Himachal Pradesh Administrative Service (HPPSC)

Paper I · General Studies

• History, Geography, Political, Art & Culture and Socio-Economic Development of Himachal Pradesh
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: History, Heritage and Culture
  2. 2.Himachal Pradesh: Geography and Disaster Profile
  3. 3.Himachal Pradesh: Polity, Governance and Administration
  4. 4.Himachal Pradesh: Economy and Social Welfare
  5. 5.Himachal Pradesh: Science, Technology and Biodiversity
  6. 6.Himachal Pradesh: Tourism, Environment and Sustainability
• Current Events of National and International Importance
• History of India and Indian National Movement (incl. Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi)
  1. 1.15. GS-I (Compulsory Paper): Indian Culture — Art Forms, Literature and Architecture (Ancient India)
  2. 2.25. GS-I (Compulsory Paper): Indian Culture — Art Forms, Literature and Architecture (Medieval India)
  3. 3.History Optional Paper I — Item 1: Sources
  4. 4.Decline of the Mughal Empire
  5. 5.Rise of Regional States
  6. 6.Advent of Europeans in India — From Vasco da Gama to British Supremacy
  + 9 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.British Conquest of Bengal
  2. 8.Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799)
  3. 9.Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1818)
  4. 10.Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse & the Anglo-Sikh Wars
  5. 11.Drain of Wealth, Deindustrialisation, and Land Revenue Systems
  6. 12.Civil Rebellions and Tribal Uprisings Before 1857
  7. 13.The Revolt of 1857
  8. 14.Post-1857 Administration and Crown Rule (1858-1900)
  9. 15.Socio-Religious Reform Movements of 19th Century India
• Indian and World Geography — Physical, Social, Economic
  1. 1.Geomorphology — The Two Forces That Build the Land and Wear It Down
  2. 2.World Regional Physiography — Where the Earth's Relief Actually Is
  3. 3.Climatology — What the Air Does, and Why Water Is the Reason
  4. 4.World Climatic Regions — The Types, and Two Ways of Sorting Them
  5. 5.Oceanography — The Relief, the Salt, the Heat and the Currents of the Water Half of the Earth
  6. 6.Biogeography and the Natural Vegetation of the World — How an Ecosystem Works, and Why the Living Cover of the Earth Lies in Belts
  + 12 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.India: Physiography — A Shield, a Rising Wall, a Filled Trough, and Two Kinds of Island
  2. 8.Drainage Systems of India — How the Rivers Are Arranged, and Why They Behave As They Do
  3. 9.India: Climate and the Monsoon — One Rhythm, and the Variety Inside It
  4. 10.Soils of India — Formation, the Profile, the Groups, and the Erosion That Takes Them
  5. 11.India's Natural Vegetation and Wildlife — The Forest Types, the Belts Up the Himalaya, and What Has Been Done to Them
  6. 12.Water Resources of India — Four Per Cent of the World's Water for Seventeen Per Cent of Its People
  7. 13.World Resources and Industry — Where the Minerals Lie and Where the Factories Went
  8. 14.Minerals and Energy Resources of India — What the Rock Decides, and How Old Every Number Here Is
  9. 15.Industries of India — Why a Factory Stands Where It Does, and Which of These Sentences Has Expired
  10. 16.Economic Geography and Human Activities — Why an Activity Is Where It Is
  11. 17.India's Agriculture — Where the Crops Are, in Which Season, and Why the Yields Divide
  12. 18.Transport, Communication and Trade in India — The Network That Carries the Economy, and the Date on Every Number
• Indian Polity and Governance — Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues
  1. 1.Making of the Constitution — The Constituent Assembly and the Birth of the Republic
  2. 2.Salient Features of the Constitution — The Design Choices That Define India's Founding Charter
  3. 3.The Preamble — Identity, Authority and the Conscience of the Constitution
  4. 4.Union and its Territory — The Indestructible Union and the Reorganisation of States
  5. 5.Citizenship — Membership, the Single-Citizenship Design and the Democratic Project
  6. 6.Fundamental Rights — The Magna Carta of India
  + 11 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.Directive Principles of State Policy — The Conscience of the Constitution
  2. 8.Fundamental Duties — The Code the Constitution Forgot and the Courts Revived
  3. 9.Basic Structure Doctrine — The Unamendable Core of the Constitution
  4. 10.Amendment of the Constitution — The Power to Mend, Not to Destroy
  5. 11.Federal System — 'Union of States', the Quasi-Federal Debate, and Cooperative Federalism
  6. 12.Centre-State Relations — The Three-Dimensional Machinery of Divided Power
  7. 13.Inter-State Relations — The Horizontal Machinery of a Single Nation
  8. 14.Emergency Provisions — A Constitution That Can Suspend Itself
  9. 15.Panchayati Raj — From Article 40 to the 73rd Amendment and PESA
  10. 16.Municipalities — Urban Local Self-Government Under the 74th Amendment
  11. 17.Union Territories — A Deliberate Unitary Exception in a Federal Constitution
• Economic and Social Development — Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Inclusive Growth
  2. 2.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Social Sector Development: Health and Education
  3. 3.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Poverty, Hunger, and Human Resource Development
  4. 4.GS Paper I — Indian Society: Salient Features of Indian Society and the Diversity of India
• Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change (General Issues, No Subject Specialization)
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Biodiversity and Conservation
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Environmental Pollution, Degradation and Impact Assessment
  3. 3.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Climate Change and International Environmental Governance
• General Science

