Study Plan IAS

6/29/2014 [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 3 of 5): General Studies for CSAT prelims and Mains
- Mrunal
http://mrunal.org/2012/11/strategy-upsc-civil-ias-ips-ifs-service-exam-booklist-part3.html#807 2/71
1. Act III: Wagi ng the War
2. Loadi ng Doze and Mai ntenance Doze
3. Stati sti cs
4. Economy
1. Economy : Prel i ms/ MCQs
2. Economy : Mai ns
3. Internati onal rel ati ons
5. Pol i ty
6. Hi story (GS/CSAT)
7. Geography
1. How to Approach Geography for
CSAT-Prel i ms?
2. Worl d geography
3. Indi an geography
4. Geography for GS-Mai ns
8. Envi ronment and bi odi versi ty
9. Yearbook: prel i ms and mai ns
1. What i s Indi a Yearbook (2013)?
2. Why i s Indi a Yearbook i mportant?
3. How to read Indi a yearbook
effi ci entl y?
10. Sci ence-Tech
1. Sci ence for Prel i ms
2. How to effi ci entl y use THM GS
Manual for Sci ence segment?
3. Physi cs Chapter on Sci ence
4. Bi ol ogy
5. Sci ence-Tech for prel i ms and
Mai ns
11. Publ i c heal th and fi rst ai d
http://www.flipkart.com/hi
story-world-late-
nineteenth-early-twenty-
first-century-
01/p/itmdytkeuehwav7y
or old ncert please help }
[Topper's Intervi ew]
Neha Jai n (IAS-
2013/Rank-12): 4
years...
PUJA { can please any
one tell me what is
meaning of "-do-" (as in
this interview GS paper 3
in money laundeing cyber
security etc) } [Topper's
Intervi ew] Neha Jai n
(IAS-2013/Rank-12): 4
years...
MRUNAL { vix: see the
last year's main timetable
uploaded here. Hardly any
holiday in between papers.
https://www.flickr.com/ph
otos/97816112@N02/142
51564429/ } UPSC
upl oads offi ci al
answerkey for CSAT-
2013, l ets...
MRUNAL { not eligible
sonia. this is only for those
who remained present in
the original tier-1 exam in
2013 } [SSC-CGL-2013]
Re-exam on 20th Jul y,
Downl oad al l ...
6/29/2014 [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 3 of 5): General Studies for CSAT prelims and Mains - Mrunal
12. Fi rst Ai d
13. Good governance, l aw and order
14. Preparati on Ti metabl e
15. Intervi ew
16. What shoul d you do next?
17. Your Ci ty-Di stri ct-State
18. Stress Intervi ew
Act III: Waging the War
Loadi ng Doze and Mai ntenance Doze
You fall sick and doctor gives you medicine.
The initial doze is high : 2 tablets a day. (this is
loading doze)
Take tablets, they kill some bactaria and get
eliminated through urine. = symptoms are
decreased.
But if you stop taking drug, then ultimately
bacteria population will rise again.
So doctor doesnt completely stop the
medicine but reduces the doze, e.g. just 1
tablet a day. (this is maintenance doze)
Ya but how is ^this relevant for UPSC exam?
If youre already finished with the loading doze
phase (e.g. core syllabus) then all you need is
maintenance doze (revision). It leads to many
positive effects
1. Now your vision expands. You can clearly see
connections between topics and how theyre
MRUNAL { Puja:
relevent chapter from
Arjun Dev's old NCERT (for
world history), are already
uploaded under
Mrunal.org/history }
Neha Jai n (IAS-
2013/Rank-12): 4
years...
MRUNAL { Raj: it'll have
data related to things
happened between 1st
April 2013 to 31 March
2014. Hence in that
context needs to be
prepared e.g.... }
[Pol l uti on] Bharat
Emi ssi on Standards,
Saumi tra Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
MRUNAL { Vivek, This
topic was part of [Current]
May week2. But since it got
too lengthy, I've published
it separately. }
Saumi tra Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
MRUNAL { separately
later after economic survey
(if time permits.) reason for
postponing sci-tech
because in last two prelims
and mains hardly anything
came directly from
important for exam or not.
2. Now you can allot more time for upgrading
your notes with current affairs.
3. Now you can digup Government sites and
internet for follow up action on various topics.
4. Now you can practice mock MCQs (prelims) or
answer writing (mains)
Besides, finishing the core syllabus is also
important for another reason:= career backup
plan.
In case you fail in the IAS exam and If youre
not a CA, Doctor or IITian, what will you do?
Well, the backup plans would usually involve
Bank PO, State PSC, SSC type jobs or doing
PG/MBA.
Such exams are conducted throughout the
year. Whatever you prepare general studies,
will directly or indirectly help you in those
exams.
But Here is the problem: most of them require
some specific side preparation as well for
example Bank, SSC, CAT would require
Aptitude. Similarly for State PSC, youd have to
learn the history and geography of Punjab,
Maharashtra etc.
So, If your core syllabus of UPSC is not
complete, then you will always be under stress
on how to manage time between preparation
of these exam and it will be like choosing
between devil and the deep sea.
Therefore, sooner you finish loading doze, better
hindu's... } [Pol l uti on]
Bharat Emi ssi on
Standards, Saumi tra
Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
MRUNAL {
0.0025=stage VI (6) }
Saumi tra Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
NAVEEN SHEKHAR {
Your interview was really a
disaster.
Anyways,congratulations
for d success,sir! }
Praveen Chaudhary
(UPSC-2013 /Rank
222)...
PUJA { what is this "Arjun
Dev NCERT (9th and 10th)"
mrunal sir plz share the
link . is it ncert or some
separate book(see world
history... } [Topper's
Intervi ew] Neha Jai n
(IAS-2013/Rank-12): 4
years...
RAJ { murnal sir , please
clarify is there any chance
upsc asked economic
survey 2013 ? as in july
new economic survey ll
come ? } [Pol l uti on]
Bharat Emi ssi on
itll be for you. First of all complete the core/basic
syllabus of following topics
Topic Why?
1. Economy
Otherwise, you will not be able to
fully digest the newspaper columns.
2. International
relations
3. Polity
4. Statistics
You will have to spend less time
before the mains on this topic. So
that many days or weeks could be
utilized for preparing other topics of
general studies/opt subjects (if
opt.subjects are kept)
Statistics
UPDATE (March-08-2013): statistics no longer
relevent as UPSC removed it from 2013.
Economy
update Feb 2014: How to approach Economy,
has been explained in a separate article- cl i ck me
following is old information
The core syllabus of economy consists of the
following things
Theoreti cal economy
Standards, Saumi tra
Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
BOND { Euro I : 0.14 Euro
II : 0.08 Euro III: 0.05 Euro
IV 0.025 we reached here..
Euro V 0.005 European r
here.. Euro VI... }
Saumi tra Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...
RAJE { sir, 0.0025 rspm
is limit of Bharat stage 4 or
6. } [Pol l uti on] Bharat
Saumi tra Chaudhuri
Commi ttee, ...

