| PSIR Answer Writing and Content Enrichment (PACE) – 2027 |
| Test Number | Date | Test Topics |
| PSIR Test 1 | 28-Jun-26 | Western Political Thought : Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx,
Gramsci, Hannah Arendt.
Political Theory: meaning and approaches.
|
| PSIR Test 2 | 12-Jul-26 | Theories of state : Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluralist, post-colonial and Feminist.
Justice : Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its
communitarian critiques. |
| PSIR Test 3 | 26-Jul-26 | Equality : Social, political and economic; relationship between equality and freedom;
Affirmative action.
Rights : Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; Concept of Human Rights.
Democracy : Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy—
representative, participatory and deliberative. |
| PSIR Test 4 | 09-Aug-26 | Concept of power : hegemony, ideology and legitimacy.
Political Ideologies : Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism.
Indian Political Thought: Dharamshastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist Traditions; Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, M. N. Roy. |
| PSIR Test 5 | 23-Aug-26 | Indian Nationalism :
* Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle : Constitutionalism to mass
Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and Revolutionary
Movements, Peasant and Workers Movements.
* Perspectives on Indian National Movement; Liberal, Socialist and Marxist; Radical
Humanist and Dalit.
Making of the Indian Constitution : Legacies of the British rule; different social and political
perspectives.
Salient Features of the Indian Constitution : The Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties,
Directive Principles; Parliamentary System and Amendment Procedures; Judicial Review and
Basic Structure doctrine. |
| PSIR Test 6 | 06-Sep-26 | Principal Organs of the Union Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court
Principal Organs of the State Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and High Courts.
Grassroots Democracy : Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; Significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.
Statutory Institutions/Commissions : Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women; National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Minorities, National Backward Classes Commission. |
| PSIR Test 7 | 20-Sep-26 | Federalism : Constitutional provisions; changing nature of centre-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.
Planning and Economic development : Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; Role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalization and economic reforms. |
| PSIR Test 8 | 04-Oct-26 | Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.
Party System : National and regional political parties, ideological and social bases of parties; Patterns of coalition politics; Pressure groups, trends in electoral behaviour; changing socio-economic profile of Legislators.
Social Movement : Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements. |
| PSIR Test 9 | 18-Oct-26 | Paper 1 |
| PSIR Test 10 | 01-Nov-26 | Comparative Politics : Nature and major approaches; Political economy and political sociology perspectives; Limitations of the comparative method
State in Comparative Perspective : Characteristics and changing nature of the State in capitalist and socialist economies, and advanced industrial and developing societies.
Politics of Representation and Participation : Political parties, pressure groups and social movements in advanced industrial and developing societies |
| PSIR Test 11 | 15-Nov-26 | Globalisation : Responses from developed and developing societies
Approaches to the Study of International Relations : Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and Systems theory.
Key Concepts in International Relations : National interest, security and power; Balance of power and deterrence; Transational actors and collective security; World capitalist economy and globalisation. |
| PSIR Test 12 | 29-Nov-26 | Changing International Political Order :
* Rise of super powers; Strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and cold war; Nuclear threat
* Non-aligned Movement : Aims and achievements.
* Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; Relevance of non-
alignment in the contemporary world.
Evolution of the International Economic System : From Brettonwoods to WTO; Socialist economies and the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance); Third World demand for
new international economic order; Globalisation of the world economy.
United Nations : Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies—aims and functioning; need for UN reforms. |
| PSIR Test 13 | 13-Dec-26 | Regionalisation of World Politics : EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA
Contemporary Global Concerns : Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice terrorism, nuclear proliferation. |
| PSIR Test 14 | 27-Dec-26 | Indian Foreign Policy : Determinants of foreign policy; the institutions of policy-making; Continuity and change.
India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement Different phases; Current role.
|
| PSIR Test 15 | 03-Jan-27 | India and South Asia :
* Regional Co-operation : SAARC-past performance and future prospects.
* South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
* India’s “Look East” policy.
* Impediments to regional co-operation : River water disputes; illegal cross border
migration; Ethnic conflicts and insurgencies; Border disputes.
India and the Global South : Relations with Africa and Latin America; Leadership role in the demand for NIEO and WTO negotiations. |
| PSIR Test 16 | 10-Jan-27 | India and the Global Centres of Power : USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia
India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; Demand for Permanent Seat in the Security Council. |
| PSIR Test 17 | 17-Jan-27 | India and the Nuclear Question : Changing perceptions and policy.
Recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy : India’s position on the recent crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Isreal; Vision of a new world order. |
| PSIR Test 18 | 31-Jan-27 | Paper 2 |
