CSIR SO/ASO Syllabus 2024

• Sources of Indian History, Harappan Civilization
• The Mauryan, Vedic, Post Mauryan period (200 BC-300 AD), Gupta & Post-Gupta period: Society, Economy & Polity, Chronology of Events in Medieval India
• North India between 750-1200, The Sultans of Delhi, The Mughal Kings, The Marathas, The Saints of Medieval India
• India in the Eighteenth Century, Rise of the Regional Powers Economic Impact of The British, Indian Renaissance and Reform Movement, Early Uprisings Against The British, The Revolt of 1857
• Nature and Causes For The Rise of National Movement, The Rise of Neo-Nationalists or Extremists, The Beginning of the Gandhian Era.

• Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
• Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
• Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, the conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies
• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections
• Health, Education, Human Resources
• Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger

• National - National Issues, Indian Economy, Indian Polity, Judiciary, Environment, Science and Technology, States, Social Schemes, Sports News, Reports, Committee and Commission, Awards and Honours, Accident and calamities, First in India.
• International -Important Summits & Events, International Awards, First in the world, International leadership, International Reports, International committees and recommendations, Geographical events around the world.

• Comprehension, do as directed (Active-Passive; Direct-Indirect etc.), Prepositions, fill in the blanks, synonyms, antonyms, sentence correction, common errors, punctuation, idioms & phrases etc.

• It would include questions of both verbal and non-verbal type. The test will include questions on analogies, similarities and differences, space visualization, problem solving, analysis, judgement, decision making, visual memory, discriminating observation, relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning, verbal and figure classification, arithmetical number series, non-verbal series etc. The test will also include questions designed to test the candidate's abilities to deal with abstract ideas and symbols and their relationship, arithmetical computation and other analytical functions.

Basic concept and definition of economy and economics, uses and transfer of resources, distributive effects, macro and micro economic policy, micro-macro balance, distributive impact of economic policies, development versus growth, determinant of growth and development, concepts such as HPI/MPI, HDI, PQLI, GEM, GDI/GII, TAI, Green index, sustainable development, India's ranking in the various indices.

• Terms like climate change, ecosystem, sustainable development, natural disaster, etc. are regularly featured in the news.
• Environment topics can be interlinked with core concepts of other subjects like geography, biology, botany, zoology and also the economy.
• Environment can also overlap with policy and governance since many government schemes are linked towards preserving the natural resources and environment, conservation of flora and fauna, and reducing pollution, etc.