IMPORTANT TOPICS

FOR PRELIMS 2023

.IW NSIGHTSONINDIA.COM
 INSIDE

» Polity  3

» Agriculture  4

» Art and Culture 7

» International Relations  15

» Ancient & Medieval India 16

» Geography  17

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 POLITY IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR PRELIMS 2023

» Official secrets act (100years)

» Swarajya party (100 years)
» Anti defection law
» Powers of governor
» Delimitation in Kashmir
» EWS
» Doctrine of adverse possession ( Vidya Devi case )
» 9th schedule ( Karnataka reservation )
» Dy speaker ( post vacant since 2 years)
» Doctrine of essential religious practices (hijab issue )
» Obc subcategorisation ( Rohini commission)
» Private memebers bill ( UCC)
» Art 142 , pardoning power of Pres ( Perarivalan issue )
» FCRA act ( suspension of Sonia Gandhi ngo)
» AAP ( National party status )
» MP/ Mla disqualification
» Judiciary appointments ( collegium vs NJAC)
» ED / CBI ( powers and structure )
» Star campaigners
» Election symbols ( reservation and allotment order 1968 ) ( shiv Sena issue)
» Appoint of CEC - EC
» 6th schedule ( ladakh demand)
» Inner line permit
» Remote voting machine , proxy voting , postal ballot

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 IMPORTANT TOPICS IN AGRICULTURE FOR
UPSC CSE PRELIMS 2023

» Fertilizers
- Macro, micro
- NBS scheme
- Urea pricing
- Nano urea
- One nation one fertilizer
- PM Kisan Samruddhi kendra( Min of Che & fertilizer)
- PM PRANAM
- Bio fertilizer
- Fertigation
- Green manure
» Crops
- Kharif Crops
- Rabi Crops
- Condition for growth( temp, rainfall, soil)
- Distribution
- Oil seeds
- Pulses
- Fodder crops
» Farming
- Types of farming and their characteristic features
- Cropping patterns
» Technologies in Farming
- Sys for rice intensification(SRI)
- Sus Sugarcane Initiative
- Hydrogel Agri System
- Mycorrhizal technology
- Zero tillage
- Organic farming
- ZBNF
- Precision Agriculture
- vertical farming

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 » IMP SCHEMES
- PM KISAN
- Agri Infra Fund (AIF)
- PMFME
- PMKSY
- PMFBY
- MISS
- SAMARTH( by Min of Power)
- PM Kisan Sampada
- OMSS
- PSF( Price Stabilisation Fund)
» Seed
- Seed treaty( Recent 9th session- host-India)
- Types of seeds
- Indian seeds Act 1966
- seed replacement rate
- Seed village concept
» Agri. Security and Food Security
- MSP - meaning, calculation, crops covered
- CACP - Factors considered to calculate MSP
- FCI - Shanta Kumar committee
- FRP
- Essential Commodities Act, 1955
» Agriculture Finance
- NABARD
- Kisan Credit Card
- Kisan Vikas Patra
» Irrigation
- Sprinkler
- Drip
- Traditional
- Scheme- PMKSY
» Agri Marketing
- APMC - All basics
- E - Nam

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 - Negotiable Warehouse Receipts

» Statutory bodies and miscellaneous points

- FSSAI
- Agmark
- GIAHS
- APEDA
- MPEDA
- Tea & Coffee board
- NPOP
- Agriculture Census
- Basics related to millets
- Gene modification in rice, Rice fortification
- GM Mustard - DMH11
- Conservation Agriculture
» Diseases
- Sandalwood spike disease
- Lumpy skin disease
- Pesticides in news
- Crop diseases n pest - locust attack, fall armyworm, fusarium wilt,
yellow leaf disease,brown rust, blast, kole Roga etc

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 ART AND CULTURE - PROBABLE TOPICS FOR 2023

