Cracking The Civil Services Examination

The Open Secret

Cracking the

Civil Services Examination

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shri Ashok Kumar hails from a rural background and did his schooling from a village government school. Later, he did his B.Tech and M. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1989 and has served in various challenging assignments in UP and Uttarakhand including anti-terrorist operations in Tarai region. He also served the CRPF and BSF on deputation basis. Presently, he is posted as Additional DG Intelligence & Security, Uttarakhand and is also the director, Vigilance, Uttarakhand. He received the UN Medal for serving in strife-torn Kosovo in 2001. He was awarded the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2006 and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2013. He has authored a path-breaking book titled Human in Khaki which received GB Pant award from Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), MHA. He has also authored the book Challenges to Internal Security of India for civil service aspirants. He is a keen sportsman and has won many awards in badminton, tennis and horse riding. Email: [email protected] Facebook page: ashokkumarips

The Open Secret

Cracking the

Civil Services Examination ASHOK KUMAR, IPS

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C h a p t e r

1

Why go for the Civil Services

You choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius

What is your aim and purpose in life? I often interact with teenagers and youngsters from various backgrounds and disciplines through e-mails, seminars, Facebook etc. Most of them are keen to get some guidance on their career options based on their inclination and aptitude. I often first ask them one simple question. What is it that they want from life? The answers that I often get (given below) are a mix of personal goals and an urge to contribute to society. The Answers (in no Particular Order of Importance)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Money Fame Recognition Power Social status Contribution to society Job satisfaction Peace of mind

hen I ask them a second question—why do they want money, power, T recognition, social status etc. The answer is a generalised one to enjoy life, to attain happiness etc. Ultimately, we all want happiness which is permanent, and not dependant on only physical things and objects. But the source of happiness differs from person to person. Different people derive happiness from different kinds of activities. What makes me happy doing may not be so for many others.

1.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

In one of my sessions at IIT Delhi, a majority of the students said they were motivated to work for money. But money for what? Money in itself is only a means to achieve something. The reply was that they wanted money for various material comforts and ultimately a better quality of life. Some people derive happiness from a sense of power, some others enjoy the social status accruing out of power. In the end, it all depends on one’s priorities in life. Some people may enjoy travelling; visiting new places etc, while others prefer to interact with people while remaining at home. Some like to involve in hobbies like painting, music etc, while others prefer sports and outdoor activities. It all depends on the individual. There are others who feel extremely happy doing some kind of social work. They feel elated with the feeling that they are in a position to be able to make a difference to someone's life. This gives them a sense of purpose in life. Similarly, many people may want to be part of nation building process. Therefore it can be said that the purpose of our life is to get ultimate happiness or ‘bliss’. The challenge for each person is therefore to find out what makes him or her genuinely happy. For this, one needs to do deep introspection. One has to be self aware and realise his or her sources of happiness. There is no other way. A Simple Exercise to Find Your Purpose in Life To get clarity about what you want from life, there is a very simple method. Take a complete break from your routine life and go into a meditative mode and think ‘How will you like to be remembered as after your life is over’. Don’t be in a hurry, take time and write down your answers on a piece of paper. You will find the answer. If there are many things, you will find a common thread which will give clarity to you in seeking a purpose of life. What kind of job Do you like? After identifying what we want from life, the next question is how to go about achieving it? The first step is to identify what kind of job one likes and how should one go about finding it. The answer to this question is again varied. About two decades ago, it used to be plain and simple. The career options were limited; people wanted to become engineers, doctors, officers in banks, chartered accountants or a job in the central or state government. There was nothing visible beyond these options. But now we have a plethora of options for the youth. Apart from the growing IT sector, we have journalism and visual media, law, hotel management, teaching in schools and colleges, fashion design-



Why go for the Civil Services  1.3

ing, economics, theatre, films and television, graphic designing, and much more. The Civil services then and now has of course been one of the options. Since there are more options now, one has to really introspect and see whether one is suited mentally for a particular profession. This question is important, as one has to live with his or her job for the whole life. Therefore the job that you choose for yourself, must be close to your heart. The fact remains that at the age when we shift from school to college, parental expectations and peer pressure play a major role in deciding career options. It is only at a later stage that one realises one’s natural our inclinations and chooses a career that could lead to a fulfilling life. But sometimes it becomes too late to go back. Therefore your decision must not be based upon social pressures. You should not suppress your genuine, natural inclinations by conforming to popular social conventions. In this context, one must read Ayn Rand’s famous novel The Fountainhead to understand how important it is to choose a career in which one is genuinely interested. The decision must not be based on what others feel and want. Rajkumar Hirani’s iconic movie Three Idiots also illustrates this point very beautifully. It is a sad reality that most people today just drag on with their jobs year after year. They continue with their job without a real liking for the same to get their monthly pay cheques and rush out as soon as the day is over. Many people in a normal office (Govt. or Private) wait for the day to end and rush for their homes. For them, happiness lies neither in the job nor in the office, but it is perceived to be after office hours. They work 8-12 hours to get happiness for 4-6 hours (as 8 out of 24 hours are for sleep and mundane affairs). In a way, such people nearly waste two thirds of their time to enjoy perhaps one third of their time. This is not a happy or win-win situation. The best scenario would be when you start enjoying your job emotionally and not doing your job as if it is a burden. When your job or occupation gives you real happiness, real job satisfaction, it is an indication that you are moving towards happiness in life. I have experienced both the above situations. In fact, upon completing my third year at IIT Delhi, I had a two–month training period in a noted company that manufactures ceiling fans. However, I could not connect emotionally with that job, the day used to be too long for me, and the whole day I used to keep waiting for the day to end. Now my present job as an IPS officer is so engaging and so meaningful that the question of boredom never arises. Therefore, it is very important

1.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

that the job you choose should be closer to your heart and your inclination. You must have a genuine aptitude towards it. Sometimes we get into a situation where we want to do something but we don’t have the aptitude for the same. Such a situation becomes tragic and we should try to find a balance between the two. But as mentioned earlier, aptitude varies from person to person. For many, a job in a shop floor of a manufacturing firm, or as a hotel manager, or as an entrepreneur, or as an army officer, or teacher, could be much more satisfying than a job as an IAS or IPS officer. Ultimately, it all boils down to your innermost calling. So the fundamental criterion is to look for a job for which you are mentally and emotionally suited to. We should choose a career where our heart and mind both are involved to avoid any kind of disconnect later in life. Why only the Civil Services? he Civil Services is one of the prestigious and challenging careers in T our country. No wonder we have more than 8 lakh aspirants competing for the 1000 odd posts in the civil services every year. Out of the 8 lakh, only about 18000-20000 are selected for the Mains examination and then only 2500-3000 get a chance to appear for the interview, out of which only about 1000 are finally selected. Despite such a low rate of success, what is it that motivates them to try their chances? Again the following questions are important: Is it







i. Power? ii. Is it Social Status— Prestige and Aura ? iii. Is it Money?

Or is it iv. v. vi. vii.

or

Opportunity to serve the people ? Opportunity to contribute to the society Nation building ? Opportunity to make perceptible difference in the lives of the masses? viii. Job satisfaction /Challenging Job? ix. Finding self worth and self satisfaction x. Parental pressure xi. All of the above?



Why go for the Civil Services  1.5

The motivational factors could be different for different people. In reality, it is certainly a combination of some of the factors mentioned above. Many people may start with narrow motives like money and power etc. There is no harm in this. Slowly, they also start realising the broader perspective and other benefits of going for the civil services. The Civil Services provide an opportunity to fulfill all the above in abundance. It bestows power, social status and recognition at a very early age, though for some people, such `power’ has a negative connotation. Here, the power enables you to make a difference in the lives of those people who really need it. You can see the impact of your decisions immediately. The job is highly challenging and satisfying and pay and perks are sufficient to lead a decent life. For me, personally, it was a combination of a) An opportunity to serve the people and b) Making a difference in their lives. I would like to add that from the very beginning I was very satisfied with my job. I got what I wanted from my job, and what I had expected from my job. To me, no other career would have given me so much satisfaction, and a sense of purpose. Why I opted for a career in the Civil services At IIT-Delhi, I observed that our country was developing into a split personality i.e. India and Bharat. Most of the students who belonged to developed India wanted to go abroad (mostly the U.S). Having come from Bharat, I decided to repay, in whatever small measure I could, to that very society where I came from. I always felt at that time that an engineering degree would lead me towards a life of serving the people and nation building. But my practical training, in the fourth year, proved to be a turning point in my career. I had joined industrial training at the industrial unit of a noted fan-manufacturing company in Kolkata. But soon the hustle and bustle, the noise, the mechanised functioning of the industrial unit started jarring my senses. Gradually, the claustrophobia of the factory and the monotony of the job enveloped me. Day by day it became very difficult for me to spend the day. I began feeling that if it is difficult to spend even one single day, how will I live my whole life in such a job. It was then I decided to shift my job. I wanted an employment opportunity where I could see myself making a concrete difference to the lives of millions of my countrymen and where I could see tangible results of my work, where I could directly reach out to the common man. I was looking for a meaningful existence, a definite purpose in life.

1.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

After deep introspection, I explored various options and concluded that the Civil Services was one of the best career options that fulfilled these aspirations and decided to take the plunge into preparing for the Civil Services. Let me tell you that even the process of preparing for civil services gave a sense of purpose to my life which continues till date. The above description is not to undermine in any way the profession of engineering, medical, law or for that matter any other profession. My message is that whatever profession you choose, choose wisely and ensure that you have a passion for it and a knack for succeeding. You must have your heart and your mind both attached to your job, so that you can enjoy your work and contribute to society as well.

C h a p t e r

2

Who Should go for the Civil Services

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality. Jim Rohn What the UPSC is looking for? The UPSC selects civil servants for the country. What they are looking for in a candidate is an intelligent and balanced personality, who has theoretical knowledge as well as analytical skills. He/she must have a depth of understanding of the issues involved and must be able to apprehend/appreciate various situations quickly. He or she should have the capability to take a balanced view of the situation and then take the best possible decision. Here’s a breakup of the qualities (as mentioned in the UPSC notification)

• Positive and energetic personality



• Intelligence (Good IQ)



• Emotional Intelligence (Good EQ)



• Ethical mindset : Empathy/Honesty/Integrity—Intellectual as well as moral integrity



• Basic comprehension and communication skills



• Depth of understanding of issues



• Analytical ability—critical powers of assimilation



• Mental alertness



• Decision making ability with a balanced judgment



• Clear, effective and logical expression



• Ability for social cohesion and leadership



• General awareness

2.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Basic requirements for success in the Civil Services Exam The civil services is one of the most lengthy, comprehensive and competitive exams in India with a very low success rate. It is a year long process consisting of three stages, Preliminary, the mains examination & the Interview. Therefore, it requires a comprehensive set of qualities which are pre-requisites for cracking the exam. Qualities Required for Cracking the Civil Services

I. Good Intelligence Quotient (IQ) II. Good scoring potential through good memorising skills and ability to reproduce original ideas and concepts III. Good reading skills IV. Good writing skills V. Good analytical skills VI. Hard work & perseverance VII. Focus and determination VIII. Proper planning and time management IX. Good EQ (Emotional Intelligence) X. High self esteem and confidence

We shall briefly discuss I, II and IX here. Rest of the qualities are covered in subsequent chapters. The civil services is a very comprehensive exam. It requires a minimum of two years of consistent studies with an average of 10-12 hours per day. A few people may be lucky who can make it with just one year of studies, but one should be prepared for at least two years from the beginning itself. Another point to be noted is that UPSC is not just looking for hard working people, but it demands smart working people as well. Students who work with a well defined strategy, chalked out after proper analysis of recent trends in the examination pattern, and who plan their schedule properly using time management techniques, will have better chances to succeed. Good IQ/EQ (I & IX) A good IQ means the ability to understand theoretical concepts quickly and remember them well for the examination. Good EQ means the capability to understand and appreciate different viewpoints that may not necessarily be in sync with what you believe in, and then work accordingly. While a good IQ is the ability to understand concepts and techniques, a good EQ is

Who Should go for the Civil Services  2.3



the ability to understand people and their emotions. Both these qualities are needed to make a good civil servant. One thing is very important here. For civil services, a very high IQ level is not a must. On the other hand, for exams like IIT, a very high IQ is a must. For civil services, an above average IQ is enough, provided we compensate for this through hard work, smart and efficient reading and writing skills. Good Scoring Potential (II) One needs to have good scoring potential to succeed in the civil services examination. A good indicator is the marks the aspirant scored in the 10th, 12th & Graduation. Usually a 70-80% score is the minimum requirement. However, there are a few rare examples when people with 50-60% marks in 10th and 12th have made it. Usually the marks obtained in board exams are quite an indicator of a person’s IQ, but it may not be always true. Some people are not able to score well due to many other factors in their life, though their IQ may be of the highest order. Their scoring percentage in later life keeps increasing, indicating that they focused on their studies in later years. I know of a senior officer in IPS, Mr Bhaskar Rao of Karnataka cadre, who made it despite failing twice in school. As per Mr Rao, the sheer ‘humiliation’ and ‘feeling of rejection’ created the required motivation and fire and passion to succeed in civil services. Therefore, even the academically average students can crack civil services if their energies are channelised in right directions. Do you have it in you? SWOT Analysis Before dreaming big, one should make a realistic analysis of one’s strengths and weaknesses. In modern day management, it is called SWOT Analysis:

• • • •

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

While Strengths and Weaknesses are internal to us, Opportunities and Threats are dependent on external circumstances.

2.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

We usually take decisions based on our strengths and ignore our weaknesses. It would be advisable if we can do a full SWOT analysis before taking a final decision. For the UPSC some aspirants mistakenly believe that

• They have been scoring well in exams throughout their life. • They are hard working • Their memory is good, and their ability to reproduce established ideas/concepts is good.

Therefore they should easily make it. These all are certainly strengths, and important for influencing our decision, but we cannot ignore the other factors. We need to analyse our Weaknesses also, e.g.

• Many aspirants cannot study so vast a range of topics as is required in the civil services, and their average study hours are far less. • Many do not have good writing skills, which need to be improved. • Many aspirants can’t read at a fast speed, their comprehension and analytical ability are average. • Many of them can’t focus well. They have too many priorities and their energy gets scattered. • Many people have very poor EQ, they are highly emotional and have no control over their emotions. They even have very lopsided views on many issues which are guided more by emotion and less by reasoning.

Similarly, Opportunities are equally important. Opportunities come our way many times and we should take full advantage of these. For example, some aspirants have good parental background, which proves very helpful. Similarly, good educational institutions are also a good opportunity. In particular years, UPSC brings in changes in age requirement and changed exam pattern which may suit someone. As far as Threats are concerned, the biggest threat is the unpredictability of the examination itself. The threat of not being selected is always there. I have known a few people who had all the requisites of a civil servant and who made their best efforts and in may assessments, were better than me, but who could not finally make it. Another ‘threat’ could be that your optional Question paper may turn out to be very tough in a particular year, or there may be more questions from a section you had not prepared well. Worst, you have some family problems, personal health problems etc. during the course of preparation.

Who Should go for the Civil Services  2.5



Therefore it is very important that one should have one or two career options to fall back upon before one embarks on the preparation for the civil services. One should also start with a minimum two year preparatory time in mind but should be prepared for one more year i.e. three years. The KEY TO SUCCESS Many people say that success in life is not solely dependent on hard work. It is a mixture of talent, destiny and luck. Some people feel that persons like Tendulkar or Einstein are born like that, with immense talent that come what may, they are bound to succeed. Some others feel that it is all predestined; whatever has to happen, will happen, we may call it luck or chance. All the above statements can be true for particular individuals. So success depends on many factors, i. Hard work ii. Talent/Aptitude iii. Luck/chance iv. Marketing/Self Promotion v. All the above

In my assessment, for success in any field of life these factors have the following average weightage • Capability/Talent/Aptitude//Potential –35% • Hard work/perseverance/passion/determination/planning – 50% • Luck/ Chance – 15% • For civil services, unlike the other entrance like IIT or CAT, aptitude constitutes less than 35%, while hard work and perseverance is more than 50%

Many people say that UPSC is ‘Unpredictable Public Service Commission’. It may be true to some extent. But as I mentioned above, chance factor is only 15%. As I have mentioned earlier, just one burning passion in Mr Bhaskar Rao, a passion to prove himself, the fire against rejection, gave him so much motivation that he finally made it to civil services despite failing twice in school. In mythology, the story of Eklavya is another example wherein his determination was also a result of rejection by Guru Dronacharya. Decide finally and take the plunge Based on the above requirements one should do his SWOT analysis and then make up his or her mind whether to plunge seriously for preparation. You should be realistic in your analysis. You will yourself realise whether you have it in you or not where you have the calibre and are properly motivated.

2.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Once you have decided to start the preparation for civil services, you must focus on the examination and forget everything else like Arjuna in Mahabharata, who saw only the eye of the bird (target); though the tree, the leaves, the branches, the sky, everything was there. Similarly, we have to cut ourselves off from all the possible distractions during the preparation period and focus only on the exam.

C h a p t e r

3

Overcoming Major Obstacles

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”  ― Molière

Introduction Aspirants face different kinds of problems while preparing for the civil services. We shall try to identify and address some of the major ones:

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Rural/small town problems Family problems/lack of finances Educational background/poor knowledge of English Parents’ attitude Health/fitness problems Lack of time due to job or higher studies Habit of making excuses Fear of Exams Feeling of meaninglessness Diversion into movies/internet etc. Unwillingness to take risks Fatalistic attitude

Rural/small town problems People from rural areas or small towns do face a few distinct disadvantages:

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Lack of guidance/coaching facilities Lack of competitive environment Unavailability of a group seriously preparing for civil services Lack of books/study material/poor internet connectivity

3.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

(e) Inferiority complex due to poor command over English (f) Poor company: Temptations for gossip sessions from a group which has no career ambitions The first five are genuine problems, while the sixth can be surmounted by acquiring a strong will power. There are two options for one who has a rural background: (i) Shift to a nearby bigger centre or (ii) If shifting is not possible, visit a bigger centre of preparation often. After a definite period, say a month, collect the required study material and make a friends group there and take required guidance from them. Let’s again go back to the example of Ekalvya, who overcame all problems due to his strong will power and passion to learn. He didn’t have the necessary equipment, he didn’t have the facilities that the Kauravas and the Pandavas enjoyed; he didn’t even have a coach/teacher; still he mastered the art/science of archery by sheer dedication and became equivalent to Arjuna who was trained by the best teacher of the time, Guru Dronacharya. So, where there is a will, there is a way. You can have a small group of friends in nearby or even distant place which has the facilities for coaching and guidance. Be in regular touch with the group. You can use email, facebook and personal visits, whatever is convenient. Moving Away from Unmotivated Groups It is important for students from rural background to move away from your earlier classmate groups who do not have a clear vision and purpose in life, whose aspirations in life are very low. Such a group will always try to convince you that success is impossible, achievements mean nothing etc. I had many such colleagues in class 11th and 12th who would take pride in watching movies first day , first show; who would imitate actors; who would spend hours discussing cricket or film stars. It is but human to fall in their trap, but aspirants should avoid such company if they are serious about their preparation. Family problems/lack of finances any aspirants find it difficult to get financial support from the family for M their preparation. They may also have parents and elders who may suffer from health problems. Many aspirants have family feuds and tensions and may have to support their families themselves. Some of them are even mar-

Overcoming Major Obstacles  3.3



ried off at an early age according to tradition. All these hamper their morale and determination. The only way out is to approach these issues is to be as pragmatic as possible. In my own personal case, I did tuitions to get financial support in the period between the Mains and interview. As far as family tensions/ commitments are concerned, you have to cut yourself off from routine family affairs. But here again, you have to attend to the more serious and mandatory matters like marriage of brother, sister etc; death of direct blood relations etc. The key is to manage all these in the minimum possible time and get back to your studies. Educational background/poor knowledge of English any people think that since they come from poor educational background, M and they don’t have good command over English, therefore they can’t get selected into civil services. First of all let me clarify that educational background does not matter in a big way. Instead it is a matter of pride that you can make it even after coming from a small place and having a below average educational background. In my case, I studied in a government school in a small village in Haryana, though later on, I made it to the IIT. I made up for my English deficiency at IIT Delhi. But even if you don’t get the opportunity to improve it, this alone can’t be a hindrance point for you. What UPSC is looking for is an intelligent person with clarity in thought and expression, with good analytical skills, with an empathetic heart and positive mindset. In many cases, your poor educational background proves to be an added advantage as the interview board may consider your efforts to surmount it as an extra achievement.

Tip There is no need to try to master the English language but certainly make efforts to improve your grammar, expression and handwriting. This can easily be done with some extra efforts. Attitude of Parents/guardians his is a very important area. Some parents are highly dominating and inT terfering, they may even decide what optional subject you should choose!

