www.ppsc.gov.in Punjab Public Service Commission : Preliminary Combined State Civil Services Examination Syllabus

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SYLLABUS FOR PRELIMINARY COMBINED STATE CIVIL SERVICES
EXAMINATION
GENERAL STUDIES
The paper on General Studies will include questions covering the following fields of knowledge.
Punjab’s Economy and People ; its Social, Economic and Cultural Institution ; its Languate, its History, its Geography and Current Events.
General Science.
Current Events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography.
Indian Polity and Economy.
General Mental Ability.

http://www.ppsc.gov.in/html/syllabus.htm
http://www.ppsc.gov.in/Pdf/Syllabus/pcs.pdf

Questions on General Science will cover General appreciation and understanding of science including matters of everyday observation and experience, as may be expected of a well educated person who has not made a special study of any particular scientific discipline. In current events, knowledge of significant national and international events will be tested. In History of India, emphasis will be on broad general understanding of the subject in its social, economic and political aspects.
Questions on the Indian National Movement will relate to the nature and character of the nineteenth century resurgence, growth of nationalism and attainment of Independence. In Geography, emphasis
will be on Geography of India. Questions on the Geography of India will relate to physical, social and economic Geography of the country, including the main features of Indian agricultural and natural resources. Questions on Indian Polity and Economy will test knowledge of the country’s political
system and Constitution of India. Panchayati Raj, Social System and economic developments in India. On general mental ability, the candidates will be tested on reasoning and analytical abilities.

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
AGRICULTURE CODE NO. (01)
Agriculture, its importance in national economy. Factors determining agro-ecological zones and geographical distribution of crop plants.
Importance of crop plants, cultural practices for cereal, pulses, oilseed, fibre, sugar, tuber and fodder crops and scientific basis for these crop rotations, multiple and relay cropping, intercropping and mixed cropping.
Soil as medium of plant growth and its composition, mineral and organic constituents of the soil and their role in crop production; chemical, physical and microbiological properties of soils.
Essential plant nutrients (macro and micro)—their functions, occurrence, cycling in soils. Principles of soil fertility and its evaluation for judicious fertilizer use. Organic manures and bio-fertilizers, inorganic fertilizers, integrated nutrient management.
Principles of plant physiology with reference to plant nutrition, absorption, translocation and metabolism of nutrients.
Diagnosis of nutrient deficiencies and their amelioration, photosynthesis and respiration, growth and development, auxins and hormones in plant growth.
Cell and cell organelles. Cell division. Reproductive cycle. Principles of genetics, geneinteraction, sex determination, linkage and recombination, mutation, extra-chromosomal inheritance, polyploidy. Origin and domestication of crop plants. Genetic resources—conservation and utilization.
Floral biology in relation to selfing and crossing.
Genetic basis of plant breeding, pureline selection, mass selection, male sterility and incompatibility and their use in plant breeding. Pedigree selection, back-cross method of selection.
Heterosis and its exploitation. Development of hybrids, composites and synthetics, Important varieties, hybrids, composites and synthetics of major crops. Seeds and seed-production techniques.
Important fruit and vegetable crops of India, method of propagation—sexual and asexual.
Package and practices and their scientific basis. Crop rotation, intercropping, companion crops, role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, post-harvest handling and processing of fruits and
vegetables. Landscaping and ornamental horticulture, commercial floriculture. Medicinal and aromatic plants.
Serious pests and diseases affecting major crops. Principles of control of crop pests and diseases, integrated management. Proper use and maintenance of plant protection equipment.
Principles of economics as applied to agriculture. Farm planning and optimum resource—use efficiency and maximising income and employment. Farm systems and their spatial distribution, their
significant roles in regional economic development.

