IAS Exam NIOS POLITICAL SCIENCE Study Material

For the Civil Services aspirants the available NIOS readings are much important. The NIOS textbooks contain precise study material available in all major subjects like History, Geography, Political Science, Economy, Accountancy, Business Studies, Sociology Psychology, Environment and Ecology etc. The IAS aspirants need to prefer such textbooks which required less time to cover the whole UPSC IAS syllabus. NIOS textbooks are equally important for UPSC IAS Prelims Exam as well as for IAS Mains Exam.

As per the recent trend, the Indian Polity constitute an integral part of the IAS Prelims Exam as well as in the IAS Mains Exam.

MODULE 1: Individual and The State

Lesson 1 - Meaning and Scope of Political Science

Your course in Political Science begins with this lesson. This lesson tries to explore the meaning of Political Science. Political Science traditionally begins and ends with the state. So considered, it is the study of the state and government.

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Lesson 2: Nation and State

The evolution of modern nation state as a political organization took a long period of time. In ancient times human beings lived in communities. The obvious fact is that human beings are social animals and they cannot live in isolation.

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Lesson 3 - Distinction between Society, Nation, State and Government

You have studied about the concept of the state, its elements, and concepts such as nation, nationality and the distinction between nation and nationality in the last lesson. You have also known, in the previous chapters, the meaning of Political Science and Politics and what makes the two distinct from each other.

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Lesson 4: Major Political Theories

You will learn, in this lesson, about major political theories: liberalism, Marxism and Gandhism. Liberalism and Marxism have caught the attention of the people in most parts of the twentieth century.

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MODULE 2 : Aspects of the Constitution of India

Lesson 5 - Preamble and the Salient Features of the Constitution of India

The Constitution of India was framed by a Constituent Assembly. This Assembly was an indirectly elected body. It had laid down certain ideals to be included in the Constitution. These ideals included commitment to democracy, guarantee to all the people of India-Justice, equality and freedom.

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Lesson 6 - Fundamental Rights

People in democratic countries enjoy certain rights, which are protected by judicial system of the country concerned. Their violation, even by the State, is not allowed by the courts. India respects the rights of the people, which are listed in our Constitution, under the heading “Fundamental Rights”.

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Lesson 7 - Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties

The Constitution of India aims to establish not only political democracy but also socio-economic justice to the people to establish a welfare state. With this purpose in mind, our Constitution lays down desirable principle and guidelines in Part IV.

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Lesson 8 - Indian Federal System

In lesson 5 dealing with Salient Features of the constitution of India you have learnt that the founding fathers of Indian Constitution adopted a Federal structure. In a federal set up there is a two tier of Government with well assigned powers and functions.

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Lesson 9 - Emergency Provisions

You have read in the preceding lesson that the Constitution of India is federal in nature having a unitary bias. On the one hand, it has all the characteristic features of a federation, while, on the other hand the Centre is more powerful than the States

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MODULE 3: Structure of Government

Lesson 10 - Union Executive

India is a democratic republic with a parliamentary form of government. The government at the Central level is called ‘Union Government’ and at the State level it is known as ‘State Government’.
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Lesson 11 - Parliament of India

You have read in the preceding lesson that India has a parliamentary form of government in which the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the lower House of the Parliament i.e. Lok Sabha.

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Lesson 12 - Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court is the highest court of India. It is at the apex of the Indian judicial system. In the previous two lessons, you have learnt that the Union legislature, which is known as Parliament, makes laws for the whole country in respect of the Union and the Concurrent Lists and the executive comprising the President, Council of Ministers and bureaucracy enforces them.

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Lesson 13 - Executive in the States

You have already studied that India is a union of 28 States and 7 Union Territories and that the Founding Fathers of the Indian Constitution adopted a federal system. The executive under a system is made up of two levels: union and states. You have learnt in Lesson No.10 about the Union Executive.

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Lesson 14 - State Legislature

India is a Union of States. It means that there is one Union Government and several State Governments; it also means that Union (Centre) is more powerful than States. At present there are 28 States in the Indian Union and each one of them has a Legislature.

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Lesson 15 - High Courts and Subordinate Courts

You have already read about the role of India’s highest Court called the Supreme Court. Just below the Supreme Court, there are High Courts which are the highest courts of law in States. The High Courts are part of the Indian judiciary, and function under the supervision, guidance and control of the Supreme Court.

