UP Board Class 10 Social Science Syllabus 2026-27

Marks distribution

Total: 100 marks — 70 marks written exam, 30 marks internal assessment/project work.

Unit	Subject	Marks
I	India and the Contemporary World – II (History)	20
II	Contemporary India – II (Geography)	20
III	Democratic Politics – II (Political Science)	15
IV	Understanding Economic Development (Economics)	15

History — India and the Contemporary World – II (20 marks)

• Rise of Nationalism in Europe: the French Revolution and the idea of the nation, the age of revolutions (1830-1848), the making of Germany and Italy, nationalism and imperialism.
• Nationalism in India: the First World War, the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements, differing strands within the movement, the path to Civil Disobedience.
• The Making of a Global World: the pre-modern world, the economy between the World Wars (1815-1914), rebuilding the world economy after the wars.
• The Age of Industrialization: before the Industrial Revolution, hand labour and steam power, industrialization in the colonies, the coming of factories.
• Print Culture and the Modern World: early printed books, the coming of print in Europe, the print revolution and its impact, print in 19th-century India, religious reform and public debates.
• Map work (5 marks): identifying and labeling sites related to Chapter 3 (Nationalism in India, 1918-1930) on a political map of India — including the Indian National Congress sessions at Calcutta (Sept 1920), Nagpur (Dec 1920), Madras (1927), and Lahore (1929); and key centres of the national movement: Champaran (Bihar), Kheda (Gujarat), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Amritsar (Punjab — Jallianwala Bagh), Chauri Chaura (UP), and Dandi (Gujarat).

Geography — Contemporary India – II (20 marks)

• Resources and Development: resource development and planning, land resources and land use, land degradation and conservation, soil resources, soil classification, soil erosion and conservation.
• Forest and Wildlife Resources: flora and fauna in India, conservation of forests and wildlife, types and distribution of forest and wildlife resources, community-based conservation.
• Water Resources: water scarcity, need for water conservation and management, multi-purpose river valley projects, rainwater harvesting.
• Agriculture: types of farming, cropping patterns (rice, wheat, coarse grains — millet, maize), pulses, cash crops (sugarcane, oilseeds, tea, coffee), horticulture, non-food crops (rubber, fibre crops, cotton, jute), technological and institutional reforms.
• Minerals and Energy Resources: ferrous minerals (iron ore, manganese), non-ferrous minerals (copper, bauxite), non-metallic minerals (mica), mineral conservation; conventional energy sources (petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity) and non-conventional sources (nuclear, solar, wind, biogas, tidal, geothermal).
• Manufacturing Industries: agro-based industries (textiles, jute), sugar industry, mineral-based industries (iron and steel, aluminium smelting), chemical industry, fertilizer industry, automobile industry, IT and electronics industry, industrial pollution and environmental degradation.
• Lifelines of the National Economy: transport (rail, road, pipeline, water), major seaports, air transport, communication services, international trade, tourism as a trade.
• Map work (5 marks): all map exercises related to Chapters 1-7 on a map of India.

Political Science — Democratic Politics – II (15 marks)

• Power Sharing: majoritarianism in Belgium and Sri Lanka, why power sharing is desirable, forms of power sharing.
• Federalism: what is federalism, the federal system in India, how it works, decentralization in India.
• Gender, Religion and Caste: gender issues in politics, women’s political representation, religion and communalism, caste and politics, India’s social and religious diversity, caste-based inequality.
• Political Parties: why we need political parties, meaning, functions, and necessity of political parties, national and regional parties, challenges facing political parties, how parties can be reformed.
• Outcomes of Democracy: how to evaluate democracy’s outcomes, accountable and legitimate government, economic growth and development, reduction of inequality and poverty, social diversity, dignity and freedom of citizens.

Economics — Understanding Economic Development (15 marks)

• Development: different goals for different people, income and other goals, comparing countries/states, public facilities, the Human Development Report, sustainability of development.
• Sectors of the Indian Economy: primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, historical change, the rising importance of the tertiary sector, employment distribution, organized vs unorganized sectors, protection of unorganized workers, public and private ownership sectors.
• Money and Credit: money as a medium of exchange, modern forms of money (currency, bank deposits), credit activities of banks, different credit situations, terms of debt, formal-sector credit, self-help groups for the poor.
• Globalisation and the Indian Economy: domestic production, linking production across countries, foreign trade and market integration, factors enabling globalisation, liberalization of trade and investment, the World Trade Organisation, the impact of globalisation in India.
• Consumer Rights: consumers in the marketplace, the consumer movement, consumer rights, where to seek redress, becoming an aware consumer, ISI and Agmark, advancing the consumer movement.

Internal assessment (30 marks)

1. First internal assessment (August, 10 marks): project work/activity.
2. Second internal assessment (December, 10 marks): project work/activity.
3. Third internal assessment (10 marks): combined score from four unit tests held across the year (July, August, November, December).

Suggested projects include studying local land-use/dress/housing patterns and their relation to climate and terrain, changes in farming and irrigation methods over the last decade, planting a fruit-bearing tree, studying local water pollution, forest conservation and the greenhouse effect, safety of women/elderly/children/persons with disabilities, women’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle, local environmental problems and solutions, and documenting popular struggles and movements. Teachers may also assign other syllabus-relevant projects at their discretion.