BOTANY—CODE NO. (02)
1. Cell Biology.—Structure and function of cell wall (extra cellular matrix or ECM), cell membrane and cell organelles. Nucleus, nucleolus, nuclear pore complex (NPC), chromosome and nucleosome. Mitosis, meiosis, molecular control involving checkpoints in cell division cycle.
Differentiation, cellular senescence.
2. Genetics, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.—Laws of inheritance. Concept of gene and allelomorph. Linkage, crossing over and gene mapping. Structural and numerical changes in chromosomes and gene mutations. Sex determination and differentiation. Structure and synthesis
of nucleic acids and proteins. Genetic code. Regulation of gene expression. Genetic engineering and crop improvement. Protoplast, cell, tissue and organ cultures. Somatic hybridization. Biofertilizers and biopesticides. Biotechnology in agri-horticulture, medicine and industry.
3. Tissue Systems.—Origin, development, structure and function of primary and secondary tissues.
4. Plant Diversity and Systematics.—Structure and function of plant forms from evolutionary aspect (viruses to Angiosperms including fossils). Principles of nomenclature, classification and identification of plants. Modern approaches in plant taxonomy. Recent classification of living
organisms into three groups (bacteria, archaea and eukarya).
5. Plant Physiology.—Water relations. Mineral nutrition. Photosynthesis. Respiration. Nitrogen metabolism. Enzymes and coenzymes. Dynamics of growth, growth movements, growth substances, photomorphogenesis. Secondary metabolites. Isotopes in biological studies.
Physiology of flowering.
6. Methods of Reproduction and Seed Biology.—Vegetative, asexual and sexual methods of reproduction. Pollination and fertilization. Sexual incompatibility. Development, structure, dormancy and germination of seed.
7. Plant Pathology.—Diseases of rice, wheat, sugarcane, potato, mustard, groundnut and cotton crops. Factors affecting infection (host factors, pathogen factors, biotic factors like rhizosphere
and phyllosphere organisms). Chemical, biological and genetic methods of disease control (including transgenic plants).
8. Plant and Environment.—Biotic and abiotic components. Ecological adaptation. Types of vegetational zones and forests of India. Deforestation, afforestation, social forestry and plant introduction. Soil erosion, wasteland, reclamation. Environmental pollution and its control
(including phytoremediation), Bioindicators, Global warming.
9. Biodiversity, Plant Genetic Resources.—Methods of conservation of plant genetic resources and its importance. Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). Endangered, threatened and endemic taxa. Role of cell/tissue culture in propagation and enrichment of genetic diversity.
Plants as sources of food, fodder, forage, fibres, oils, drugs, wood and timber, paper, rubber, beverages, spices, essential oils and resins, gums, dyes, insecticides, pesticides and ornamentation. Biomass as a source of energy.
10. Origin of Life and Evolution.—Basic concepts of origin of earth and origin of life. Theories of organic evolution, molecular basis of evolution.

CHEMISTRY—CODE NO. (03)
SECTION—A (Inorganic Chemistry)
1.1 Atomic structure.—Schrodinger wave equation, significance of Y1 and Y2, quantum numbers and their significance, radial and angular probability, shapes of orbitals, relative energies of atomic orbitals as a function of atomic number. Electronic configurations of elements; Aufbau
principle, Hund’s multiplicity rule, Pauli exclusion principle.
1.2 Chemical periodicity.—Periodic classification of elements, salient characteristics of s, p, d and f block elements. Periodic trends of atomic radii, ionic radii, ionisation potential, electron affinity and electronegativity in the periodic table.
1.3 Chemical bonding.—Types of bonding, overlap of atomic orbitals, sigma and pi bonds, hydrogen and metallic bonds. Shapes of molecules, bond order, bond length, V.S.E.P.R. theory and bond angles. The concept of hybridization and shapes of molecules and ions.
1.4 Oxidation states and oxidation number.—Oxidation and reduction, oxidation numbers, common redox reactions, ionic equations. Balancing of equations for oxidation and reduction reactions.
1.5 Acids and bases.—Bronsted and Lewis theories of acids and bases. Hard and soft acids and bases. HSAB principle, relative strengths of acids and bases and the effect of substituents and solvents on their strength.
1.6 Chemistry of elements :
(i) Hydrogen.—Its unique position in the periodic table, isotopes, ortho and para hydrogen, industrial production, heavy water.
(ii) Chemistry of s and p block elements.—Electronic configuration, general characteristics properties, inert pair effect, allotropy and catenation. Special emphasis on solutions of alkali and alkaline earth metals in liquid ammonia. Preparation, properties and structures of boric
acid, borates, boron nitrides, borohydride (diborane), carboranes, oxides and oxyacids of nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur and chlorine; interhalogen compounds, polyhalide ions, pseudohalogens, fluorocarbons and basic properties of halogens. Chemical reactivity of noble gases, preparation, structure and bonding of noble gas compounds.
(iii) Chemistry of d block elements.—Transition metals including lanthanides, general characteristic properties, oxidation states, magnetic behaviour, colour. First row transition metals and general properties of their compounds (oxides, halides and sulphides); lanthanide
contraction.
1.7 Extraction of metals.—Principles of extraction of metals as illustrated by sodium, magnesium, aluminium, iron, nickel, copper, silver and gold.
1.8 Nuclear Chemistry.—Nuclear reactions; mass defect and binding energy, nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear reactors; radioisotopes and their applications.
1.9 Coordination compounds.—Nomenclature, isomerism and theories of coordination compounds and their role in nature and medicine.
1.10 Pollution and its control.—Air pollution, types of air pollutants; control of air and water pollution; radioactive pollution.