UPSC
30-Jun: Civil Services
IAS/IPS(1291)
30-Jun: Forest Service
IFoS(85)
Bank i ng Sec t or
09-Jul : IBPS RRB 2014
21-Jul : RBI asst .(only
SPORTS quot a)
11-Jul : Jharkhand Gramin
(Sep13 RRB Score)
11-Jul : Puducherry Gramin
(Sep13 RRB Score)
St ar t Ser v i c e
30-Jun: GPSC Class1-2(350+)
Comm/ HR/ CA/ MBA
Basic Concepts and terminologies,
GDP,GNP,PPP,IIP, inflation etc.
Indi an economy ( stati c porti on)
LPG reforms.
Budget making process.
RBI monetary policy: Repo, Reverse Repo, CRR,
SLR etc.
Source: Stati c porti on of the economy

1. NCERT Class 10, 11, 12 (links @bottom of
this article)
2. NOS Study material for Economy (links
@bottom of this article)
3. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
(Tata Macgrawill Publication)
You have to move to the next level = current
affairs related to Indian and world economy.
1. DTC, GST,WTO, IMF, World bank etc.
2. Various for committees formed by
government and their
recommendations: Kelkar, shunglu,
Parekh etc.
3. Economic Survey and Budget 2013.
4. Eurozone crisis, American recession,
dollar-rupee exchange etc.
Source: Current affai rs on
30-Aug: Accountant NIFFT
Ranchi
11-Jul : HR officers,NBBC
30-Jun: HUDA accountants,
Asst.Accountants
28-Jun: NPCI Managers
I T/ Comput er
30-Aug: IITD Delhi system
admin(3)
25-Jul : programmer
Lucknow Med.Uni.
25-Jul : programmer
Lucknow Med.Uni.
17-Jul : I T jobs NI HFW
15-Jul : System Op.Raebareli
10-Jul : Karnataka PC
operators
08-Jul : Ludhiana PC operator
06-Jul : IT engg. in CRIS (need
GATE2014)
03-Jul : I I T-GNR Soft ware
30-Jun: Mumbai IT
30-Jun: Data Entry
Op.Arunachal
28-Jun: RailTel IT jobs
Engi neer s
23-Jul : MNI T Jaipur
Tech.asst .
15-Jul : ONGC West ern
Tech.asst .
11-Jul : Powergrid Sr.Engg
11-Jul : NBBC Engineers
09-Jul : OI L Drilling Engg.12
03-Jul : I I T-GNR
03-Jul : AFCAT Airforce
01-Jul : WAPCOS Engg.
economy
1. Newspaper (The Hindu / Indianexpress /
Economic Times)
2. Anyone competitive magazine.
3. Investopedia, Wikipedia, internet
4. Mrunal.org/economy
What i s Economi c Survey? And why i s
i t i mportant?
It is a report published on the official website
of Finance Ministry (before General budget is
announced).
This report contains information on the
present situation of Indian economy, various
schemes of Government and future approach
required for the next year.
It has lot of boring and unimportant data tables
but also contains good fodder material and
exam-worthy information.
If youre subscribed to any competitive
Magazine, you would usually find the highlights
of economic survey in the subsequent issues
of the magazine. Yet I would recommend you
to go through the original economic survey
report because magazines or newspapers only
tend to cover the dramatic items.
Whatever important details you find, make a
note out of it.
Economy : Prelims/ MCQs
(GATE2014)
30-Jun: CPRI Engg. Banglore
30-Jun: NALCO GATE 2014
Pol i c e/ Def enc e/ I nt el .
21-Jul : NDS(I I ) 2014
14-Jul : BSF Para-
Medic,Pharma
14-Jul : BSF Mot or
t ransport
07-Jul : BSF ASI/H.Constables
06-Jul : Doctors in BSF
03-Jul : AFCAT Airforce
30-Jun: DySP Gujarat(21)
30-Jun: Army(10+2) Technical
Spec i al i s t
BCom/ HR/ MBA
15-Jul : ONGC
account ant s(2)
09-Jul : HR Officers BEL
Medi c al / Al l i ed
18-Jul : Doct ors in HAL
14-Jul : BSF Para-
Medic,Pharma
07-Jul : Haryana Doctors
06-Jul : Doctors in BSF
03-Jul : Doctors in various
central org.
30-Jun: Delhi Doctors
30-Jun: Medical Officer
Chandigarh(10)
30-Jun: AIIMS Jodhpur
L egal
07-Jul : Haryana Attorney
Sc i enc e/ Agr i . Gr ads .
30-Aug: Lab Attendent NIFFT
Ranchi
1. You are given a term and 4 explanations for
that term. You have to identify the correct
definition
2. You are given a problem (inflation or low IIP or
currency depreciation) and 2-4 possible
solutions, you have identify the correct
solution to fix the problem. (This can also be
framed as assertion reasoning type question)
3. You are given name of a committee and 2-4
recommendations. You to tick the correct
recommendations.
4. Match the following: you are given name of
some organizations on one side and functions
performed by organizations on the other side.
You have to match them
5. Your given name of an organization
SEBI/NABARD/CCI/RBI etc and four statements
associated with them you have to find correct
statements.
6. You are given name of some government
scheme or policy or act related to economy
and four statements associated with them. You
have to find the correct statements
7. The trivial GK based questions e.g. names of
businessmen/company, repo rate in particular
month, establishment of particular
organization etc. BUT theyre are generally not
appearing under back breaking
TM
move
In short, whenever you are preparing anything
related to economy, think on those lines and try to
frame the questions by yourself. Also solve the
mock questions given in your GS Manual .
25-Jul : Himachal
Tech.Assistants
14-Jul : IHBT Himachal
10-Jul : Karnataka lab
assistant
10-Jul : Karnataka Horti.Field
Asst.
10-Jul : Scientist MP
05-Jul : DRDO scientists
05-Jul : SAIL technician
03-Jul : NIFTEM technician
04-Jul : Scientist Tamilnadu
003Jul : Dehradun
Scientist/Asst.
04-Jul : Assistants Tamilnadu
30-Jun: Rajasthan Agro
officers
Spec . Ot her s
07-Jul : Haryana Town planner
30-Jun: Loksabha Interpreter
Mi s c . Des k j obs
30-Aug: clerks NIFFT Ranchi
31-Jul : NGT
Secretary,Steno,Translators
21-Jul : NI T Warangal asst .
10-Jul : NI T Pat na Asst .
15-Jul : NI FT,Gandhinagar
15-Jul : Raebareli Deskjobs
07-Jul : Drivers AMU
03-Jul : I I T Gandhinagar
Deskjobs
30-Jun: Delhi Teachers
L ec t ur e/ Pr of .
07-Jul : AMU
02-Jul : Baroda Univ.
War ni ng
Economy : Mains
In the 90s era, you could expect direct questions
example
1. Difference between the functions of IMF and
World Bank =10 marks
2. Explain the functions performed by RBI = 12
marks
3. Explain the budget making process=20 marks.
Such direct questions are very unlikely to appear in
future mains. At most they may ask such things on
two markers or five marker question.
