TNPSC Group 1 Exam Preparation

TNPSC Group 1 exam is the state-level administrative services exam conducted by Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission. Candidates preparing for TNPSC Group 1 Exam will find relevant TNPSC study material including NCERT books/notes and Current Affairs compilations for exams in 2021, in this article.

The TNPSC Group 1 Exam is conducted on similar lines as the UPSC IAS Exam and there is an overlap of the syllabus as well. As a quick recall, TNPSC Group 1 Prelims is postponed and the revised dates are yet not out. However, candidates preparing for the current year examination should continue with their preparation using the TNPSC study material mentioned in this article.

Understanding the exam pattern and syllabus is very important so as to not waste time reading irrelevant content from TNPSC or UPSC preparation perspective.

For reference, candidates can check and compare between TNPSC and UPSC:

TNPSC Study Material

Aspirants should know that the preparation strategies for UPSC Civil Service Exams and State PSC Exams differ only in the sense that in state exams, candidates have to study the topics from the state’s perspective as well. The state board books (class 6th-12th) are the recommended starting point for TNPSC preparation.

Here is a list of TNPSC books in Tamil/or for preparing the Tamil Nadu state-related part.

1. 1. State Board books:
      1. Social Science (6th-10th)
      2. Polity, Geography, Economics (11th -12th)
      3. Indian Culture (Class 12th book)
      4. Science (overview of important chapters)
   2. Tamil Nadu History Book – J Dharmarajan
   3. Indhiya Arasamaippu – Shankara Saravanan
   4. Athiga Mathippen Pera Ariviyal Vina Vidai – VN Girija

1. TNPSC Group 1 Books – VVK Subburaj

For the most part, TNPSC books are the same as books for UPSC preparation.

1. Geography – Majid Hussain
2. Economy – Ramesh Singh
3. History – Bipin Chandra
4. Polity – Laxmikanth

While undertaking TNPSC preparation, aspirants can come in touch with a few terms or topics that might confuse them or need more clarity. For such topics, we have collated 100 differences between articles which you can find in the linked article.

Candidates can download this list of TNPSC books/UPSC books:

UPSC/TNPSC books list:- Download PDF Here

Apart from state board books, candidates should refer to the NCERT books.

You can download subject-wise NCERT books pdfs from the linked article.

NCERTs are the recommended starting point for the UPSC Civil Service Exam because they contain credible information in a lucid manner and they are good for grasping the basic concepts.

Preparing for civil service exams requires dedication, motivation, and a good strategy. Simply reading the recommended books isn’t enough considering the level of competition.

Aspirants should make notes and align them with the relevant parts of the TNPSC syllabus and Current Affairs.

Here, you can find NCERT Notes for TNPSC preparation:

1. NCERT Notes: Ancient Indian History
2. NCERT Notes: Medieval Indian History
3. NCERT Notes: Modern Indian History
4. NCERT Notes: Art And Culture
5. NCERT Notes: Geography Notes

Also find polity, economics, environment, and science & technology notes for holistic TNPSC preparation below:

1. Polity Notes
2. Economics Notes
3. Environment Notes
4. Science & Technology Notes

These notes can help for both UPSC and TNPSC Group 1 Exam preparation. 

TNPSC Preparation – Use of Current Affairs

In recent years, more and more questions in the UPSC IAS exam are coming from Current Affairs. Even the so-called static areas are now being linked with the events of national or international importance.

Reading newspapers daily is essential for both UPSC and TNPSC exam.

For the ease of preparation, candidates can find Daily Video Analysis of The Hindu here.

Other important TNPSC Current Affairs sources are:

1. Current Affairs
2. Yojana Magazine
3. Press Information Bureau
4. Rajya Sabha TV
5. BYJU’S Daily Comprehensive News Analysis

TNPSC Group 1 Study Material – Notes

The Group 1 examination (Prelims)  2020 was scheduled for 5th April 2020 but since then has been postponed indefinitely. The new dates have not been announced. However, it gives an ample amount of time for candidates to revise the topics already studied and prepare some new important topics. The best source to do is to see the past year prelims questions and find out relevant topics to be studied before 2020-2021 prelims. We will provide you with such topics that have been asked in the past and a few related topics that can be asked in TNPSC Group 1 prelims. Such topics are general in nature and overlap with UPSC syllabus.

The important topics asked in 2019 TNPSC Group 1 Prelims and relevant articles that can be asked in 2020-2021 are given below:

TNPSC 2019 Topics from Current Events:

• When did the PM of India inaugurate the country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge built over the Brahmaputra river at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh in Assam?

Aspirants can read about Bogibeel bridge and also the list of bridges below:

TNPSC 2019 Topics from Indian Geography

• Sabarmati River

Aspirants can read about the major river systems and related articles below:

• Black Soil

Aspirants can read about the types of soils in India below:

Classification of Soils in India

• Types of Vegetation

Aspirants can read about Natural Vegetation in India at the linked article.

• Green Revolution

Aspirants can read about all the important agricultural revolutions from the linked article.

TNPSC 2019 Topics from Indian Economy

• Rural Development

TNPSC 2019 Topics from Indian History

• Tribal Uprisings

TNPSC 2019 Topics from Indian Polity

• First Amendment to the Constitution

Aspirants can read about the articles related to Indian constitutional amendments below:

• Comptroller & Auditor General of India

• Articles of Indian Constitution

Aspirants can read about all important articles in the Indian Constitution at the linked article.

• Parliament

Aspirants can read about parliament-related articles below:

• Constituent Assembly of India & Indian Constitution

Aspirants can read about the Indian Constitution related articles below:

Some Important Questions asked from each section in previous years’ TNPSC Group 1 prelims paper:

TNPSC Old Questions from Indian Polity

1. Which article of the Constitution gives provisions to set up village panchayats?
2. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme came into force to provide 100 days of employment in which year?
3. Grand-in aid to the states by the centre are provided with which objective?
4. 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in the period of?
5. Which article guarantees the right to freedom of religion to all persons in all its aspects?
6. The subjects in the concurrent list are?

Aspirants can read about these topics from the links provided below:

TNPSC Old Questions from Indian History

1. Who laid the foundation of the British Empire?
2. Qutbuddin Aibak was the slave of who?
3. Two major cities of the Indus Valley Civilization revealing uniform urban planning are?
4. The first Mughal emperor to show interest in paintings?
5. Which Mughal emperor was defeated by Sher Shah?
6. In which year dyarchy wad introduced?

Aspirants can read about these topics from the links provided below:

TNPSC Old Questions from Indian Economy

1. Under the Public Distribution System, rice is distributed at the rate of Rs. 1 per kg in which state.
2. The most important contributor to the GDP in the recent year is

Aspirants can read about these topics from the links provided below:

TNPSC Old Questions/Topics from Current Events

1. What is the recent tension between India and China highlighted in the newspaper?
2. Bhuvan, the new web-based mapping of the earth was developed by?
3. International organisations

Aspirants can read about these topics from the links provided below:

TNPSC Old Questions/topics from Indian National Movement

1. Chronology of the Indian freedom struggle movements.

Aspirants can read about these topics from the links provided below:

TNPSC Old Questions/topics from Indian Geography

1. Toda Tribes
2. Kiliyur Waterfall

Candidates should practice solving MCQs for Prelims and answer-writing for the Mains. Also, going through the previous question papers helps to simulate the exam environment and gauge the amount of preparation still needed.

For other government exams, check the linked article below:

Aspirants preparing for multiple state examinations can go through preparation articles for important PSC exams below: