SSC General Awareness: Complete Topic List and 45-Day Plan

General Awareness looks like the easiest section in SSC exams and behaves like the most unpredictable one. There is no formula to apply and no way to work a question out on the spot. You either know the fact or you guess. The good news is that the syllabus is wide but shallow, and the same few hundred facts return in different wording year after year. This guide gives you a map of the whole section, tells you where to spend your hours, and ends with a 45-day plan and 25 practice questions with answers.

It covers the five main SSC exams: CGL, CHSL, MTS, CPO and GD Constable. The topic list is shared across all of them. What changes is the number of questions, the marks and the difficulty.

General Awareness in each SSC exam: the verified pattern

The table below shows the General Awareness portion as reported for recent cycles. Patterns are revised from time to time, so always confirm against the latest official notification before you finalise your plan.

Exam	GA questions	GA marks	Negative marking in GA
CGL Tier 1	25	50	0.50 per wrong answer
CHSL Tier 1	25	50	0.50 per wrong answer
MTS (Session 2)	25	75 (3 marks each)	1 mark per wrong answer, as reported for the 2024 cycle
CPO Paper 1	50	50	0.25 per wrong answer
GD Constable	20	40 (2 marks each)	0.25 per wrong answer

Three things follow from this table.

• In CGL and CHSL, GA is one quarter of the Tier 1 paper (25 of 100 questions). It is also the section where a well-prepared candidate can score fastest, because each question takes only a few seconds.
• In MTS, GA carries 75 marks, which makes each correct answer worth three marks. A wrong answer costs a full mark in that session, so random guessing is expensive.
• In CPO Paper 1, GA has 50 questions, double the count of CGL, so breadth of coverage matters more there. The penalty is lower, at 0.25.

The CGL and CHSL Tier 1 papers are reported as 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes, and GD as 80 questions for 160 marks in 60 minutes. CGL Tier 2 and other later stages have their own structure, so read the notice for those stages separately.

How the questions are really distributed

Many websites publish neat percentage splits such as "history 20 percent, polity 15 percent". Treat those with caution. The split changes between shifts, between years and between exams, and no one outside the Commission has a complete count. What past papers do show, in general terms, is this:

• Static subjects (history, polity, geography, economy, science, culture) make up the majority of the section.
• Current affairs and static GK items such as awards, books, sports, days and organisations fill most of the rest.
• Science questions in SSC are usually at Class 8 to 10 level, not deep.
• Questions are usually direct: who, where, which, when, what is the name of. Long conceptual reasoning is rare.

Do not trust a percentage chart. Build your own. Take the last three to five years of papers for your target exam, tag every GA question under a subject, and count. Ten minutes with a spreadsheet will tell you more than any blog. Pareeksha mocks can help here because you can review each section after every test and see which subjects cost you marks.

History: topic map

History is usually the biggest static block. Split it into three parts and give them different treatment.

Ancient India

• Indus Valley Civilization: major sites, town planning, drainage, seals, trade.
• Vedic period: early and later Vedic society, the four Vedas, the Upanishads.
• Jainism and Buddhism: founders, councils, key teachings, Buddhist texts.
• Mahajanapadas and the Mauryan Empire: Chandragupta, Ashoka, Kalinga, the Arthashastra.
• Post-Mauryan period, Guptas and Harsha: Kushanas, Satavahanas, Gupta art and science, Chinese travellers.
• South India: Sangam age, Cholas, Pallavas, Chalukyas, temple architecture.

Medieval India

• Delhi Sultanate: five dynasties, rulers and their reforms, architecture.
• Mughals: founders, battles, administration, land revenue, architecture and painting.
• Marathas and Sikhs: key rulers and events.
• Bhakti and Sufi movements: saints and their regions or texts.
• Vijayanagara and Bahmani kingdoms.

Modern India

• Arrival of Europeans and the British expansion: key battles and governors-general.
• Revolt of 1857: centres, leaders, causes, results.
• Social and religious reform movements: founders and organisations.
• The national movement: Moderates and Extremists, Swadeshi, Gandhian movements, Revolutionaries, the INA, Cabinet Mission, Partition.
• Acts and commissions: Regulating Act, Charter Acts, Government of India Acts, major reports.

How to study it: make one timeline sheet per section, with four columns: year, event, person, place. Modern history deserves the most time because the facts are connected and exam setters like it. For a deeper chapter-wise treatment, use the dedicated history guide on this blog.

Polity: topic map

Polity is the most predictable subject because the Constitution is a fixed text. It rewards a one-time careful reading.

• Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, drafting committee, dates, sources borrowed from other countries.
• Preamble: key words (sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic) and the amendment that changed it.
• Parts, schedules and important articles: know the broad structure of the Parts and the twelve schedules by subject, not by rote.
• Fundamental Rights: the six groups, key articles, writs and who can issue them.
• Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties: which part, which article, which amendment added duties.
• Union government: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Parliament, qualifications, tenures, how bills pass.
• State government: Governor, Chief Minister, legislature.
• Judiciary: Supreme Court, High Courts, appointment and removal basics.
• Constitutional bodies: Election Commission, UPSC, Finance Commission, CAG, and the difference between constitutional and statutory bodies.
• Panchayati Raj and municipalities: the amendments and the three-tier structure.
• Amendments: the procedure, plus a short list of landmark amendments.
• Emergency provisions and the federal structure.

How to study it: read a standard concise polity text once, with a pencil. Then convert each topic to a table: who appoints, who removes, minimum age, term, and the article number. The number of lines you need is small. Aim for one page per institution.

Geography: topic map

Geography splits into India, the world and physical concepts. India gets the most questions.

• Physical geography of India: the Himalayas, the northern plains, the Peninsular plateau, coastal plains, islands, deserts.
• Rivers and lakes: major rivers, their origins, tributaries, where they end, important dams and lakes.
• Climate and soils: monsoon mechanism, seasons, soil types and where they occur.
• Agriculture: crop seasons (Kharif, Rabi, Zaid), major crops and the states known for them.
• Minerals, industries and energy: where iron, coal, mica and other minerals are found; major industrial regions; power sources.
• Transport and ports: national highways, major ports, railway zones.
• National parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves: state-wise lists with a few headline animals.
• World geography: continents, oceans, major straits and deserts, important mountains and rivers, countries and capitals.
• Physical concepts: latitudes and longitudes, time zones, the earth's interior, rocks, winds, ocean currents, atmosphere layers.

How to study it: keep an outline map of India beside your notes. Mark the rivers, the parks, the ports and the mining belts yourself. A map you drew once is remembered better than a table you read ten times.

Economy: topic map

Economy in SSC is basic and mostly descriptive. You do not need macroeconomic theory.

• Basic concepts: GDP, GNP, inflation, deflation, national income, per capita income, types of economies.
• Sectors: primary, secondary, tertiary.
• Banking and money: the RBI and its functions, repo and reverse repo, CRR and SLR, types of banks, financial inclusion schemes.
• Budget and taxes: direct and indirect taxes, GST and the GST Council, fiscal and revenue deficit in simple terms.
• Planning and institutions: Five-Year Plans in outline, NITI Aayog, Finance Commission.
• International bodies: IMF, World Bank, WTO, and what each does.
• Government schemes: aims and launch ministry of major flagship schemes. Check the latest year's scheme list because it changes.

How to study it: learn definitions in one line each. For banking terms, write what the RBI does with the rate and what happens to loans. For schemes, note the ministry and the target group, not every statistic.

General science: topic map

SSC science stays near school level. It is split almost evenly across physics, chemistry and biology, with biology often getting a little more.

Physics

• Units and measurements, motion, force and laws of motion, work, energy, power.
• Light (reflection, refraction, lenses, mirrors), sound, heat, electricity and magnetism.
• Everyday applications: why the sky is blue, how a fuse works, what a transformer does.

Chemistry

• Matter, atoms and molecules, periodic table basics, chemical reactions.
• Acids, bases and salts; pH values of common substances.
• Metals and non-metals, alloys and their components, common names of compounds.
• Carbon compounds, fuels, plastics, polymers, water and air.

Biology

• Cell and its organelles, tissues, plant and animal kingdoms.
• Human body systems: digestion, circulation, respiration, excretion, nervous and endocrine.
• Nutrition: vitamins and their deficiency diseases, minerals, balanced diet.
• Diseases: communicable and non-communicable, causes, vaccines.
• Genetics basics, plant physiology, ecology and environment.

How to study it: use the school science books for classes 8, 9 and 10 and read only the summary and the diagrams. Then build four small tables: vitamins and diseases, organs and functions, alloys and components, and units and quantities.

Static GK: awards, books, sports, days, symbols and organisations

This is where the largest number of "pure memory" questions come from. The topics are small individually, so group them in tables.

• Awards and honours: Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards (what they are given for), sports awards, literary awards, and the major international prizes. For any award, learn the field, the year it was instituted and one recent-era holder. Do not try to memorise all winners.
• Books and authors: classic and modern Indian books, ancient texts and their authors, autobiographies of national leaders.
• Sports: the number of players in each major team sport, venues and trophies, Olympic basics, major tournaments and the sport each trophy belongs to, terms used in each game.
• Important days and dates: national and international days and their themes for the year in which you appear. This blog carries a month-wise list of days.
• National symbols: the national animal, bird, flower, fruit, tree, aquatic animal, heritage animal, anthem, song and calendar.
• Organisations and headquarters: the UN and its agencies, regional groupings, and their headquarters and founding years. Also Indian bodies such as ISRO, DRDO and their headquarters.
• Culture: classical dances and their states, folk dances, musical instruments, festivals, fairs, handicrafts, UNESCO sites in India.
• Currencies, capitals and heads of states: countries and capitals (verify with a current source because some change).

How to study it: use one-line cards, covered below in the revision section. The point is speed. These facts are the cheapest marks in the section if you rehearse them often.

Current affairs: how much, and what kind

Current affairs is the part that must be refreshed each cycle, so none of its facts belong in a long-lived guide. What can be given here is a method.

• Window: about the last 6 to 8 months before your exam is a safe working range. Check the exam notice and previous papers to confirm.
• Categories: appointments, awards, sports events, summits and international events, new schemes and policies, science and space missions, reports and indices, defence exercises, books and authors, obituaries, and places in the news.
• Source: one daily newspaper or one reliable compact digest plus one monthly capsule. Do not mix five sources.
• Format: a single notebook or file with a month heading and one-line entries under the categories above.

Remember that a current affairs item often links back to static GK. An award news item is really a question on that award. A summit news item is really a question on the host city and the organisation. Add the static context to the note while you write it.

What to read and what to skip

SSC GA is a filter, not a research test. Time spent on the wrong depth is the most common mistake.

Read thoroughly	Read once, lightly	Skip or defer
Modern history, polity basics, Indian physical geography, school-level science, basic economy terms	Ancient and medieval history details, world geography, culture lists, schemes	Detailed economics theory, long essay-style books, article-by-article memorisation of the entire Constitution, obscure sports records, minor awards

• Skip any book that runs over 500 pages for a single subject unless you are using it for reference only.
• Skip video series that cover UPSC-level detail for SSC. The syllabus is wider but much shallower.
• Skip facts that change often unless you are in the last month. Memorising the current holder of a post two months early is a waste.
• Skip questions you would never see: statistics down to the decimal, exact dates for minor events, and long lists with no pattern.

A revision method that works for GA

Reading once and moving on is how most aspirants lose marks in GA. The facts leave your memory unless you bring them back on a schedule.

1. Notes that you can finish

Keep a single notebook per subject, not per book. Each page should hold one topic. Use tables for anything that has a repeating pattern. Aim for notes that you can read in under 15 minutes per subject during the final revision.

2. One-liners

Write facts as questions with short answers. For example: "Who appoints the Governor?" and "the President". Cards can be paper or an app. The format forces you to recall rather than re-read, which is the habit that matters.

3. Spaced repetition

Revisit each topic on a rising gap. A simple schedule that is easy to follow is: day 1 (learn), day 2, day 4, day 8, day 16 and then once a month. If you get a card right three times in a row, move it to the monthly pile. If you get it wrong, send it back to day 1.

4. Mnemonics, sparingly

Use a mnemonic only for lists with no logic, such as the order of planets or a set of rivers. Do not build mnemonics for facts you can connect to a story or a map.

5. Test as a way of learning

After each subject block, take a short topic quiz. After every two weeks, take a full GA sectional. Log every wrong answer in one error sheet with the correct fact. Review the error sheet before you start every study day.

The 45-day General Awareness plan

This plan assumes you can give about 60 to 90 minutes a day to GA, alongside your other sections. If you are starting late, compress phase one and protect phase three. The plan is a suggestion, not an official schedule.

Phase 1: Days 1 to 20 (build the base)

• Days 1 to 4: Modern history. Timeline sheet, reform movements, national movement.
• Days 5 to 6: Ancient and medieval history in outline. One page per dynasty or empire.
• Days 7 to 10: Polity. Preamble to Fundamental Duties, then Union and State government.
• Days 11 to 12: Judiciary, constitutional bodies, Panchayati Raj, amendments.
• Days 13 to 16: Geography of India: physical features, rivers, climate, soils, agriculture, minerals, parks.
• Days 17 to 18: World geography and physical concepts.
• Days 19 to 20: Economy basics: banking, budget, taxes, institutions.

Phase 2: Days 21 to 33 (science and static GK)

• Days 21 to 23: Physics: units, motion, force, light, sound, electricity.
• Days 24 to 26: Chemistry: matter, acids and bases, metals, alloys, compounds.
• Days 27 to 29: Biology: cell, human systems, vitamins, diseases, environment.
• Days 30 to 31: Awards, books and authors.
• Day 32: Sports and national symbols.
• Day 33: Organisations, headquarters and culture lists.

Phase 3: Days 34 to 45 (current affairs, revision and tests)

• Days 34 to 37: Current affairs for the last 6 to 8 months, month by month, with static links.
• Day 38: Important days and dates for the period.
• Days 39 to 41: Revision cycle one: go through all subject notes and one-liners.
• Day 42: Full GA sectional test, then analyse errors.
• Day 43: Weak subjects only, using your error sheet.
• Day 44: Second sectional test and error review.
• Day 45: Light revision of one-liners and the error sheet. No new topics.

Every day, add 15 minutes of spaced repetition on previous topics. That is what keeps day 1 material alive on day 45.

Common traps

• Similar-looking options: options like Nehru Report and Simon Commission, or Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council, are put together on purpose. Learn pairs by contrast.
• Time-sensitive facts: a question may ask for the current holder of an office. Use dated notes and check the date of your source.
• Negative marking: in MTS a wrong answer costs a full mark and in CGL and CHSL it costs half a mark. If you can remove two options with certainty, a guess is usually fine. If you cannot remove any, leave it.
• Memorising without recall: reading your notes feels productive but does not test you. Use cards.
• Collecting resources: three books per subject means none finished. Pick one and revise it repeatedly.
• Skipping Hindi or English terms: the paper is bilingual. Learn key terms in the language you will use in the exam.

25 practice questions in SSC style

These are original practice questions written in the style of SSC papers. They are not actual past questions. Answers and short reasons follow the list. Try them without looking, then log wrong ones in your error sheet.

History and culture

1. Who founded the Mauryan Empire? (a) Bindusara (b) Ashoka (c) Chandragupta Maurya (d) Pushyamitra Shunga
2. In which year was the Battle of Plassey fought? (a) 1757 (b) 1764 (c) 1857 (d) 1707
3. The slogan "Do or Die" was associated with which movement? (a) Non-Cooperation Movement (b) Civil Disobedience Movement (c) Swadeshi Movement (d) Quit India Movement
4. The Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur was built by which ruler? (a) Rajaraja I (b) Narasimhavarman II (c) Pulakeshin II (d) Krishnadevaraya
5. Who wrote the book "The Discovery of India"? (a) Mahatma Gandhi (b) Jawaharlal Nehru (c) Sardar Patel (d) Rabindranath Tagore

Polity

6. Which article of the Constitution deals with protection of life and personal liberty? (a) Article 14 (b) Article 19 (c) Article 21 (d) Article 32
7. The Fundamental Duties were added to the Constitution by which amendment? (a) 24th (b) 42nd (c) 44th (d) 73rd
8. Who appoints the Governor of a State? (a) The Chief Minister (b) The Prime Minister (c) The Chief Justice of India (d) The President
9. What is the minimum age to be elected to the Lok Sabha? (a) 21 years (b) 25 years (c) 30 years (d) 35 years
10. A Money Bill can be introduced only in which body? (a) Rajya Sabha (b) Lok Sabha (c) Either House (d) A State Legislative Council

Geography

11. Through how many Indian states does the Tropic of Cancer pass? (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 8 (d) 9
12. Which is the longest river of peninsular India? (a) Krishna (b) Godavari (c) Narmada (d) Kaveri
13. Which is the highest mountain peak located entirely within India? (a) Kangchenjunga (b) Nanda Devi (c) K2 (d) Kamet
14. Chilika Lake, a brackish water lagoon, is located in which state? (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Odisha (d) West Bengal

Economy

15. The repo rate is the rate at which: (a) commercial banks lend to the public (b) the RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks (c) commercial banks lend to each other (d) the government borrows from the RBI for a year
16. The GST Council is chaired by: (a) the Prime Minister (b) the Union Finance Minister (c) the RBI Governor (d) the Chief Economic Adviser
17. Which body replaced the Planning Commission in 2015? (a) Finance Commission (b) NITI Aayog (c) National Development Council (d) Economic Advisory Council

General science

18. Deficiency of which vitamin causes scurvy? (a) Vitamin A (b) Vitamin B12 (c) Vitamin C (d) Vitamin D
19. Which gas is the most abundant in the Earth's atmosphere? (a) Oxygen (b) Nitrogen (c) Carbon dioxide (d) Argon
20. Which cell organelle is known as the powerhouse of the cell? (a) Ribosome (b) Nucleus (c) Mitochondria (d) Golgi body
21. What is the pH of pure water at 25 degrees Celsius? (a) 5 (b) 6 (c) 7 (d) 8
22. What is the SI unit of force? (a) Joule (b) Newton (c) Pascal (d) Watt

Static GK

23. Which animal is the national aquatic animal of India? (a) Olive ridley turtle (b) Whale shark (c) Ganges river dolphin (d) Saltwater crocodile
24. National Sports Day in India is observed on the birth anniversary of which player? (a) Milkha Singh (b) Major Dhyan Chand (c) Kapil Dev (d) P. T. Usha
25. The Dronacharya Award is given for: (a) outstanding performance by a player (b) lifetime contribution to sports development (c) outstanding work as a coach (d) excellence in sports journalism

