class-1, Gujarat Civil Service, Class-1 and Class-2, and Gujarat Municipal Chief Officer Service, Class-2. It is the first of the examination's two stages: the Preliminary Examination, then the Main Examination (written papers and a Personality Test).

• The medium is English and Gujarati.
• The standard of the Preliminary Examination is that of a graduate.
• It is a screening test only: its marks are not counted for the final selection.
• On its result, about 15 times the total number of posts advertised are admitted, provisionally, to the Main Examination.
• The advertisement and the syllabus do not state negative marking; check the instructions on the question paper and the call letter.

Official syllabus

The Commission's syllabus for this paper, in full (English version):

History and Culture

1. Indus valley civilisation, Vedic age, Jainism and Buddhism.
2. Contact with Central Asia and its consequences.
3. Major Dynasties of Ancient, Medieval and Modern India and Gujarat - Their rulers, Administration, Social, Religious and Economic conditions, etc.
4. The Bhakti Movement and Sufism.
5. The arrival of Europeans in India and their struggle for supremacy, Company rule in India, Establishment and expansion of British rule in India, Indian war of Independence - 1857 in India and Gujarat, Religious and social reform movements in India and Gujarat in the 19th century, India's freedom movement, Indian Revolutionaries in India and abroad.
6. National leaders and their contributions in various fields
7. Post-Independence India and Gujarat
8. Cultural heritage of India and Gujarat: Art forms, Literature, Sculpture, Architecture, Music, Dances, etc.
9. The Saintly tradition of India and Gujarat and its influence on psyche of people.
10. Life traditions of India and Gujarat, Fairs, Festivals, Food and Costumes, etc.
11. Museums of Gujarat, Library activities, Cultural-Religious and Literary importance, Gujarati Theatre: Plays, Songs and various Theatre groups, etc.
12. Life of Adivasi (Tribes): Festivals, Fairs, Costumes, Rituals, etc.
13. Gujarati Literature: Modes, Streams, Litterateurs, Literary work and Literary Organizations, Gujarati language and dialects, etc.
14. Pilgrimage and Tourist Places of Gujarat.

Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations.

1. Indian Constitution: Origin and Evolution, Features, Important provisions of the Constitution, Important Constitutional Amendments, Basic Structure, Matters related to the Federal Structure, etc.
2. Constitutional Authorities: Powers, Functions and Responsibilities. Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial bodies.
3. Local self-government institutions.
4. Judiciary in India - Structure and functions, judicial review, Public Interest Litigation, Landmark Judgments, etc.
5. India's Foreign Policy - International Relations - Important Institutions, Agencies, Various Organizations, their Structure and Functioning, etc.
6. Important Policies and Programmes of Central and State Government.

Reasoning and Mental Ability

1. Reasoning and Analytical Ability.
2. Decision Making and Problem Solving Ability.
3. General Mental Ability
4. Basic Numerical Ability
5. Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc.)

Economy of India and Gujarat

1. Basic concepts and notions of Economics.
2. Indian Economy on the eve of Independence, Planning exercise in India; models and shift in focus over a period of time etc. New Economic Reforms, NITI Aayog, etc.
3. Agriculture sector: Major Crops, Cropping Patterns and Irrigation etc., Institutional Structure - Land Reforms in India; Technological change in agriculture, Pricing of agricultural inputs and outputs; Terms of trade between agriculture and industry; Agricultural Finance Policy; Marketing and Warehousing; Issues in Food Security and Public Distribution System, Green Revolution, Policies for Sustainable agriculture and Organic farming, etc.
4. Industrial policy; Public sector enterprises; Privatization and disinvestments; Growth and pattern of industrialization; Small-scale sector; Productivity in industrial sector; Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and industrialization, Foreign investment and competition policy, etc.
5. Infrastructure in Indian Economy: Infrastructure facilities; Water supply and Sanitation, Energy and Power, Science and Technology, Rural and Urban infrastructure facilities, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, Telecommunication, Social Impact Assessment, etc.
6. Trends and patterns in structure of population over a period of time - Growth rate, Gender, Rural-Urban migration, Literacy, Regional; Structure and trends of Poverty and Inequality; Unemployment - trends, structure and National Rural Employment Policies. Various indicators of development, etc.
7. Indian Public finance system: Indian tax system, Public expenditure, Public debt, Deficit and subsidies in the Indian economy, Centre-State financial relation, Recent fiscal and monetary policy issues and their impact, Goods and Service Tax (GST), etc.
8. Trend, composition, structure and direction of India's foreign trade. India's Balance of payments Situation in post reforms period, etc.
9. Economy of Gujarat: Social sector in Gujarat; Education, Health, and Nutrition. Gujarat's economy in recent decades, major problems of agriculture in relation to India and major states, forests, water resources, mining, industry and service sector. Policies for the development of economic and social infrastructure, etc.

Geography

1. General Geography: Earth in Solar system, Motion of the Earth, Concept of time, Season, Internal Structure of the Earth, Major landforms and their features. Atmosphere - structure and composition, Elements and factors of climate, Airmasses and Fronts, Atmospheric disturbances, Climate change. Oceans: Physical, Chemical and Biological characteristics, Hydrological Disasters, Marine and Continental resources, etc.
2. Physical Geography in relation to World, India and Gujarat: Major physical divisions, Earthquakes, landslides, Natural drainage, Seasonal Climate Regions, Atmospheric disturbance, Cyclone, Natural Vegetation: Parks and Sanctuaries. Major Soil types, Rocks and Minerals, etc.
3. Social Geography in relation to World, India and Gujarat: Distribution, Density, Growth, Sex-ratio, Literacy, Occupational Structure, SC and ST Population, Ethnic group, Linguistic group, Rural-Urban components, Urbanization and Migration, Metropolitan regions, etc.
4. Economic Geography: Major sectors of economy, Agriculture, Industry and Services-their salient features. Basic Industries-Agro, Mineral, Forest, Fuel and Manpower based Industries, Transport and Trade, etc.
5. Geography in the context of current trends.