3.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

They may have other plans for you like joining the traditional family business and may want you to follow a different career. Overcoming parents attitudinal problem is a difficult task but not unmanageable. I believe that if we identify the specific attitude of parents that is affecting us and convey to them at the right time and with proper regard and manners, parents would understand and support their children. Slowly and patiently you can bring them round to your point of view. Health/Fitness problems his is another area of concern. Many people get sick during the preparaT tion period. Some people get into long illness. Some people get seriously ill during the exams. We should maintain our hygiene, take a balanced diet, do basic exercises to keep our body fit and also consult the doctors at the slightest hint of illness. An unhealthy body can’t keep your mind healthy; all your preparation would suffer if you are not able to maintain good health. Lack of time due to job or higher studies ome people are in higher studies and some are in a job while preparing S for the civil services. This certainly makes preparation very difficult. One can’t do justice to both. In my case, I did my M.Tech simultaneously while preparing for the civil services. In such cases, one might give priority to the preparation for a few months and get back to higher studies or job. It is best to take your teacher or boss into confidence as the case may be. Most people will oblige. Otherwise, there is no other option but to sacrifice the job or part of our studies. Habit of making Excuses his is a very serious attitudinal problem which most of us face. We all T make excuses at some point of time in our life. But in case of civil services, we shall be making fool of ourselves only if we are making excuses for our incompetence and laziness. Some of the common excuses are:

• I didn’t receive a good education • I was born into a very poor family • My health doesn’t permit me to work hard

Overcoming Major Obstacles  3.5





• • • • • • • •

I can’t study for 10 hours a day regularly for 1 to 2 years After the accident I have lost my will power I have lost enough number of times, I have no motivation left My knowledge of English is very poor I had to take care of my family since childhood I have no money to spend on coaching. I am not physically fit. I’m often down with illness. Civil service is a very tough exam; it’s not my cup of tea. It’s meant super intelligent people. • I don’t have any contacts ( you don’t need to be connected to clear civil services)

All the above excuses all are symptoms of a weak-willed person who loves making excuses; but we must remember that this way we are only befooling ourselves. Fear of Exams his is a psychological problem and is faced by many people. The Civil T Services entrance examination is actually a laborious exam requiring hours and hours of study. The syllabus is also huge and open ended. Therefore getting awed by the exam is quite natural. Fear can be real and imaginary. Fear of failure is worse than the failure itself. We must get over imaginary fears and put in our best efforts for the exam. We have dealt with this problem in some detail in the chapter on ‘Stress Management’ You need to keep telling yourself about your abilities and capabilities. We should stop using sentences like ‘I cannot do this’ ‘luck never favours me’ etc. Feeling of meaninglessness There is a philosophy which leads everyone towards meaninglessness. The philosophy is based on the fact that everyone has to die one day and therefore it does not matter much what you do and what you achieve. This philosophy is quite negative. To overcome this, we need to come in contact with positive people and read positive books, which are full of cheerfulness and motivation.

3.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Diversion into movies/ internet etc. iversion is another major problem faced by civil services aspirants. D Nowadays, social media and internet has emerged out to be the biggest such diversions. We need to be strong minded and have strong will power to move away from all such diversions for at least two years and focus only and only on the exams. Unwillingness to take risks he very fact of aiming for the civil services is fraught with risk. T UPSC exam requires you to take many kinds of risks such as

a. Leaving your job for preparation b. Compromising on higher studies c. Fewer job options if you are not able to qualify the civil services.

These are genuine risks, but one has to take risks to achieve something big and the civil services is definitely a risk taking. esponsible risk taking is based on knowledge, confidence and R competence. Fatalistic attitude any people leave it to luck and fate and start thinking that whatever is M destined to happen, will happen. Such kind of attitude is escapism from hard work and sincere efforts. Luck favours only the brave. We have to learn the science of luck/chance. Probability is a scientific fact, but it starts only when you have worked hard and are in the top 2000 bracket. Only then you can start talking about the luck or chance factor.

C h a p t e r

4

Time Management

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. Carl Sandburg

Introduction Time management is an important requirement for cracking any examination or test. Time management is intrinsically related to goal setting. Without goals and a sense of purpose, you will not be able to allocate time effectively. Therefore goal setting is the first step to time management. Let’s first understand the basics of goal setting: Goal Setting Goals Need to be SMART Specific – (To have clear cut objectives) Measurable – (To avoid vagueness) Achievable – (To avoid frustration) Realistic

– (To avoid stress)

Time Bound – (Goals need to have a deadline) Classification of Goals Basically goals can be classified into:

• • • •

Immediate Goals Short Term Goals Mid Term Goals Long Term Goals

4.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

If succeeding in the civil services is a long term goal for you at this stage of life, you need to identify and make detailed schedules about your midterm goals, short- term goals and immediate goals.

Long term goal Setting a goal for succeeding in Civil Services is a kind of long term goal. I would say that we should basically plan for two years initially, and be ready long-term goals, for the third year in case it is required. Mind term Intermediate goals Our main preparation has to be for the main examination. Initially we have to start with an integrated preparation for the prelims and the mains together. I would say that in the first attempt, we should give two to three months specifically for prelims just before the exam, and in the second and third attempt – one to two months is sufficient. Therefore in the year long plan, our main plan should be for the main examination. Similarly, one month specifically for interview preparation is enough. As per the latest pattern and syllabus, for the mains you have now four General Studies Papers and two optional papers. On an average, you have two months for each paper, but we can’t study one subject regularly for two months. It will make the preparation boring and also we need to give parallel inputs to our mind for better memory retention. I would suggest we prepare two to three papers parallely and thereby set monthly and quarterly goals. Read the optional subject regularly and supplement it by one or two GS topics monthly or quarterly. Tip Preparation for current affairs should be a regular and continuous process.

Short term and immediate goals We can have weekly targets and then daily targets. Daily targets should be in hours, like 12 hours a day, 14 hours a day etc. and not based on covering the topic. When I was preparing, I forgot all other things, forgot the family, postponed spiritual and material quests and focused only on the preparation. There was a time when I was thinking only of the civil services and nothing else. If you achieve that stage, then you can be sure that you are focused. Then your daily study hours will surely cross 14 in a day.

Time Management  4.3



Our short term and immediate target should be integrated regularly during monitoring and evaluating the progress of our goals. A monthly review is most advisable as many schedules get adjusted if we check weekly progress. Prioritising his is the most important lesson for time management. We can divide all T our activities into four broad categories as given below: 1

2

Urgent and Important

Urgent but not Important

3

4

Important but not Urgent

Neither Urgent nor Important

Category 1 will obviously get the top most priority. We have to eliminate Category 4 totally during this preparation period. All the activities which are neither urgent nor important need to be dumped. Some of the examples of activities in Category 4 are

• • • • • • • • •

Gossiping Reading trivia/glossy magazines Shopping for fun Watching the whole of a cricket match (live) Internet surfing for fun Visiting friends and neighbours aimlessly Taking unnecessary interest in others personal matters Channel-surfing on T.V Making long telephone calls aimlessly

The main problem is to prioritise between category 2 and 3. Urgency generally tends to take over and important matters are sometimes left behind. The answer lies in balancing the two, urgent has to be done, but don’t ignore the important ones. For example, during preparation, current affairs appear to be both important and urgent. But there is a time limit that we can assign to it. Maximum two hours per day, which should include TV/newspapers/magazines. But at times, many people spend three to four hours on this. They read many use-

4.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

less news items with the result that many important topics are left behind due to shortage of time. Also, we should postpone many other things for two to three years. I would give two examples from my life. (a) Meeting relatives and attending to social obligations/functions. These are important in life, but I postponed it for two years. We can call it a break – a complete break from this part of life for two years. (b) I was attracted towards spiritualism and metaphysical issues. Though important in the overall scheme of life, I postponed this quest of mine for two years and focused on the preparation. We may also postpone a few important things of life due to the urgency of preparing for Civil Services (many people even postpone their marriage). Also, we need to give limited time to routine but urgent issues, so that we have quality time left for important ones. We must cut down our time significantly on daily routine activities. We should give a maximum cap on all such activities- like brushing, bathing, having meals, tea breaks, after meal walks etc. All these should have a maximum time limit. One day, suddenly you will see that your daily study hours will cross 14. That would mean that you are really focused on your preparation. The Art of Saying ‘No’ e may have to say ‘no’ to some friends/ relatives. We should say it poW litely but firmly, at the right time and in a right manner. Maybe we can say good bye to social media also for two years or give it a maximum 15-20 minutes per day. Time Auditing e need to do a periodic audit of the time spent and set your targets: W First, set a quarterly target, then a monthly target and then a weekly target. I would suggest a weekly audit of time against targets and if you are lagging behind, you may ask a few questions. • • •

You may be spending far more time on less important topics You may be doing a very important topic in a hurry—not in depth You may be allowing others to waste your time Such an audit will help you improve your efficiency.

Planning your day For basic management of your time during the day, you must have an uninterrupted sleep of 6-7 hours. Two hours for daily routine activities- that in-

Time Management  4.5



cludes bathing, food etc. One hour for physical exercises and short breaks for 10-15 minutes each so that you can touch 14 hours preparation a day at your peak. But remember, average 10-12 hours in a day should be your target. Those who prefer late nights will have late night study sessions instead of early morning sessions. Every session should be minimum of at least two hours and maximum 4 hours. After each session you can have a break—lunch break/dinner break etc. You can also have a habit of post lunch and post dinner walks with your group. These could be refreshing from a health point of view, and you could discuss important issues of current affairs or any other important topic. Remember that a healthy discussion brings clarity in your mind. Flexibility in Schedules e need to have flexibility in our schedules as some topics take more than W expected time and vice-versa. Also, on some days we are not able to have long sessions. So our schedule should have 10 to 20 percent flexibility and should be revised every week if required. Using Intervals/breaks Some of the mundane works can be done during our study breaks For example, just 5-10 minutes can be used for

• • • • • • •

Brisk walk Checking and replying to emails Make important telephone calls Looking at the to-do list and prepare the action plan Read three to four pages of a good book Do pranayam and meditation Visit and use Google for tidbit information and important websites related to UPSC.

Be alert to Time-wasting Activities Time wasters are activities, deliberate or imposed, that have little or no utility for overall time management. Time wasters could be personal as well as official, physical, mental, emotional, social, familial. We should identify and start planning the control of time wasting activities and eliminate then with determination. The following is a broad checklist of some common time-wasting activities:

4.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



• • • • • •



• •



•



• •



•

Starting your day late Addiction to TV serials and movies Frequent shopping , including window shopping Entertaining uncalled visitors Visiting friends aimlessly ; over-socializing Reading too many novels and glossies on politics, lifestyles, films, sports etc Spending undue time on newspapers. Poor hygiene habits and carelessness about health or even excessive obsession with cleanliness Hesitation in saying “no”. Not being assertive even when you want to be excused. Excessive internet surfing/whatsapp/facebook Personal disorganization; lack of self-discipline; not keeping things at proper places Avoidable travel

Important tips for time management Clearing Your Desk and Focusing on one Activity at a time ise men of time management advise young executives; clear your desk or W working space of everything not related to the matter in hand. Doing too many things at a time is against the principles of span of attention and span of control. Hence it is important that we take one major task/project at a time and use quality time to accomplish it. Organised Working Saves Time

• • • • •

A time for everything and everything at its time. A place for everything and everything at its place. Every activity ought to be linked to the ultimate goal. Ensure the maximum utilisation of resources in achieving the goal. Constant monitoring of the results of actions in each successive phase reduces the chances of flaws and imperfections.

Pleasant Work Place clean table and a clean room gives the impression of a well managed perA son who is disciplined in work and has complete control over it. A crowded table, overflowing drawers and untidy unkempt almirahs reflect ambiguity, confusion and casualness.

C h a p t e r

5

Motivation and a Positive Attitude

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Thomas Jefferson

There are a lot of tips and strategies on how to succeed in your career and life, but I am still a firm believer that there is no better way to succeed than to follow the footsteps of those who have already done so. Sometimes one single quality takes you to the top, it is so overpowering that it manages everything else that is required for success. Important parameters of Success Positive Attitude For success in life, your attitude is more important than your knowledge. It is said that attitude shapes 85% of your success while knowledge is perhaps only 15%. Therefore, a positive attitude is certainly a key ingredient to success. People with positive attitudes are always caring, confident and humble. They have a pleasant personality, are highly energetic and enjoy life and inspire others. Negative attitudes lead to bitterness, resentment and a purposeless life and high stress levels for everyone. People with negative attitudes create an unpleasant environment at home and at work and become a liability to the society. They start blaming everyone and everything; often they blame their parents, teachers, spouse, bosses, the stars, the economy and the government for their failure. Most of our attitudes are shaped during our formative years. Positive attitude is usually a combination of our inborn traits and early childhood environment.

5.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



The environment consists of the following; • Home • School • Friends and peer group • Media, print, electronic and social media • Socio-cultural background • Traditions and beliefs

The theory of I’m OK You are OK We must try to develop a positive attitude on the lines of I’m OK, You are OK. This theory says that there are 4 life stances that people usually have:

• • • •

I m ok, you are ok I m ok, you are not ok You are ok, I’m not ok You are not ok, I’m not ok

Out of the four, the first stance, I’m ok, you are ok, forms the best attitude. This kind of attitude says that everything about me is ok and everything about the one in front of me is also ok. Normally this is true also. Most of the people are ok in life. In general such kind of people have a positive attitude in life. The Second type of attitude is not desirable, where you start thinking that the person in front of you is not ok. Such people start finding fault in every person and everything that others do. Such people become highly arrogant and start thinking that only they are right and everyone else is wrong. They also develop ‘just so’ syndrome, and want things to be done only the way they want. The third kind of attitude leads to a personality with low confidence, where you start thinking that you are not capable of achieving anything. The last attitude ‘I am not OK, you are not OK’ is most undesirable, as such kind of people become depressed. They become cynical about everything on earth including themselves.

How to change your attitude consciously It is not that attitudes can’t be changed after the formative years of our life. We can do it with conscious efforts at a later stage also. A few such steps are listed below: • Accepting responsibility: Consciously try to stop blaming others and start taking responsibility for our deeds and actions.



Motivation and a Positive Attitude  5.3



• Be optimistic: Talk about positive things to people around you • Stop procrastination: Don’t delay things unnecessarily • No excuses: Don’t try to find an excuse for everything. Remember that you are the biggest loser in the blame game. Avoid all ifs and buts. • Practice acceptance: Start accepting things as they are • Start living in the present • Build a positive self esteem about yourself • Stay away from negative influences including such peer groups that demotivate you and drag you down. Learn to say ‘No’, and` Thank you’ to them. • Gratitude: Be grateful to everyone who brings something positive in your life. • Have pride in yourself and your capabilities





Self Confidence—Total belief in Yourself What a beautiful quote by Swami Vivekananda!. You must also have heard about Farhad who had cut mountains to build a road for his beloved Shirin; all because he had the confidence that he could do the unimaginable.

Turn your negative thoughts to positive thoughts Tip Your negative thoughts might sound like this: “I can’t do that,” “I will surely fail”, “others are far better than me.” This inner voice is pessimistic and unhelpful and will hold you back from achieving high self-esteem and greater self-confidence.

5.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

As you pay attention to your negative thoughts, turn them around to positive thoughts. This may take the form of positive affirmations, such as “I am going to try it,” “I can be successful if I work at it,”.

Maintain a positive support network Connect with those close to you, whether they are family or friends, to keep your perspective uplifted. Furthermore, stay away from people or things that make you feel bad, who talk negative. Identify your talents Everyone is good at something, so discover the things at which you excel, and then focus on your talents. Give yourself permission to take pride in them. May be you have good IQ or good memory or good emotional control; above all, you can always be number one in hard work, so just don’t give up, identify your talent and more on. Take pride in yourself Not only should you feel proud of your talents or your skills, but you should also think about the things that make your personality great. It can be your analytical ability, your emotional stablity, your listening skills, or your ability to cope under stress. You may not think that there’s anything about your personality worth admiring, but if you dig deep, you’ll realise that you have plenty of admirable qualities. Focus on them by writing them down. Accept compliments gracefully Many people with low self-esteem have difficulty taking compliments. Let the person giving the compliment know that you really appreciate it. You can add the compliment to your list of positive attributes about yourself and use it to bolster your self-confidence.

Stop thinking that people’s opinions are always important Some people think that until everyone else agrees with them, they are wrong. This is completely a wrong notion. No one ever succeeds without being rejected. Stop seeking approval of others for everything. Dream big and have a grand vision

The example of Dr Kalam Success is measured by the size of your thinking and your vision. You can achieve only whatever is your dream. Some people can’t think big. They confine themselves to small things and small targets. If your target



Motivation and a Positive Attitude  5.5

itself is small, how can you achieve big? Therefore, having a grand vision and dreaming big is very important in life. Dreams and vision push you to achieve higher and higher in life. They act as a source of inspiration and determination. We can count umpteen number of examples where big dreamers have made it in real life. Our own former president APJ Abdul Kalam is a shining example. He was a visionary, he always dreamed big; he dreamed even the impossible and made it possible. His vision of India 2020 talks of very big projects which will take India forward towards becoming a great nation In the face of adversity when you curse your destiny or blame your fate, remember that if you set your mind to making your dreams come true, there's nothing that can stop you. No matter how small your beginnings are, you have it within yourself to reach somewhere in life.

Goal setting and developing a sense of purpose In chapter 1, we have already talked about finding a sense of purpose in life. Based on our overall purpose in life, we must set our goals. We should have 100 percent clarity about our goals, no ambiguity at all. Once our goals are in conformity with our purpose in life, goals get converted into a mission it.

Hard Work There is no second alternative to hard work. For the UPSC type of examination, where the syllabus is broad based and not quite specific, there is no alternative but to put in hours and hours of hard work every day. It’s not a clear cut syllabus-based exam like the JEE or medical entrance. It requires extensive reading. If we take the example of IIT JEE, it is mostly an aptitude based exam. You require very high level of IQ to crack it, while this is not the case with Civil Services Exam. What matters in Civil services is perseverance and hard work.

Perseverance/learning from Failures The Example of Thomas Alva Edison This quality is a must for aspirants as there is no guarantee of success, not even the topper can say that he will surely come in the final list of 1000, not to talk about topping the exam. In the Civil Services, on must always be prepared to take the next attempt. Therefore perseverance, which keeps you going year after year, is the foremost required quality.

5.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

The greatest example, when it comes down to perseverance, is Thomas Alva Edison. He failed more than 10,000 times  before he created the light bulb. That makes him a true example of perseverance. What helped him was understanding a few things –  defining success and failure, realising the inevitable connection between them, never giving up, working hard, believing in himself and his ideas. ‘ I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’… Edison Determination and Will power The Example of Ekalavya This quality is also very essential for Civil Service aspirants, as there come many occasions when you tend to drop the idea. Therefore a strong determination and will power is a must to cross the Civil Services hurdle. Ekalavya is the biggest example of will power. He managed to achieve the highest standards of archery by sheer will power. He had no resources, no coach (guru), no facilities, but he did it because he had the determination to do it. Eklavya is an example of what sheer will power, passion, determination and dedication can achieve. It appears that he must have got the fire within after being rejected by Guru Dronacharya and a strong desire to prove himself took him that far. Senior IPS Officer Bhaskar Rao is a similar example who felt humiliated and rejected after failing twice in school which gave him the desired fire, passion, will power and determination that he made it to IPS.

Focus The Example of Arjuna The life of Arjuna, the great warrior of the Mahabharata, illustrates the importance of focus and concentration. The main lesson to be learnt here is to avoid distractions. When Arjuna aimed his arrow at the eye of the fish, he is so highly focused that he sees only the eye of the fish, just the target and nothing else, not even the whole fish. While all others saw so many things; the tree, the sky, the branches etc. Arjuna’s concentration is so high that he cannot see anything other than the target. Therefore, undivided concentration is a must for achieving success. While preparing for the civil services, we may have to sacrifice a lot that can cause distractions to our preparation such as family matters (unless very urgent), hobbies, movies, television programmes, social outings, friends etc. We have to resist the temptation and stay away from all these people and activities and concentrate solely on the exam.



Motivation and a Positive Attitude  5.7

Motivation/passion/enthusiasm To keep your passion alive, and your enthusiasm high and to stay motivated, the best thing is to learn from individual examples, to remember quotes which gives you energy in your moments. Examples could be many; from Nelson Mandela to Abraham Lincoln, from Thomas Edison to Einstein, from Vivekananda to Mother Teresa from Milkha Singh to Mary kom, you could find many heroes from whom you could drive inspiration and get going.

Surrounding yourself with positive people Good company matters a lot in success. For success in the civil services, you need to be constantly in the company of students and friends who have the same objective. Other types of friends and peer groups can talk endlessly about movies, cricket, boyfriends/ girlfriends. They will also try to make you fatalistic and stop you from working hard and focussing. They might even mock at you and your preparations. You have to rise above the pressure of such peer groups and avoid their company and say a firm ‘no’ to their gossips. If you have the company of like minded , dedicated and motivated civil services aspirants, it will go a long way to help you

It will: a. Help you stay motivated b. Help you in getting clarity on various topics c. Improve your analytical skills through healthy discussions d. Help you increase your study hours e. Help you in giving a sense of purpose

Action plan For success in civil services you must have a clear action plan. You need to plan how much time is required for the preparation of each subject/paper and how much time for various topics in each subject. You have to prepare a study schedule as per the time required and time available to you. This schedule may not be exact, but can be a broad plan which you should try to stick to. After the plan is in place, you must have a feedback and monitoring mechanism. Based on the feedback you may reschedule your action plan. Without a broad work plan, you are bound end up giving more time to less importatnt subjects/topics and will be left with no time for important topics/issues.