Paper II · Aptitude Test (Qualifying)

• Comprehension, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, Logical Reasoning, Numeracy, Data Interpretation (Qualifying, min. 33%)

Paper I · English (Qualifying)

• English Grammar, Usage, Composition, Comprehension, Precis Writing (Qualifying, min. 40%)

Paper II · Hindi (Qualifying)

• Hindi Translation, Prose/Poetry Explanation, Composition (Qualifying, min. 40%)

Paper III · Essay

• Essay on Current Affairs, Socio-Political and Reflective Topics

Paper IV · General Studies-I (Heritage, History, Geography, Society + Himachal Pradesh)

• Indian Cultural Heritage: Literature and Art Forms (Ancient to 1947); Freedom Struggle
  1. 1.15. GS-I (Compulsory Paper): Indian Culture — Art Forms, Literature and Architecture (Ancient India)
  2. 2.25. GS-I (Compulsory Paper): Indian Culture — Art Forms, Literature and Architecture (Medieval India)
  3. 3.History Optional Paper I — Item 1: Sources
  4. 4.Decline of the Mughal Empire
  5. 5.Rise of Regional States
  6. 6.Advent of Europeans in India — From Vasco da Gama to British Supremacy
  + 25 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.British Conquest of Bengal
  2. 8.Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799)
  3. 9.Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1818)
  4. 10.Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse & the Anglo-Sikh Wars
  5. 11.Drain of Wealth, Deindustrialisation, and Land Revenue Systems
  6. 12.Civil Rebellions and Tribal Uprisings Before 1857
  7. 13.The Revolt of 1857
  8. 14.Post-1857 Administration and Crown Rule (1858-1900)
  9. 15.Socio-Religious Reform Movements of 19th Century India
  10. 16.Early Nationalism and the Formation of the Indian National Congress (1858-1905)
  11. 17.Partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi Movement (1905-1911)
  12. 18.The Three Infrastructures of Nationalism: Press, Education and the Peasant Movements (1780-1947)
  13. 19.World War I, Ghadar, Home Rule and the Lucknow Pact (1914-1918)
  14. 20.Gandhi's Emergence: From the South African Laboratory to Jallianwala Bagh (1915-1920)
  15. 21.Non-Cooperation Movement and Khilafat Aandolan (1920-1922)
  16. 22.The Years of Stagnation: Swarajists, the New Forces and the Revolutionaries (1922-1931)
  17. 23.The Gathering Storm: Simon Commission, the Nehru Report and Purna Swaraj (1927-1930)
  18. 24.Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences (1930-34)
  19. 25.The Constitution They Despised and the Office They Took: GoI Act 1935, Congress Ministries and the Rise of the Left (1935-1939)
  20. 26.The Inclined Plane: Communalism from Syed Ahmad Khan to the Two-Nation Theory (1880s-1947)
  21. 27.Wartime Politics: From the Crisis at Tripuri to the Cripps Mission (1939-1942)
  22. 28.The Two Frontiers: Princely India and the Indian Capitalists in the Freedom Struggle (1920s-1947)
  23. 29.Quit India Movement and the INA (1942-1945)
  24. 30.Post-War National Scenario and the Transfer of Power (1945–47)
  25. 31.Independence with Partition — the Freedom and the Fracture
• World History: Industrial Revolution, Fascism, World Wars, Decolonization, Globalization
  1. 1.GS Paper I — History of the World: American Revolution and the Birth of the USA
  2. 2.GS Paper I — History of the World: French Revolution and Its Impact on Europe
  3. 3.GS Paper I — History of the World: Industrial Revolution — Origins, Spread, and Social Consequences
  4. 4.GS Paper I — History of the World: Unification of Italy
  5. 5.GS Paper I — History of the World: Unification of Germany
  6. 6.GS Paper I — History of the World: Imperialism and Colonialism in Asia and Africa
  + 10 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.GS Paper I — History of the World: World War I — Causes, Course, and Consequences
  2. 8.GS Paper I — History of the World: Russian Revolution (1917) and the Rise of Communism
  3. 9.GS Paper I — History of the World: Interwar Period — Rise of Fascism and Nazism
