Kolhan University BA Semester 1 Syllabus 2026: Paper-wise Guide
The Kolhan University BA Semester 1 syllabus is spread across seven papers under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP). Each department of Kolhan University, Chaibasa, publishes its own syllabus file, and the common courses have separate files. There is no single booklet for "BA Semester 1", which is why many students start the semester without knowing what to read.
This page brings the official Semester 1 syllabus files together in one place, with unit-wise topics and a suggested starting point for each paper. It covers Economics, Political Science, Home Science MDC-1, Hindi Composition (AEC-1), Understanding India (VAC-1), Digital Education (SEC-1) and the Indian Knowledge System paper (IKS-1).
Honesty note: Most syllabus files on the university website are marked "provisional" and were written for Session 2022-26. The university has not put every Semester 1 file online, for example the Digital Education and IKS syllabus. Use this page as a working checklist and confirm the final version with your department.
Semester 1 Papers
Paper | Credits | Marks | Written exam time (2025 exam) |
|---|---|---|---|
MJ-1 Major | 4 | 100 (75 end-semester + 25 internal) | 3 hours |
AC-1 Associated Core | 4 | 100 (75 end-semester + 25 internal) | 3 hours |
MDC-1 Multi-Disciplinary Course | 3 | 75 | 3 hours |
SEC-1 Digital Education | 3 | 75 | 3-hour sitting |
VAC-1 Understanding India | 2 | 50 | 1.5 hours |
AEC-1 Hindi Composition | 2 | 50 | 1.5 hours |
IKS-1 Indian Knowledge System | 2 | 50 | 1.5 hours |
Total | 20 | 500 | 7 papers |
Practical subjects such as Geography, Psychology and Home Science split the Major and AC marks differently. .
Key Changes to Know
AC replaces MN for Session 2025-29: The second subject is now called Associated Core (AC-1). Older syllabus files still say Minor (MN-1 or MN-1A), so do not be confused when your teacher uses either name.
IKS-1 is new: The 2025 exam added a compulsory Foundation Course in Indian Knowledge System, a subjective paper of one and a half hours.
VAC-1 has one paper: Older files show VAC-1 with Understanding India plus Environmental Studies or Yoga. For Session 2025-29 the exam form lists only Understanding India as VAC-1.
Commerce students differ: If a friend in BCom shows you Financial Accounting or Fundamentals of Commerce, those papers are not part of your BA plan.
Economics Syllabus
Economics MJ-1: Introduction to Microeconomics I
Module | Topics to cover | Start with |
|---|---|---|
I. Principles of Economics (10 lectures) | Trade-offs, opportunity cost, thinking at the margin, incentives, gains from trade, role of government, PPC, money supply and inflation | Opportunity cost and PPC diagrams |
II. Demand and Supply (12 lectures) | Market and competition, individual and market demand and supply, shifts, exceptions, equilibrium, elasticity and its uses | Law of demand and price elasticity |
III. Consumer Choice (15 lectures) | Marshallian utility, diminishing marginal utility, equi-marginal utility, indifference curves, budget line, consumer equilibrium, price, income and substitution effects (Hicks and Slutsky) | Indifference curve properties |
IV. Theory of Production (15 lectures) | Production function, law of variable proportions, returns to scale, isoquants and iso-cost lines, producer's equilibrium, expansion path, cost curves | Law of variable proportions |
V. Competitive Markets (8 lectures) | Features of perfect competition, revenue, profit maximisation, short-run and long-run supply, shut-down decision | Equilibrium of the firm |
Modules III and IV take the most lectures and suit 15-mark questions. Learn every diagram with labelled axes, because a neat diagram often decides the marks in a long answer.
Economics as AC-1 or Minor: Principles of Economics
The Economics syllabus file lists a separate Semester 1 Minor paper called Principles of Economics. Ask your department whether your AC-1 question paper follows this paper.
Module I, Introduction: Scarcity and choice, scope and method, opportunity cost and PPF, demand, supply, equilibrium and elasticity.
Module II, Microeconomics: Cardinal and ordinal utility, consumer surplus, production, short-run and long-run costs, perfect and imperfect markets.
Module III, Macroeconomics: National income, inflation, unemployment, business cycles, money and the central bank.
Module IV, International trade: Trade as an engine of growth, absolute and comparative advantage, gains from trade, free trade and protection.
Political Science Syllabus
The Political Science course table published by the university (FYUGP framework, 2022-23 onward) names these Semester 1 papers:
Code | Paper title | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
MJ-1 | Understanding Political Theory and Politics | Basic ideas of political theory and the study of politics |
MN-1A (earlier batches) | Globalization and Politics | How global changes affect states and politics |
MDC-1 | Citizenship and Governance | Good governance and the role of active citizens |
The full unit list for the Political Science Major and AC paper is not on the university's public syllabus page. If you sit Political Science AC-1, get the unit list from your college department and match it against a previous AC-1 question paper. The paper itself shows which topics the setter treats as important.