C h a p t e r

6

Planning Your Preparation

Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln

understanding the nature of the Examination Before starting the preparation for the Civil Services, it is very important to have a complete understanding about the examination process, its structure and various, other aspects related to the preparation, given that it has seen some very recent changes. The UPSC generally issues the notification in the Employment News. The same should also be available on the UPSC website www.upsc.gov. in. The complete notification should be studied carefully to understand the structure of the exam and other related information. Most of the doubts that the new aspirants have, would be resolved through a reading of the notification. Given the recent changes, it is even more important to go through the notification for understanding the changes better. The preparation will be more focused when you know exactly what the UPSC expects, rather demands, from you. At every stage of your preparation, remember that this examination is a relative exam. Absolute marks are not important. Getting better of others is what is required to get selected. The nature of the exam can be analysed in the following ways:  A thorough perusal of notification and carefully understanding of the syllabus and requirements. (attached as Annexure –I)  A thorough analysis of the previous years’ papers and the recent trends.  Discussing in detail about the exam with teachers, successful (and even unsuccessful) aspirants, seniors and friends.

6.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Eligibility, Educational qualifications, Age limit and number of attempts Educational Qualification Graduation from any discipline from a recognised university Age Limit 21 to 32 for General Category candidates; age to be counted as on 1st August 21 to 35 for OBC and 21 to 37 for SC/ST candidates Number of Attempts 6 for General category , 9 for OBC candidates and unlimited upto age of 37 for SC/ST candidates. Plan of Examination The examination comprises two successive stages:  Civil Services Preliminary Examinations (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Main Examination; and  Civil Services Main Examination and Interview for the selection of candidates for the various services and posts. ABOUT THE NEW PATTERN The new pattern of the examination has in fact made it easier to attempt than ever before. The way the full syllabus is detailed has to be commended as it gives a good understanding about expectations from the examination. The Preliminary Examination (Popularly known as Prelims)

Prior to 2011 There used to be two papers in prelims; one optional subject and one General Studies (G.S) paper, 2 hours duration each, one third with negative marking. One G.S. paper of 150 marks (150 questions, 1 mark each) second optional of our choice 300 marks (120 Questions, 2.5 marks each) There was no sectional cutoff. Merit was decided on the basis of 450 marks taken together. 2011-2014 2 papers of 2 Hours each. One third negative marking, one G.S. of 200 marks (100 Questions, 2 marks each), second CSAT of 200 marks (80 Questions, 2.5 marks each). No sectional cutoff, merit based on 400 marks together.

Planning Your Preparation  6.3



In 2014 Concept of sectional cutoff was introduced. A minimum of 30 marks in GS paper I and 70 marks in GS paper II (CSAT) was required to qualify. Only after that, merit was decided based on total marks out of 400.

2015 Onwards Papers, marks, duration are same, but CSAT paper marks will not be counted in merit list. CSAT has been made a qualifying paper with 33% marks minimum required to qualify it. That makes it easier for many people, especially people from non technical backgrounds and people from rural backgrounds as earlier they felt they were at a disadvantage in the CSAT paper. Now it is a level playing field for everyone in a way, making it equally tough or equally easy for everyone. Pattern of the Main Examination (Mains)

Before 2013

2 papers of G.S. 2 papers (Optional 1) 2 papers (Optional 2) Essay Total



2. Qualifying papers. 1. English 2. Any Indian language

300 marks Each 300 marks Each 300 marks Each 200 2000 300 marks 300 marks

Approx 100 being the cutoff for qualifying papers.

After 2013

1. Only one optional subject consisting of 2 papers, 250 marks each. 2. Essay - 250 marks (2 essays with word limit of 1250 words, instead of only one long essay). 3. 4 papers of General studies (GS) 250 marks each Total 7 papers of 250 marks each totaling - 1750 4. Qualifying paper same as earlier. After 2014, qualifying marks in language papers have been clearly mentioned in notification; 25 % for English and 30 % for Indian language.

G.S. Paper-I This paper mainly comprises of

6.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

1. Indian Culture 2. Indian History 3. World History (18th century onwards) 4. Indian Society 5. Geography

G.S. Paper-II This paper mainly comprises of 1. Indian Polity and Governance 2. International Relations 3. Social justice and social welfare

G.S. Paper-III This paper mainly comprises of 1. Indian Economy 2. Science & Technology 3. Environmental science 4. Disaster management 5. Internal Security

G.S. Paper-IV This paper mainly comprises of Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude - Theory & Case studies This topic has three main parts A. Philosophical B. Psychological and C. Administrative We have seen many aspirants being unduly worried about the GS Paper on Ethics and Integrity. Let me assure you t h a t there is nothing to be worried about this paper. It is a new set of topics that has been introduced, and once they are covered as a part of your preparation, they may even become one of the interesting, perhaps most scoring topics of the GS paper. Filling the Detailed Application Form (Daf) Nowadays there is only the online mode for filling up the application form. Some important aspects that you must keep in mind while filling up the application forms:



Planning Your Preparation  6.5

Your Cadre Preferences Opting for the right cadre is crucial, since after your selection, you will have to live with the cadre of your choice for the rest of your career. Hence, cadre preferences have to be given due attention before filling up the forms. Generally, the home cadre would be the first choice for almost 99% of the aspirants. This is natural and there should be no confusion on that. The second and third preferences are slightly tricky. Before you make your second and third choice, try to get as much information as possible from various sources, including people already in the services, your seniors and other knowledgeable people. They are the best persons who can give the right perspective about the cadres. Cadre preferences change with times. In the 90s, Punjab was least preferred due to various reasons, but things have changed for the better since then. Some cadres may not be so good for IAS but may be outstanding for IPS. Cadre selection also depends upon your expectations from the job and what you want from life. So, please make an informed and conscious choice. Service Preferences There are 24 services on offer after you get selected in civil services. The important Services are IAS, IPS, IFS( Foreign Service ) IRS( Income Tax), IRS ( Customs and Excise ) IAAS ( Indian Audits and account ) Indian Railway Services ( Accounts, Traffic and Personnel), RPF Indian Accounts Services, Civil and Defence Indian Information Service, Defence Estate Group B services like DANICS, DANIPS etc. Choosing the right Services is also important while filling up the form. Service preferences are very personal; they depend on your choice and attitude towards the Services. So you should carefully fill up the preferences as per your conviction and stick with it. You have to live your life with a particular Service; therefore you must like the Service from the core of your heart. Do not leave the preferences for fate; you might end up getting a good rank in the merit list and get a Service that you may regret for the rest of your life. Filling the Bio Data and Other Personal Information Please fill this section in detail, and make a copy of it for your reference. These details are very much used in the interview process. You need to

6.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

prepare from whatever you submit in this section for your interview. Hence, while filling it, make sure you write bona-fide details, even related to your hobbies and other personal traits. There is no hurry in filling up the form, take your time for each of these sections, they need lot of attention. We need to be extra careful while filling up the Hobbies and Extracurricular activities. Many candidates fill up this portion from interview point of view. In the process they end up filling up false information. Such a step can prove to be suicidal if you are caught in the interview.

Tip Note: Re-check the application form thoroughly before submitting, and keep a copy of it. Work planning and Time management Know Yourself Before you make your preparation plans, you must know yourself well. Know what timings of study suit you; know what inspires you; what motivates you; know what relaxes you; know what you ultimately want to do as a civil servant; know what are your strengths and your weaknesses. If you know yourself well, then things will get easier. Though the exam demands hard work from the aspirant, it should be “intelligent hard work”. It is not just the number of hours you put in which is important; rather what you put in those hours is far more important. In the current times, hard work seems to be not just sufficient. It has to be supported by a good planning, a lot of selective reading and thorough feedback to yourselves about your preparation. All the topics can be divided into Very Important, Important and Less Important based on the analysis of previous years’ question papers. Then give time accordingly. You will always know the date of the examination well beforehand. So you know how much time you have with you. You need to then know what your speed of study is. We know this speed can vary from subject to subject, but all we want to convey is that you should know your speed. After this, you need to obviously know what all to read. Make a nice chart for yourself, write all the books/topics you think you have to read and start estimating the time they need. Gross approximations would suffice; the estimates would give an idea how long you need for each of the topics/subjects.

Planning Your Preparation  6.7



So, at the risk of sounding repetitive, make a list of t h e best possible books/topics to read. Try to prepare the plan, giving weightage to different topics, keeping in mind your strengths and weaknesses etc. you can’t have equal command over all subjects, so give priority as per their importance. Planning is all about maximising the outcomes of the efforts. Feedback Planning is important not only to track the time versus effort, but also to find for yourself how you are getting along with your preparation. It opens a way to provide feedback to oneself and t o find whether you are on the right track, before it is too late. Once you know where you stand, you can make necessary changes and get back on track. Remember to set weekly and monthly targets in your plan and see how many times you are able to reach them and how many times you fail to. Or, if you have suddenly got a new material like say, Economic Survey of India in the month of February, you might have to re-adjust your plan to fit it. This will be a great way to fix the problems very early in your preparation and by the time the exam is near, you would be better prepared. How to study Read for Understanding and Clarity Even if it takes more time, try to find patterns while reading. Read only one or two books for a certain topic/subject, do not read too many books for the same topic/subject. This way one can remember better. Look for side headings and try to summarise all that you read below the sub heading into it. You need not go through any high level college textbooks for becoming an expert in the topic. Basics of the subject with clarity are sufficient for the exam. And, this is what is humanly possible in view of the huge syllabus. The following points should be kept in mind while doing the preparation

• The preparation should be focused and all the hard work should be channelised in the right direction • The focus should be on gaining basic clarity in each topic, which will come only through lot of logical questioning. • More time should be spent on thinking and discussin gabout the topic and rather than reading too many study material.

6.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



• The previous papers should be thoroughly analysed to understand the expectations of the examiner. • What not to study is also important than what to study

Discuss Discuss what you read with your friends or colleagues; you would be able to talk about a topic only when you understand it, discussions help in looking at different aspects of the same topic with new questions to clarify upon. Revise Revising often what was read is required constantly. Revision also gives a different perspective of the same topic, gives better understanding. It is always better to revise something already read than going for new topics or books. One good way of revising is to solve questions or practise writing answers. It will h e l p recollect all that you read and also help in organising your ideas. Summing up, plan for your breaks and then adjust your preparation. Once the plan is in place, don’t think that it cannot be changed. Indeed it is final to a large extent, but be ready to have flexibility for making amendments. Choosing the optional subject Optional is a very important subject for the mains. Though its overall weightage is only around 25%, this is the only portion for which syllabus is defined and limited and therefore the chances of scoring high marks are bright. Some candidates, particularly in their first attempt are unable to decide the Optional subject for the mains till this precious stage. If you are one of them and are still undecided about the Optional subject then it is high time for you take a final call. Since there is only one optional subject to take, it has to be selected wisely, though much of the problem and dilemma is now over after scrapping of the second optional subject by the UPSC in the present examination pattern. Some Important Tips regarding choice of the Optional Subject

• Choosing your Optional subject is very important. Don’t opt for an Optional only because someone else was successful in it last year. You must have a basic liking/aptitude for the subject you opt for.



Planning Your Preparation  6.9



• You must have genuine interest and natural liking for the subject you opt for. As you have to live with the subject for at least one year, which could extend up to 2-3 years, you must have interest in the subject, passion for the subject; otherwise you will not enjoy the preparation. It will appear to be a big burden to you and you will not grasp the subject easily. • Those coming from post graduation courses or specialised faculties like medicine, law, MBA, MCA etc. should not have any issues in choosing their optional and usually they should go with their subject of specialisation. This will be useful for personality test/interview also, as you can expect questions on your area of specialisation in the interview. • For others, it will be slightly tricky as all the humanities subjects would seem to be equally good. So a careful selection of the optional subject from this time onwards, would define the total marks and one’s selection in the final merit list. • Many times people opt for a subject by saying that the particular subject is highly scoring. But there must be a lot of people who would not have scored well in that very subject. Therefore this should not be the criterion. • Some people also make the size of the syllabus a basis for selecting the optional subject, it may be true to some extent, but never make it the sole criteria. • Choosing one of the core General Studies subjects as an optional (History, Geography, Polity and Governance and Economy) gives you an added advantage that your workload to prepare for GS reduces to that extent. But again you must go for this only if you have a real passion for the subject. • Another major criterion for selecting the optional should be availability of study material and proper guidance if required. • There are people who keep changing optional subjects every year because they could not score good marks/well in a particular optional subject. But I feel that one must first introspect and try to find out the problem within one’s own self instead of the subject; as many people must have scored well in the same subject in the same year. • Don’t delay in changing the optional if you find it really difficult to comprehend or if you get bored with the subject and can’t focus and enjoy the reading; you must do it in the very early stages itself.













Direct theory-based rote learning type questions are never asked by the UPSC nowadays. Questions based on conceptual clarity and deep under-

6.10  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

standing of the subject are being asked. So a candidate is required to have interest, ability and aptitude to understand the subject and to comprehensively analyse the subject in the light of contemporary empirical studies and research. That’s why you must choose your optional with utmost care, concern and rationale. Preparation in Hindi or other regional medium There are definite apprehensions that it is tough to crack the exam through other mediums of language other than English. This is not so. There are people who gave exam in Hindi and other regional medium and have cleared it without any issues. So, please shed away any of these misconceptions and start preparing in the language of your comfort. It is true to a certain extent the amount of material one gets in a particular language is less than that is obtained in English, yet it doesn’t minimise the chances of clearing the exam. Choice of language should be based on your comfort levels with that language as well as with English. A good practice of writing answers in the language you choose would help in making things easier for you. The latest pattern is equally in favour of Indian languages. There has been an increase again in the number of successful candidates in Hindi medium and in vernaculars. Working Aspirants Some of you must be working in some organisation and wanting to give a shot at the exam, an increasing trend in recent years. Even some of you might not even be in India while thinking about the attempt! So, the obvious question arises. Does one need to leave the job and prepare, or is it possible to prepare along with a job? Well, most of it depends on the kind of job and the job environment you are in. Some jobs have a very restrictive work place with very little internet usage allowed. Such places are tough to prepare. Not to mention the work load. IT jobs especially extract a huge amount of work from people, it is extremely tough to either prepare while at office or at home. So, make a thorough observation of your job environment and see how much time and energy you can take out for your preparation. You should have no restrictions for internet usage and should be able to read while at office. Another important aspect is your relation/interaction with your manager and team/colleagues. Don’t try to hide and do secret preparations without their knowledge. Talk to them and see if there is any way to come to a common understanding.

Planning Your Preparation  6.11



Tip If the job environment is not conducive for any study, t h e re i s no other option but to leave the job, if you are serious about taking a shot at the examination. Even if you are outside of India you can prepare for the exam, as effectively as anyone else preparing from within the country. You have every access to information and books especially with the help of internet and e-stores. Have constant contacts with those who are preparing full time. Interact with them regularly. Usually the interview board also understands and appreciates your efforts if you have cleared the exam despite the workload of a full time job. Role of coaching centres Coaching centres have a major role to play in today’s competitive world where more than 9 lakh people appear for the CS exam and only about one thousand finally get selected. But if someone thinks that he can clear the exam just by joining some good coaching center, then he is highly mistaken. Don’t depend 100% on coaching centre. They can only show you the path, but finally it’s your effort that will get you through and not the coaching centre. Coaching centres are there to help and guide the aspirants but the exam has to be written by the aspirants in their own language, with their own analysis. The examiner will test your skills, your calibre and not that of the coaching centre. What is at the root of the exam is that how much depth and clarity you have on the topic and how you can put all that on paper, in a simple language in concise and clear manner with proper analysis as per the requirement of the question. However, the Civil services exam being very comprehensive, one does require some kind of guidance. The guidance can come from coaching centres or friends, successful civil servants, aspirants who have qualified the CS exam in near past, and even from internet and books. Advantages of Joining a Coaching Centre

• Coaching centres provide a good start to the new aspirants. They improve your understanding from various perspectives. • The candidates come to know about the extent of the exam and the syllabus, type of questions being asked etc. Their experience in the expectations of the exam would give a better idea.

6.12  Cracking the Civil Services Examination







• Coaching centres can add seriousness to your preparations in the early phase. • Usually coaching centres suggest good study material; you don’t have to go around looking for good study material. They do a lot of homework in helping you with compiled material and other information. • They provide you a good competitive environment. • They provide Mock tests, multiple choice questions and other test series (for both preliminary and main examination) which is a good option to take. Sometimes coaching centers organise ‘meet the toppers’ sessions, which prove to be quite useful. • You can form a group of likeminded people from among the colleagues at the coaching centres. Such a group is very important for group study and clarity of concepts.

Is joining a Coaching Centre Mandatory?

Tip Many people might think that it is a must to join a good coaching centre. But I would say a firm NO, not at all. I myself am an example. I cleared two of the toughest exams of India; the IIT and the Civil Services. Let me tell you that I attended no coaching of whatever kind. Finally the war has to be fought by you. They might give you best weapons as per their claim, but firstly test those weapons before the final exam whether those are worth or not, as per the claim and secondly whether you know how to use your weapons in the final war or not.

Disadvantages of a Coaching Centre Be careful about the following things as regards coaching centres

• At some coaching centres the culture is of mediocrity, we need to avoid such places. You can never excel from such places. • You might end up choosing a mediocre group based on your home state, caste, college background. • Some of the advice given by coaching centres may not be so useful, it may actually prove to be counter production.

I would like to put it this way. The Civil Services exam is a very comprehensive exam. There are thousands of topics to be studied and tons of study material. You have to be competent enough to choose carefully out of this chunk in the first phase of your studies (say first six months). And once



Planning Your Preparation  6.13

you have understood the nitty-gritty of the exam, you have to decide what is best suited to you, as regards your style of preparation. I would like to conclude like this; coaching centres are useful but not mandatory. They can show you the path of success; but you have to finally find out your own path, in your own style. Some important advice Do Not Pay Heed to Rumours

It is a surety that people get carried away with rumours, especially in those areas of the town/city that are famous for hosting plenty of aspirants. Rumours about the results dates, cut offs, change of patterns etc. will generally go around you all the time. The less you pay attention to such topics, the better it will be for your preparation. Form Your Own Subgroup for Healthy Discussions To understand any topic with clarity, discussions are a great way. More discussions help in giving a pattern to your random thoughts, give a feedback to oneself how much one knows about a particular topic. It brings out different perspectives that do not strike one’s mind by self-study. Don’t ever think that the other person benefits more than you through sharing of information in discussions. Do not confront! Discussion is for improving the understanding, not to prove a point. If possible, form a small group with likeminded people, and have a continuous discussion and sort of shared preparation where each can help others. Blog If you are anywhere near to a tech savvy person, or one who sits on a laptop for a considerable period of time, start blogging. Put down your ideas and thoughts. It can be anything from your childhood memories to something that troubles you badly that needs to be changed in the country. It helps a lot in making a huge difference to your answer writing skills and compilation of thoughts in your mind. Postal Coaching/Correspondence Courses For all those of you who feel they are far from the centres of preparation, you can always go for postal coaching, which is provided by many institutes nowadays. They are also providing online study material nowadays.

6.14  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

It is not mandatory to take such coaching, but this just ensures a constant supply of current information to a remote location (or even out of India) and helps in gathering study material easily.

C h a p t e r

7



Getting Started

Well begun is half done. -Aristotle

When to start The prestigious civil services has often inspired many students right from their school/university days with the dream of becoming civil servants as an IAS, IFS, IPS, and IRS (IT) officers etc. The students during his/her school/university level often wonder when and how to start their preparation for this competition. The question that often props up is: Do the students need to start preparing in some manner from their school/university days, or should they wait till their graduation degree, which is the minimum and essential educational qualification for this examination. Many students enrolled in undergraduate studies and ambitious to appear for the civil services examination often face such a dilemma. Is it too early to start preparation and what to actually prepare? Should they join some coaching at this stage? Is this going to give them an ‘early bird’ advantage? At first you need to firm up your decision whether you want to go for the examination or not. Do not hurry up, you have enough time to take a call. Try to consult your parents, friends and teachers. Speak to successful aspirants and senior bureaucrats, if you have access to them. You should consider all other career options which are close to your liking and compare it with the civil services. But once you have decided to make civil services your goal, then go for it wholeheartedly. In this prestigious and highly competitive examination, only the very brightest and the best aspirants are selected. If you have to compete with the best, you certainly have to give your best. My personal advice to the students is that most ideally the preparation should begin during the undergraduation years itself. If you have not com-

7.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

pleted your graduation degree and you have decided to appear for the examination, then you should not have any doubts whatsoever about undergraduation not being a suitable time to begin. If you decide to go for Civil Services at a later stage, then the ideal time to start your studies is two years before the first Mains exam; e.g if you want to appear for 2018 Prelims and Mains, you should begin your preparations by January 2017. In case of age restrictions and a late decision, December 2017 will do, provided you have some background of the exam. The whole preparation process can be divided into three phases i.e. Foundational phase, Main phase and Final phase. Ideally, Foundational phase should start during undergraduation time, but if you are late then this phase merges with the Main phase of preparation, which should ideally start two years before the commencement of mains and Final phase of the preparation should start two months before the commencement of prelims. How to Start The Foundational Phase As discussed above, the first phase or Foundational phase should ideally start at under-graduation level itself. This includes studying basic books i.e. NCERT books, and developing the right techniques for effective reading, newspaper and magazine reading, using the internet, reading of government reports etc. UPSC questions may not be from this level, but if we don’t get this phase right, we won’t get the subsequent phases right. The idea is to make our base so strong that when we go for more focused concepts, we should be able to understand them straightaway. A good basic study means we should not feel the need of ever revisiting the basic books again. However, reading basic/NCERT books once again is always very useful. Go through the syllabus of the Preliminary and Main examinations. This would help you to understand as to what are the areas particularly in General Studies, which you are expected to be aware of. This will also help you in identifying relevant news items in newspapers and magazines that you should follow in greater detail. The foundational phase of the preparation is extremely important from the perspective of success in the examination. General decisions such as deciding your optional, joining a coaching centre, and in what manner to continue with your current studies have to be made. Besides, the bulk of the preparation of the Main examination has to be done in the foundational phase of your studies itself.