The 12, 15, 20 marker economy-questions
seems to be reserved for critically examine/
Analysis this and that type of questions.
You have to keep gathering fodder material
from newspaper columns. For example
Critically examine the issues involved in
implementation of goods and services tax or
Direct Tax code.
These topics will again gain momentum before
and after the budget-2013.
Keep an eye on the newspaper columns, TV
reports during that time and maintain notes.
Same advice for each and every topic. For
example SEBI- e-IPO issue was in news few
weeks back.
So if you prepare the notes when the issue is
still hot= best.
Sometimes issues are very complicated and
DONOT wai t ti l l l ast
date. Onl i ne Form Part1
stops worki ng 2-3 days
b4 deadl i ne.
DONOT forget/mi spl ace
regi strati on/rol l
number/hal l ti cket after
exam i s over.
require you to do research on Internet. If you
cant do It immediately, then note down the
title of topic in your To-Do list/diary.
Otherwise after two three weeks youll forget it
and get busy with some new important topic.
Then same question would appear in Mains/
Prelims and you will curse yourself damn I
should have done that topic, when I had the
time.
You may also visit www.egyankosh.ac.i n and
download the relevant PDF files from Economics
section for selective study and fodder material.
International relations
Prelims: not part of syllabus. (ofcourse one or
two random questions can come on world
geography, Summits, Current Affairs)
But for mains, international relations/
diplomacy =extremely important.
In Mains examination, The General Studies Paper II
rests on four pillars
1. International relations
2. Economy
3. science tech
4. statistics
If any one pillar is weak, your building will
collapse.
How to approach International Relations =Already
explained in a separate article. Cl i ck ME
You also keep an eye on websites ministry of
external affairs and ministry of overseas affairs.
Notes making = extremely important for
international relations because usually you will not
find direct answers in any single chapter or article.
Youve to keep following news for months.
For example
1. In Xyz Month, suppose there is big protest / PIL
regarding POSCO. Newspapers will cover it and
you get say 3 fodder points. Note it down
2. After a few months, either S.Korea President
comes to India or Mohan makes a trip there
(Mohan usually makes foreign trips when
there a new scandal at home, because then he
is saved from answering the media or lets the
high command cover up the problem
hehehe.)
3. Anyways back to the topicso when leaders
make trip to each others nation, they release a
joint press statement. Youll usually find 5
fodder points in it. Note down.
4. After some months, China and S.Korea start
fighting over some sea/land/island. Again
newspaper columns start covering it and you
get 3 more points.
Total youve 3+5+3=11 points.
When they ask you about India-S.Korea relations,
you can use those points to write a decent answer.
Polity
Just one book: Laxmi kanth
The question is how to
effectively use Laxmikanth?
For that, dont study the
book in linear fashion
(chapter 1,2,3,4) Instead I
suggest you move in
following direction
1. First you read the chapter
on President, Vice President
and immediately move to the chapter on
governor. Then read on Emergency provisions.
2. Read chapter on PM and cabinet, then move to
CM and state council of Ministers.
3. Chpater on Parliamentary system and then
directly to parliament, but after budget topic is
done pause this chapter and move to on CAG.
Then come back and resume the chapter on
parliament.
4. Once parliament is finished, move to State
legislative assembly.
5. Same way Supreme Court and then High court,
tribunals.
6. Attorney Gen =>Advocate General
7. UPSC =>State PSC
8. Finance Commission =>Planning
Commission=>Nat.Development council
9. Now Centre State and Interstate relations.
10. Election Commission=> chapter on election,
Anti-defection
11. All the National Commissions on Women, SC,
ST,OBC, CVC, Lokpal and so on.
Once ^this is done. Move to
1. Citizenship, Fundamental
rights, DPSP, duties.
2. Amendment of
Constitution=> preamble
3. Jammu Kashmir =>
Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
4. UT, Panchayati Raj,
municipalities
After ^this is done. Read whatever chapters are
remaining.
Note: the short explanations given in appendix of
every chapter= should be read.
Q. Shoul d I make notes out of
Laxmi kanth?
M.Laxmikanth has the skill of writing book in a
note-format.
So whether it is his book on polity or on Public
Administration, there is no need to maintain a
special note out of his books.
Just highlight/underline important lines. Note
down keywords on the margin. And keep
revising it as many times as you can.
When youve done enough revision, solve mock
questions given at the end of his book (around
300). Then solve another 400 Mock Qs given in
the GS manual. So total 700 questions
practiced. Then UPSC MCQs on polity will not
give you much trouble.
Anyways ^this is only the static polity.
What about the current affai rs on
Pol i ty?
Womens reservation bill = explicitly polity
topic.
But at times polity related current affairs and
possible questions are subtly hidden in the
current affairs.
So be vigilant. For example, Nuke power plant
issue would superficially appear as
environment/yearbook but can be well asked
from Centre-State relations point of view.
Supreme courts order on Ganga/Yamuna
clearing would appear as environment topic
but can be asked under Centre-States
responsibilities in water Management also.
Same goes for 2G scam, mining scams and so
on. (Judicial Activism, Seperation of power, CAG
Activism and so on)
Sources for current affai rs
1. Newspaper
2. Prsindia.org
3. Mrunal .org/pol i ty
So far we have seen how to approach
International affairs, Economy and Polity. You
should finish their core syllabus first, in order to
fully digest the newspaper items.
Now moving to the other topics of syllabus.
History (GS/CSAT)
update Feb 2014: for History/culture portion, use
the Tamilnadu (TN) State education board books.
Theyre better than NCERTs. (Free download
@bottom).
following is old information
For prelims (CSAT General Studies Paper I), History
is subdivided into three segments
Ancient
Harappa, Vedic Age, Buddha, Mahavir,
Gupta,Maurya Kingdoms etc.
Medieval Delhi Sultanate, Vijaynagar, Mughals etc.
Modern
British Raj. 1857 Mutiny onwards. Freedom
struggle.
In the 90s, questions used to be based on
1. Timelines: wars, kings,
2. Locations: of Harappa Sites where xyz type of
pottery was found, or Asokas pillars
3. Match the following
4. Maps: theyd give you a blank map, you had to
locate xyz state or kingdom.
In last three years, questions are mostly based on
religion, culture, art and features/cause/reason
type.
Although UPSC hasnot asked map based question
lately but if youve time, it doesnt hurt preparing
the maps (because UPSC is the baddest thug in
this part of South East Asia.) youll find the
Ancient/Medieval maps in NCERTs and in GS
Manual.
Essential Booklist for History
(GS/CSAT)
1. NCERT class 7 to 10 Social Science
2. NCERT class 11, 12 on History
3. NOS Studymaterial on Indian Culture and
Heritage.
