The Class 9 New Social Science Syllabus academic session represents a major shift toward competency-based learning.
Aligned with CBSE expectations and the NCF-SE 2023, it integrates History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics into a single, cohesive study of human society.
This curriculum prioritizes inquiry and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), reducing content load to focus on core concepts and lived realities.
By bridging ancient traditions with global perspectives, it aims to transform students into reflective citizens capable of rational action and ethical reflection.
Part 1
Understanding Social Science
- Meaning, Scope, and Relevance of Social Science
- Understanding Social Science from an Indian perspective
Shaping of the Earth’s Surface
- Theory of plate tectonics
- Interior of the Earth
- Role of weathering and erosion: agents
of gradation — river, waves, and currents,
wind, glaciers, and underground water - Landforms and disasters: earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, and glacial
Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) and duststroms
Atmosphere and Climate
- Structure and composition; elements
of weather and climate - Seasons of India
- Monsoon in India
- Climate change
- Floods
- Carbon footprint
Early Humans and the Beginning of Civilisation
- Cultural development from 2 million years ago
- Early human history
- Periodisation: Archaeological ages
- Who were human ancestors?
- Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers and the use of stone tools
- Mesolithic transition to food production
- Mesolithic sites and tools
- Neolithic and the beginning of farming
- Neolithic Revolution
- Domestication of Plants and Animals
- Harappan and contemporary cultures
- Mesopotamian civilisation, Egyptian civilisation, and Chinese civilisation
State and Society
- Vedic Age — geography; texts; rituals; political
institutions, and social order - Administrative structure of early empires
- Quest for knowledge — educational heritage,
institutions, knowledge traditions, and cultural practices - Traders and trade routes, guilds and merchants, crafts and industries
Democracy
- Meaning features and types of democracy
- Roots of democracy in India
- Challenges to democracy in India
- Democratic systems in the world
Elections
- Factors of the importance of elections
- Electoral systems
- Delimitation Commission
- Election Commission of India and its role
- Constituency, electoral rolls, enumerators
- Party system in India
Building Blocks in Economics
- Scarcity of resources, opportunity cost, and the
need for making choices. What do economists do? - What to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce?
- The difference between the market, centrally
planned, and mixed economic systems - Welfare economy
The Price Puzzle: What Drives the Market
- Laws of demand and supply
- Real-world deviations from textbook theory, such as in the case of necessities, luxury goods, perishable items, and expectations
- Some related concepts — price ceilings and market failures (externalities,
information asymmetry, public goods)
Part 2
Oceans and Life
- Introduction to ocean relief, movement of ocean waterwaves, tides, and currents
- Marine resources and their significance; open
seas, navigation, fishing, and livelihood concerns and challenges - Cyclones and Tsunamis — early warning systems
- International maritime rules and regulations
Life on Earth
- Biomes: Distribution and characteristics; biosphere reserves in India
- Forest and ecotourism; forest dwellers, their
livelihoods, and challenges - Forest and wildlife conservation
- Government efforts to support forest dwellers
Building a Resilient India
(1000 – 1700 CE)
- Safeguarding sovereignty: resistance, alliances
and confederacies - Development of art and architecture, languages
and literature - The Bhakti tradition
- Forts and fortifications
- Expansion of the Indian economy and state
India and the World-I
(1900 BCE-1200 CE)
- Trade and commerce — trade with Mesopotamia, Greece, the Roman Empire,
China and Southeast Asia - Cultural Connections — Interactions with Greece and Rome, Central Asia, China, and Influence in Southeast Asia
- Indian Knowledge Systems — Medicine, Mathematics, and Astronomy, Religion
Authority
- The Roots of Authority: in Kautilya and Shukranitidanda, and the relationship with Nyaya and Bala; the types of Nyaya and Bala
- Constitutional status of justice and security since ancient times
- Links the role of citizens with the elections and the democratic institutions
- Types of authority — functional, sensitive, and welfare-oriented
From Ideas to Startups
- What is entrepreneurship, and explain the resources required to start a business
- Case studies of successful entrepreneurs
- Creative destruction with examples
- Start-up ecosystem in India.
- Make in India initiative, role of MSMEs, and the unorganised sector in India’s economic growth.
- Stages of starting and executing a business idea through a business plan
- Some basic accounting concepts
Smart Ways to Manage Your Finances
- Relevance of personal financial management
in daily life - Inflation and its impact on purchasing power
- Simple vs. compound interest rate
- Budgeting