  4. 10.GS Paper I — History of the World: World War II — Causes, Course, and Consequences
  5. 11.GS Paper I — History of the World: Decolonization in Asia
  6. 12.GS Paper I — History of the World: Decolonization in Africa
  7. 13.GS Paper I — History of the World: Cold War — Formation of Power Blocs, Proxy Conflicts, Non-Aligned Movement
  8. 14.GS Paper I — History of the World: Disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Post-Cold-War World
  9. 15.GS Paper I — History of the World: Redrawal of National/Colonial Boundaries
  10. 16.GS Paper I — History of the World: Political Philosophies — Capitalism, Socialism, Communism — Comparative Theory and Historical Practice
• History of Himachal Pradesh: Hill States, Gorkha Invasion, Colonial Period, Praja Mandal Movement, Cultural Heritage
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: History, Heritage and Culture
• Disaster Management: Concepts, Classification, Risk Reduction, DM Act 2005
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Disaster Management Framework and Institutions
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Types of Disasters and Mitigation Strategies
• Geography of India: Structure, Relief, Climate, Population, Settlements
  1. 1.Geomorphology — The Two Forces That Build the Land and Wear It Down
  2. 2.World Regional Physiography — Where the Earth's Relief Actually Is
  3. 3.Climatology — What the Air Does, and Why Water Is the Reason
  4. 4.World Climatic Regions — The Types, and Two Ways of Sorting Them
  5. 5.Oceanography — The Relief, the Salt, the Heat and the Currents of the Water Half of the Earth
  6. 6.Biogeography and the Natural Vegetation of the World — How an Ecosystem Works, and Why the Living Cover of the Earth Lies in Belts
  + 12 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.India: Physiography — A Shield, a Rising Wall, a Filled Trough, and Two Kinds of Island
  2. 8.Drainage Systems of India — How the Rivers Are Arranged, and Why They Behave As They Do
  3. 9.India: Climate and the Monsoon — One Rhythm, and the Variety Inside It
  4. 10.Soils of India — Formation, the Profile, the Groups, and the Erosion That Takes Them
  5. 11.India's Natural Vegetation and Wildlife — The Forest Types, the Belts Up the Himalaya, and What Has Been Done to Them
  6. 12.Water Resources of India — Four Per Cent of the World's Water for Seventeen Per Cent of Its People
  7. 13.World Resources and Industry — Where the Minerals Lie and Where the Factories Went
  8. 14.Minerals and Energy Resources of India — What the Rock Decides, and How Old Every Number Here Is
  9. 15.Industries of India — Why a Factory Stands Where It Does, and Which of These Sentences Has Expired
  10. 16.Economic Geography and Human Activities — Why an Activity Is Where It Is
  11. 17.India's Agriculture — Where the Crops Are, in Which Season, and Why the Yields Divide
  12. 18.Transport, Communication and Trade in India — The Network That Carries the Economy, and the Date on Every Number
• Geography of Himachal Pradesh: Regions, Climate, Population, Industrial/Tourism Policy, Hazard Vulnerability
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Geography and Disaster Profile
• Salient Features of Indian Society; Women Empowerment; Child Rights; Disability Rights
  1. 1.GS Paper I — Indian Society: Salient Features of Indian Society and the Diversity of India
  2. 2.GS Paper I — Indian Society: Population and Associated Issues
  3. 3.GS Paper I — Indian Society: Poverty and Developmental Issues
• Core Values in Governance; Gandhian Thought
  1. 1.GS Paper IV — Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude: Foundations of Ethics
  2. 2.GS Paper IV — Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude: Moral Thinkers and Philosophers — Indian Traditions
  3. 3.GS Paper IV — Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude: Moral Thinkers and Philosophers — Western Traditions
• Society, Culture and Tribes of Himachal Pradesh
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: History, Heritage and Culture

