RBSE Praveshika Social Science cheat sheet

Indus Valley Civilisation (mature phase c. 2600–1900 BCE): Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in present Pakistan; Lothal (dockyard), Kalibangan (ploughed field) and Dholavira (reservoirs) in India; the script remains undeciphered.

Mauryan Empire: Chandragupta founded it c. 321 BCE with Kautilya's Arthashastra; Ashoka's Kalinga war c. 261 BCE led to the policy of Dhamma; edicts were written in Prakrit and Brahmi.

Gupta period (4th–6th century CE): achievements include Aryabhata's astronomy, Kalidasa's literature and the decimal place-value system; often called India's classical age.

Delhi Sultanate 1206–1526: five dynasties (Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi); the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 ended Lodi rule and began Mughal rule.

Mughal administration: Akbar's Mansabdari system and Todar Mal's revenue bandobast; Din-i-Ilahi proclaimed in 1582; the empire weakened after Aurangzeb's death in 1707.

Bhakti and Sufi movements: Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai and Tulsidas; the Chishti silsilah organised khanaqah and dargah; both used local languages to reach ordinary people.

Freedom struggle timeline: INC founded 1885; Partition of Bengal 1905; Jallianwala Bagh 1919; Non-Cooperation 1920–22; Dandi March and Civil Disobedience 1930; Quit India 1942; Independence 15 August 1947.

Social reform: Brahmo Sabha 1828 (Raja Ram Mohan Roy); Arya Samaj 1875 (Dayanand Saraswati); Widow Remarriage Act 1856 after Vidyasagar's campaign.

Location: 8°4′N–37°6′N and 68°7′E–97°25′E; the Tropic of Cancer (23°30′N) crosses eight states; the Indian Standard Meridian is 82°30′E.

Physiographic divisions: Himalayas, Northern Plains, Peninsular Plateau, Indian Desert, Coastal Plains and Islands; Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) is the highest peak within India.

Drainage: Himalayan rivers are perennial (Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra); the Godavari is the longest peninsular river; Chambal and Betwa are tributaries of the Yamuna.

Monsoon: southwest monsoon from June to September with Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches; Tamil Nadu receives most rain from the northeast monsoon (October–December); Mawsynram is the wettest place.

Soils: alluvial (plains, most fertile), black or regur (Deccan trap, cotton), red (crystalline rocks), laterite (heavy rainfall, leaching), arid and forest soils.

Vegetation: tropical evergreen, tropical deciduous (largest area), thorn, montane and mangrove forests; mangroves dominate the Sundarbans delta.

Agriculture: Kharif (June–October: rice, maize, cotton), Rabi (October–March: wheat, mustard) and Zaid; the Green Revolution raised wheat output in Punjab and Haryana.

Population, 2011 Census: 121.09 crore; density 382 per km²; sex ratio 943; literacy 74.04%; services contribute the largest share of gross value added.

Minerals: coal in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh; iron ore in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka; bauxite mainly in Odisha; mica in Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Constitution: adopted 26 November 1949, enforced 26 January 1950; the Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946; the Drafting Committee was chaired by B.R. Ambedkar; originally 395 articles, 22 parts and 8 schedules.

Preamble: begins 'We, the people of India'; declares a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic; the words socialist, secular and integrity were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35): six categories; Article 21A makes free education a right for ages 6–14 (86th Amendment, 2002); Article 32 writs were called the heart and soul of the Constitution by Ambedkar.

Directive Principles (Part IV, Articles 36–51): non-justiciable guidelines; Article 40 on panchayats, Article 44 on uniform civil code and Article 48A on environment protection.

Fundamental Duties (Part IVA, Article 51A): eleven duties; introduced by the 42nd Amendment 1976; the eleventh duty on educating children was added by the 86th Amendment 2002.

Federal lists: Union, State and Concurrent Lists in the Seventh Schedule; residuary powers rest with the Union; the 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) gave constitutional status to panchayats and urban local bodies.

Parliament: Lok Sabha has 543 elected seats; Rajya Sabha has 245 members (233 elected plus 12 nominated); a Money Bill (Article 110) can start only in the Lok Sabha with the President's recommendation.