Getting Started  7.3



The above guidelines are generalistic in nature. We should start studying in the following order for a good foundation 1. NCERT books 2. Regular reading of newspapers/magazines. 3. Basic books 4. Background Reading 5. Standard books. (e.g. books Indian Constitution, Indian Economy, History, Geography etc.) 6. Textbook/Reference book/Detailed and advanced books (e.g. Indian Constitution by B.K. Sharma and Physical Geography by Savindra Singh etc.)

Newspapers and Magazines The best way to start the preparation is through newspapers. Take two newspapers, to start with, and read it thoroughly. The Hindu is a popular suggestion but there are other newspapers as well. The major ones are as follows:

• • • •

The Hindu The Indian Express The Economic Times Dainik Jagaran (National edition for Hindi)

Frontline or any other similar magazine (e.g. Civil Services Chronicle) of your interest. Frontline complements The Hindu as they are from the same publishers. This way, there can be a nice revision of all the topics you read in the paper as Frontline analyses most of the topics from the previous weeks. If you want to succeed in the civil services, you should take interest in what is happening around the world. Read two newspapers religiously, every single day. This has to become a habit, a part of your daily routine. You can start by reading everything from the newspaper, and then slowly try to make selective reading, which will come naturally after some days. Try not to go into much of political and other sensational news, but rest all of them are always useful to read. Some of the sections to cover (not in any order):

• • • • •

National and International events Economics and business events Sports events Editorial pages (very important for civil services examination) Science and Technology sections

7.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Newspaper reading should be complemented by further background study through internet and weekly magazines. For example, once you read a news item, say on solar energy in India, try to get as much information related to the area, by reading from Wikipedia or reading an analysis from magazines. This is the way to improve your knowledge and understanding about the topic. It takes lot of time to complete the newspaper, anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, or more, though you can try and gradually reduce the time and bring it to maximum one & half hour daily. Time saved this way should be utilised for more background study, to get better understanding of the subject. Aspirants must a note down the relevant things from the newspapers and magazines from the examination point of view in their daily routine. Magazines and Internet form a good source of information of what is happening around us. You should never go in for too many details. Highly technical and detailed news/articles can be straightaway skipped. UPSC is a Generalist exam and we can’t afford to spend our energy where it’s not required. Therefore, there is no need to go into minute details. Remember, it is not expected from the aspirant to do a Ph.d. research on everything e.g. on genetic engineering to Maoism to police reforms, all at the same time. Watching news on television or hearing news bulletin on All India Radio is another habit which is a must to develop. Make it a point to hear news headlines or those news bulletin which cover the daily news in 15 to 30 minutes. It is very important for every sincere aspirant to be in touch with what is happening around the world. News items of national and international importance must catch your attention. Rather than being a passive listener, try to make a mental note of the most important news items of the day.

Background Reading The initial phase of the preparation is also the best time to refer to many books as possible. Some of our recommendations include the following:

• The Wonder that was India by AL Basham • Books by Ramachandra Guha (India after Gandhi, etc). • Amartya Sen’s writings, especially, “The Idea of Justice”, “Development as Freedom” and other books • Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru • Books written by our former President APJ Abdul Kalam like Wings of Fire, India Vision 2020 are also quite good and motivational.

Getting Started  7.5



My book ‘Human in Khaki’ is also highly motivational and give the aspirants an idea about what all they can do after joining the services. The above suggestions for books are purely through personal likings and tastes. These could easily be replaced by many other books that have been suggested from other sources like friends, coaching institutes, websites etc. Our intention here in mentioning some books is to show the direction of how the preparation should be started. If someone is looking for starting the preparation just a few months before the exam, the above suggestions might not work. They have to do a very selective study out of the suggestions above and quickly switch over to the main phase of preparation.

NCERT and other Basic Books As mentioned, while picking up on newspapers and once getting comfortable, it is time to get into some more study. In this foundational phase we should cover all the basic books which could include:

• NCERT books for History, Geography, Economy, Science and Polity. We could even start with class VI onwards books for Geography and Science. But if an aspirant belongs to science background, then there is no need to read NCERT books from class VI onwards for science subject. NCERT of class X to XII is enough. After we have gone through the NCERT books, we could go for the basic books for three most important topics of GS; Indian polity, Indian economy and History of Modern India Some popular books are

• Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth • India’s Struggle for Independence and India after Independence by Bipin Chandra. • A good book on Indian economy by Uma Kapila etc.

These are chosen so that one gets a perspective of the fundamentals of the country and the basic premises on which the rest of your preparation can depend. Do not try to study everything by rote, although it may be required in some topics and at some stages. Your reading should be more to understand the philosophy of these books and form your personal opinion out of them. In our opinion, this is the best way to make a start for your preparation. It does take a considerable amount of time to get through the above sources.

7.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Working on some more basics This is also the best time to improve and practise all those things which take a long time to get used to, such as

• • • •

Improving handwriting Reading comprehension Communication skills Analysis of the content, whatever you read.

Tip Develop your communication skills, vocabulary and expression and verbal communication skills ommunication skills play an important role in improving our effectiveC ness in the numerous facets of life, whether as an individual or a team player. This is particularly true for success in the examination and in any career thereafter. Although many candidates who do not have the very best of communication skills are also able to succeed, largely owing to their other attributes, those with poor communication skills find it difficult to cross even the hurdle of ‘Mains’. Communication skills are of two types— written and verbal. Written communication skills refer to our ability to express our thoughts lucidly and comprehensively, as well as concisely. Thus, the essential elements of written communication are not only the completeness of expression, but also its clarity of thoughts and economy of words. These skills are built over a period of time, therefore you should start developing these skills from the Foundational phase of preparation itself. For improving your vocabulary and expression, be conscious of the new words while going through the reading material. Note these words and expressions in a separate notebook. Try to check their meaning with the help of a dictionary, especially the various contexts of usage. Language experts state that our vocabulary comprises of many such words, the meaning of which we know but those we seldom use. While reading, keep an eye on such words and good expressions and also those words and expressions whose meaning you do not know. Creative writing here refers to all those forms of writing which involve active thinking on our part as opposed to a mere reproduction form our memory of what we already know. The salient elements of verbal communication are clarity of thought and expression. The means of improving the former is by doing wide and extensive reading, and reflecting on the issue at hand.

Getting Started  7.7



The Main Phase of Preparation This is the phase where we start doing focused and selective study. From this phase onwards, everything should be as per plan. Everyday counts and every hour also counts. We should study only those topics which are directly part of our syllabus in this phase. We have already made our foundation. We have gone through the basic books and have developed a habit of reading newspapers and magazines from UPSC point of view. Now is the time for going for text books/syllabus books for advanced studies. But before we go for the text books, we should first go through the question papers of preliminary and main examinations. This is one of the most important things to be done at the beginning of the main phase. Going through at least previous ten years question papers would help you to get a fair idea of what to expect from the examination. It will also help in creating an understanding of the extent and diversity of subjects to be covered during the preparation stage. It is also important during the main phase of the preparation to try and solve the previous years papers and from these you get a feel and a broad idea of what the examination expects from you. Actual awareness of the type of questions enables our mind to quickly identify relevant news items, issue or reading materials, which we come across in newspapers, magazines and even in our syllabus books. Now coming to the study in this phase; we have to cover the syllabus through basic syllabus books/standard text books/reference books /detailed and advanced books (as per availability of time). The study in this phase has to be basically for Mains, the prelims preparation will automatically be done. We have given the list of some key books to be studied in the Chapters dealing with GS Papers I- IV.

Tip In this phase we should aim to cover the whole syllabus and make detailed notes. In this phase we should meet successful candidates or those aspirants who are serious in their pursuit for success in the examination. Getting to meet successful aspirants is never easy, as within a few months of the results they are off for the Foundational Course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Mussoorie. But if you do get such an opportunity to meet those who were successful in earlier years, then do not waste such an opportunity. Meeting such persons is not only inspiring, but you can gain much from their first-hand experience, practical wisdom and important tips.

7.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Joining a good coaching institute for civil services examination is good during the Main phase of the preparation, but not necessary. And the results can be that the time, energy and effort will be invested in positive direction. But remember that such institutes only serve a limited purpose and finally it’s the aspirants capability that will get them selected and not the coaching institute. The Final Phase I would say that the Final phase should start about 2 to 3 months before the prelims. Now onwards the studies have to be purely exam oriented. First we start studying for prelims starting in May, then for Mains and then for the Interview. This phase will be successful only if we have done the first two phases properly. As said earlier, Foundation phase can be combined with the main phase, but both the first two phases cannot be merged with the final phase, then it will be too much for us to handle and it will all get jumbled up in our mind. Ideally, in this phase we should consolidate our knowledge, use the notes already made in the Main phase, revise at least twice for consolidation of memory and proper recall during the exam. Time Management between the three phases The objective of the aspirant should not be merely to clear the Preliminary examination or the mains exam and appear in the personality test, rather it has to be to secure a good rank. Prelims is merely a gateway or a screening examination. Thus, clearing it is a necessary condition for being successful in this selection process. The marks of the Preliminary examination are not counted in the final ranking. As such, it is important to score well in the Mains, which is what really matters. If an aspirant performs exceedingly well in the ‘Prelims,’ but gives a below par performance in the Mains, then surely this would not serve his her purpose well. But the reverse situation can be more dangerous wherein a candidate concentrates a lot on the preparation of the Mains, but fails to clear the Prelims. Thus, a balance has to be struck between the two, particularly in the first attempt. Ideally, two to three months should be given for preparing well for the ‘Prelims’. The remaining months of the main phase should be used for preparing for the Mains. However, this may vary from aspirant to aspirant.



Getting Started  7.9

Thus, the preparation should be divided into two phases. The first phase: beginning from November and lasting nearly six months where the bulk of the preparation for Main examination is to be done. The second phase or the next three months till the Prelims, in which preparation only for the Preliminary examination should be done. Some more Issues regarding the preparation Studying from Internet Get used to studying from the internet from this phase itself, it helps immensely. These can also reduce the time taken for preparation significantly. Many aspirants coming from the engineering background, foreign universities, the digital freaks, people from IT and other corporate sectors are well versed in using the internet, and to compete with them, one has to adapt to it. Making Notes and Revision It is always better to prepare notes from different sources on a topic which you preparing, as it will be easy this way to revise. Revision is very important because you will only write what you can recollect in the exam, and that depends mostly on your revision. Therefore your efficiency in revising matters a lot for your performance in the examination. And if you can prepare good quality notes, your performance is now directly related to these notes. Yet, a point to remember is that while making notes, do not blindly copy paste the information. Try to write it in your own words so that the notes making effort would itself be a revising step. Also, revision does not mean some sort of preparation that happens in the final phase before the exam. No, revision must be a continuous process and should not be postponed till just before the examination. As you keep preparing, some time must be spent in revising and consolidating what you read. Never have the misconception that it is a waste of time. When it comes to the question of whether to make notes or not, it is again entirely a personal call. If you are comfortable making notes, please do so. If you are not, please don’t do it just for the sake of making them. Making notes is not compulsory for clearing the exam, let’s be clear about this. It is just another aid for your preparation. If you use your textbook itself for revision, you do not need notes. And one last mention about notes, make notes if you really are going to take a look at it later. We have seen people making notes from newspapers and not going through them while revising because they don’t have time anymore! You need notes if you are

7.10  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

reading from many different sources, because it will be tough to go through all of them again. Let us also talk quickly about the notes from institutes or from previous rankers. It is tough to judge their value. It is not mandatory to have these notes, the best way to find out is going through them for some time and deciding yourself.

Underlining vs note making Some people prefer underlining to note making. However, note making is preferable for at least three strong reasons:







1. In the UPSC Main exams, it’s the stuff we have internalised which helps. We may have studied something in some context, but in the exam we may have to apply it in some other context. This kind of ‘cross referencing’ is very helpful and can make our answers very powerful. While making notes, we convert the language of the book into our own language and this process helps a lot in internalising the matter. 2. It saves time! This may sound contrary to common sense because underlining is definitely faster than painstakingly writing stuff in our own language. True, preparing notes takes a lot longer than underlining books. But because they are in our own language, revising them takes a lot lesser time than revising underlined stuff. In fact, with well prepared notes, it may be possible to revise your entire syllabus some 5 to 10 times and each successive revision will be faster! 3. Notes can be customised. We can frame our own questions which we think may be asked in UPSC and prepare our notes accordingly. But we can’t do the same for underlined stuff. 4. Aspirants can make concise notes in point wise and in form of flow chart. It will help for fast revision in the entire examination process.

Notes on paper vs notes on computer Aspirants who are proficient in computer typing, try to make notes on computer. If your typing speed is even pretty decent, then should go for it.

• Making notes on computer has one very big advantage over making notes on paper. It is editable and can be formatted easily. We can delete, format, append, insert, do anything with notes on computer and yet make it a comprehensive story. For instance, many stories in

Getting Started  7.11







current affairs develop over weeks and months. You can make one coherent, complete story in one place only on computer. This will help in quick revisions as well. • Online note making will also help us in revising our entire syllabus 5-10 times, so that all the content is well etched in our mind that when we are solving 20 questions in 3 hours in the exam, we don’t take a long time to recollect and arrange the content. • We should also get into the habit of making notes for anything and everything we read. This may include the basic books, the advanced books, newspapers, magazines, reports etc. • These notes must be organised issue-wise. For example, if we are preparing on Naxalism, we must first collect the information from various sources and then compile it in one place. It can be either digital or in physical notebook.

Reading of Reports During our preparation we will need to read multiple committee reports. Sometimes newspapers discuss about certain reports and publish a few of their recommendations. There is always a temptation to just make our notes based on that newspaper article. But this is not the right approach – because the newspaper article has not been written for the UPSC exam and the reporter may not have covered all points relevant to us in our preparation for the exam. So the correct approach is to always look up for the original report on the internet and read it.

How to read bulky reports Many reports are bulky. If we read them in detail, it would take an inordinate amount of time.



• A common temptation is to read merely the recommendations part. But again this is faulty because the recommendations don’t contain the context, discussion which is as important for our exam purpose as the recommendation itself. We need the context and discussion because only rarely does UPSC ask ‘enumerate the recommendations’… Mostly it asks ‘discuss the recommendations’. • So we must read the entire report. But to save on time, we need not read each part in same detail and concentration. We should put in only that much effort to read the bulky text of the report so as to get an overall gist /idea of what is being talked about in that part. This will quicken up our reading substantially.

7.12  Cracking the Civil Services Examination





• We can then highlight the relevant ‘important’ parts of the report text in our first reading. Then in the second reading, we can read only the highlighted parts and add it to our notes in our own words. The second reading and note making part would be substantially faster. • We must also search on the internet for any ‘discussions’ on Reports because UPSC asks ‘discuss’ kind of questions.

C h a p t e r

8

The Preliminary Examination The First Hurdle

Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point you will. -Venus Williams

Importance of the Preliminary Examination The Preliminary Examination is the first hurdle of the civil services examination process. It is only a qualifying exam, but it becomes important, as without clearing the prelims, you will not be able to appear in the next exams i.e. the Main exam and subsequently the Interview. Out of the approximate 9 lakh aspirants who appear for the prelims every year, only about 15000–20000 aspirants remain in the fray for the next phase i.e., the Main examination. Thus the preliminary examination represents the first and a crucial challenge to all aspirants, as one’s preparations till now would come to a naught if one is not through this hurdle. Although the marks of this examination are not counted for the final rankings, but if you do not clear this hurdle, you are not in the race. The worst thing is that you have to face the torturous wait of one whole year before you can take the next shot at the exam. And there is the danger that you start losing confidence in yourself. I strongly believe that our basic preparation should be for the Main examination. If an aspirant sincerely prepares for the Main examination, then it covers most of the topics of preliminary examination. A maximum of two months before the prelims can be given for its specific preparation. About the exam The preliminary Examination consists of two papers, Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Civil Services Aptitude Test). Each of these papers is of 200 marks and a time of two hours is allotted to attempt them. The questions in both the papers are objective type with multiple choices along with

8.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

one third negative marking. The total marks obtained out of 200 marks of the GS Paper I determine whether or not the aspirant moves to the next phase. From the year 2015 onwards, Paper II i.e. CSAT, has become only a qualifying exam with just 33 per cent marks needed to qualify it. Therefore, for clearing prelims we need to focus on Paper I. The UPSC in its notification does not specify any definite cut off for clearing the preliminary examination. The objective of UPSC is to reject the bulk of the aspirants and to consider only 14,000 to 16,000 aspirants for the next phase. This number is generally 12 to 13 times the number of vacancies advertised. Thus, each year UPSC could have a separate cut off to be eligible for the Main examination. However, once the results of the entire examination are out, then the UPSC announces the cut off scores that were required to qualify the prelims in that particular year. Analysing the syllabus of GS Paper I General Studies-Paper I: The General Studies Paper I is a crucial hurdle to be tackled. Aspirants often have the propensity to pick up their book and straight away begin reading from the first word of the very first chapter. This is not the appropriate strategy. The first thing to be done is to examine what are the various topics in the syllabus and analyse the relative importance of each of them. This is vital as there are innumerable topics to be covered in each subject; all having various degrees of significance from the perspective of the number of questions being asked from these topics. The next step should be to analyse the nature of questions and to determine which are the most important areas of the subject from which the maximum number of questions are being asked. My personal advice to the aspirants is that your efforts should be to focus more on those sections which contribute the most number of questions in the examination. The purpose of UPSC is to test the practical general knowledge of the aspirants and not their mastery of the subject. A brief analysis of the syllabus in this regard is attempted below. The syllabus of Paper I (General studies) basically consist of eight Parts

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

History of India and the Indian National Movement Indian Culture Geography Indian Polity Economy General Science Environment and Ecology

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8. Current affairs of national and international importance

There could be some similarity between a few topics as mentioned below.

1. History and Culture – A lot of books are common between the two 2. General Science and Environment & Ecology- The topics often overlap

The UPSC syllabus for the Preliminary Examination does not specify ‘culture’ as a separate topic. However, there are always some questions on topics of Indian Culture. he details of these subject/topics as specified by UPSC in the syllabus T are as follows: History History of India and Indian National Movement Polity Indian Polity and Governance, Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Geography India and World Geography—Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. Economy Economic and Social development, Sustainable development, poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives etc. Environment General issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change that do not require subject specialisation. Current Affairs Current events of national and international importance.

8.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

General Science General Science. Analysing the previous years questions of Paper I (General Studies) This can be done by going through the previous years’ question papers. Analysis of the previous years’ questions enables the aspirants to understand the nature of the questions being asked and the proportion of each subject. Regarding the nature of questions and course of action, some of the salient points, which aspirants must bear in mind, are highlighted below:

• Most of the questions are not direct questions i.e. they do not test merely awareness of the aspirant about the information content of an issue. They also involve application of knowledge on the issue. This implies that though information is important, merely memorising facts is not going to help.



• The nature of questions is such that they require us to remember the information entirely and not partially. Partial knowledge about a topic is often insufficient to choose the right answer. As such, partial knowledge may not be helpful and at times even be detrimental. It is not a subjective examination where you would fetch some marks for writing even a part of the answer. As such, be thorough with whatever you read.



• Remember and revise well, whatever you have covered in your preparation.



• All the topics from each subject are not equally important from the perspective of prelims. Some topics give rise to more questions. It is important to identify these areas and cover them thoroughly. This does not mean that other topics have to be neglected. Cover as much as possible, but lay greater emphasis on important topics.

Graphical Analysis

1. Indian History, Art & Culture, Geography, Environment & Ecology and Indian Polity in Paper I (General Studies)

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Note  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of questions from year 2011 to 2015 subject wise.



2. Indian Economy, General Science, Science & Technology, Miscellaneous and Current Affairs in Paper I (General Studies)

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of questions from year 2011 to 2015 subject wise.



3. CSAT papers from 2013–2015

8.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

How to prepare for GS The syllabus of the preliminary examination only gives a broad outline of the subjects and does not specify the topics within each subject. This makes the domain from which the questions are asked, quite vast. Accordingly, the study of Paper I has to be wide and extensive to the extent possible covering diverse topics from each subject. In the preliminary examination, aspirants should cover the entire syllabus and should not neglect any subject from the examination point of view. Focusing on your strengths is natural. This is likely to earn you decent marks in that particular subject. But you have to work upon your weak areas too. Over the years no particular subject has been a favourite of the examiners. In a particular year questions of history may be more, while in another year general science may get more than its share of questions. Do not neglect current affairs, although lesser number of questions are coming which are exclusively from the topic of current affairs, there are areas of overlap between current affairs and subjects like environment, polity, science & technology and economy etc. Current affairs often provides a clue as to what topics are important for the preliminary examination. Those issues from a particular subject which are in the headlines are also likely to catch the attention of the paper setters and may figure in the question paper. Thus, going through newspapers, magazines etc. helps not only in attempting the questions exclusively attributable to current affairs, but also in identifying the salient areas of study in other subjects. The syllabus of the preliminary examination does not separately specify Culture as a topic for evaluation. Apparently, it is considered as part of the syllabus for History. Although some questions on culture can be covered from history books, but not all. As such, separate reading materials have

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to be referred to for attempting the questions on culture. Besides, do not neglect this topic just because the questions are lesser in number. One should solve as many questions as possible. The more you do, the better would be your grasp on the subject as well as on the examination overall. Please solve all the previous years’ question papers of prelims as well as any mock exam papers that you come across. In fact, try and make a good collection of all the mock papers, objective type questions, solve them one by one. Use the internet extensively in this regard, there are very good sources which provide excellent multiple-choice questions (with trustworthy answers and explanations) that you could spend time on. There has to be a change in mindset of preparation, to believe that solving questions is as important as reading books/syllabus. This whole process of solving objective type questions has lot of plus points on its side (whether solving mock papers or just a set of questions)



• You would be able to manage time better. You will have a better idea of how much time each question takes to solve, depending on its complexity, and how much time you are taking for coming to a confirmed answer. • It gives a better idea of what questions to attempt and which questions to leave; and is a very good remedy for tackling negative marking. • One would not feel any sort of tension or anxiety. Your prelims would just be another set of 100 questions or just another mock test. You won’t get carried away with the significance of the ‘big day’, and your mind would in fact work more effectively. Even if you were unable to do few questions, you would be confident that you should be able to do the rest of them.