^all of these free, download links @bottom of this
article
4. Selective Study of History portion in Tata
Macgrawi l l General Studi es Manual (to fill
up vacuum of whatever details are missing in
the NCERTs). But again skip very tiny details
such as Middle Palaeolithic tools were found
at Nevasa, Maharashtra by HD Sankalia.
Because it wont go in long term memory. Your
time and energy can be better utilized in other
topics.
Once this is done, solve all the Mock MCQs given
in the General Studies Manual.
In The NCERT Class 9 and 10, youll also find
information on World History (WW1, WW2, French
Revolution, Russian Revolution etc) While theyre
not specifically mentioned in the syllabus, you
should read it because indirectly important for
Essay and interview.
History (Mains/GS)
In the 90s, the General Studies paper used to have
following structure, in History section
1. 3-5 descriptive question (60 marks)
2. Freedom fighter 2 markers (10 marks)
3. Culture related 2 markers (10 marks)
Ofcourse there would be fluctuation each year, but
this was the usual makeup.
Success formula in 90s era= basically mugup
Spectrums three books + Bipin Chandra.
That doesnt hold true anymore, as we saw in
GS Mains-2012 Analysis (cl i ck ME if you didnt)
Nowadays weightage given to History in GS
mains paper = declined and emphasis has
been shifted to Culture.
So how to proceed in this new era?
1. Indi a s Struggl e for Independence by Bi pi n
Chandra
2. Selective Study of IGNOU BA/MA History (only
related to freedom Struggle) Cl i ck ME
3. Selective Study of IGNOU Tourism Course (for
culture) CLICK ME
4. NOS material on Indian culture CLICK ME
5. Spectrum Book on Indi an Cul ture
Opti onal reference
Because of the backbreaking
TM
move of UPSC,
following books have lost their former glory. So Im
putting them under Secondary. If youve time, read
else dont bother. There are many other areas
where you can utilize your energy.
1. Spectrum Book on Bri ef Hi story of Modern
Indi a
2. Spectrum Book on Freedom Fi ghters
However, for State PSC exams, whore still in the
90s mood, these books would come handy. In that
case, mug them up :)
Geography
Geography
classified into three parts
1. Physical geography
2. World geography
3. Indian Geography
the first two topics come in prelims syllabus. but
they are not included in the main syllabus.
for Mains syllabus of General Studies, youve to
prepare Indian Geography only.
How to Approach Geography for
CSAT-Prelims?
First of all complete
1. NCERT class 7 to 10 social science
2. NCERT class 11, 12: Geography (except that
practical book on mapping and survey
methods)
3. NOS Studymaterial on Geography (if the time
and eyes permit you!)
Free download links for above PDF files, have been
given in previous Act II. Cl i ck ME
When this is done, move to general studies
manual to fill up the missing gaps if any.
Now lets check how to effectively utilise Tata
McGraw-Hi l l General studi es manual for
Geography portion.
1. branches of geography= important
2. origin of Earth= important
3. ignore the geological history of Earth
4. ignore the facts about earth (weight, volumne
and stuff like that)
5. understand the concepts related to longitudes,
latitudes, meridians, inclination of Earths axis
and its effect, standard time, cycles of the
moon, atmosphere, Aurora -magnetism,
insulation and heat budget, templated,
6. mecanism of winds, monsoon
7. ignore table of Beufort Scale
8. ignore types of clouds
9. understand the difference between dew, frost,
fog, smog, mist and haze.
10. types of climate, water table = important, also
from environment and biodiversity Angle
11. Understand the mechanism of cold and warm
currents = because they are also related with
climate change
12. From lakes, only important and famous ones :
Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, Superior, Victoria,
Baikal, Aral Sea, Wulur, Vostock
13. Same for rivers
14. Marine resources= important for environment
topic also
15. Classification of rocks: prepare a small note on
features and example of each type
16. Theories of Plate tectonics, continental drift etc
- just get overview
17. Volcanos, Earthquakes important but no need
to get in minute stuff. Just supplement NCERT
18. Weathering, Erosion, landforms = important
from environment topic angle.
19. ignore table on major water falls, except
famous ones : Angel, Victoria, Niagara,
20. Soil is important but from agriculture point of
view only.
21. ignore the table containing classification of soil
22. ignore US Taxonomy classification
World geography
1. Go through entire human geography but ignore
trivial details like Lapps= people of Eurasian
trunda. (But famous tribes are important
e.g.Bushman=Kalahari Desert.)
2. Migration, resource classification, farming
system, types of cultivation, agricultural
typology= extremely important
3. Chief agro products (tea, wheat etc) : the
land/climate conditions required = important.
4. Forest products= important from environment
and biodiversity angle.
5. Mineral producers= only the major ones (coal,
iron ore, gold, nuclear, oil etc). Otherwies
Mercury producers = Spain and Italy= ignore.
6. industrial products= just get an overview
7. important boundary lines= as the name
suggests, it is important
8. important cities= not that important for UPSC ,
but may help you in GK based questions in
SSC/Bank.
9. old name and new name for various countries
and cities= indirectly important for the
interviews.
Indian geography
In last two years, very few questions are coming
from world geography. but at the same time, it is
not a good idea to completely ignore world
geography especially when you have time.
because a something really straightforward asked
Tropical Savannah climate, then you should not
miss the opportunity.
In the 90s, they would give you some map
based questions. ( location of rivers,
mountains, nations etc). but they have not
asked map-based questions in last two years.
but it does not hurt much preparing the Atlas
because it indirectly helps you understand the
international-relations and diplomacy topics in
better manner.
More emphasis should be given on the Indian
geography because it is common for both
prelims and mains.
While Indian geography is important for
prelims, the nature of question has changed.
earlier it used to be mapped based or location-
based Indian geography but nowadays it is mostly
related with agriculture, environment angles.
1. first start with NCERTs and them move to TMH
GS Manual.
2. keep an Atlas Ready while reading everyline,
otherwise things will not go long-term
memory.
3. for the lakes, rivers, waterfalls, irrigation
projects, wildlife parks and sanctuaries etc.
only prepare the famous ones and those
related with odd animals such as Wild Ass.
and prepare the trivial ones only if they are
from your home state (for profile based
interview questions and for State PSC)
4. Indias industrial towns/tourist places: famous
ones + those from your home state and
surrounding neighbour states. No need to go
in trivial. These things are for indirectly
understanding the issues of socio-economic
Development and for profile based interview
questions. Otherwise direct MCQs are very
unlikely.
5. seasons, soil types, wildlife= important.
6. ignore places connected by national highways.
90s era is over.
7. sex ratio, literacy rate :top 3, bottom 3, and
your home state.
8. Tribal groups = important from culture angle.
9. India maps on political, physical, wildlife and
biosphere, seaports, soil-vegetation, =
important for indirect MCQs.
Once this is done. (Physical, World and Indian
Geography.) Again restart process and then solve
MCQs from GS Manual.
Geography for GS-Mains
The way things have started taking shape, the
conventional and clichd questions are unlikely to
appear anymore (for example monsoon
mechanism.)