Paper V · General Studies-II (Polity, Governance, International Relations + Himachal Pradesh)

• Constitution of India: Evolution, Fundamental Rights/DPSP/Duties, Amendments
  1. 1.Making of the Constitution — The Constituent Assembly and the Birth of the Republic
  2. 2.Salient Features of the Constitution — The Design Choices That Define India's Founding Charter
  3. 3.The Preamble — Identity, Authority and the Conscience of the Constitution
  4. 4.Union and its Territory — The Indestructible Union and the Reorganisation of States
  5. 5.Citizenship — Membership, the Single-Citizenship Design and the Democratic Project
  6. 6.Fundamental Rights — The Magna Carta of India
  + 4 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.Directive Principles of State Policy — The Conscience of the Constitution
  2. 8.Fundamental Duties — The Code the Constitution Forgot and the Courts Revived
  3. 9.Basic Structure Doctrine — The Unamendable Core of the Constitution
  4. 10.Amendment of the Constitution — The Power to Mend, Not to Destroy
• Parliament, State Legislatures, Union/State Executive and Judiciary, Federal Structure
  1. 1.Federal System — 'Union of States', the Quasi-Federal Debate, and Cooperative Federalism
  2. 2.Centre-State Relations — The Three-Dimensional Machinery of Divided Power
  3. 3.Inter-State Relations — The Horizontal Machinery of a Single Nation
  4. 4.Emergency Provisions — A Constitution That Can Suspend Itself
  5. 5.Panchayati Raj — From Article 40 to the 73rd Amendment and PESA
  6. 6.Municipalities — Urban Local Self-Government Under the 74th Amendment
  + 13 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.Union Territories — A Deliberate Unitary Exception in a Federal Constitution
  2. 8.Parliamentary System — Responsible Government, Article 74 and the Logic of Collective Responsibility
  3. 9.Parliament — The Union Legislature and the Heart of Indian Democracy
  4. 10.State Legislature -- Organisation, Composition and Legislative Procedure of the Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad
  5. 11.The President — Head of the Indian State and Nominal Executive of the Union
  6. 12.The Vice-President — India's Second-Highest Office and the Guarantee of Continuity
  7. 13.The Prime Minister and Council of Ministers — India's Real Executive
  8. 14.The Governor — Nominal Head of the State Executive and the Centre's Constitutional Link
  9. 15.Chief Minister and State Council of Ministers — The Real Executive Behind the Governor
  10. 16.The Supreme Court of India — Composition, Independence and Jurisdiction
  11. 17.High Court and Subordinate Courts — The State Judiciary Beneath the Supreme Court
  12. 18.The Attorney-General of India — Chief Law Officer Held at the President's Pleasure
  13. 19.Advocate General of the State — The Governor's Law Officer, Not the State's
• Politics of Statehood, Political Parties and Statutory Bodies in Himachal Pradesh
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Polity, Governance and Administration
• Governance in India: Institutional Framework, Citizen Charters, District Administration
  1. 1.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Government Policies and Interventions for Development — A Sectoral Overview
  2. 2.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Governance, Transparency, and Accountability: E-Governance, RTI, and Citizens' Charters
  3. 3.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Role of Civil Services in a Democracy
• NGOs, SHGs, Civil Society and Welfare Schemes for SC/ST/Women/Minorities
  1. 1.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Development Processes and the Development Industry: NGOs, SHGs, Civil Society
  2. 2.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections: SC/ST/OBC/Minorities
  3. 3.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections: Women, Children, Elderly, Persons with Disabilities
• Governance in Himachal Pradesh: Public Service Guarantee Act, RTI, 73rd/74th Amendment Implementation
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Polity, Governance and Administration
• India's Bilateral, Regional and Global Relations
  1. 1.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India-Pakistan Relations
  2. 2.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India-China Relations
  3. 3.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India's Immediate Neighbourhood — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and the Maldives
  4. 4.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India-Afghanistan Relations and Central Asia
  5. 5.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India-United States Relations
  6. 6.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India-Russia Relations
  + 3 more chaptersShow fewer