For all the above subjects we don’t need to go in depth of the subject. Our strategy should be to focus on extensive coverage rather than intensive coverage. We should cover the syllabus as extensive as possible and make our basics strong. For current affairs, reading newspapers efficiently and making notes and revising should be sufficient. Preparing for GS Paper II (Popularly Called CSAT) Strategy To know about what UPSC expects from students in this section, we should go through all the CSAT papers starting from 2011. CSAT usually includes questions on

1. Logical Reasoning

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2. General Mental ability 3. Basic Arithmetic- like averages, percentages, profit -loss, ratiosproportions etc. 4. Geometrical Figures 5. Interpretation of data 6. Reading Comprehension 7. Decision making and problem solving

For CSAT, the most important skill set that is tested (directly or indirectly) is the speed and accuracy of mental aptitude. The only way to ensure that one attains such skill set is to practise. Practise from previous papers, practise from mock exams on the Net or the mock papers of some of the coaching institutes. The preparation can also be done from some standard General Studies guides of private publishers. The Reading Comprehension (RC) in CSAT are short/not very long in nature. Just have a glance at the questions once before reading the passage. Time is not much of a constraint and it helps when one goes through the passage later. Most importantly, it’s always advisable to read varied topics. Reading magazines like India Today, Frontline, Week etc. would help in the long term for RC. Analysis of the RC after attempting is again very important. Give some time after attempting in analysing the answers. Try to make those corrections in your practice for next time, and you can see a marked improvement in your accuracy. Read and read more. No one can brag that he/she is a champion in RC solving. Improving on English There might be some aspirants who would require some help in English as well. Try to collect some of the internet resources which might be useful in practising and improving some English language skills, related to the exam. If your grammar is weak, hire a tutor for two months and give daily two hours to improve your English grammar. How to Improve Mathematics for Non-maths Students? The priority for non-maths aspirants should be to practise on Aptitude. Don’t worry with the idea that it is not their cup of tea, or they can never improve. This is definitely not rocket science and with good practice and hard work, it is possible to improve substantially. Solve lots of puzzles, take a good book on aptitude and reasoning and keep working on the questions whenever possible. Books ‘Quantitative

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Aptitude’ and ‘Verbal Reasoning’ by RS Aggarwal can be good resources for Logical and Analytical Reasoning. You can solve the same questions repeatedly, as the mind always has to apply the reasoning, it doesn’t matter whether it is the same question or a new one. Suggested Readings for GS Paper I History and Culture Many aspirants find the preparation of History from the perspective of the prelims, a quite daunting task. Not only is the syllabus quite vast, but the nature of questions are such where one needs to be thorough before one can even think of attempting it. (A) NCERT books

• • • •

Ancient India by Ram Sharan Sharma (OLD NCERT), Class XI Medieval India by Satish Chandra (OLD NCERT), Class XI Modern India by Bipan Chandra (OLD NCERT), NCERT Class XII An Introduction of Indian Art—NCERT class XIth (New) for Culture section

(B) Other books

• India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra • Modern History of India by Spectrum Publication. • Previous Years History Questions of General Studies by Arihant Publications. • Facets of Indian Culture by Spectrum Publications

POLITY

• • • •

NCERT class XI—Indian Constitution, Principle and Behaviour Indian Parliament by Subhash Kashyap Websites of popular coaching institutes for Mock Papers Previous Years’ Polity Questions of General Studies Paper by Arihant Publications • Essentials of Indian Polity by ND Arora • Bare Act ( for Articles) • Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth

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GEOGRAPHY

• • • • • • •

NCERT Books from class VIth to XIIth (New) NCERT class XIIth Biology for Environment and Ecology Land and People class VI, VII and VIII Old NCERT Old NCERT Class XI Vol II for World Geography IMT (meteorological department) website India Year book (for Indian topography, flora and fauna etc.) Ecology and Environment by Shankar IAS Academy, and Ecology and Environment by Majid Husain • Previous Years’ Geography questions from Question Papers (Arihant Publications) • Oxford Student Atlas for Indian Geography • Orient Blackswan Atlas for World geography

ECONOMY

• • • • • •

NCERT class XIth textbook—India’s Economic Development Economic Survey of India 12th Five year Plan (Approach paper) India Year Book Indian Economy by Uma Kapila (both books) Previous years’ papers of Economy by Arihant Publications

SCIENCE

• • • • • •

NCERT class VIth to XIIth for non science students Science section of The Hindu (comes every Thursday) Science Reporter by CSIR Websites of important institutes like ISRO, TERI, and DRDO etc. www.pib.nic.in for science innovations and technology updates, India Year Book.

C h a p t e r

9

The Main Examination The Big Battle

The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one. Malcolm Forbes

The Basics of the Main examination (mains) After the result of the preliminary examination, the countdown for the mains starts. The Main examination (second stage) is central to the entire (3 Stages) civil services examination. The primary reason is that the Mains consists of more than 86% of the total marks counted for the final merit list. Everything else is just to support the mains exam. Preliminary examination is only a screening exam and qualifying in nature and its marks are nowhere counted in the final process. It is only a stepping stone to appear in Mains. Clearing Prelims and appearing for the Mains is an important path in this long journey. Once you are in the select group of around 15,000 competitors, you have as good a chance as any one of them to reach the top 100 ranking. That’s why Mains examination is the real substantive examination. Mains must be taken with utmost seriousness. In fact the whole preparation strategy, should be based upon Mains exam from the very beginning, which should be well supported by hard work, self belief and a systematic and focused approach. Crucial Aspects The gap between the civil services (Preliminary) examination and the main examination is only three and half to four months. In the present scenario, the preliminary examination is held in the month of August while the main examination is usually scheduled in the month of December. The syllabus of the mains examination is vast, to say the least. The CS (mains) basically consists of seven papers, the marks of which are reckoned for the personal-

9.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

ity test and two compulsory papers of qualifying languages which must be cleared to remain in the competition. Even if one merely considers the amount of revision required to be done for the General Studies and Optional papers in the 3 to 4 months frame of time, the time will hardly be sufficient. The best strategy is to make the most of this limited time and for this it is must to begin at the earliest. Ideally, one should fully start preparation for the Mains just after a couple of days of the preliminary examination. Some aspirants often wait for the preliminary examination results to be declared before they embark on the next phase of the preparation. This would be a big opportunity lost and could even prove suicidal. Also, one should be clear that the preparation for the mains has to be done before prelims, and the intervening time between prelims and mains is only to be used for revisions and consolidation. Preparing for General Studies with proper reading skills and better ability to comprehend is the key to success in Mains. Your efficiency in the exam hall enhances with better writing skills in a given limited time frame. Reading skills, comprehension skills, writing skills, with better time management, and stress management, crucial decision making and optimum utilisation of resources are the main requirements for securing good marks in Mains. We have tried to guide aspirants on how to improve all these qualities separately in different chapters. Another psychological advice for aspirants during mains is managing stress. Sometimes, optimal stress is required to achieve big targets. Therefore, don’t be worried about a little stress, it is natural. A set routine for studies, 20 to 30 minutes of daily walk/light exercises and sound sleep is important for managing stress. A little yoga and meditation can be of great help to those who find stress management to be beyond their control. Group study helps you in clarity of concepts. A group discussion brings out all aspects of the topic. You should allow everyone to speak out his/ her mind. This process gives you maximum clarity and the most balanced answer to an issue. Group Study also helps you stay focused and constantly refreshes your mind. Understanding the Structure of the Main examination he main examination comprises of nine papers; the entire examination T is usually held within a week’s time, with almost back to back papers, without any gap between them, or at most a day’s gap between the papers. The essay is the first paper which is followed by the compulsory English



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language paper, the four GS papers, two optional papers and the Indian languages compulsory paper mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. The tight schedule shows that there is little time for revision just before the commencement of the examinations. It is important as part of the preparation strategy to rely more on preparation of detailed notes of key topics and repeated revision. Notes should be in compiled form, detailed notes to help you revise the topics during the preparation before the mains examination, and very short concise notes for final revision before the commencement of the examination. The latter can be small paras, bullet points and can include charts, maps, diagrams etc. As part of the revision-strategy, you should make mini notes which could be used for revision. You can also make bullet points so that you can scan these bullet points quickly before the mains. One must examine the syllabus of each subject and keep it in mind while reading the topic. Analyse and practise solving the previous years’ question papers in real exam hour conditions. This will help you improve your exam hour efficiency and should be an integral part of one’s preparation. We should also attempt solving mock test series. The final ranking of the candidate is made by his/her performance in the mains examination. Striking a Balance between the GS and the optional papers The four papers of the General Studies, with a large syllabus carrying 1,000 marks, are usually the centre of focus for most of the aspirants during this stage of preparation. But in their target to crack the GS papers, most of the aspirants often tend to neglect the preparation needed for the optional subject. The reasons behind this may be many. It may be the double weightage of the GS papers, or it may be over confidence about their preparation of the optional; having gone through the subject at university level. The trend shows, year by year, that the actual score of the toppers is usually around 300 to 350 marks only out of 1000 marks in GS, which is only 30 to 35 per cent of the total marks scored. In the 300 marks around 100 to 120 marks are usually scored in the paper of Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude (GS Paper IV). This paper requires more of candidate’s original thinking and less of theoretical inputs as compared to the other three GS Papers. Most of the candidates consume the bulk of the preparation time in the GS Paper 1, 2 and 3, which contributes hardly 30 per cent marks in return. As compared to it, in the optional papers, the toppers do manage a satisfactory score around 250 to 300 marks out of 500. Therefore the returns are comparatively better in optional subject. Therefore it is evident that success in

9.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

optional subject plays a major role. We need to be careful that neither we should ignore the optional subject by giving extra weightage to GS, nor we should be overconfident about the Optional subject. During preparation time, striking a balance between the GS and the Optional paper is a must. It is to be kept in mind that it is very important to score 300+ marks in the GS papers to be in the race for the top ranks. So the big question is how much time should be given to GS and how much to Optional subject? That is a question for which there can be no perfect and definite answer. For some who select a new optional, more than 50 per cent of the preparation time may go for the optional. A few candidates also manage a decent score merely by devoting a little span of their preparation time to optional subject (one third). For those candidates who have already covered the optional subject well, either in their university level course or before appearing in preliminary exam or in their previous attempts, it would make a better sense to concentrate more on the GS papers. Read only what you need to know. Knowledge is unlimited; you can’t read about everything on earth. The tendency to have more and more knowledge of G.S. is natural, but after you have reached a sufficient level of preparation, optional subject will give you a better value of time as compared to GS. Strategy for the essay and language papers In the present format of the Civil services Exam, Essay has a very important role to play. If we analyse the marks scored by successful candidates in last few years, it becomes evident that Essay, GS 1, GS 4 and the optional subject have a major role in deciding the final merit list. The essay paper carries 250 marks and the time and effort required for the essay paper is much less as compared to the other subjects. You cannot ignore the importance of the essay paper and the need for preparation for the essay cannot be lost sight of. Candidates are advised to practise by writing at least 10 essays. It implies that one needs 25 to 30 hours of preparation time for the practising of essay writing. In the latest pattern, UPSC has changed the format of Essay paper. Now we have two sections in this paper and one essay is mandatory in both sections; which implies that now we have to write two essays instead of one. A further analysis of this paper shows that section A has abstract type of essays while section B has concrete form of essays. In the instructions issued by the commission on the essay paper, it is specified that examiners will pay special attention to the candidate’s grasp of his/her topic and to his/ her ability to think constructively and to present his/her ideas concisely, logically and effectively.

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Similarly, the compulsory language papers, although only qualifying in nature, cannot be totally ignored by the aspirants. Some aspirants think that this qualifying paper is very easy and they only have a first look at what is asked for in these papers during the examination itself. According to data received via RTI, it has been revealed that every year around 8 to 10 per cent of the aspirants are rejected by the UPSC only because they could not score requisite qualifying marks in either of the language papers with the result that their remaining papers are also not evaluated. Here is some advice for the aspirants

• Have a look at the previous years’ question papers of compulsory language and try to solve a set of papers. • Identify what are your weak points; whether it is the essay writing, précis writing or comprehension skills and grammar etc. and work upon these sections. • It is also suggested that while doing mock papers, you should get your language paper checked by a person who has appropriate command over the language. • This helps in spotting your common errors and spelling mistakes, which are difficult to identify on your own.

MAKing optimum USE OF NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND IMPORTANT WEBSITES Tips and Techniques

1. The Civil Services Mains tests not only your knowledge and intelligence skills but also your comprehension and analytical skills, time management skills, writing skills along with your own capacity to work hard. It is also a test of perseverance. Normally, you need to put 10 to 12 hours a day for almost a year to gain confidence for mains. Hard work is misconstrued to be referring only to the number of hours of study but that is not so. Quality is also equally important; efficiency which includes proper focus on the right areas of study and concentration are both inseparable aspects of hard work. Some successful aspirants claim to study on an average of six to seven hours a day, while some put in more than 10 hours a day of study particularly before the commencement of mains. 2. At this stage, you need to be highly dedicated and focused, just like Arjuna, when he aimed at the bird's eye, cutting off his mind from all other distractions

9.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination















3. Another important thing is your time management. You should spend proportionate time on General Studies, optional subject and essay during your preparation. Many people make the mistake of giving too much weightage to newspapers, magazines and TV news. Daily an hour and a half of all these activities is more than sufficient. Giving more time to GS and optional subject pays better dividends. 4. Analysis of previous years questions of GS indicates that questions have often arisen from issues of national and international importance, which were repeatedly in the news. Reading of newspapers and magazines and surfing the relevant study material on internet are crucial for our comprehensive preparation of the mains. The following points in this regard may be kept in mind. I. Aspirants should read The Hindu newspaper very carefully from the mains point of view and supplement it with The Economic Times. But one should also cover the economic/ business section of The Hindu. II. The focus of the aspirants at this moment must be on identifying relevant issues among the news items, which are spread all over the newspaper. It is this ability which helps aspirants to compile the important issues likely to figure in the examination and it proves to be the difference between success and failure. III. Aspirants should scan the headlines of various news items in the first go. It will help you to understand the various sections of different newspapers and where to look for ‘relevant materials’ from the examination point of view. Spend more time on the editorial pages which contain relevant articles with critical analysis of concurrent issues. IV. Aspirants should ignore junk news such as crime, local political news, fashion news etc. which often capture many pages of the newspaper. V. Once you are through the headlines and headings, ask yourself which are the important recurring news items from the examination point of view. Identify such news items and read them thoroughly. Aspirants should make a mental note of the salient features mentioned in these article/news items. VI. One can also make written notes in bullet form. If the article is really important, cut the article and compile it in a notebook. Aspirants can also copy the relevant material in soft form from the e-newspapers.



The Main Examination  9.7



VII. Aspirants should be aware that reading magazines and internet surfing carefully is important. Good magazines invariably cover the important issues along with their background. Aspirants should go through Frontline, Yojana, World Focus and a competition magazine (Like Civil Services Chronicle etc) for good articles. While reading magazines the focus should be on key issues. Facts, data etc, are less important from the mains examination point of view, where the questions specially assess the aspirant’s ability to analyse, evaluate, comment, discuss and issue. Aspirants should surf reputed websites on internet; very important information should be taken from reliable websites only. VIII. Aspirants should also remember that whatever issues have been identified by them from the newspapers, magazine, TV, govt. websites etc, they should apply their own mind to the issue. Aspirants should identify whether they are in conformity with what the correspondent, writer or TV panelist has to say. If yes, then reinforce your point of view. If no, then express your own counter point and also consider from another source.



Tip An advice to every aspirant is to carefully read the government schemes, flagship programmes published in the form of advertisements in national newspapers. Joining a Coaching centre at this Stage This is an important issue for every aspirant namely, whether to join a coaching at this stage. Many aspirants are often in a dilemma on this. As time is very precious at this stage, you should ideally not join any coaching. Apart from the time taken up by the lectures, a lot of time will be wasted in going to the coaching centre. However, at this stage, aspirants should join a good test series. This could be in the regular coaching institutes either offline or online. Taking a test series not only helps in self evaluation, but enables you to a get a feedback regarding your writing and presentation style, which is must particularly for the GS papers. It will help to simulate an exam like environment and helps in time management during the actual examination.

9.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

During the actual exam







1. A lot depends on your presence of mind, alertness and time management during the three hours of exam. 2. First have a quick scan of the complete question paper, in the process you know which questions are best suited to you and which are least suited. 3. Attempt the best questions first, but do remember the time and space constraint. Try not to miss out on necessary points, but avoid including unnecessary points to your answer. 4. Have a proper understanding of the question first-by reading it twice—different words have different meanings— e.g. analyse critically, comment, explain, etc. All have different connotations. So answer accordingly. Your answer should be brief, concise, clear and to the point. We have written in detail about this in the chapter on writing skills. 5. While answering, use your brain and not your heart, your answer should not be swayed by your personal emotions. It should be a balanced answer taking into account all aspects of the problem. A lopsided, imbalanced answer might lead an examiner to think that you are not a balanced personality. 6. Speed is very important; you don’t need to answer all questions. It’s better to leave out 1 or 2 questions and improve the quality of those answers which you really know better. Vague and confused answers prompt the examiner to cut your marks elsewhere also, as he starts having a negative opinion about you. Similarly, crossing word limits also sends negative signals to the examiner. 7. Where you have multiple options, choose the questions very carefully. Choose the question for which you have more logical/ balanced answer.

C h a p t e r

10

Tackling General Studies Paper—I

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts Winston Churchill

Introduction Classification of Syllabi GS has been divided into 4 Parts by UPSC. Each Part contains topics related to multiple subjects. This can create confusion for candidates. Our attempt here is therefore to reorganise topics of each part scientifically so that aspirants can study each topic at their own relevant pace. How to Approach I n the new examination pattern introduced by the UPSC since year 2013, the General Studies Paper I is quite a challenging one. It has a vast syllabus, covering Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of India and the World and Society. In this paper, normally the questions are opinion and analysis based and all questions being compulsory. The past trend of marks scored shows that the toppers are able to score only 25 to 35 per cent marks in this paper. However, this should not be any reason for disillusionment because in this exam it is the comparative score which matters. It is more important to be able to do the analysis of the questions and then get hold of the appropriate resource material to study. Aspirants should have a proper understanding of the syllabus, the nature of questions, the books to read and the strategy to adopt. This General Studies paper tests the students in four broad areas, Indian heritage and Culture, modern history of India and history of the world, geography of India and world and Indian society and social problems.

10.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

A look at the topics (i) History The section of history in this paper usually comprises of 8 to 10 questions worth 80 to 100 marks. Questions from Indian history are of 40 to 60 marks while 2 to 4 questions come from history of the world. The broad bifurcation of the syllabus in the topics is as follows.

A. History of modern India before and after independence • Modern Indian history from middle of the eighteenth century until the present (mid-18th century till Present)—significant events, personalities, issues. In this part questions are mainly asked from freedom struggle, its various stages and important contributors from different parts of the country. • In the present syllabus the post-independence consolidation and reorganisation of the states within the country is newly added and is very important from the examination point of view. Remark The History of Modern India, especially the freedom struggle is included both in prelims and mains.

B. History of the world

• History of the world will include events from the 18th century such as industrial revolution, World Wars, redrawing of national boundaries, colonisation and decolonisation, political philosophies such as communism, capitalism, socialism etc—their forms and effect on the society.

The last sentence of the World History syllabus introduced by the commission, namely political philosophies such as communism, capitalism, socialism etc-their forms and effect on the society is also important for the aspirants for reading and correlation with GS Second Paper.

Remark The History of world has been added for the first time whereas other areas of History are conventional. It is clear from the syllabus that the world History is only in Mains syllabus.

(ii) Culture

C. Indian Heritage and Culture It is another important topic in Mains and the UPSC only specifies that ‘Indian

Tackling General Studies Paper—I  10.3



Heritage and Culture’ will cover the salient features of art forms literature and architecture from ancient to modern times. The significance of the word ‘art form’ is quite wide. Besides literature, architecture also covers a large domain. Thus, the syllabus does not help in precisely understanding what and how much to study. It is seen that usually three to five questions are asked from this topic. The focus of the candidates in this topic should be as follows:



• Buddhism, Jainism & Hinduism, their philosophies and texts. • Indus Valley civilisation, its culture, planning and art. • Various schools of art & sculpture such as Gandhara, Kushana etc. in ancient India. • Literature (Sangam literature), music, dance and other art forms in ancient India. • Sufism and Bhakti movements, socio-religious ideas in the medieval period in India. • Art and architecture in temples of India.