But still prepare Indian Geography from Economic,
sustainable Development, Disaster and
Environment angles.
Books:
1. NCERTs, NOS, GS Manual.
2. India Yearbook (Wastelands, Drough
Management etc) and follow up on respective
Government websites.
3. 2
nd
ARC report on Disaster Management.
http://arc.gov.i n/
4. Traditional books on Indian Geography are not
likely to help directly like they used to in 90s
(for example Spectrum/ Majid Hussain/ Khullar)
But still you may go through any one of them,
if youve the time.
That concluded talk on Geography. Moving to next
topic of syllabus.
Environment and biodiversity
When we talk of history or polity, there are
already decent standard books available
because those topics have been in syllabus
since the beginning of UPSC exams.
But this Biodiversity is newly introduced
syllabus topic since CSAT 2011. Most of the
ready-made books (and magazines special
issues) on this topic provide you too much
data, above what is necessary.
For example in case of biodiversity, theyd give
you a huge list of endangered species and their
Latin names and how many animals are left.
The establishment year of every wildlife park
and their surface area with accuracy upto two
decimal points like 48.25 kms!
Environment biodiversity is not about
becoming master of trivial GK, UPSC MCQs are
not same like Kaun Bangegaa Crorepati.
Like every other topic in UPSC (except History and
Statistics), we can classify EnB under two heads
Static Current Based
basic theoretical and static
stuff such as biomes, bios,
in-situ, ex-situ modes of
wildlife conservation,
keystone species, umbrella
species, project tiger,
elephant, biosphere
reserves and things like that.
Issues involving various
protocols or world
conventions. IPCC
reports, Kyoto
etc.Supreme court
orders on xyz issue:
Clearing of Yamuna, Ban
on Mining, Tiger tourism
etc.
Bookl i st/Preparati on sources for
Envi ronment and Bi odi versi ty
Static (theory) Current based
1. NCERT Social
science (7-
10): because
Geography,
Forest etc
given in it.
2. NCERT
Geography
Class 11, 12
3. NOS Study
material on
Biodiversity.
Free
download
link
@bottom
4. India
Yearbook,
5. Website of Ministry of Environment and Forest
6. Yojana, Kurukshetra magazine issues involving those particular
themes
7. The Hindu: Energy and Environment segment
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/
8. Climate Change section of IndianExpress:
http://www.indianexpress.com/section/climate-change/912/
9. Economic Times section on Environment
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/planetsos/2647163.cms
10. http://mrunal.org/enb
11. Magazine (just to make sure we did not miss anything!)
12. Google: incase follow up action is necessary for a particular topic.
chapter on
Environment
^Prelims questions: mostly theory based=
multiple revision must. (+ a few on current
affairs)
^Mains questions: mostly current based. You
must maintain notes.
The source list may look i nti mi dati ng but it is
not!
Because environment news doesnt happen
everyday (unlike Economy), so every week there
will be no more than 2-3 news items.
Moving to the next topic
Yearbook: prelims and mains
[Yearbook] is the collective term used to describe
following
1. Organization of various ministry and offices
and their functions
2. Various schemes and projects of Government
3. Issues of socio-economic Development, five
year plans
In a way, Yearbook is a mixture of Economy +
Polity.
What is India Yearbook (2013)?
A book released by Publication division under
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In common parlance we refer
this as Yearbook but
otherwise technically name
of the book is India 2011,
India 2012, and India 2013
and so on (according to year
of publication).
Earlier, government used to
provide free PDF file of this
book. But they started doing
it since 2012.
This book also helps in
rights issue, environment, public health
topics.
My advice: if you dont have this book then wait
and watch, buy the new edition 2013, when it
comes in the market.
If you already have a India 2012, no need to
buy new, just update any new Government
schemes using Government
websites/newspaper/magazines.
If you have a very old edition (something like
India 2007) then dump it and buy the l atest
edi ti on, because many schemes are
consolidated / their salient features have been
changed.
Why is India Yearbook
important?
Many publication houses, provide their own
version of yearbooks for example Chronicle,
wizard.
They have the same content of India yearbook,
but in bulleted form, some details are omitted,
some side current affairs GK is added.
While superficially, they may feel more easier
to read and prepare but my advice go directly
to the original source because many times 4TF
type MCQs are directly lifted from the
statements and paragraphs given in India
yearbook (i.e. India 2013)
From Yearbook topic, usually following type
questions appear in the exam
Prelims (CSAT) Mains
1. The give you two for
four statements
related to a particular
scheme or
Government
organization (e.g. Haj
Committee). You have
to find out the
correct/incorrect
statements
2. Name of some
schemes are given,
youve to match them
with their objectives.
Basically Two types of
questions can appear
1. you are given name of
a government
scheme or project
and you have to write
its salient features
(12-15 marks)
2. you are given some
socio-economic
problem and you
have to analyze it, list
the steps taken by
government, or
suggest about the
future steps that
should be taken.
Therefore You should have strong command over
the salient features of every scheme, otherwise
you will get confused in the MCQs. Besides the
same salient features will also help you in
descriptive answers during the mains exam. So
prepare the topic on that line without wasting
energy in useless stuff.
Example.
1. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
provides for setting up of residential upper
primary schools for girls of SC, ST, OBC and
Muslim communities. = important.
2. In 11th five year plan, government of India
allotted 8,000 crores under Kasturba Gandhi
Balika Vidyalaya Scheme= NOT IMPortant.
How to read India yearbook
efficiently?
Already explained in previous article. Cl i ck ME
But this is only the static (theory/basic) part. What
about the current affairs?
Because Indi a yearbook 2013 i s pri nted i n
Dec 2012, but many new events wi l l take
pl ace between December 2012 to May 2013
(Prel i ms) and November 2013 (mai ns). How to
prepare them?
Sources for Yearbook Current affai rs:
1. The Hindu
2. Press releases from pib.nic.in (subscribe to
them via Google reader)
3. Economic Survey (will be uploaded on Finance
Ministrys website)
4. Yojana and Kurukshetra
5. Mrunal .org/yearbook
6. Competitive Magazine (just to make sure we
did not miss anything.)
Prepare a keywords note and revise it often else,
youll mixup with salient features of various
schemes and projects.
Moving to the next topic
Science-Tech
Science can be classified into following parts
Theory (Static) Current Affairs
1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. biology-subtopics:
4. plant and animals
5. humans
It is known as science-tech.
Science for Prelims
The static (theory based) science has declined in
importance. In the 90s you could expect 10-10-10
questions on physics, chemistry, biology each
(theory based).
Nowadays barely 8-10 question and that too
mixture of both theory + current affairs.
But it doesnt mean you should skip the static
(theory based) science because
1. competition is damn high
2. UPSC =unpredictable.
Therefore certain minimum level preparation is
necessary for every topic. Beside there is lot of
time still left before the exam.
Start with NCERT Science textbooks class 7 to 10.
Even if youre already an M.Sc, engineer or
Doctor, still you should read these textbooks.
because even if you have good command over
your field, still you would have forgotten many
important basic concepts from the school. So
always start with NCERTs.