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Lesson 16: Local Government: Urban and Rural

In your day-to-day life you require such basic facilities as water supply, drainage, garbage disposal, public health and sanitation. You may have watched such activities as installation or repairing of street lights, construction or repairing of roads or say renovation of a village tank.

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MODULE 4: Democracy at Work

Lesson 17 - Universal Adult Franchise and The Methods of Representation

In an earlier lesson, you have studied that the opening words of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution are: “We, the people of India”. What do these words signify? These words mean that the ultimate authority resides in the people themselves. People exercise authority through the representatives elected by them.

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Lesson 18 - Electoral System in India

Elections enable every adult citizen of the country to participate in the process of government formation. You must have observed that elections are held in our country frequently.

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Lesson 19 - National Political Parties

In the previous lessons you have read about the methods of representation and the electoral process. In this lesson you will study about political parties.

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Lesson 20 - Regionalism and Regional Parties

One of the notable features of the Indian Party System is the presence of a large number of regional parties. By regional party we mean a party which generally operates within a limited geographical area and its activities are confined only to a single or handful of states.

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Lesson 21: Public Opinion and Pressure Groups

The views, interests and aspirations of the people constitute the core of the democratic system. There are certain groups or associations that try to influence the decision-making or policy formulation by the government in accordance with their specific interests. Such groups are called pressure groups.

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MODULE 5: Major Contemporary Issues

Lesson 22 - Communalism, Caste and Reservations

In a democratic system, it is quite common that people use different methods for expressing solidarity and achieving political power. In a country like India, politics has been dominated by promoting communalism and casteism.

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Lesson 23 - Environmental Awareness

Environment includes all living and non-living objects. We live in the environment and use the environmental resources like air, land and water to meet our needs. Development also means meeting the needs of the people.

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Lesson 24 - Good Governance

Every one of us expects and aspires that our government should be good and effective. In fact, we also know that it was for the purpose of securing conditions for safe and happy life that the state came into existence and its continuity is justified in terms of promoting and preserving the quality of life.

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Lesson 25 - Human Rights

The basic fact to remember about human rights is that they are not the gift or bounty of any political sovereign through legislation or any edict, but are rights inherent in human existence.

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MODULE 6: India and the World

Lesson 26 - India's Foreign Policy

Every sovereign country has its foreign policy. India too has one. Foreign policy refers to the sum total of principles, interests and objectives which a country promotes while interacting with other countries.

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Lesson 27 - India's Relations with USA and Russia

After the Second World War (1945), the United States of America (USA or US in short) emerged as one of the two super powers, the other being the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR/ Soviet Union).

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Lesson 28 - India and its Neighbours: China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

In the previous chapter you have learnt that the major objective of India’s policy has been the promotion of international peace and cooperation and developing friendly relations with all countries, especially the neighbouring countries.

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Optional MODULE 1: World Order and the United Nations

Lesson 29: Contemporary World Order

The world of today consists of nearly 200 states, which are also known as countries. They are similar in many ways. Each enjoys independence, with a government to administer an army to protect the country against foreign invader.

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Lesson 30: The United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an important international institution of our times. It was set up in 1945 with 51 countries as member nations and its current membership is 192.

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Lesson 31: United Nations Peace Activities

Peace is one of the most cherished goals of the nations of the world. Without peace, it is very difficult to achieve other goals like economic and social progress. Peace became all the more essential as the wars became very destructive and bloody due to development of dangerous weapons in the twentieth century.

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Lesson 32: United Nations and Economic and Social Development

The UN and its affiliated agencies play an important role in the promotion of international co-operation in the economic and social fields. The United Nations considered that stable peace cannot be achieved without economic and social development of all nations.

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Optional MODULE 2: Administrative System in India

The civil servants occupy an important role in the successful administration of state at different levels. Therefore, their recruitment, training, emoluments, conditions of service, promotion policies, etc. assume importance.

Lesson 33 - Public service Commission

India has adopted a federal form where there is a clear demarcation of subjects and powers between the central government, i.e. government of the union and the state governments.

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Lesson 34 - Administrative Machinery at The Centre, States and District Levels

The working of government rests on two pillars – political and permanent executive. The smooth working of this system depends on the harmonious relationship between the two.

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Lesson 35 - Political Executive and Bureaucracy

The working of government rests on two pillars – political and permanent executive. The smooth working of this system depends on the harmonious relationship between the two.

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Lesson 36 - Public Grievances and Redressal Machinery

In a democracy, the citizens make the government and hold it accountable. Government is operated by bureaucracy for whom the rules and regulations are more important than helping the citizens.

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