Remark In GS Paper I ‘Indian Heritage and Culture’ has been mentioned only in the mains syllabus, but some questions may be asked in preliminary examination too under the topic of History.

(iii) Geography

D. Geography of India and World Geography is the most important section of GS Paper-1 in terms of number of questions asked in the examination. The number of questions usually comprises of seven to ten. The UPSC syllabus specifies the following topics:

Geography: Physical

• Salient features of world physical geography, important geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes, cyclones etc. • Geographical features and their location and changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps)

Geography: Climate, Disaster related

• Critical geographical features, flora, fauna and the effect of such changes

Geography: Resources Distribution

• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including south Asia and the Indian subcontinent)

10.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Geography: Factors affecting industrial locations

• Factors responsible for locations of primary, secondary and tertiary sector industries in various parts of world (including India)

Geography: Urbanisation

• Urbanisation: problems and remedies.

Remark In Geography some topics which were inherent in previous syllabus (before 2013) have been explicitly mentioned now. This part is therefore very important for the entire civil services examination.

(iv) Social Science

E. Social, developmental and women related issues The topic contributes questions worth 40 to 50 marks in GS Paper I. This is the most unstructured portion of the syllabus and perhaps the least predictable of all. This makes the nature of questions more challenging and difficult to prepare, but if an aspirant cultivates the habit of noting down social and women related topics under one head, it will benefit in both GS-1, GS-2 papers as well as in Essay Paper.

Social Science: Caste, Religion, Region

• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism, essential features and challenges.

Social Science: Poverty, Population, Globalisation

• Salient features of Indian society and diversity of India • Effects of globalisation on Indian society • Population and associated issues, poverty and development issues.



• Socio-economic issues, social disparities, human development challenges in India, educational & work force related challenges.

Social Science: Women



• Role of women—Challenges in India, viz., adverse sex ratio, work environment, law and order problems, violence against women, professional challenges, representation in the legislature and other organs of government and society. • Women’s organisations—e.g National Commission for Women etc.

Tackling General Studies Paper—I  10.5



Remark In this subject of GS I most of the topics are new; only a few topics are old/conventional (before 2013). This part is primarily concerned with the mains and important from examination point of view as well. It is linked with many present day women related and other social schemes of the Govt. of India.

Analysing previous years questions of GS paper I Since the 2013 main examination, the nature and pattern of questions in the General Studies papers have undergone a substantial change, as compared to the previous pattern. In the present pattern all questions are compulsory and there is no choice at all. It therefore makes the question paper more challenging. In this paper, we used to have 25 questions with 250 words each, total 250 marks in 2013, while 2014 had 25 questions with 150 words each. In 2015, UPSC has set a new principle “1mark= 16 words”, “12.5 marks = 200 words” and “250 marks =4000 words”. The question paper specifically mentioned that “content of the answer is more important than its length”. Now the questions are not focused on the factual information but solicit views and opinion of the candidate as well as call for critical analysis of the issues entailed. The questions require candidates to evaluate, critically examine, discuss, give opinion, analyse various issues. Thus the endeavour is to make the questions more application oriented. An analysis of previous years papers shows that in GS I questions have emerged from topics that were hot issues of discussion in national media in the last three to five years e.g. sex ratio, Khap Panchayat. Satyam Scam and corporate reforms (2009-13) etc. There is also a gradual shift from factual freedom struggle (e.g. 2013: Several foreigners participated as freedom fighters in various movements during independence, Lord Dalhousie’s contribution in modern India) to analytical freedom struggle (e.g. 2015-the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi.) Unlike 2013 and 2014, pre-1857 mutiny topics such as Lord Dalhousie or Panipat battle not asked by UPSC in 2015. In World History, there has been a gradual dilution of difficulty level—from industrial revolution in Japan (2013) to the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956 (2014) to England’s industrial revolution (2015) which are relatively simple to find through NCERT books. In History most of the questions are linked to present times—linking ancient culture to present day, e.g. England’s industrial revolution to present industrialisation of India.

10.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Also, there has been a gradual decline in weightage and difficulty level of the section on Culture, no question from India after independence has been asked in 2014 and 2015 in this paper. There is continued emphasis on women related questions in GS one in both 2014 and 2015. In the social science section, there has been more stress on population related questions such as-sex ratio, labour migration trend etc. In Geography, there has been a shift in trend from physical, industrial location related questions towards environment and climate change related questions. There is gradual dilution of difficulty level as well in the sense that even a non-geography aspirant can hope to write a few points. For Essay paper also, many topics can be classified under multiple syllabus topics. For example in 2015, there were questions on Gandhi and Ambedkar and the downtrodden, which can be prepared under the topic India before independence and Social empowerment. Similarly, the question ‘why air pollution is a more serious problem in Delhi as compared to Mumbai and Kolkata’ can be prepared under either of the 2 topics climatology and urbanisation. Graphical Analysis

Graphical representation of History and Culture questions asked in GS Mains Paper 1

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of topicwise marks from year 2013 to 2015.

Tackling General Studies Paper—I  10.7





• Culture: Difficulty level reduced from 2013-15



• Freedom Struggle: Questions shifted from factual towards analytical



• World History: Difficulty level of the questions declined



• Post Independence: Now completely removed since 2014



• Total History: Overall reduction in History to make way for Social

Science

Graphical representation of Geography questions in GS Mains Paper-1

Note:  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of topic-wise marks from year 2013 to 2015.



• Climate • Resources

Questions shifted from Physical, Industry



• Urbanization

towards Climate and Environment.



• Physical: Questions disappeared in 2015.



• Industrial Location: Questions disappeared in 2015.



• Total Geography: Questions in Geography easier for non-Geography aspirants in comparison to questions before 2013

10.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Graphical representation of Social Science Questions in GS Mains Paper-1

Note:  The Numerical values on the bars indicates total number of topic-wise marks from year 2013 to 2015.



• Religion, Region: Questions asked more from caste basis • Poverty, Population: Questions based on statistical trend analysis • Women: This sector is gaining more importance due to Govt. of India’s special focus on women related issues • Total (Social Science): Continuous increase in overall weightage

Suggested reading History Aspirants are advised to begin preparation with NCERT books of class XI and XII. Ideally, NCERT books should be read before the preliminary examination and during the mains. Detailed description of books is as follows.

NCERT books

• • • • • •

Ancient India by Ram Sharan Sharma (Old NCERT) Medieval India by Satish Chandra (Old NCERT) Modern History of India by Bipan Chandra (Old NCERT) Themes in Indian History, class XII—volume I, II, III (New NCERT) Themes in World History, class XI (New NCERT) History of the World (From the late nineteenth to the early twentyfirst century) by Arjun Dev, Indira Arjun Dev (Old NCERT)



Tackling General Studies Paper—I  10.9



• Contemporary World History: A textbook for Class XII by Anwarul Haque (Old NCERT) • Politics in India since Independence—Class XII



The above books are basic books and should be read carefully.

Other books

• India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra • India after Independence by Bipan Chandra • Concise History of Modern India by Sujata Menon

Remark Bipan Chandra’s book India’s Struggle for Independence should be read thoroughly for the pre Independence History.

Culture

NCERT books • An Introduction to Indian Art, Part 1 (Class XI)—Chapter 6 on Temples Architecture should be covered thoroughly (New NCERT) • Living Craft Traditions of India (Chapters 1 to 5, 9 and 10, New NCERT) • Themes in Indian History Volume I (Class XII) – Chapter 4 ‘Thinkers; Beliefs & Buildings’ (New NCERT) Volume II (Class XII)—Chapter 2 ‘Bhakti Sufi Traditions’ and Chapter 3 ‘Vijaynagar Empire’ (New NCERT)



Other books • The National Culture of India by S. Abid Hussain (NBT Publication) • development and Evolution of Indian Art published by Publications Division, Ministry of I & B (Govt. of India) can be preferred • Facets of India Culture—Spectrum Publication • Two important websites for this subject are www.ccrtindia.gov.in and www.culturalindia.net. (Centre for Cultural Resources and Training is an institution working to link culture and education. It has good publications and resources on Indian culture, while Cultural India offers concise information about various aspects of Indian culture, including music, painting, monuments, national symbols, leaders etc.)



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Geography

NCERT books

• According to my personal experience, every aspirant should read thoroughly NCERT books class VI to XII (New NCERT) for this subject. There should be more emphasis on the following books



(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Class XI (Old and New) India: Physical Environment, Class XI (New) Fundamentals of Human Geography, Class XII (New) India: People & Economy, Class XII (New)

Other Books

• • • • •

Certified Physical & Human Geography by G.C. Leong. Indian and World Geography by DR Khullar. Physical, Human and Economic Geography by D.R. Khullar Geography of India by Surender Singh Atlas plays a major role to understand Geography. Without the study of Atlas we cannot understand the Geography easily. Every aspirant must study at least two Atlases-Oxford Student Atlas (It is convenient for India map study), Orient Blackswan Atlas (It is convenient for world map study)

Remark The book written by G.C. Leong is easy and compact and should be preferred, particularly if you have scarcity of time. Topics which are not covered in it may be covered from NCERT books.

Social Science In this subject, no single book covers all the topics its entirety. Aspirants may read the following books and prepare notes from them.

NCERT books

• Social Change and Development in India Class XII (Read only syllabus related chapters) • Indian Society Class XII (Read only syllabus related chapters)

Other books

• Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja • India Development and Participation by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze.

Tackling General Studies Paper—I  10.11



Remark There is no need to purchase many books for this subject. You can read various issues such as women, population etc from the Govt. of India and other websites and also should carefully read Economic Survey (Human Development Chapter) and India Year Book. The topics of communalism, regionalism, secularism, urbanisation, poverty and violence against women etc, are well covered in the book Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja.

C h a p t e r

11

Tackling General Studies Paper—II

Dream is not what you see in sleep, dream is something which does not let you sleep. -Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Introduction Classification of Syllabi In the new examination pattern introduced by the UPSC since 2013, General Studies Paper II is yet challenging paper, very much like GS paper I, where the syllabus is vast and scores are low. According to the past trends, the successful aspirants in top ranks score 75 to 85 marks on an average in this paper which is considered excellent in GS Paper II. The reason behind low scores in GS Paper II is almost similar to that of GS Paper I. A problem with GS II is that the syllabus is vast, but the study material is not well compiled in standard text books. Classification of Topics The topics in this paper can be divided into four broad categories: Constitution and Polity, Governance, Social Justice and Social Welfare, and International Relations. The average number of questions from each subject/topic is as below: (a) Constitution and Polity—25 to 30% (b) Governance—25 to 30% (c) Social Justice and Social welfare—20% (d) International Relations—20 to 30% Analysis of Syllabus Constitution and Polity Amongst all the subjects of GS II, this is the only broad subject which can be covered largely from structured reading sources. The broad bifurcation of the syllabus in the topics is as follows.

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Constitution and Polity: Basics of Constitution

• Indian Constitution—Historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. • Comparison of Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

Constitution and Polity: The Executive

• Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive. • Ministries and Departments of the Union and state governments.

Constitution and Polity: Legislature

• Parliament (Union) and state Legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. • Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Constitution and Polity: Separation of Powers

• Separation of powers between various organs, dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. • Structure, organisation and functioning of the judiciary. • Pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the polity.

Constitution and Polity: Federalism and local governance

• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States; issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure. • Devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Constitution and Polity: Bodies

• Appointment to various constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various constitutional bodies; statutory, regulatory and various quasi- judicial bodies.

Remark The topics mentioned above are very important from the point of view of the number of questions asked in both Prelims and Mains. Also, in the Interview there are fair chances that a discussion would take place on the topics mentioned under this part.

Tackling General Studies Paper—II  11.3



Governance The subject of Governance is vast and quite a dynamic one. Some topics of governance are also mentioned in General Studies Paper IV, such as transparency and accountability, citizens charters, RTI etc.

Governance: Transparency/Good Governance & Accountability and E-Governance



• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency and accountability and institutional and other measures. • Role of civil services in a democracy

Remark The limited number of topics in the syllabus should not let an aspirant presume that this topic/subject is insignificant. Social Justice & Social Welfare This subject is yet another area of GS Paper II which cannot be well prepared from an authentic textbook. The scope of social justice & social welfare is very dynamic.

Social Justice & Social Welfare: Policies & Schemes, NGO, SHG, Pressure Groups



• Development processes and the development industry-the role of NGOs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. • Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. • Issues relating to poverty and hunger. • Poverty and developmental issues. • Social Development, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.

Social Justice & Social Welfare: Economic Sectors and Services

• Issues relating to development and management of social sector and social services relating to health, education and human resources.

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• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Remark This topic has been added in clear words for the first time in the light of the present policies of the government. There are chances that a good number of questions will be asked from this topic in prelims and mains. International Relations/Diplomacy As a subject, International Relations is as significant as the other three. However, being a subject that is substantially based on current events, it is comparatively easier to anticipate questions in this section.

International Relations/Diplomacy: Neighbours

• Effect of policies & politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests and the Indian diaspora.

International Relations/Diplomacy: Not Neighbours, but affecting India’s interests

• India and its neighbourhood—relations

International Relations/Diplomacy: Institutions, Groupings, Agreements

• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. • Important international institutions, agencies and forums- their structure, mandate.

Remark This part of the syllabus is very important from the point of view of Mains and personality test. In prelims, generally questions are not asked from this part. Analysis of previous years questions of GS paper II Introduction GS Paper II is very dynamic in its essence. After an analysis of previous years question papers, we can draw the conclusion that GS Paper II

Tackling General Studies Paper—II  11.5



requires continuous upgradation of current affairs and that element has to be incorporated in the answers. In the year 2013, UPSC asked questions in from topics that were in current news and popular such as this paper direct cash transfer, smaller states (Telangana), mid-day meal (deaths in Bihar) and so on. In this paper, UPSC’s ‘concern’ for protection of ‘fundamental rights’ has continuously increased over the last two years. Detailed Analysis

• In 2013: Freedom of speech versus IT Act. • In 2014: Freedom of speech versus films and hate speech. • In 2015: Protection of life and liberty (Khap Panchayat and Diwali crackers) and religious freedom (uniform civil code)

Each year UPSC is equally ‘concerned’ about “separation of powers”— from Supreme Court vs. Parliament (2013), to Judicial activism (2014), to Supreme Court vs. Executive Ordinances (2015). Earlier, there used to be questions on specific regulatory bodies like Rail Tariff Authority, National Human Rights Commission; but in recent times UPSC has asked broad questions related to importance of independent regulatory bodies. In 2015 the number and span of contemporary questions have increased. Questions based on importance of independent regulatory institutions asked in 2015 are completely linked with current affairs. From 2009 onwards, other examples of questions with broad contemporary themes are ones like Satyam scam (2009) and Khap Panchayat (2011). One of the UPSC’s classic trend is to ask about a topic one year after it occurred. In 2015, two such questions appeared from the news of 2014.

• ‘Cooperative federalism’ (It started in 2014 when the new government came to power at the Centre) • Project ‘Mausam’ which was launched in mid-2014

Since the inception of the new syllabus in 2013, no questions has been asked on comparison of the Indian constitution with other countries’ constitution, Representation of People’s Act (RPA), e-Governance, Ministries and Departments and Indian Diaspora. Under the present syllabus of GS-II, you have to prepare more on ‘the role of civil services’, ‘NGO-SHG’ and pressure groups. In the last two years, the trend has been to ask more questions based on SHG, NGO and Role of Civil Services or Pressure groups.

• Question in 2015: Are poverty indicators accurate? • Question in 2014: (1) Exclusion of the backwards in urban economies.

11.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



(2) Two parallel run schemes of the Government viz. the Aadhaar Card and NPR, one as voluntary and the other as compulsory. • Question in 2013: How DBT (direct benefits transfer) can reduce corruption?.

In 2015, in the International Relations topic, there is a question on ‘Sports and cultural exchange to generate goodwill between India and Pakistan’. The international relations (IR) section continues to garner 50-70 marks each year, and there has been a slight dilution in the level of difficulty. Earlier, you had to know the specific technical details to attempt a question, e.g. how Information Technology Agreement (ITAs) affects India. But in 2015, except the question on project Mausam, all IR questions were such that anyone can write a few generic points, whether it is the question on India-Africa, India-Pakistan soft ties, or India as permanent member of United Nations Security Council (UNSC). These IR topics were in contemporary news, implying that current issues are highly important to answer these questions. But a student can also benefit by referring to the earlier papers of Mains exam and keeping a watchful eye on articles in magazines and newspapers. Graphical Representation

Constitution and Polity in GS Paper II

Note:  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks topic-wise from year 2013 to 2015.



• Basic Structure: Increasing number of questions shows UPSC’s concern for protection of Fundamental Rights.

Tackling General Studies Paper—II  11.7





• Executive • Legislature



•



• •



•

Decreasing number of questions shows that there Is less importance of executive or legislature. Power separation: Questions asked by UPSC continuously on this topic. Federal—Local: In this section questions asked one year after events. Statutory Bodies: Instead of asking about a specific statutory body, a broad question covering all the bodies. Total: Based on the past trends, this subject is very important for the entire examination.

Graphical Representation (Governance, Social Justice and Social Welfare in GS Paper II

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks topic-wise from year 2013 to 2015.



• Schemes: Questions as usual about finding and highlighting faults in government schemes • Sectors: Finding fault or how can FDI help in government and private Sector. • Accountability: More emphasis on this area. • Groups: NGO, Pressure the Civil Services: UPSC has shown very high liking for this topic in the last two years. • This subject has become very important in the light of the policies of the present government.

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Graphical Representation

(International Relations/Diplomacy in GS Paper II

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks topicwise from year 2013 to 2015.





• Neighbours: Questions asked first time about India-Pakistan relations in the new content. This section is also important for the future examination, in the context of present diplomacy of the Union government. • Non-Neighbours: Question on India-Africa relations as expected. • Institutions, Group, Agreements: UNSC permanent seat question as expected. • Total: Overall International Relations difficulty level has decreased as compared to previous years

Suggested reading Constitution and Polity ccording to UPSC manual (official), it is clearly specified that NCERT A books should be read very carefully. Detailed description of books is as follows:

(a) NCERT books

• Indian Constitution at Work Class XI

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(b) Other books

• Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth • Constitution of India by B.K. Sharma (constitutional development and other traditional chapters are well dealt with in this book) • Essentials of Indian Polity by N.D. Arora • Our Parliament by Subhash Kashyap • Bare Act by P.M. Bakshi (For Articles related to Indian Constitution)

Remark Begin your preparation by going through the NCERT “Indian Constitution at Work” Class XI. This is the basic resource material for preparation. Then go though the Website of Election Commission of India for salient features of the Representation of People’s Act (RPA). Governance here are no standard textbooks which cover this subject either entirely or T even substantially. However, a recent book ‘Good Governance’ by G.Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chowdhury is worth having a look. The preparation has to be based on information gathered and notes prepared from diverse sources. Some of these sources are discussed below.

• Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) Report This report is a precious source for gathering information on issues pertaining to governance, transparency and accountability. Besides, this should be read even for GS Paper III and GS Paper IV. You can see the report on http://arc.gov.in, The Second ARC has submitted many reports on issues which are of direct relevance to the topics in GS Papers II, III and IV. • Various Reports of the M.M.Punchhi Commission (Second CentreState Relations Commission) Social Justice & Social Welfare Some important sources/websites for this subject are as follows:

• The national portal of India (http://india.gov.in), is the most authentic source of Govt. of India, for various relevant topics of the syllabus such as social development, labour and employment etc. • Websites of Press Information Bureau • Some articles of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India

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• Economic Survey of India, India Year Book • The Hindu and Civil Services Chronicle (magazine)

International Relations/Diplomacy he issues contained in International Relations, being dynamic in nature, T are not covered by a standard textbook.

(a) NCERT books

• Contemporary World Politics—NCERT class XII

(b) Other books

• The chapters on Foreign Policy should be read from India’s Foreign Policy (Since Independence) by V.P. Dutt (NBT Publication). It covers issues such as Principles and Objectives of India’s foreign policy, Look East policy (Now Known as ‘Act East Policy’), Look West policy (now known as ‘Link West Policy’), nuclear doctrine, Panchsheel pact, Gujral doctrine, etc. which help in understanding the background of India’s foreign policy.



• Regularly visit the website of Ministry of External Affairs. The website contains the elements of the latest foreign policy announcements and steps taken by the Govt. of India and highlights visits of The President of India and the Prime Minister to other nations. • International Organisations by Sahitya Bhawan Publication, Agra • Newspaper articles and news items from The Hindu • World Focus, The Frontline carries good articles on international relations



C h a p t e r

12

Tackling General Studies Paper—III

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. -Albert Einstein

About G.S. paper—III The General Studies paper III, according to the syllabus, covers the subjects Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management. Like the other two GS papers, this one too contains diverse topics, has a large syllabus, and is more dynamic and current affairs oriented. A analysis of the syllabus that GS paper III is more technical unlike the other two GS papers. Based on the nature of questions and the specified syllabus, the preparation for this paper can be subdivided into the following six categories: (a) Economy and Economic Development (b) Agriculture (c) Science and Technology (d) Environment, Ecology and Bio-diversity (e) Disaster Management and (f) Internal Security. Some aspirants presume Disaster Management to be a branch of environment, and hence do not separately prepare for it. Such an approach is damaging. Disaster management should be considered as a separate subject and also covered sufficiently. It is clear that the Economy and Economic Development is the most important subject and nearly 35% of questions arise out of it. Internal Security is the next important subject, followed by Agriculture, Science and Technology, Environment, Ecology & Bio-diversity, and Disaster Management. Analysis of the Syllabi Economy and Economic Development

Introduction Economy is the most important subject of GS paper III. A good thing about this subject is that there are quite a few books that covers a major portion

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of what needs to be studied. But Economy is a dynamic and ever changing subject. What is relevant in a year may not be pertinent in the next year’s examination. So, here are some guidelines

Growth and Resource Mobilisation

• Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development, and employment. • Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

The Budget

• Government budgeting.

Investment and Infrastructure

• Infrastructure, energy, ports, roads, airports, railways, etc. • Investment models.

Liberalisation

• Effects of liberalisation on the economy, changes in industrial policy, and their effect on industrial growth.

Remark The economy is the backbone of a country's overall development. So naturally, this subject is very important from the entire examination point of view. Agriculture

Introduction The Agriculture is quite a significant subject from the perspective of the examination. Previous years’ trends show that every year nearly three questions worth 30 to 40 marks arise from it. Although all the books on economy incorporate a separate chapter on agriculture, yet they do not sufficiently cover what is happening in the current scenario, the latest challenges, and the problems plaguing this sector.

E-Technology in aid of farmers

• E-Technology in the aid of farmers, Technology Missions

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Food processing industry

• Food processing and related industries in India—scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. • Storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints. • Economics of animal-rearing.

Land reforms • Land reforms in India. Minimum support price (MSP) • Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; public distribution system—objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security. Irrigation • Different types of irrigation and irrigation systems. Science and Technology (S&T)

Introduction The subject science and technology (S&T) has contributed three to four questions in the past years. It is the most significant area of study from the examination point of view, it is not a technical subject where prior knowledge from the science stream is necessary, unlike the other two subjects (Economy and Agriculture) where a reasonable portion of study can be done from the standard textbooks. S & T calls for a close follow up of the current issues in news. Although there are a few books on this subject, one cannot wholly depend on them as the current and the latest developments may not be covered in these books. Awareness • Science and Technology—Developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. • Awareness in the fields of IT, space, computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and issues relating to intellectual property rights (IPR). Indian Achievements • Achievements of Indians in science and technology; indigenisation of technology and developing new technology.

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Remark Science & Technology has been mentioned only in the Mains syllabus, but some questions from this subject are also asked in the preliminary examination. Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity Introduction In present times, environmental issues have always been in the news. As a result, environment, ecology and biodiversity is a very important subject and comparatively more predictable from the examination point of view. According to previous years trends, two to three questions have figured from this subject in GS paper III.

Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity • Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental  impact assessment. Remark In the light of the present policies of the government of India, this subject is very important. Disaster Management

Introduction The subject of Disaster Management (DM) is often perceived to be a part of Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity. However this is not so, although, there may be some sectors overlapping in the study of both the topics.

Disaster Management

• Types of disasters, disaster management: ways and means, Govt paraphernalia, capacity building.

The syllabus can be further subdivided as follows:

a. b. c. d.

Types of disasters Causes of disasters How disasters can be prevented Disaster management—risk reduction, response and recovery— rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction. e. Institutional framework to fight disasters—NDMA, SDMA, NDRF, SDRF, CMG, NCMC etc.



Tackling General Studies Paper—III  12.5



f. Role of various agencies in disaster management—Central govt, state govt, district level authorities etc.



g. Capacity Building for Disaster management—Equipment, Training etc.

Remark This subject has been added for the first time in the main examination. Besides some questions based on factual knowledge, there may be some questions based on situations as well. Internal Security

Introduction I n the GS paper III, Internal Security is the second important topic after economy. Five questions have come from this topic in the past years. The syllabus of Internal Security is well defined and questions appearing in the previous years are largely as per the syllabus. The syllabus of the Internal Security must be kept in mind during its preparation.

Terrorism

• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. • J&K extremism, north-east extremism, hinterland terrorism and emerging threat from ISIS.

Naxalism

• Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

Cyber security and social media

• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security and challenges and basics of cyber security.

Organised crime & money laundering

• Linkages of organised crime with terrorism. • Money-laundering and its prevention.

Security forces

• Various security forces and agencies and their mandate.

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Border Management

• Security challenges and their management in border areas.

Remark This part has also been added for the first time. In the light of the challenges of terrorism, naxalism and other issues, this topic may emerge as an important subject in the Mains. Analysis of previous years questions Since the change of pattern by UPSC, questions have been asked from the following topics of the syllabus • E-technology in the aid of farmers. • Economics of animal rearing. • Awareness in the fields of robotics. • Mandate of security forces (AFSPA) In the previous years’ papers, we can notice that quite a few direct or indirect questions have been asked from Economic Survey e.g. Importance of Skill India in success of Make in India, DBT (In context of JAM trinity) etc. Now the focus appears to be on current issues e.g. Digital Armed force (2015), National Water Policy versus Ganga Pollution (2013) and Namami Gange Project (2015). Some other questions in the Economy section relate to these topics—Fiscal responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, GST in India etc. In the Science & Technology section, UPSC has been asking ‘critique’ type questions, e.g. achievements of Indians in S & T, and indigenisation of technology, IRNSS programme etc. Graphical Representation

Economy and Economic Development Note  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks from year 2013 to 2015 topic wise.



• Growth: Number of questions increased continuously. • Budget: This is an important section in the new pattern. • Liberalisation: In 2015, questions related to this sector were not asked. • Infrastructure, Investment: UPSC’s focus shifted from Road, Investment/PPP towards special economic zone (SEZ).



Tackling General Studies Paper—III  12.7



• Total: Economy as a subject declined to make place for Agriculture and Food Processing.

Graphical Representation

Agriculture in GS Mains Paper-3

12.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of topic-wise marks from year 2013 to 2015

Land Reforms: No questions were asked from this section since 2014. Cropping: No questions asked by UPSC since change of pattern. MSP-PDS: Declining number of questions. E-Tech in aid: Question asked first time in 2015. Food Processing: Questions are regularly asked. Total: The number of questions asked in this section have increased rapidly. Graphical Representation

Science & Technology, Environment and Disaster Management

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks topic-wise from year 2013 to 2015.

Science and Tech: Broad questions asked from this section. Sci.Tech (Indian): UPSC moving towards questions with positive themes about India. Environment: Focus on two major areas such as Water and Energy. Disaster: One question comes each year from this subject. Total: Each year approximately 30% questions of the total questions in GS III come from Science & Technology.

Tackling General Studies Paper—III  12.9



Graphical Representation

(Internal Security in GS Mains Paper-3)

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicate total number of marks topic wise from year 2013 to 2015.

Extremism: All three major topics such as left wing extremism (LWE), ISIS, AFSPA asked by UPSC since 2013. Border: Questions have been asked regularly. Cyber Security: Questions are asked on the basis of current events. Money Laundering: Now this section has disappeared from examination. Total: Each year 50 to 60 marks questions are asked from this subject. Suggested reading Economy

(a) NCERT books

• Indian Economic Development Class XI (New NCERT) • India’s Economic Development Class XII (Old NCERT) • India: People and Economy Class XII (New NCERT), Read only syllabus related chapters.

(b) Other books

• Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh • Indian Economy by S Maitra • Indian Economy: Performance & Policy by Uma Kapila

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• Issues in Development & Planning by Uma Kapila • Economic Survey of India (Read thoroughly)

Remark Aspirants are advised to begin their preparation with the above mentioned NCERT books. Both the books written by Uma Kapila are well suited for GS paper III. Agriculture

(a) NCERT books • •

Indian Economic Development Class XI (New NCERT) Read only Chapter-2 India: People and Economy Read only Chapter-5

(b) Other books • Economic Survey: Chapter on Agriculture • Report on State of Indian Agriculture. • PIB Website, section on agriculture in The Hindu, and Yojana, Kurukshetra magazines Science & Technology

(a) NCERT books • Science Class IX (New NCERT) Read only Chapter 14 & 15 (Natural Resources & Improvement in Food Resources) • Science Class X (New NCERT) Read only Chapter 14, 15 & 16 (Sources of energy, Our Environment and Management of Natural Resources.) • Chemistry Class XI, (New NCERT) Volume III Read Unit 14: Environmental Chemistry • Biology Class XII (New NCERT) Volume II Read only Unit VIII, IX, X (Biology in Human Welfare, Biotechnology & Ecology.) (b) Other books • Developments in Science and Technology by Spectrum Publication • Science and Technology by Access Publishing • Science Reporter Published by CSIR • Science and Technology, Thursday Supplement page of The Hindu. • Websites of PIB, ISRO, DRDO, NASA etc.

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Remark Aspirants are advised to begin their preparation with the selected chapters of NCERT as mentioned above. These chapters are to give only a basic understanding of science and technology. For details always visit the relevant websites. Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity

(a) NCERT books • • •

Science Class X (New NCERT) Read only Chapter 15, Our Environment Chemistry Class XI (New NCERT) Read only Unit 14, Environmental Chemistry Biology Class XII (New NCERT) Read only Unit X, Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity

Remark Aspirants are advised to read the old NCERT of Biology Class XII very carefully (You may not get this book in the market, so please download it from the website of NCERT)

(b) Other books • Environment by Shankar IAS Academy, Chennai • Environment and Ecology by Majid Husain • India: State of Forest Report (ISFR) from the website of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change Disaster Management The UPSC syllabus only specifies the following topic ‘Disaster and Disaster Management’. This does not however elucidate the domain of study required in this subject. • Challenges to Internal Security of India by Ashok Kumar, IPS Read only Chapter XII, Disaster Management. • NDMA guidelines from its website. • Yojana edition on Disaster Management

Remark There is lot of content on disasters in print media and the internet. You should try to prepare the topic from various sources. You should specially prepare on last three years’ disasters in India.

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Internal Security • Challenges to Internal Security of India by Ashok Kumar, IPS Read this book very carefully for appropriate knowledge of Internal Security. • Website of Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (www.idsa.in)

Remark There is no need to purchase many books for this subject. These above mentioned study materials are more than sufficient to give you a background. For detailed analysis of current issues, you need to regularly read relevant articles in newspapers.

C h a p t e r

13

Tackling General Studies Paper—IV

Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value -Albert Einstein

About G.S. paper—IV The GS paper IV is a completely new paper in the civil services examination which has been added since the change of pattern in 2013. This is a very important and pertinent addition to the GS syllabus. A civil servant’s moral ethics and aptitude is put to test in almost all aspects of his/her duty. It is only appropriate that the prospective civil servants should have an indepth knowledge and understanding of, ethics, integrity and aptitude. The GS paper IV is not a fact intensive subject where one has to remember many facts, figures and principles. It requires understanding of basic issues pertaining to ethics, integrity and aptitude, and also other bureaucratic and social values. The GS paper IV is more rewarding in terms of marks. Last three years trend shows that the successful aspirants in top rank are able to score 100 to 120 marks in this paper, which is quite high as compared to remaining three GS papers. According to the above analysis, we can definitely say that the paper gives a greater output (in terms of marks) with lesser input (in terms of time and effort). Therefore, we should make our best efforts in this paper, as a small compromise in efforts may cause a sharp decline in marks. A Few important points regarding GS IV

• The UPSC designates the name Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for the paper. What does it mean?. Should we start making notes of all the terms and terminologies, views and ideas of thinkers and philosophers, psychological theories related to attitude and aptitude, principles of governance? But the last three years’ pattern

13.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination





of questions shows that aspirants need not study complex ethical terminologies and heavy philosophical stuff. • You are expected to know only what is needed to handle day to day ethical dilemmas of an administrative job. You should not start memorising quotes, thinkers etc. just to impress the examiner. The Examiner is looking for your understanding and your point of view on a specific issue or situation. There is however no harm in quoting one or two famous thinkers once or twice in your answers. You should focus more on a practical and logical writing style rather than a complex philosophical approach. The examiner is looking for your views, your ideas, how you handle the dilemmas and not your knowledge on philosophers. • Another important point is that you should not appear to be preaching morality in your answers. Your ethical beliefs should automatically reflect in your answers.

Analysis of the syllabi While analysing the syllabus, one can notice four different aspects of the subject Ethics—philosophical, psychological, governance related and sociological. The philosophical part deals with moral values and ethics and various philosophers across the world and great moral thinkers and leaders of India, while the psychological part of the syllabus consists of Attitude, Aptitude and Emotional Intelligence; the governance part deals with civil services value, ethics in public administration and probity in governance, while the role of family, society and educational institutions can be called sociological. While going through the question papers of 2013, 2014 and 2015, it is evident that UPSC has focused more on the practical aspects of ethics. It does not want the paper to become a paper of philosophy or psychology or public administration or sociology. A candidate with clarity on various concepts and issues of Ethics will answer the questions better than the one who has gone deep into philosophy and psychology. The syllabus is however detailed and exhaustive, aspirants must go through it carefully. You need to ensure that all topics that are enlisted are duly covered. In this paper, UPSC’s specific instructions are this paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his/her problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him/her in dealing with society. Questions may utilize the case study approach to determine these aspects. The aspirants should keep the above instructions in mind before starting their preparation.



Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.3

Philosophy

Ethics and Human Interface • Essence, determinants and consequences of ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. • Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the rest of the world. • Human values—lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators. Sociology

Ethics and Human Interface • Role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values. Psychology

Attitude • Content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. Aptitude and Foundational Values for Civil Service • Integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections. Emotional Intelligence • Concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. Governance/Public Administration

Public/Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration • Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance. • Ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance. Probity in Governance • Concept of public service; philosophical basis of governance and probity; information sharing and transparency in government, Right

13.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

to Information (RTI), Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilisation of public funds, challenges of corruption.

Remark An important feature is that this paper does not constitute part of a standard university level subject such as History, Geography and Philosophy etc. Different segments of this paper have been taken from different subjects like Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology and Public Administration. Some questions in part A of this paper may be based on theoretical knowledge, whereas part B involving Case Studies is purely based on practical life events and the attempt will be to judge the ethical standards and values of the aspirants through their answers. Detailed Syllabus Since the syllabus is new, an attempt is made to define the syllabus topicwise

(a) Essence of Ethics • Definition, purpose served by ethics, significance in human lives, ethics, morality & values (difference) • Ethics v/s laws, principles, norms & rules. • Conscience, Social norms, Religion and Ethics. • Objective and Subjective ethics. • Meta-ethics (assumptions behind ethics), comparison with Darwin’s theory of evolution. • Self-interest v/s interest of others. • Ultimate goal of human life, cardinal human virtues, evaluation of human actions. (b) Dimensions of Ethics • Ethics in personal life, public sphere ethics, international ethics. • Bio-ethics. • Media ethics, environmental ethics, cyber ethics. (c) Determinants of Ethics • Micro-determinants, macro-determinants, responsibility of moral agents, freedom of will, moral consciousness. • Human rights, self-defence, majority interest v/s minority interest, societal interest v/s individual interest. • Love as the existential basis for moral order, constant v/s dynamic morality, humanism.

Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.5



(d) Consequences of Ethics in human actions • Criteria for evaluation, mental act v/s physical act, psychological suffering inflicted v/s physical suffering. • Suffering of animals v/s happiness for mankind, self-defence, majority interest v/s individual interest. • Societal interest v/s individual interest, double effects of actions (Both positive and negative). (e) Ethics in private and pubic relations • Public life values, handling dilemmas in both (private and public relations). • Values in private relations. Moral thinkers



• Western thinkers (just be familiar), Indian thinkers (don’t get into too many details). • Understand the significance of their ideas.

Human Values—Lessons from lives of great leaders • Ethics in indian philosophy. • Ethics in Buddhism, Jainism and others. • Ethics during Bhakti movement like Kabir, Guru Nanak etc. • Gandhian ethics. • Vivekananda, Kautilya, Dayanand Saraswati, Raja Ram Mohan Roy etc. Attitude

• Content, structure, functions. • Its influence and relation with thought and behaviour, negative social attitudes. • Factors influencing attitude change, implications of individual’s attitude, attitude shaping factors.

Attitude and social influence • Social facilitation, social loafing, social identity, pro-social behaviour. • Inter-group conflict, art of persuasion, cooperation v/s competition approach. Factors that affect behaviour, group behaviour Moral and Political Attitude • Fundamental moral attitudes, perspectives, political attitudes.

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Aptitude and values for civil services • Foundational values- Definition and significance. • Competency framework for administration, other values and concepts. Emotional Intelligence • Definition, significance, traits of emotionally intelligent people. • Role of Emotional Quotient (E.Q.) v/s I.Q. • Utility and application of EI in administration and governance. Accountability and Ethical Governance • Instruments of accountability, Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct. • All-India Service Rules, strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, obstacles to ethical accountability. Values/Ethics in Public Administration • Laws and rules, role of constitutional values. • Conscience, administrative ethics in Indian history and scriptures. • Status and problems, issues with principles, ethical concern (public/ private institutions). Strengthening Moral and Ethical Values in Governance • Right training, right recruitment, media accountability, code of conduct and ethics. • Any other ideas that you may have, participatory governance, citizen’s charter, RTI. Corporate Governance and Issues • Definition and concept, values involved, basic structure and process of companies. • Related government bodies, basics of Companies Act, issues in corporate governance. • Recent scams, corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Ethics in International Relations and Funding • Competition and inequality between nations—defence, trade, environmental degradation etc. • Conditional Aids, skewed governance structures of international organisations, internet governance, state- sponsored terrorism. Probity in Governance • Probity, concept of public service, codes of ethics.



Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.7



• Information sharing and transparency in government, philosophical basis of governance and probity. • Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, work culture. • Utilisation of public funds, quality of service delivery.



Corruption • Exact definition, roots and causes of corruption, institutions to fight corruption. • Issue of constitutional protection to civil servants, whistleblowers, reforms to tackle corruption. Case Studies based on these issues Case studies are normally related to ethical dilemmas. The field of case studies could be unlimited. Given below are a few such areas for case studies





• Organised crime, Extremism and terrorism, communalism (riots etc.) • Migration, unemployment, tribal issues, inequality across several dimensions. • Corruption, criminalisation of politics, lack of participatory governance (especially Youths). • Quality of education and research, untouchablity in rural regions, reservation, elite bias in policies, politics and administration. • Environmental degradation issues, uneven and unplanned urbanization, regional imbalance, land acquisition related issues, mal-Governance, gender issues, degradation of moral values by Cinema, TV etc. • Brain drain, disaster management, fisherman issues, NGOs and stalling of development. • Reforms in Indian Police, red-tapism, ineffective implementation of schemes.

Analysing previous years’ questions According to previous years analysis, we can say that the GS paper IV contains nearly 14 questions all of which are compulsory. The paper is divided into two Sections—Section A and Section B.

Section A Section A of the paper contains questions worth 120 to 125 marks and this section tests the aspirant’s theoretical understanding of the topics of the syllabus. The questions may be asked to elucidate of the concepts of the terms such as integrity, voice of conscience, perseverance, commitment, probity in governance, emotional intelligence, accountability, etc.

13.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Some questions asked by in this paper are related to the values as reflected in the teachings and lives of great moral thinkers, philosophers, etc. Some questions require elaboration of ethical or moral values as contained in some famous quote of a philosopher, thinker, etc. Some examples of previous years questions are as follows: “There is enough on this earth for every one’s need but for no one’s greed.” (Mahatma Gandhi, 2013). “The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” (2015). Some questions may ask aspirants to dwell upon a social issue in an ethical context, viz. There is a heavy ethical responsibility on the public servants because they occupy positions of power, handle huge amounts of public funds, and their decisions have wide-ranging impact on society and environment. What steps have you taken to improve your ethical competence to handle such responsibility? 2014)

Section B Section B of GS Paper IV contains five to six Case Studies, each of 20 to 25 marks. The Case Studies put a practical situation in which one’s role is defined. The situation puts up an ethical and moral dilemma to the aspirants as to what correct course of action is to be adopted within the practical and situational constraints. Case Studies will be on ethical issues usually involving contemporary problems like Brain drain, reforms in Indian Police, land acquisition issues, disaster management and administrative skills and freedom of speech etc.

Graphical Analysis (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) Section-A and B

Note  The numerical values on the bars indicates total number of marks topic-wise from year 2013 to 2015.



Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.9

Philosophical  In this section the questions are asked by UPSC to test the aspirants ethical and moral approach and their knowledge about great moral thinkers/philosophers of India and world. Sociology  Generally the questions in this section test the aspirants’ social values. Psychology  All the questions are related to Judge the aspirants attitude and emotional intelligence. Public Administration  This is the most important portion of syllabus in section A. maximum questions have been asked from this portion every year. Section A of the GS Paper IV contains a total of 120 to 130 marks. Case Studies (Section-B) The Section B of GS Paper IV contains five to six case studies each of 20 to 25 marks. In this paper, there are no standard books for preparation from the examination point of view. Aspirants should read especially government reports on ethics and integrity and books and articles which bring out facts about life of great men and values, principle and ethics which they stood for, some of these reports and books are given below. However, it is not an exhaustive list of all what can be read. Even reading a few of such books or reports brings clarity as to what are these ethical values. We are mention some useful books which should be fruitful for the aspirants from the examination point of view.

(a) NCERT books • Psychology New NCERT Class XI (Read only chapter 3, 4 and 9) • Psychology NEW NCERT Class XII. Read only chapter 6 and 7 of this book Aspirants need not go into details of these chapters, they need to just grasp the central theme. (b) Other books • You can also read the material of IGNOU related to ethics. • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude: G Subba Rao and PN Roy Chowdhury • Good Governance: G Subba Rao and PN Roy Chowdhury • Lexicon by Chronicle Publication (It is a short and precise book on the topic) • For moral and political attitude, a general reading on internet should be sufficient. Just understand the determining factors and their implications for our polity and society.