And please dont read NCERTS lightly or just for
namesake formality because UPSC will usually
give you four statements and all of them would
sound equally plausible. You should be
thoroughly clear on principles/concepts.
Once you have finished reading these
textbooks, it is time for selective study of GS
manual.
How to efficiently use GS Manual
for Science segment?
Physics Chapter on Science
1. difference between scaler and vector
quantity=important
2. Newtons laws and their practical
application=important
3. the working principles behind artificial
satellites, geostationary satellites etc.
=important, but no need to mugup equations.
4. The concept of densities important but you
dont need to mugup absolute density value of
various substances. Same goes for surface
tension, viscosity etc.
5. Concepts and principles behind heat,
electronic thermometer, refrigeration,
radiation, solar cooker, thermos flask,
carengine radiator, air-conditioners, pressure
cookers, DTH TV, nightvision goggles, radar,
oven, CAT Scan etc.
6. Optics: convex and concave glasses:
differences applications, refractions,
7. Principle behind rainbow, LCD, camera
microscope, LASER, compact disc etc. but no
need to get bored with those complex
diagrams.
8. Sound: echo, resonsnace, doplar effect, sonic
boom, dolby etc. : again you need to have idea
on basics. No need for going into minute
details.
9. Same for Magnetism and electricity, Nuclear
physics.
10. In short, you should be aware of the concepts
and principles but You dont need to mugup
equations of Velocity, acceleration, pendulum,
sound etc.
Biology
1. Branches of biology important
2. difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic
cells is important
3. Parts of typical cell, and their functions=
important
4. Basics of cell division mitosis and meiosis
=important but no need to do Ph.D from GS
Manual.
5. Classification of living organism= you should
have overall idea but no need to go in minute
details like the difference between
Deuteromycetes and Basiondiomycetes.
6. Tissue system : same as above
7. Nutrition and digestion system important but
no need to go in details like 8 hours of work =
972 calories.
8. respiration and photosynthesis: no need for
Ph.D or chemical reaction
9. Heart, kidney: just functions, no need to go
diagram
10. ignore diagram of conduction of nerve impulse
11. Basic functions of Endocrine glands and
diseases asscociated with them = important.
But Cacitonin raises blood calcium level =not
important.
12. skeletal system: simply ignore. THM has given
Ph.D on this.
13. reproduction : concepts important. diagrams
are not important.
14. artificial methods of vegatative reproduction
=extremely important.
15. Plant hormor diagram= ignore
16. sex determination in humans, birds and bees=
important
17. Table and Diagram on ABO blood group, Rh
factor = very important.
18. List of genetic disease = important but no need
to mugup all, only big dieases like Sickle cell,
Thalassemia.
19. Basics of Gene Expression, m-RNA, t-RNA
important else other topics stem cell, cancer,
genetic engineering, cloning etc will be hard to
understand.
20. Tables for Disease, types, mode of
transmission and symptoms= important
(including for mains). But no need to mugup
Latin names of those bactaria etc.
21. Table on Vitamin function and disease =
important
22. monoclonal antibodies=important for mains
also.
23. Basics of antigen-antibody=important because
vaccination works on that principle
^This is the basic biology. Now in the TMH GS
Manual, theyve given environment related stuff=
important. Well discuss what to do with that, in
separate topic environment and Biodiversity: for
the moment skip it move on to the topic of drug
abuse and alcoholism. No need to mugup tables
but you should have idea the origin of various
narcotic drugs .
e.g. LSD from fungi,
Marijuana from hemp,
Morphine, heroine = opium derivaties.
Cocaine from coca leaves.
+Basic idea on alcoholism e.g.
Hooch / Zehrili Sharaab is basically methanol
and it causes blindness.
Alcohol is not stimulant but depressant.
Alcohol causes cirrhosis of liver
Ani mal Husbandry
Now comes the topic of Animal husbandary.
Very brief overview,
no need to mugup Latin names,
Ignore animal disease table.
Artificial insemination important
Agri cul ture
Youd already have covered this topic through
NCERTs, so use GS manual only to fill up any
missing details such as ideal soil type,
harvesting season, states
because usually 4TF MCQs are prepared from
that.
No need to mugup every hybrid variety or latin
name
Type of plants = important
Masticatory, medicinal plants and bio
insecticides: only use/function.
Chemi stry
From TMH GS manual.
1. Symbols of elements= ignore.
2. Chemical equations =ignore. because youve
already ignored the symbols hahaha
3. Use of chemical compound = important but
their chemical formula is not important
4. Ignore Thomsons atomic model
5. Ignore Rutherfords Atomic model
6. Ignore theories of chemical bonding
7. Ignore periodic table
8. Ignore molality, mole fraction and their
equations
9. Concept of solubility =important
10. Oxidation reduction mechanism and
examples = important
11. Carbon, its compounds and allotropes, carbon
cycle=important
12. Ignore Acid-base, hydrocarbon. Whatever you
prepared in NCERT is sufficient. THM is going
into Ph.D mode
13. Table on natural occurrence of selected
metals=important for big elements only.
E.g.Dolomite =Magnesium and Magnetite=
iron.
14. Location of mineral wealth= important. You
should idea on overall which mineral is found
in which state.
15. Basics of metal extraction, petroleum, steel,
rusting, cement, glass =important
16. Colloids= only basic definition and table of
types of colloidal system, emulsion and gels
=important
17. Ignore Micelles topic.
18. Biotech Nanotech and their applications
=important both for prelims and mains
19. Polysaccharides = use and sources =important.
But chem formula=ignore, same for proteins
and glycosides
20. Ignore the equations govering gases, liquids
and solutions.
21. Understand the three laws of thermodynamics
22. Ignore themodynamic potentials.
23. The readymade Question answers given on
important concents and topics= important to
understand principle.
Once youre done (physics, chemistry and biology)
from GS Manual.
Restart the whole process one more time (once
again read NCERTs and once again read GS
Manual) and then solve the Mock MCQs given at
the end of each chapter.
This finishes the theory portion of Science. Now
coming to the current affairs portion =Sci-Tech.
Science-Tech for prelims and
Mains
Sources
1. The Hindu (particularly Thursday edition)
2. Mrunal .org/snt Ive uploaded some ready
revision notes from The Hindus article. That
should give you the hints on how to approach
a science related news articles from exam
point of view, what to skip and what to note
down.
3. Magazine (any one CST or PD): just to make
sure we did not miss anything from Hindu /
current affairs.
4. Internet, incase you need to do follow up
question for a particular topic e.g. Human
Genome project because such things can also
come under 10 marks in Mains. But dont do
Ph.D on it. Like I said in previous Act-
Application of Nanotechnology. This is meant
for 12-15 marks, theyre not going to ask a 30
marks or 200 marks essay on it. So keep the
size of notes accordingly.
5. And dont too much sci-tech. If you start
digging google, there is so much Science-tech
going on around the world throughout the
year. But Beyond a level, this has diminishing
rate of returns.
For the Science-Tech, Frequent revision is
essential. Otherwise, itd remain in your notes but
you wont be able to recall it in the exam hall.
Public health and first aid
This topic is gaining quite some importance
since last two mains (2011 and 2012)
it is a mixture of Yearbook+Sci-Tech
For prelims, this topic is not directly mentioned
in the CSAT (Preliminary) syllabus yet 4TF MCQ
questions based on diseases can come under
the General Science.
For Mains, the syllabus explicitly mentions
Public Health.
Preparati on sources/bookl i st for
Publ i c Heal th
1. Basics of nutrition, disease, vaccination =
NCERTs, GS Manual
2. Government schemes and projects related to
public health= India Yearbook Chapter on
health and family welfare + and Government
websites for new updates
3. Newspaper
4. Press release of pib.nic.in
5. Mrunal .org/snt
First Aid
Since last two years they have been asking
role-playing question on First Aid treatment in
the mains examination.
Now that Doesnt necessarily mean that they
will definitely ask a question on first aid, in the
next exam but you should be prepared. Go
through the following PDF file (taken from
IGNOU): Cl i ck ME.
Good governance, law and order
These are given in General Studies Mains syllabus
1. Law enforcement, internal security and related
issues such as the preservation of communal
harmony.
2. Issues relating to good governance and
accountability to the citizens including the
maintenance of human rights, and of pro-bity
in public life
Best source:
1. 2
nd
ARC reports. http://arc.gov.i n/
2. Yojana issues related to the themes
3. Besides itll also help you in essay and
interview.
4. + any current affairs (Lokpal, Citizen carter,
Whistleblower, SC judgements etc) but youd be
preparing that already under [Polity]
You can also dig egyankosh.ac.in for good
governance and law and order, but if Public
Administration is not your optional then then itll
give you diminishing rate of returns.
I think ^this should be sufficient for General
Studies.
Yes there are some small time topics left. For
example prelims syllabus has
1. Public Policy,
2. Rights issue,
3. Panchayati Raj
But given the way UPSC conducted last two
prelims, whatever you prepare under yearbook,
polity (static + current), will help you in these
questions. There is no need to prepare them
separately using a book/coaching material. At
most go for Governance i n Indi a by
M.Laxmi kanth, i f youve time- otherwise no need.
You can also use the Sociology and Political
Science textbooks of NCERT (Class 11,12).
Preparation Timetable
These are no rock-solid time frames. Just
suggestions
Nov-December
Finish core syllabus of Economy,
Polity and International relations. (to
digest newspapers better)Prepare
topics that are present in mains but
absent in prelims viz
1. Statistics
2. First Aid
3. Good governance, Accountability
and Law n order (2
nd
ARC)
Go through the Yojana, Kurukshetra
from Jan 2012 (incase you missed
them)
Finish Bipin Chandra right here if you
can.
1. Yearbook
2. History + Culture
3. Geography
Jan/Feb
onwardsMarch
4. Environment + Biodiversity
5. Science and Science
TechEconomy (current affairs)
+ lots of revision+ MCQ practice+ daily
newspaper
+Aptitude paper.
April-May
1. Readymade garbage will start
flooding the streets (from Delhi).
Ignore it.
2. Have faith in your books and
notes revise them as much as
you can.
3. Reduce/stop digging internet for
more current affairs!
4. Read newspaper till last day but If
editorials are taking too much
time, just cut and file them but
finish them once the prelims are
over.
June-July-
August
Assuming that from 20
th
May to 1
st
June youd be in vacation/relief
mood.
Dont raise your blood pressure
with cutoffs debate on orkut,
better watch some movies or just
go rob a bank.
Once your mind is clear, fresh and
relaxed (and pockets are full-if you
robbed a bank), Make a list of
national and international
events/topics that are important
from mains point of view.
Review your notes, upgrade them
in the light of above events via
internet/ frontline whatever
necessary.
Aug/Sept/Oct
Prelims result is announced.A) If you
fail= Dont become Devdas. Review
your mistakes and fix them in next
attempt. But daily newspaper reading
= essential till you retire from this
field. Use your energy as per this
article Click ME.B) If youve passed,
thank the almighty God and proceed
ahead.After UPSCs #epic
Backbreaking
TM
Moves shown in
Mains-2012, there are hardly any
Standard Reference books left to
revise for mains, but still do
it!Otherwise Daily reading of
newspaper- notes making. (+follow up
action, google digging for whatever
new events are taking place)
Yojana, Kurukshetra/ any
Committee reports etc- notes
making.
Most important: Take care of
health. Dont eat street-food.
Nov Give mains.
Dec
Vacation,Again dont raise blood
pressure in cut-offs debates, either
watch some movies or rob a few more
banks. (but do read newspapers daily
and make notes out of it.)
Jan-Feb-March
Fill up form for next prelims.
Continue the maintenance doze
for next prelims.
Prepare for interview (profile
based questions (location,
graduation..), national and
international events, including
background, historic details, pros,
cons etc.) More explained later
March-April
Result of Mains + interviews starts.
1. If you pass, thank the almighty
God once again. (and return the
money you had robbed from
those banks)
2. If you fail, dont become Devdas
just prepare for next prelims.
3. If you fail and it was your last
attempt still dont become
Devdas, dont regret anything,
dont feel guilty about anything,
dont let anyone else make you
feel guilty about anything. Execute
backup plans and move on in
your life and career- money,
power and status will come, with
time.
Interview
The interview preparation approach remains one
and same for all Government and private sector
jobs.
But the type and depth of questions differ.
Interviews usually start with You and end with
World,
You
Questions from your profile
1. Your graduation
2. Your hobbies
3. Extra-curricular activities (if any)
4. From Your work experience (if any)
5. Your city and State: Socio-economic-
political-cultural-geography
6. Role playing questions (your
Collector/Senior Executive and xyz
problem happens what will you do?)
7. Why do you want to join IAS/MBA/Bank?
World
Everything else that doesnt involve
you.National and international issues, your
understanding and opinion on them.
Throughout the Year, you should maintain a
note related to current affairs of your city, state,
graduation and hobbies (wherever applicable).
Because you cant gather such information in a
month- even with all google searching.
And youre already preparing current affairs
part of GS.
When mains examination is over, You may also
consult books from library Kalam, Nilekani,
Guha etc gain more understanding of socio-
economic-developmental issues related with
India. (and or truckload of IGNOU material on
their website).
What should you do next?
Your semester/year end marksheets contain
the list of subjects you studied in college.
When he browses through your file, suddenly
asks What is this subject xyz?
You should have the answer ready.
Just the basics, you dont have to prepare minute
details as if it is a GATE or PMT exam.
In every interview (IAS and career backups-State
PSC, Bank, MBA etc), youll have to prepare
questions on graduation. But It is very tiresome to
go through the same thick books over and over
again every time for interviews. So, Ideally make a
very short note on the basics. Save you the trouble
forever.