Science and Technology

1. Science and Technology: Nature and Scope of Science & Technology, Relevance of Science & Technology to the day to day life, National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation; Various institutions involved in science, technology and innovation in India; their activities and contribution; Contribution of prominent Indian Scientists, etc.
2. Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Nature and Scope of ICT, ICT in day to day life, ICT and Industry, ICT and Governance, Various government schemes promoting the use of ICT, Netiquettes, Cyber Security, National Cyber Crime Policy, etc.
3. Technology in Space & Defence: Evolution & development of Indian Space Programme, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and other organisations, their activities and achievements; Various Satellite Programmes. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian missile program, etc.
4. Energy Requirement and Efficiency: India's existing energy needs and deficit, India's energy resources and dependence, Energy policy of India- Government Policies and Programmes, etc.
5. Nuclear Policy of India and its commitment to the world: India's Nuclear power programme, India's nuclear cooperation with other countries, Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and India, Nuclear weapons policy of India, Various treaties, conferences and summits on the non-proliferation and prohibition of nuclear weapons, etc.
6. Environmental Science: Issues and concerns related to environment and its legal aspects, Policies and treaties for the protection of environment at the national and the international level, Biodiversity, Climate change, International initiatives (Policies, Protocols) and India's commitment, Forest and Wildlife; Legal framework for Forest and Wildlife Conservation in India. Environmental Hazards, Pollution and related issues, Carbon emission, Global warming. National Action plans on Climate Change and Disaster management. Health & Environment, etc.
7. Nature, scope and use/application of Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and other Emerging Technologies; Ethical, Social and Legal issues. Government policies and their impact on human life, etc.
8. Various organizations related to science and technology, their functions, and contributions, etc.

General knowledge and Current Events of Regional, National and International Importance.

Subject-wise breakdown

Each page quotes the official lines it covers and breaks them down point by point. Where an official line names both India and Gujarat, the India side and the Gujarat side have separate pages.

• Ancient and Medieval India: Indus valley, Vedic age, Jainism and Buddhism, contact with Central Asia, dynasties of ancient and medieval India, Bhakti and Sufism.
• Modern India and the Freedom Movement: Europeans in India, Company rule, 1857, 19th-century reform, the freedom movement, revolutionaries, national leaders, post-Independence India.
• Gujarat: History: Harappan Gujarat to the formation of the state in 1960: dynasties, Sultanate, Mughals and Gaekwads, 1857, reform, Gandhi's satyagrahas, Mahagujarat.
• Indian Art, Culture and Heritage: Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, literature, saints and life traditions of India.
• Gujarat: Art, Culture and Life Traditions: Monuments, crafts, Garba and folk dances, saints, fairs, food and costumes, museums, libraries and Gujarati theatre.
• Gujarat: Adivasi (Tribal) Life: Tribes of Gujarat and their festivals, fairs, costumes, rituals, history and safeguards.
• Gujarati Literature, Language and Dialects: Forms, eras and writers of Gujarati literature, literary bodies and awards, the language and its dialects.
• Gujarat: Pilgrimage and Tourist Places: Pilgrimage centres of every faith, heritage sites, wildlife and beach tourism in Gujarat.
• Indian Constitution, Polity and Judiciary: Making and features of the Constitution, amendments, basic structure, federalism, constitutional and statutory bodies, local government, judiciary.
• International Relations and Government Policies: India's foreign policy, international organisations, and Central and State Government policies and programmes.
• Gujarat: Polity and Administration: Gujarat's government, legislature, state bodies, district administration, panchayats and municipalities, governance initiatives.
• Reasoning and Mental Ability: Analytical reasoning, decision making, mental ability, basic numeracy and data interpretation.
• Indian Economy: Concepts, planning and reforms, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, population and poverty, public finance, foreign trade.
• Gujarat: Economy: Gujarat's economy: social sector, agriculture and its problems, forests, water, mining, industry, services and infrastructure policy.
• General and World Geography: Earth and solar system, landforms, climate, oceans, and the physical, social and economic geography of the world.
• Geography of India: Physical, social and economic geography of India, and geography in current trends.
• Gujarat: Geography: Gujarat's physical divisions, rivers, climate and hazards, soils and minerals, parks and sanctuaries, population and economic geography.
• Science and Technology: Everyday science, S&T policy and institutions, ICT and cyber security, space, defence, energy, nuclear policy, emerging technologies.
• Environment and Disaster Management: Ecology, biodiversity, forest and wildlife law, pollution, climate change and disaster management.
• General Knowledge and Current Events: Regional (Gujarat), national and international current events and general knowledge.

How this paper connects

• History and culture return in Mains General Studies-I, which adds Indian society and the Gujarati diaspora.
• Polity, governance and current events return in General Studies-II.
• Science, environment, geography and the economy of India and Gujarat return in General Studies-III.
• Gujarati literature and language support the qualifying Gujarati Language paper and the Essay.

Source: Gujarat Public Service Commission, Syllabus of Preliminary Examination, Advertisement No. 05/2026-27 (16 April 2026), PDF; Detailed Advertisement No. 05/2026-27, PDF. Last checked 11 November 2026.