Judiciary and elections: Supreme Court under Article 124; judicial review and public interest litigation; Election Commission under Article 324; voting age lowered to 18 by the 61st Amendment 1988; anti-defection in the Tenth Schedule.

Sectors: primary (agriculture, mining), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services); services are the largest contributor to India's gross value added, while agriculture is around 18%.

Factors of production: land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship; the production possibility frontier illustrates trade-offs and opportunity cost.

Money and banking: RBI established 1935 and nationalised 1949; M1 is narrow money and M3 broad money; CRR and SLR are reserve requirements; repo is the policy lending rate.

Monetary policy: RBI's Monetary Policy Committee of six members sets the repo rate to keep CPI inflation near 4% with a band of plus or minus 2%.

Poverty: the official poverty line uses calorie norms of 2,400 kcal for rural and 2,100 kcal for urban areas; the Tendulkar estimate was 21.9% in 2011–12; the MPI measures multidimensional deprivation.

Employment: organised versus unorganised sectors; disguised unemployment is common in agriculture; MGNREGA 2005 guarantees 100 days of wage work per rural household per year.

National income: GDP, GNP and NNP; base year 2011–12; compiled by the National Statistical Office; per capita income equals national income divided by population.

Sustainable development: Brundtland Report 1987; 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015; fiscal deficit equals total expenditure minus total receipts excluding borrowings; GST launched in 2017.

Rajasthan is India's largest state by area (342,239 km²), with Jaipur as capital; it borders Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; the district count was revised in 2023.

Physiography: Aravalli range (oldest fold mountains; Guru Shikhar 1,722 m is the highest point), Thar Desert, eastern fertile plains and Hadoti plateau; Mount Abu is the only hill station.

Rivers: Chambal is the only perennial river; Luni drains inland and turns saline downstream; Banas, Mahi and Sabarmati also flow through the state; the Indira Gandhi Canal draws from the Harike barrage.

Climate: arid west with annual rainfall under 150 mm and semi-arid east; Phalodi and Churu record extreme heat; drought is recurrent in the western districts.

History: Matsya and Mewar, Marwar; Battle of Haldighati 1576 between Maharana Pratap and Mughal forces; 1857 uprisings at Nasirabad and Kota; integration of Rajasthan completed in 1949.

Culture: Ghoomar, Kalbelia, Terah Taali and Padhar dances; Pushkar Camel Fair and Jaisalmer Desert Festival; folk deities Pabuji, Tejaji and Gogaji; Kathputli puppetry and blue pottery.

Economy: lead-zinc at Rampura–Agucha, marble at Makrana, copper at Khetri; crude oil at Mangala in Barmer; solar parks at Bhadla; tourism and handicrafts are significant.

Agriculture and conservation: bajra, mustard, wheat, guar and cumin; Chambal and Mahi Bajaj Sagar projects supply irrigation; Keoladeo Ghana at Bharatpur is a UNESCO World Heritage site; Ranthambore and Sariska are tiger reserves.

Definitions: a hazard is a potential damaging event; a disaster occurs when its impact exceeds coping capacity; vulnerability and exposure raise risk; risk is approximately (hazard × vulnerability) ÷ capacity.

Disaster Management Act 2005: NDMA chaired by the Prime Minister, SDMA by the Chief Minister and DDMA by the District Magistrate; NDRF is the specialised response force; NIDM handles training.

Disaster cycle: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation; mitigation is long-term and structural or non-structural, while relief is immediate.

Earthquakes: magnitude on the Richter scale, intensity on the Mercalli scale; focus is underground and epicentre is on the surface; India's seismic zones run II–V, with Zone V the highest risk.

Floods and drought: flood forecasting by the Central Water Commission; drought is a slow-onset hazard; Rajasthan's arid west is drought-prone; check dams and rainwater harvesting are mitigation measures.

Cyclones: IMD issues colour-coded warnings - green (no action), yellow (watch), orange (alert) and red (action); cyclone names are chosen by a regional panel of countries.

Map skills: scale gives the distance ratio; latitude and longitude fix location; contours join points of equal elevation and show slope; topographical symbols plus GIS and remote sensing aid disaster mapping.

Framework and safety: the Sendai Framework 2015–2030 has four priorities and seven global targets; school safety involves mock drills, first aid, fire extinguishers and evacuation maps.