1. Architecture and sculpture:

o Architecture:
 IVC town planning; Emphasize on Rakhigarhi since it was in news
 Stupas and its characteristics; important stupas in India; cave
architecture at Barabar and Nagarjuni hills
 Cave architecture: Ajanta caves, Bhaja caves, Nasik caves, Ellora
caves and Elephanta caves
 Temple architecture:
• Nagara style features with emphasis on temples from Odi-
sha sub-style of Nagara and Khajuraho sub-style. Ex: Jagan-
nath temple (Puri), Sun temple (Konark), Kandariya Ma-
hadeva Temple (MP), Chausath Yogini Temple (MP)
• Dravidian architecture and its features with emphasis on
temple like Shore temple (Mahabalipuram), Kailashnath
Temple (Kanchipuram), Great living chola temples (Bri-
hadeshwara temple (Tanjore), Brihadeshwara temple (Gan-
gaikonda-Cholapuram) and Airavateswara temple (Darasur-
am))
• Vesara style and its features with emphasis on Hoysala
style temples in Halebidu, Belur and Somnathpura
• Vijayanagara style with emphasis on temples in Hampi
• Focus on temples which were in news recently: Martanda
temple, Sun Temple (Modhera), Mahakaleshwar temple
(MP), Somanatha Temple (Gujarat)
 Indo-Islamic architecture
• Its general characteristics.
• Delhi sultanate style with emphasis on buildings like Qutub
Minar, tomb of Balban, tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.
• Provincial architecture in Indo-Islamic style like Jaunpur,
Gujarat style, Deccan style (Emphasize on Qutub Shahi ar-
chitecture and Bijapur style)
• Mughal architecture- focus on architectural contributions
made during Akbar and Shah Jahan
• Focus on Purana Qila monument since it was in news re-
cently

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 o Sculpture:
 Stone, terracotta, and metal sculptures during Indus Valley Civili-
zation (IVC)
 IVC seals with special emphasis on Pashupati seal
 Didargunj Yakshi and rock-cut elephant at Dhauli
 Gandhara school of art, Mathura school of art, Amaravati school
of art and Saranath school of art
 Important sculptural depictions at Ellora and Elephanta caves
 Great relief at Mahabalipuram
 Chola era bronze idols with special emphasis on Nayanar saints’
idols and Nataraja image
 Stone sculptures in Hoysala and Vijayanagara temples

2. Dance and Music

o Dance
 Difference between Classical and Folk Dance
 General characteristics of Classical dance with special emphasis
on Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Mohiniattam, Sattriya
 Folk dance in news like- Kuravan Kurathi, Kumaoni folk dance
etc.
o Music
 Difference between Classical and folk music
 Differences between Hindustani and Carnatic music
 Focus on different Hindustani musical compositions like-
Dhrupad, Thumri, Ghazal, Tappa, Qawwali
 Folk music in recent news

3. Paintings:
o Rock-cut paintings with special emphasis on paintings of Mesolithic
period.
o Focus on the site of Bhimbetka since it was in news recently
o Mural paintings with special emphasis on the ones in Ajanta, Chola
temples and Vijayanagara temples
o Miniature paintings:
 Pala school of painting
 Western Indian school of painting
 Mughal school of painting with special emphasis on paintings
during the times of Akbar, Jehangir, and Shah Jahan.

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 o Company paintings with emphasis on Raja Ravi Verma paintings
o Bengal school of art
o Bazaar school of paintings
o Focus on folk paintings in news recently like- Kalamkari paintings, Mad-
hubani paintings, Paitkar paintings etc.

4. Religion and philosophy

o Buddhism
 Time-period it originated
 Famous teachings of Buddha
 Places he visited and the languages used
 Philosophies associated with Buddhism
 Various councils after the death of Buddha
 Famous schools of Buddhism with emphasis on Vajrayana Bud-
dhism for this prelim exam
 Focus on Bodhgaya temple
o Jainism
 Time-period it originated
 Famous teachings of Tirthankaras like- Rishabhadeva, Parsvana-
tha and Mahavira
 Various councils associated with Jainism
 Places visited by Mahavira and the language used by him for
preaching
 Famous schools in Jainism and their important characteristics
 Focus on Dilwara temples since it was in news recently
 Differences and similarities between Jainism and Buddhism
o Astika schools of philosophy like- Samkhya, Yoga, Vaisheshika, Mi-
mamsa, Vedanta and Nyaya
o Bhakthi-Sufi movement
 Alvars and Nayanars and their books
 Vedantic scholars: Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madh-
vacharya (their important teachings, philosophies, and books)
 Focus on Bhakthi saints like- Vallabhacharya, Ramananda, Kabir,
Ravidas, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Meerabai, Basavanna, Akkama-
hadevi, Sant Tukaram

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5. Language and Literature

Time-period Language Important works/Features

Pre-historic Not applicable
period
Indus Valley Inscriptions on seals Their important characteristics.
Civilization
Vedic Period 1. Early Vedic period: Important Sanskrit works:
Sanskrit 1. Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda,
2. Later Vedic period: Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda
Prakrit and Pali 2. Brahmana
3. Aranyakas
4. Upanishads
5. Epics: Ramayana and Ma-
habharata
6. Vedangas: Nirukta, Siksha,
chendus, Kalpa, Vyakarana
and Jyotish
7. Puranas and Upapuranas
8. Dharmasastra
9. Asthadyayi
10. Baudhyana: forerunner
to Pythagorean theorem.
Prakrit and Pali
1. Tripitakas: Vinayapitika, Sutta
pitika and Abhidhamma piti-
ka
2. Vasudhimaga by Buddhago-
sha.

• Arthashastra
Sanskrit • Dipavamsam and Mahavam-
sam
Mauryan pe-
riod
Foreign authors • Megasthenes’ Indica:

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 1. Bhasa: playwright; au-
thored: Swapnavasavadatta,
Uru-bhanga, Karnabhara,
Charudattam
Post-Mauryan
Sanskrit 2. Charaka Samhita: written by
period
Charaka
3. Sushrutha Samhita: authored
by Sushrutha.
4. Ashvagosha: Buddhacharitra
1. Sudraka: wrote Mrichchhaka-
tika, Vinavasavadatta, Bhana,
Padmaprabhritaka 
2. Kalidasa: Malavikagnimi-
tra, Vikramoravasiyam and
Abhijnana Shâkuntalam
(Plays); Raghu Vamsa and
Kumara Sambhavam (epics)
Meghdoot and Ritu Samhara
(smaller epics)
3. Visakadatta: Mudrarakshasa
and Devichandraguptam
4. Harisena: Allahabad inscrip-
tion.
5. Bharavi: Kiratarjuniya- an
Gupta period Sanskrit epic poem
6. Dandin: Dasakumarcharita
and Kavyadarshana.
7. Vatsayana: Vyasa sutra and
Kamasutra.
8. Aryabhatta: Aryabhatiya and
Arya Siddhanta
9. Varahamihira: Pancha-Sid-
dhantika and Brihat Samhita
10. Harsha:  “Ratnavali,”
“Priyadarshika,” and “Naga-
nanda.
11. Mitikshara: Legal text
by Vijneshwara
12. Amarasimha: Authored
Amarakosha

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Medieval pe- Persian • Badauni: Razmnama
riod • Hazi Ibrahim Sirhindi: trans-
lated Atharva Veda to Persian
• Faizi: translated Bhaskaracha-
rya’s Leelavati into Persian
• Inayat Khan: Shahjahannama
• Al Beruni: He translated sev-
eral Sanskrit works, including
Patanjali’s work on grammar,
into Arabic. He translated
the works of Euclid (a Greek
mathematician) into Sanskrit.
Urdu • Khusrau: Laila Majnu and
Ayina-I-Sikandari dedicated
to Alau-din-Khalji
• Kitab-i-Nauras
• Other famous Urdu poets:
Iqbal, Ghalib, Munshi Prem
Chand

Hindi • Prithiviraj Raso: Chand Bar-

doi
• Surdas: Sursagar.

South Indian Tamil (Sangam age) • Sangams:

literature • Famous Sangam works
• Epics: Silappadikaram (Illan-
go Adigal), Manimekalai (Sa-
tanar) and Civaka Cintamani
(Tirutakketevar)
Telugu • Krishnadevaraya: Amuktam-
alyada, Madalasa charitam,
Satyavadu Parinaya, Rasa-
manjari and Jambavati Kalya-
na

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 Kannada • Pampa, known as the father
of Kannada wrote his great
poetic works Adi Purana and
Vïkramarjiva Vijaya in the
tenth century AD.
• Ponna and Ranna were two
other poets who lived during
the reign of Rashtrakuta
Krishna III. Ponna wrote an
epic named Shanti Purana
and Ranna wrote Ajitanatha
Purano. Together Pampa,
Ponna and Ranna earned the
title ratnatraya (the three
gems).

Marathi literature • Saint Jnaneshwar (Gyane-

shwar) who lived in the thir-
teenth century. He wrote
a long commentary on the
Bhagavad Gita.
• Bal Gangadhar started his
Journal Kesari in Marathi.

Sikh literature • Adi Granth: Guru Arjan Dev

• Guru Granth Sahib: Guru Go-
bind Singh
• Dasam Granth: Guru Gobind
Singh
• Janamsakhi: stories of first
guru

6. Miscellaneous
 Awards: Padma awards procedures, Sahitya academy awards proce-
dures
 Institutions: UNESCO, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Sangeet
Natak academy, National Monuments Authority
 Megalithic cultures

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 Traditional Indian textiles
 UNESCO’s World Heritage and Intangible Cultural list (focus on param-
eters to be nominated to this list, procedure to get listed, focus on
recent additions)
 Numismatic art in India since Vedic times with emphasis on this art
during Gupta, Delhi Sultanate and Mughal paintings
 Archaeological discoveries in Bandhavgarh National Park
 Schemes: PRASHAD scheme, Swadesh darshan scheme
 Maritime heritage in India during Imperial chola and Maratha times
with focus also on Baliyatra.

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 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR
PRELIMS 2023

» Extended fund facility (IMF /Srilanka)

» Paris Club
» Russia - Ukraine ( map marking)
» India - China ( border map)
» G20 Triokia (Indonesia-India - Brazil)
» Helsinki rules
» Operation Devi Shakti (Afghanistan) operatio Ganga (Ukraine), Operation
Dost (Turkey)
» Abraham accords, 12U2 - Easter economic forum ( PM Modi attended
» INSTC
» Geneva Convention
» India - Australia agreement of Rare earth
» Friend shoring
» Supply chain resilient initiative
» SCO (Indian presidency, Iran new mem)
» Indo-Pacific economic framework (India - recently became a member)
» Smarkhand declaration
» NATO, CSTO
» EOSOC (India elected) -INTERPOL (90th assembly held in Delhi)
» Black sea grain deal
» Madrid protocol / ICC
» COP27/26 - loss and damage
» Global shield plan
» v20 group (India not a member)
» Voice of Global south Summit

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ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR PRELIMS
2023

1. Harappa
2. Vedic
3. Mauryas
4. Guptas
5. Mughals
6. Delhi Sultanate
8. Jainism and Buddhism
9. Terms
10. Chronology based.

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 GEOGRAPHY IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR PRELIMS 2023

1. Seasons
2. Cyclones and Jet streams
3. World Climatic Types
4. Ocean Currents
5. Wetlands
6. Corals
7. World Mapping (Both Static and Places in News)
8. Indian Rivers
9. Indian Minerals
10. Indian Physical Features
11. Monsoons
12. Indian Places in News

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