SECTION—B (Organic Chemistry)
2.1 Bonding and shapes of organic molecules.—Electronegativity, electron displacements— inductive, mesomeric and hyperconjugative effects; bond polarity and bond polarizability, dipole moments of organic molecules; hydrogen bond; effects of solvent and structure on dissociation
constants of acids and bases; bond formation, fission of covalent bonds ; homolysis and heterolysis; reaction intermediates—carbonations, carbanions, free radicals and carbenes; generation, geometry and stability; nucleophiles and electrophiles.
2.2 Chemistry of aliphatic compounds.—Nomenclature; alkenes—synthesis, reactions (free radical halogenation) — reactivity and selectivity, sulphonation—detergents; cycloalkanes- Baeyer’s strain theory; alkenes and alkynes—synthesis, electrohilic addition reactions,
Markownikov’s rule, peroxide affects, 1, 3—dipolar addition; nucleophilic addition to electrondeficient alkenes; polymerisation; relative acidity; synthesis and reactions of alkyl halides, alkanols, alkanals, alkanones, alkanoic acids, esters, amides, nitriles, amines, acid anhydrides, £,
ß– unsaturated ketones, ethers and nitro compounds.
2.3 Stereochemistry of carbon compounds.—Elements of symmetry, chiral and achiral compounds. Fischer projection formulae; optical isomerism of lactic and tartaric acids, enantiomerism and diastereoisomerism; configuration (relative and absolute); conformations of
alkanes upto four carbons, cyclohexane and dimethylcyclo hexanes—their potential energy. D, L- and R, S-notations of compounds containing chiral centres; projection formulae—Fischer, Newman and Sawhorse—of compounds containing two adjacent chiral centres; meso and dlisomers,
erythro and threoisomers; racemization and resolution; examples of homotopic, enantiotopic and diasteretopic atoms and groups in organic compounds, geometrical isomers; E and Z notations. Stereochemistry of SN1, SN2, E1 and E2 reactions.
2.4 Organometallic compounds.—Preparation and synthetic uses of Grignard reagents, alkyl lithium compounds.
2.5 Active methylene compounds.—Diethyl malonate, ethyl acetoacetate, ethyl cyanoacetate— applications in organic synthesis; tautomerism (ketoenol).
2.6 Chemistry of aromatic compounds.—Aromaticity; Huckel’s rule; electrophilic aromatic substitution—nitration, sulphonation, halogenation (nuclear and side chain), Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation, substituents effect; chemistry and reactivity of aromatic halides,
phenols, nitro-, diazo, diazonium and sulphonic acid derivatives, benzyne reactions.
2.7 Chemistry of biomolecules.—(i) Carbohydrates Classification, reactions, structure of glucose, D, L-configuration, osazone formation; fructose and sucrose; step-up and step-down of aldoses
and ketoses, and their interconversions,
(ii) Amino Acids : Essential amino acids; zwitterions, isoelectric point, polypeptides; proteins; methods of synthesis of £ amino acids.
(iii) Elementary idea of oils, fats, soaps and detergents.
2.8 Basic principles and applications.—Of UV, visible, IR and NMR spectroscopy of simple organic molecules.

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