  1. 7.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: India, the European Union, and Other Major Powers
  2. 8.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Regional Groupings — SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN and SCO
  3. 9.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Global Groupings: G20, BRICS, QUAD, IBSA
• International Institutions, Agencies and Fora; Indian Diaspora
  1. 1.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: Indian Diaspora and Its Role in India's Foreign Policy
  2. 2.GS Paper II — Governance & International Relations: International Institutions: the UN, UNSC Reform, and Global Governance Bodies (WTO, IMF, World Bank, WHO)
• Cybercrime, Drug Menace, Agrarian Enactments and Tribal Welfare in Himachal Pradesh
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Economy and Social Welfare

Paper VI · General Studies-III (Economy, Science & Technology, Environment + Himachal Pradesh)

• Characteristics of Indian Economy: Demographics, Sectoral Composition, Banking, Trade
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Economic Planning, Resource Mobilization and Employment
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Growth and Development — Concepts, Measurement and Contemporary Debates
  3. 3.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Monetary Policy & Banking
  4. 4.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Inflation
  5. 5.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: External Sector
  6. 6.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Capital Markets
• Economic Planning in India: Five Year Plans, Fiscal Policy, HDI/PQLI, Current Schemes
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Inclusive Growth
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Government Budgeting — Process, Instruments and Fiscal Policy
• Economy of Himachal Pradesh: GSDP, Industrialization, Special Category Status
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Economy and Social Welfare
• Space Technology: ISRO Missions, Remote Sensing, GIS
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Space Technology and Digital/IT Technologies
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Emerging Technologies
  3. 3.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Intellectual Property Rights
• Energy Sector Development: Hydro, Non-Conventional, Nuclear
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Energy Infrastructure
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Transport Infrastructure — Roads, Railways, Ports and Airports
• Science, Technology and Biodiversity in Himachal Pradesh: Biotech Policy, IT Policy, HIMSWAN, Biodiversity
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Science, Technology and Biodiversity
• Environment Protection, Climate Change Policy, Himalayan Ecology
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Biodiversity and Conservation
  2. 2.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Environmental Pollution, Degradation and Impact Assessment
  3. 3.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Climate Change and International Environmental Governance
• Agricultural Technology, Organic Farming, Rainwater Harvesting
  1. 1.GS Paper III — Economy, Tech & Security: Agricultural Technology Missions and the Economics of Animal Husbandry
• Tourism, Environment and Sustainability in Himachal Pradesh
  1. 1.Himachal Pradesh: Tourism, Environment and Sustainability

Papers VII-VIII · Optional Subject (Choice of One, 31 Subjects)

• Optional Subject (Candidate's Choice — Degree/B.Sc. Level)

Personality Test / Interview

• Personality Test / Interview