Answers with short explanations

1. (c) Chandragupta Maurya. Bindusara was his son and Ashoka his grandson.
2. (a) 1757. 1764 is the Battle of Buxar and 1857 is the Revolt.
3. (d) Quit India Movement. Gandhi gave the call in August 1942.
4. (a) Rajaraja I. A Chola ruler.
5. (b) Jawaharlal Nehru. Written during his imprisonment in the 1940s.
6. (c) Article 21. Article 14 is equality before law, 19 is the freedoms, 32 is the remedy for rights.
7. (b) 42nd. Enacted in 1976; the duties are in Part IV-A, Article 51A.
8. (d) The President. Governors are appointed by the President.
9. (b) 25 years. The Rajya Sabha minimum age is 30.
10. (b) Lok Sabha. Article 110 defines a Money Bill; it cannot start in the Rajya Sabha.
11. (c) 8. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
12. (b) Godavari. It is the longest river that flows wholly in the peninsula.
13. (b) Nanda Devi. Kangchenjunga lies on the India-Nepal border, and K2 is outside the Indian-administered area.
14. (c) Odisha. The lagoon lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
15. (b). Repo is the rate at which the RBI lends short-term to banks against securities.
16. (b) The Union Finance Minister. State finance ministers are members.
17. (b) NITI Aayog. It started functioning on 1 January 2015.
18. (c) Vitamin C. Lack of A causes night blindness and lack of D causes rickets.
19. (b) Nitrogen. It makes up about four-fifths of dry air.
20. (c) Mitochondria. They release energy from food in the form of ATP.
21. (c) 7. Pure water is neutral at that temperature.
22. (b) Newton. Joule is energy, pascal is pressure, watt is power.
23. (c) Ganges river dolphin. It was declared the national aquatic animal in 2009.
24. (b) Major Dhyan Chand. His birth anniversary, 29 August, is observed as National Sports Day.
25. (c) Outstanding work as a coach. The Arjuna Award is for players.

Score yourself without negative marking first, then apply the marking scheme of your target exam. Anything below 20 correct means your weak subject needs another pass before you attempt full mocks.

Frequently asked questions

How many General Awareness questions come in SSC CGL Tier 1? The section has 25 questions for 50 marks, with 0.50 deducted for each wrong answer. Always check the latest notice for any change.

Is GA the same across CGL, CHSL, MTS, CPO and GD? The syllabus areas are shared, but the number of questions, marks and negative marking differ. CPO has 50 questions and GD has 20. The difficulty is usually higher in CGL and CPO than in MTS and GD.

How many days do I need for General Awareness? Forty-five days at 60 to 90 minutes a day is enough to cover the whole syllabus once and revise it. If you have less time, drop depth in ancient and medieval history and culture lists and protect polity, modern history, geography of India, science and your current affairs window.

Which subject gives the best return for time spent? Polity and school-level science are the most predictable. Both draw from fixed content, so a single careful pass followed by repetition pays off.

How many months of current affairs should I read? Roughly the last 6 to 8 months before the exam is a practical range. Check previous papers of your exam to confirm the window, and read the final month again just before the test.

Should I attempt every GA question? Not necessarily. If two options can be removed, a guess has a fair chance. If you have no idea, skipping saves marks, particularly in MTS where a wrong answer costs a full mark.

Do I need to study NCERT books? School-level science and geography books are useful, but only as summary reading. You do not need to finish them cover to cover.

What is the best way to memorise awards, books and days? Group them in tables and turn them into one-line question cards. Revise on a spaced schedule. Do not memorise full winner lists, only the field, the year of institution and a few examples.

Can I prepare GA in Hindi? Yes. The paper is bilingual for most sections, so use the language you are comfortable with and learn the key terms in both.

How do I know if my GA preparation is working? Take sectional tests every two weeks and track your accuracy by subject. A rising accuracy and a shrinking error sheet show that revision is working.

Next step

General Awareness is won by repetition, not by one long read. Finish a first pass over the syllabus, then use full-length mocks and sectional tests on Pareeksha to find your weak subjects, fix them from your error sheet and repeat the cycle until the section feels routine.