Home Science MDC-1: Home Science, An Introduction
This is a 75-mark paper with no internal exam and a pass mark of 30. It is a popular MDC choice for Arts students who did not study Home Science in Class 12.
Unit | Topics to cover | Start with |
|---|---|---|
1. Basics of Home Science (15 hours) | Definition, meaning, importance and branches of Home Science | Branches of Home Science |
2. Job opportunities (15 hours) | Scope and philosophy, growth as a discipline in India and the world, links with Psychology, Sociology, Economics and Agriculture, Home Science education levels, job-oriented courses such as nutrition, dietetics, textiles and interior design | Career areas and linked subjects |
3. Home Science in action (15 hours) | Applied Nutrition Programme, ICDS, Integrated Rural Development Programme, National Rural Employment Programme, women's empowerment, community and rural development | ICDS and women's empowerment |
Economics MDC-1: Introduction to Economics
If your Major is not Economics and you did not study it in Class 12, you may meet Economics as MDC-1. The file lists four modules: thinking like an economist (scope, five principles, economic systems), how markets work (supply, demand, equilibrium, surplus, elasticity), the household and the firm (utility, production, cost and revenue) and the international economy (globalisation, trade, WTO, IMF and World Bank).
AEC-1: Hindi Composition
The Hindi department file names this paper Hindi Vyakaran evam Anuvad (Hindi grammar and translation). It has two units of 15 lecture hours each.
Unit 1, grammar and composition: Sangya, sarvanam, visheshan, kriya, upsarg, pratyay, sandhi and samas.
Unit 2, terms and writing: Common administrative and technical terms with translation from Hindi to English and English to Hindi, sentence correction, letter writing, applications and essay writing.
Start with sandhi and samas, because they need practice and give quick marks. Keep a list of 50 administrative terms and revise it every week.
VAC-1: Understanding India
Unit | Topics to cover |
|---|---|
I. Introducing India | Landscape, mountains and rivers; people, population and languages; names of the country (Jambudvipa, Sindhu, Hind, Hindustan, Bharat, India) |
II. Heritage of India | Indus Valley town planning, rock-cut and temple architecture, Mughal architecture, Ajanta, Mughal and Madhubani painting, Jharkhand paintings (Kohbar, Sohrai, Jadopatia), music and dance including Chhau, science and medicine in ancient India |
III. Knowledge System of India | Gurukuls, pathshalas, tols, maktabs and madrasas; British education policy; growth of higher and technical education |
IV. Indian Economy | Agriculture, industry and trade from past to present |
V. Making of Contemporary India | Freedom struggle (1885 to 1947), framing of the Constitution, Fundamental Rights and Duties, foreign policy (non-alignment, Panchsheel), Panchayati Raj and PESA in Jharkhand |
Units II and V carry the most lectures. The suggested readings include NCERT books for Classes 6 to 12, so revise your school History and Political Science books first.
SEC-1 Digital Education and IKS-1
Both papers are compulsory, but their syllabus files are not on the public syllabus page of the university. Digital Education is a 3-credit, 75-mark paper. The IKS-1 paper (Foundation Course in Indian Knowledge System) is a 50-mark subjective paper.
Ask your college for the printed syllabus in the first month. Then use the 2025 question paper to see the question style and the topics that were actually asked. This saves you from reading topics that never come in the exam.
Overlap Between Papers
Area | Where it appears | How to plan |
|---|---|---|
Demand, supply and elasticity | Economics MJ-1, Economics Minor or AC paper, Economics MDC-1 | Learn once with diagrams and reuse for every Economics paper |
Indian economy and trade | VAC-1 Unit IV, Economics international trade module | Make one short note on agriculture, industry and trade |
Constitution and Panchayati Raj | VAC-1 Unit V, Political Science papers | Keep one sheet on Fundamental Rights, Duties and PESA |
Indian knowledge traditions | VAC-1 Unit III, IKS-1 | Read both together in one week |
Common Syllabus Mistakes in Semester 1
Reading the wrong paper: Students often study the Major syllabus for their AC subject. Check the code on your admit card, then match it with the right syllabus file.
Ignoring the 50-mark papers: AEC-1, VAC-1 and IKS-1 together carry 150 marks. That is more than one full Major paper.
Using old CBCS guides: Many bazaar guides still follow the old Honours syllabus. Check every chapter against the FYUGP unit list before you buy or read.
Skipping Jharkhand topics: Understanding India includes Jharkhand paintings, Chhau dance and PESA. These local topics are easy to miss in national books.
How to Cover the Syllabus
Weeks 1 to 2: Collect every syllabus file and the previous question papers. Mark units that appear in long questions.
Weeks 3 to 8: Cover the Major and AC one module a week. Add 30 minutes daily of Hindi grammar or Understanding India.
Weeks 9 to 10: Complete MDC-1, Digital Education and IKS-1. Revise for the internal exam.
Last four weeks: Write full papers in exam time and correct weak units.
Frequently Asked Questions
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