Then second portion is current affairs related to
your graduation
Doctor, Public health, AIDS,Cancer research etc.
pharma (already discussed under GS preparation)
Engineer
IT: outsourcing, hacking, privacy and
social networking, online shopping, IT act,
amendments etc.EC :2G, 3G etc.
Commerce
Company act and amendments, DTC, GST
etc.
Arts (litt.)
Booker prize, any other famous books, litt
and freedom of speech, controversies of
Tasleema Nasrin / Salman Rushdie etc.
^list is not exhaustive. You cant come up with this
in one day or one week. So keep following
newspaper and dig google.
Your City-District-State
After mains examination is over, dig up more
about Your graduation, city and State: Socio-
economic-political-cultural-geography.
Look beyond the obvious. E.g. Youre from
Ahmedabad so you already know Sabarmati
river flows through your city. And interviewer
also knows that you know about this obvious
fact. So instead, hell ask you Where does
Sabarmati originate from? or why is it dry
during some months? And where does it meet
the sea, is It gulf of Cambay or is it gulf of
Kutch?
Usually youre not aware of places of
cultural/historic/tourist importance in your
own city while people elsewhere are. So dig all
information. Ofcourse this also doesnt mean
digging up extremely trivial GK.
The name of MP, MLA of your Constituency,
JNNURM projects in your city, BRTS and so on..
Same for the district.
Then your State: for example Maharashtra you
should be well versed in Leopard menace,
nuclear powerplant, Vidarbha issues etc.
Every State has its issues (both good and bad)
and it is not necessary theyll be in current
affairs : for example Cyclone of Orissa,
happened long time ago but if youre from that
state you must have idea on it. Again doesnt
mean you do Ph.D on it from some library
book.
Following can happen during interview
1. You give good answer- He asks followup
questions to probe you further. Then he leaves
the topic and next board member asks you on
a different topic.
2. You give no answer e.g. Sorry sir Im not well
versed in that topic. Or you give wrong
answer. He either corrects you or usually
leaves topics, or ask a new question from same
subject.
3. You give bad answer- he throws a counter
question /argument (that usually doesnt have
an answer) the more you debate, it increases
the chances of getting low marks and the
interview turning into a Stress-interview.
Some examples of bad answers
1. Wrong Choice of words that hints
arrogance/lack of humility. For example saying
I dont agree with that instead of saying I beg
to differ.
2. I donot know xyz topic because it was not in
my graduation syllabus or because I was
preparing for UPSC during college so I dont
know about that xyz topic.
3. I want to do IAS because there is no
opportunity in my graduation field or because I
dont like that field or because there is no
career growth in my private sector job.
4. For me IAS is not an end but a means for
further personal growth in life or some other
mumbo-jumbo. (Repeated 5 thousand times in
topper interviews. So even if your intention is
genuine, for them it is too phony and clichd
answer.)
5. I know xyz thing, because it is given in
Hindu/Laxmikanth/******s notes. (never cite
references unless specifically asked to.)
6. Book should not be judged by its cover,
therefore Im not wearing a tie.or any answer
which you think is smart but he thinks is,
oversmart.
7. Lopsided diagnosis and solution of a
problem/issue. (Public policymaking should be
left in the hands of bureaucrats onlyWe
must stop all trade relations with Pakistan until
they shut down terror campsPanchayati
Raj serves no real purpose, instead recruit
more Government staff to look into
Development issues at Tehsil or village level.)
Stress Interview
If he asks 90% of the questions from one
subject only (for example International
relations), Then from his side it is a normal
interview, but from your side it may feel like a
stress interview.
But stress interview, in its original form, means
he intentionally counters your every answer or
argument or asks uncomfortable questions.
This is done, not to humiliate you but to test
how you perform under stress. (Or because
you annoyed him and he wants to get even
with you.)
By and large, UPSC interviews are not stress
interviews but theyre not completely absent
either (many cases on orkut.)
An interview may turn into Stress interview
because of following reasons
1. Youre plain unlucky.
2. Youre underprepared and your Body language
shows it.
3. Giving Bad answer(s) or bad choice of words.
At home, in your head-run imaginary
interviews. Ask your self questions, give
yourself answers and from those answers,
pickup keywords and ask follow up questions.
When youve run enough imaginary interviews
in your head, youll realize that certain
keywords or answers lead to followup
questions from uncomfortable zone or
underprepared areas where you end up giving
bad answers. So consciously avoid them and
rephrase or upgrade answers accordingly.
This concludes Act III. In next Act IV, Well see the
doubts related to should I join coaching or not?,
will UPSC remove optionals or not?, how to
manage time and mood? etc.
Remaining Part of the UPSC
Strategy
1. (Part 1 of 5): Exam Trends and Changes
2. (Part 2 of 5): Notes, Newspapers and
Books
3. (Part 4 of 5): Ti me Management, Coachi ng
etc.
4. (Part 5 of 5): Career Backup Pl ans: How to
prepare for State PSC etc
Appendix1: Download Links
1. Foxit PDF reader (necessary prerequisite for
using Mrunals autonotemaker) cl i ck me to
downl oad
2. Almost all of these PDF files provides direct
copying of text. => That means you can use
Mrunals autonotemaker to quickly make notes
and mindmaps out of it, just use mouse cursor
to highlight a particular line /phrase and my
software will copy its text in a separate file. for
more instructions cl i ck me
NCERT and NIOS (Essential/Core)
TN State edu Books (for History)
https://fi l es.secureserver.net/0fnzZYT7SDNuC
9
NIOS (for
Culture) https://fi l es.secureserver.net/0fdAWE
Tp4sONW5
NCERT files:
topicwise: https://fi l es.secureserver.net/0fHCh
0CLd6Az63
Youll find the material organized in various
folders. Click on individual folder and download
zip files. Here is the description about the contents
of individual folder:
Folder Comment
Hi story
Contains NCERT history
chapters from class 7 to 12, in
three zip files: ancient,
medieval and Modern
+NIOS Culture material
Sci ence
Contains class 7 to 10 NCERT
Science in three zips: physics,
chemistry, biology.
+NIOS Science material.
(although there will be lot of
overlapping)
Class 11, 12 Science books
given in the peripheral section
below.
EnB
Contains selective chapters
from class 6 to 12 from science
and geography textbooks that
are relevant for Environment
and biodiversity.
+NIOS material for
environment and biodiversity
EnB.
Economy
Contains NCERT class 11 +
NCERT 12 Macro economics
+NIOS economy material.
Class 12 Micro-economics not
included because not worth
the time for CDS. although
download link in the
peripheral section below.
Geography
Contains NCERT class 6 to 12
in five zip folders: physical,
India, World, Agro and
glossary.
+NIOS material on geography
(although lot of overlapping)
NCERT and NIOS (Peripheral)
read these if depending on your time and mood.
Single folder contains many

Study Plan IAS

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Study Plan IAS

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

6/29/2014 [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 3 of 5): General Studies for CSAT prelims and Mains

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen