UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus for IAS Exam 2025

PWOnlyIAS April 23, 2024 05:22 4597 0

UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus explores India's rich heritage, covering architecture, music, dance, and literature. Master the UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus today!

UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus for IAS Exam 2025

UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus is significant for aspiring candidates who are currently preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE). Covering a wide range of Indian heritage, this section evaluates the candidates’ knowledge of the cultural diversity and rich historical legacies of India. Understanding and learning this syllabus can give aspirants an edge in the Preliminary Examination, making it essential to approach this part with a structured plan. In this guide, we will explore the key areas of the UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus, along with preparation strategies and resources.

UPSC Prelims Syllabus Overview

The Union Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination, or UPSC Prelims, is the first stage of the Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC.  The Prelims exam consists of two papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (CSAT), both of which are objective-type multiple-choice exams.  

The detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus is provided in the table below:

Paper 1: General Studies Paper 2: CSAT
  • 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 and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.  Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. 
  • General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization. 
  • General Science. 
  • Comprehension; 
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills; 
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability; 
  • Decision making and problem solving; 
  • General mental ability; 
  • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level).

The detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025 can be found with the help of the link given below:

Click to Know: UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2025

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Complete Details Of UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus

Although the UPSC Prelims syllabus doesn’t explicitly mention an ‘art and culture’ section, it is intertwined with history. Understanding art and culture is crucial for grasping the historical context, societal values, and traditions that shape a nation’s identity

The UPSC Prelims Art and Culture syllabus focuses on art and culture from historical as well as current periods. UPSC is known to ask a variety of questions based on music, dance, architecture, handicrafts, literature, tribal culture, etc. as part of art and culture. Candidates must have studied such topics earlier in order to answer such questions. The complete details of the UPSC Prelims Art and Culture syllabus are as follows:

Temple Architecture
  • Schools of Temple Architecture
  • Temples of the Gupta era
  • Temples of Odisha
  • Temples of Gujarat
  • Temples of Himachal Pradesh
  • Temples of Jammu and Kashmir
  • Temples of Bengal
  • Temples of Assam
  • Pallava Period Temples
  • Chola Period Temples
  • Vijaynagar Period Temples
  • Temples of Kerala
  • Rashtrakuta Period Temples
  • Hoysala temples
  • Kakatiya Temples
Islamic and European Architecture
  • Indo-Islamic Architecture
  • Mughal Architecture
  • Provincial Architecture (Awadh, Bengal, Rajputana etc)
  • European Architecture
Pottery
  • Ochre: Coloured Pottery(OCP)
  • Black and Red Ware (BRW)
  • Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
  • Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW)
  • Modern Pottery
Coinage
  • Mauryan Coinage
  • Kushana Coins
  • Satvahana Coins
  • Gupta Coins
  • Sultanate Coins
  • Mughal Coins
  • European Coinage
Paintings
  • Cave Paintings
  • Mural Paintings in India
  • Miniature Paintings in India
  • Rajput School of Painting
  • Pahari School of Painting
  • Regional Paintings (Deccan, Mysore etc)
  • Modern Paintings
  • Contemporary Paintings
Sculptures 
  • Harappan Sculptures
  • Mauryan and Post Mauryan
  • Jain Sculptures
  • Buddhist Sculptures
  • Gupta Era Sculptures
  • Modern Sculptures
Languages and Literature in India
  • Classical Languages
  • Sanskrit Literature
  • Pali Literature
  • Prakrit Literature
  • Regional Literature
  • Foreign Literary Accounts
Indian School of Philosophy 
  • Indian Philosophical Schools (Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, Vedanta, Carvaka)
Religious Movement
  • Jainism
  • Buddhism
  • Brahmanism
Bhakti and Sufi Movement
  • Schools of Bhakti – Saguna and Nirguna
  • Literature of Bhakti Movement
  • Saints Associated with Bhakti Movement
  • Sufi Movement
  • Schools of Sufi
  • Sufi Saints
Dance 
  • Classical Dances
  • Origin of Classical Dances
  • Folk Dances
  • Dances Associated with Festivals
  • Modern Dances
Music
  • Schools of Classical Music
  • Gharanas of Classical Music
  • Themes of Classical Music
  • Instruments Used in Classical Music
  • Proponents of Classical Music
  • Folk Music
  • Modern Music
Indian Theatre
  • Origin of Theatre
  • Traditional Theatres
  • Modern Theatre
Indian Puppetry
  • String Puppets
  • Rod Puppets
  • Glove puppetry
  • Shadow Puppets
  • Modern Puppetry
Festivals of India 
  • Traditional Festivals
  • Religious Festivals
  • Tribal Festivals
  • Significance of Festivals
  • Dance, Music , Food associated with Festivals
Government Awards, Initiatives and Schemes Related to Art and Culture 
  • Schemes such as HRIDAY, Swadesh Darshan, PRASAD, Railway Theme Circuit etc
  • Cultural Awards
  • Incredible India 2.0 Campaign
  • Adarsh Smarak Yojana
  • GI Tags of Indian products 
UNESCO and India
  • UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
  • UNESCO Creative Cities Network
  • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
  • UNESCO Global Geopark

Download UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2024 PDF
Prelims Question Paper 2024 Download Link 
General Studies Paper I (GS Paper) Click Here
UPSC Prelims Exam Analysis 2024 Click Here

The UPSC prelims Art and Culture syllabus is linked to history. Candidates have to study these topics along with history rather than in isolation. This will help them have a better contextual knowledge of the topics. The complete booklist for the Art and Culture syllabus is given below:

Book Type Book Name
NCERT 
  • NCERT Class 11 – Living Crafts Traditions of India.
  • NCERT Class 11 – An Introduction to Indian Art Part-I.
  • NCERT Class 12 – Craft Traditions of India.
Reference Books
  • Indian Art & Culture By Nitin Singhania
  • An Introduction to Indian Art by Vidya Dehejia
  • Facets of Indian Culture by Spectrum
  • The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) Website
Newspaper
  • The Hindu

Marks Weightage Of UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus

The UPSC Prelims Art and Culture syllabus has remained static in terms of weightage in exams. While some questions are factual, others are based on concepts that are directly linked to history. The number of Art and Culture questions asked in the last few years are as follows:

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Year of Preliminary Examination Number of Art and Culture Questions
2024 4
2023 7
2022 4
2021 5
2020 4
2019 3
2018 7
2017 5
2016 3
2015 3
2014 10

UPSC Prelims Art and Culture Syllabus can be covered by referring to the books mentioned above. Candidates can use their knowledge to attempt a maximum number of questions from this section. It’s essential for candidates to create concise notes on art and culture to enhance memorization during revision.

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UPSC Prelims Art and Culture FAQs

Candidates must cover all the NCERT books mentioned in the booklist. Later, they can cover any of the reference books mentioned above.

UPSC generally asks easy to moderate questions as part of art and culture. In recent times, UPSC has also asked difficult questions about this syllabus.

Not Necessary. In the majority of questions, candidates must have enough knowledge to recognize answers rather than remember them all. However, for some questions, remembering exact information is also necessary.

It is advised to cover Art and Culture simultaneously with History. Topics that have not been covered can be taken up later.

Previous trends have shown that UPSC can ask a maximum of 10-12 questions about art and culture. Some of these topics overlap with history.
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UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
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Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

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