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• Ethical concerns in public administration by IGNOU. • Probity in governance: The questions from this topic will be based mostly from current events; you need not read too much material for this. You may be asked to give opinion on current administrative problems and dilemmas, e.g. whistleblowers. • For Ethical issues in International Relations, read IGNOU Chapter-1 International Ethics (This is more than sufficient to understand the concepts and related issues.) • For corporate governance, the most important is current issues e.g. Shardha Scam, Supreme Court’s decision on Sahara issue, Satyam case, New Companies Act, 2013 and New SEBI guidelines etc. You should make notes of major corporate governance related issues from newspapers. • For corporate governance topic, you can also see the relevant pages from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (Govt. of India) website. • Topic of Corruption has been dealt comprehensively in 2nd ARC report. You can read this topic from here. • Ethics in governance from second ARC Report. (Only read the chapters Introduction and Ethical framework, and Code of Conduct). Aspirants can go through some portions of the second ARC’s report-



(a) Questionnaire on Ethics in governance. (b) Questionnaire on Civil Services Reforms. (c) Reforms in Governance and Administration.

Very important and relevant questions are there in these questionnaires which can be asked in UPSC mains.

Remark There is no need to purchase many books for this Paper. The above mentioned study materials and book are more than sufficient for this. Tackling Case Studies Introduction Section B of the question paper comprises Case Studies. Each case study deals with a real life situation, which describes who you are and what the situation is. For example, e.g. you are a District Magistrate dealing with public work, a chief executive officer in an MNC dealing with the launch of a product.

Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.11



What is Expected of You?. As per UPSC, this paper would test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues related to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. In other words, UPSC is looking for an ethical person with impeccable integrity, with a positive attitude towards life, who solves problems and not the one who gets entangled into problems or who creates new problems. What are Case Studies? Case studies are basically scenarios which present realistic and complex situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict or a problem, which needs to be resolved. The case study puts the candidates in the role of a decision maker or an administrator facing a real life situation. A case study presents some of the facts that have to be faced in real life situations. They bridge the gap between theory and practice, between academics and workplace. Case studies in GS paper IV often present a policy situation to be solved, ethical dilemma to be resolved. Based on facts of the case study, a thought process starts with possible outcomes. In some case studies, a few options may be given to you, asking you to analyse the relative merits and demerits of all of them and select the one most appropriate in the given situation. In some others questions, the candidate is required to come up with various alternatives and specify which one is the most appropriate. Case Studies may be related to contemporary issues. My advice regarding this section is that you should refer to the previous years’ question papers for case studies. Try to solve these many times. Then you can get these case studies evaluated from some serving or retired bureaucrat. That will give you a fair idea of the key issues involved and the way to approach the case studies. Usually every case study has at least one key issue involved and they could be related to

• • • •

Corruption Administrative issues Ethical dilemmas Personality traits

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Relevance of Case Studies in UPSC

1. Case studies help in making an accurate judgment about candidates’ personality and suitability for civil services. 2. Case studies provide a good way to judge candidates’ attitude and suitability for civil services. 3. Case studies gives an idea to candidates about the nature of civil services job. 4. Case studies test the decision making power of the candidates, apart from testing their mental alertness.

Case studies thus provide an active way to judge the overall personality of the candidates, including their aptitude, psychology, attitude etc. and whether the person is suited to the civil services job or not. Types of Case Studies

1. Value based case studies Such questions are meant to test your inherent values and ethics ingrained in you 2. Opinion based case studies Such questions are meant to test your attitude through knowing your opinion in various situations 3. Situation based case studies Here you have to respond to a situation as a common citizen. Such questions would test your aptitude and approach towards social issues 4. Decision making based case studies Here you have to respond to a situation as a decision maker. How to Deal with Case Studies In this chapter what is expected of a candidate is that amongst various options available, he or she will choose the best option, which invariably should be the most ethical option. 1. Positive attitude 2. Problem solving attitude 3. Chose the most ethical option that should come to you naturally.  Once we go through a case study, we can easily identify the core issues. Somewhere it is a question of spending public money, somewhere it is about responsibility and accountability, and somewhere it is a conflict between professional ethics and personal comforts. Once the core issues have been identified, then we have to recognise various options and evaluate these taking into consideration different points of view.



Tackling General Studies Paper—IV  13.13

Some useful tips for tackling Case Studies









• Have in-depth understanding of all the ethical issues, and find out the core issues involved in a particular case study e.g. honesty, accountability, transparency etc. and then take the final decision. • Examine the options available and various possible courses of actions to be considered in such a situation. List all the options available and examine them one by one. Identify what is the most ethical course of action. • Be sure that your stand has to be most ethical always. There should be no confusion, doubt or dilemma in your mind on this count. • Take into account the circumstances of a decision; if a particular decision was taken under some constraints, then it might affect our approach. • Once we have identified the most ethical option, we should try to consider its impact—short term as well as long term impact. We have to see that the overall impact confirms to the motto, and purpose of a Civil servant, which is undoubtedly public interest. • Be sure that your approach is practical. Solve the problem and not create new ones. • Be sure that your stand has to be in public interest. • Learn to make a difference between error of judgment and intentional mistake. • Read the case study very carefully and understand the requirements i.e. what is the situation, what is your role etc. Read it twice or even thrice before answering. We should answer strictly as per the question asked. • Our approach has to be completely objective and free from personal biases and personal interests. • Our approach has to be flexible and not rigid, but remember no flexibility on ethical front, no compromises with honesty, integrity and other ethical values. • Sometimes there is no single right answer. Your answer should have proper justification. Remember, what you answer is important, but equally important is how you justify your answer/option.

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14

The Art of Essay Writing Never say more than is necessary Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Introduction

An essay can be defined as a short and complete piece of writing on an issue. It is vital to understand that an essay is a reflection of one’s personality: ideas, views, analysis, assessment and inferences, values, attitude, aptitude, orientation and communication abilities, all the expected personality qualities that the Civil Services selection process looks for. The essay paper in the civil services main examination i s like any other paper equally crucial in determining the final outcome/selection and ranking. It is decisive because there is no specialisation in an essay and so no aspirant can claim expertise, unlike the optional subjects. What is the requirement of UPSC In the words of the UPSC

Candidates will be required to write an essay on a specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression. There is no singular source from which one can prepare for the essay paper, nor is there any syllabus. The expectation is more on how to present the ideas than the nature of the ideas per se. Both the above points pose a definite challenge. We shall try to identify the main characteristics of a good essay. What is expected from a good Essay

An essay should compulsorily have the following

14.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



Relevant information—close to the subject Complete information—should cover all aspects of the subject Should be concise—should not contain irrelevant material Structured in an orderly manner—should not be written haphazardly 5. Expressed coherently and effectively—there should be a continuous flow 1. 2. 3. 4.



6. Clarity of expression—language can be simple but clarity is a must



7. Balance between logic and emotions



8. A good introduction and a good conclusion—which gives proper shape to the essay



9. Legible handwriting—so that the examiner doesn’t have to make extra efforts to read it.

10. Personal Touch—It should have the writer's personal touch. How to write a good essay

An essay has mainly 3 parts Introduction

The introduction is the opening part of the essay and should be confined to a paragraph. This is expected to put the topic in front of the examiner, and wherever necessary, explain the central theme or idea, basic or core concepts. The introduction should arouse the interest and curiosity of the examiner/reader. We should therefore spend some quality time for introduction. Main Body

The main text of the essay must develop, support and explain the main ideas of your essay. It deals with the topic and related issues to be addressed, the correlation of facts, figures, ideas, views and concepts; systematic and coherent analysis based on the topic leading to logical inferences. First we should cover the topic by explaining one idea in one paragraph. After our main topic is covered, then we should go for its pros and cons paragraph-wise. Also, we should go 360 degree and add other dimensions to the topic which are relevant. Conclusion

The conclusion or the summary should express the essence of the essay. it should not contain any fresh evidence, facts or figures. The conclusion



The Art of Essay Writing  14.3

should emerge out of the essay, it should not be something written just for the sake of writing a good conclusion in flowery language. Stages of writing the essay Selecting the Topic

This is the first and foremost stage of Essay writing. Sometimes the topic that we chose at first look may not be the best, though it may be tempting. We should spend some amount of time in selecting the topic. We should go for the topic for which we have more ideas, facts and figures to support the ideas and more analytical material. Once we have selected the topic after due deliberations, it is even more important to stick to your choice and believe in it! Don’t think of changing the topic in the middle of the examination. That would do more harm than good. Brainstorming and making a Draft Outline and Bulleted Points

Once a topic is chosen, one of the better ways to approach the essay paper is to start with a draft / rough version of your essay. It should be done on the back pages of your answer sheet. The first draft can be in the form of bulleted points, which will take the shape of paragraphs in the later stage. In this stage we should let our mind think freely about the topic and start jotting down everything and anything that gets in to your mind about the topic. This can be called brainstorming. You should keep collecting all the ideas that you can think of. To get more ideas we should put questions in the form of What, Why, How, When, Where, for whom etc. and try to answer these questions, which will give us various dimensions of the topic. It is easy to think of ideas by thinking of questions. Prioritising and structuring

Once you are sure that enough ideas are noted, think of a possible conclusion that you want to end the essay with. Your conclusion is a very important item in your essay. Take good time to think of it and form a conclusion. Now, from the points that you drafted before, prioritise and organise the ideas/points according to the conclusion you decided upon. Some of those points could be used in favour of the conclusion; others could be used against the conclusion. Your structure should be

First you should give basic facts about the topic para-wise. Later on you should make it analytical by writing various points of view and writing

14.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

their pros and cons. Finally, different ideas should be structured sequentially, cohesively and more logically. Lateral Thinking or 360 Degree Thinking

This is another important part of our essay. After the topic has been covered, we should think 360 degree, think in all directions and look for the linkages of our topic with various other fields. Here we should be multidimensional and multidisciplinary in our approach. Finally, Writing it down

All the above steps should take you about 30 to 40 minutes. Once you did the steps above, you are ready to write the essay in its final form. Elaborate the points that you have already written in the rear side of t h e answer sheet, in the draft. Make it a logical flow. Even if you come across a very good point while writing, that you haven’t noted in the draft, and if it is disturbing the flow of essay, then avoid writing it because it is very important to maintain the logical flow of ideas in your essay! You should know your writing speed. If you know your speed correctly, you will know how much time you can afford for drafting and prioritising the ideas and how much time you need for writing them down. If you are a slow writer, you should give yourself enough time to write, so that you can finish the essay in time, or with some 10-15 minutes left, so that you can make some final corrections. Rectify grammatical mistakes if you can find them, it is important there are no spelling mistakes, so use the last f e w minutes to correct them, if any. Give a quick reading of the essay for making these corrections, underline as you read any of the sentences you want to highlight or want the examiner’s concentration to be upon. some general Tips on Essay Writing

Your essay should be holistic and should cover all aspects of the issue.  It should exhibit your various skills – knowledge of the subject, analytical skills, writing skills, time management skills and presentation skills. • Good handwriting:  It is always an advantage as it makes the first good impression on the examiner. More importantly, a bad handwriting sometimes invites the wrath of the examiner as he has to strain himself to understand the writing.



The Art of Essay Writing  14.5

• No grammatical mistakes:  Such mistakes are an irritant and create a bad impression in the mind of the examiner. • Simplicity of language and clarity of expression:  This is a must as the purpose is to test your ideas, views, power of analysis and not to test your flowery language. • Writing small sentences:  No complex sentences. Writing ideas into small sentences is not so easy. We keep writing long sentences with lots of commas and many ifs and buts. Please practise to avoid these and instead use short and lucid sentences. Simple English and short sentences are suggested; they make your writing work easier as well as the work of the examiner before giving marks • Knowledge about the topic:  One is expected to have a holistic knowledge about the topic and should not miss out on the essentials. • Good analytical skills:  You cannot afford to write a superficial essay in UPSC. It has to have some analytical depth. • Inter-disciplinary approach:  We must do 360 degree thinking and link our essay to related disciplines. Water tight compartments are a thing of the past. An inter-disciplinary approach will make our essay more contemporary and relevant. • Contemporary relevance:  We must be updated on all aspects of the topic and relate it with contemporary issues as much as possible. • Balanced thinking:  The aspirants should avoid extremely opinionated views. We have the freedom of expression, but extreme views reflect lack of emotional balance in our personality. Sometimes we try to copy journalists’ ideas as we like them, and try to reproduce these ideas; it can be dangerous if the ideas are not conforming to the Constitution of India and it established laws and principles. • It is important to analyse previous year essay papers:  To find out the kind of topics that are being asked, you should try practising writing essays on each of the topics asked in previous years. • Your essay should cover all dimensions of the problem:  360° analysis of the topic, points of view of all the stakeholders. You should analyse all the pros and cons. • Honour the word limits:  You must stick to the prescribed word limits. A deviation beyond 10% might be held against you. • Language of the essay:  The language should be simple. Handwriting should be legible and reader-friendly. Our efforts should be to avoid negative impressions and negative marks.

14.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

• There should be a precise Conclusion:  Have a clear and logical conclusion to your essay. The conclusion should naturally emerge out of the main body of the essay. • Avoid extreme views:  Your approach should be a balanced one — you may discuss extreme views, but you should not support them. • Avoid circumventing the main theme:  Keep your focus on a central theme. Don’t beat about the bush. Don’t write superfluously just to show your knowledge.

C h a p t e r



15

Reading Skills and Improving Memory You are never alone when you’re reading a book Susan Wiggs

Introduction There are always a few people who are smarter when it comes to reading and remembering. But it is not just inherent; reading and memorising skills can be improved also. In this chapter we shall try to give few tips so that your comprehension becomes better along with memory retention and recall. You can thus reproduce the material in a more organised and analytical manner during the exams. Reading skills

• What all to read? • How to read? • At what speed to read? • How much repetition is required? If we improve our efficiency in all of the above, our overall efficiency will increase. Before we try to answer these questions, let’s know some basics about the science of learning. The science of learning Ability to Recall Information Learning is comprehension plus memorising. The ability to recall information is one measure of learning. When we can reproduce, only then we can say that we have learnt something. Our brain is like a computer, it has a short term memory and a long term memory and a permanent memory. Short term memory has very limited capacity and we keep forgetting old material as we read new material. Transferring short term memory to long term is the real task of learning. The process of learning can be divided into the following stages

15.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



• • • •

Reading Processing Storing Retrieval

How to Convert Short Term Memory to Long Term Memory A lot of material that we read remains only in our short term memory; it cannot be stored in long term memory unless we process it systematically in an organized manner. We can’t retrieve anything from our long term memory unless it is stored properly. We know that retrieving information from computer is easier if it is stored in various folders with proper tags etc. The same is the case with human memory. Therefore, whatever we are studying, it should be done with a high level of concentration, otherwise it won’t be processed properly and hence will not be stored.. It remains only in our temporary memory and gets washed away very soon. Secondly, unless we process and revise, very little material is stored and its retrieval is almost impossible. Therefore storage should also be scientific, then our retrieval will be better. As per a study, we remember only 47% after I hour 33 % after 1 day 25 % after 1 week 21 % after 1 month 5 % after 1 year We are left with only 5 % material during the exam time which will also be vague and hence unusable.

Reading Skills and Improving Memory  15.3



Therefore revision is a must for proper storage and retrieval. A simple table will explain the value of review/ revisionAfter time

remembered by students with no revision

remembered by students with revision

1 week

33 %

83%

9 weeks

14 %

70 %

In fact, we should review what we studied after a session of 2-4 hours and also at the end of the day. These two reviews will improve our retention considerably. With proper note taking techniques, each review will take very little time. Improving the Rate of Learning and Retention

Both the rate of learning and rate of retention can be improved with practice. A few important points are listed below 1. Understanding the new material  Whether a new concept will be stored or dumped will depend on our clarity, interest and revision. If we don’t understand the topic clearly, it is very vague in our mind and hence a clear and correct storage and memory is not possible. Therefore, it is better to recite or write in our own words, this will also ensure that we have understood the concept. 2. Evaluate, analyse, compare to improve retention  Once you have

raised questions and understood various aspects of the subject, recall will be significantly improved.

15.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

3. Thinking, writing and reciting  Short term memory is converted into long term memory through reciting or writing. As we write or recite, we are holding the idea in our mind for 4 to 5 seconds and this is what is required to convert it into long term memory. The more we revise through reciting or writing, the more the thought will go into a lasting, more easily retrievable memory. You could revise the topic in short breaks and then discuss it in your group during long term breaks like after dinner walk etc. 4. Visual memory  This is another way of encoding and storing information. In most of the cases visual/pictographic memory is better and it is easier to retrieve. Therefore 15 minutes of watching TV per day is advisable as this will be more long lasting. Other aids to visual memory can be like diagrams, table, pictures, cartoon, charts etc. 5. Change the subject to avoid fatigue, boredom  There are periods of slow learning which are inevitable; we should not worry about these. This could be due to several factors such as fatigue, loss of interest, boredom etc. B.F.Skinner and others have concluded that an average student can’t study the same subject efficiently for more than 4 hours. My advice would be to have one session of newspapers, current affairs per day, and 2 to 3 big sessions of 3-4 hours with different subjects. 6. Short breaks are necessary  For effective consolidation of material into memory storage, short breaks of 5 to 10 minutes per hour are required. Improving memory Techniques and Strategies Some techniques and strategies to improve your memory are given below

1. Organising and ordering the information  If we try to learn 50 random alphabets, we can’t remember them, but if we form a sentence of these 50 letters, it becomes easy. By organising and ordering and adding meaning to information, you can facilitate both storage and retrieval. 2. The funnel approach  This means learning general concepts before going in for specific details. When you understand the general subject, the details will make more sense. First store the general info, organise them as per previous knowledge and then go into details. 3. Organising through meaning and association  This can be further divided



Reading Skills and Improving Memory  15.5

(a) Deep processing  Relating the material to your surroundings or to past information/memories makes it easier to remember. (b) Grouping  You can organise material by grouping similar concepts or interlinking related ideas together. This will help in organising the information. (c) Making acronyms  You form acronyms by using first letter from a group of words to form a new word, like SCUBA, Self Contained Under Water Breathing Apparatus. Although acronyms are very useful memory aids, but they don’t help in comprehension. This should be used only when necessary. (d) Rhymes and Songs  Something can be remembered better by associating or singing them with a familiar song. (e) Chunking  In this you decrease the number of items you are holding in memory by increasing the size of each items. For example remembering 8 digit telephone number like 24107419 becomes easy when we make it like 24-10-74-19. (f) Talk it out  When trying to memorise something, many people find it very helpful to actually recite it loudly, though many others don’t find it useful. Some people avoid it out of fear of appearing foolish. Then it is better to recite or discuss in a group. Key Factors In Improving Memory

Interest In order to improve your ability to recognise and memorise new words and expressions you need to be  interested in and passionate about what you are doing. When you start learning a language; imagine the immense possibilities that speaking it would bring in terms of work, friendships, feelings. Emotions enhance memory. It is up to you to make this happen. Attention Concentration and attention are key factors in the learning process. In the internet era, concentration is diminished due to multitasking. So, I suggest you eliminate the music, radio, ipad, whatsapp facebook and all other potential distractions and focus on the task at hand. Comprehension We only learn what we can understand. Whenever you fully understand a sentence or a concept, you also understand its single parts and the con-

15.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

nections among them. An engineer who figures out how an electronic circuit works is more likely to understand its single components. The same goes for a language learner: if he understood a given sentence, he will remember the words better.

Consolidation and Revision Take the time to process and store information. One of the best and simplest ways to do this is simply to review what you have learned at regular intervals. Repeating something makes your brain realise that it might need that information and it helps you to fix that information in a much more effective way. Specific Reading Tips This ia a tough area for suggestions. However a few important ones are: 1. Concentration The main requirement when you sit for studying is total concentration. Without 100% focus, whatever time you spend on study will only get wasted. So ensure that you always have a pleasant environment tuned for a focused study. 2. Speed of Reading The speed of reading should be your natural speed so that you can comprehend the topic properly. If you speed up reading that does not suit you, there will be chances of topics getting mixed up in your mind. 3. Clarity of Understanding There are three levels of understanding in a topic Information level—First level, only superficial Knowledge level—Second level, deep understanding Wisdom level—Third level, comes with experience and time For crossing the civil services hurdle, we must be at the knowledge level. Mere knowing a subject will not do, we need to understand the topic in depth and should have analysing capability. Therefore, we should read for understanding the concepts, read for getting clarity, even if it takes more time. This exam is all about the basics with lot of clarity. The exam can be written well when the preparation is simple and the aspirant is very strong in basics with clarity. I have seen people trying to make notes, getting impressed by a newspaper article and trying to memorise it. It is not required, not at all.



Reading Skills and Improving Memory  15.7

What is required is that you should understand the topic well and have clarity about its different aspects. UPSC will never ask simple questions which can be reproduced from a text book. It tries to examine your comprehensive, analytical and other capabilities. So the answer has to be in your own words.

4. Try to Find Patterns Try to find patterns while reading. Read only one or two books for a certain topic/subject, do not read too many books for the same topics/subject. This way one can remember better. Look for side headings and try to summarise all that you read below the sub heading into it. The topics should be remembered in a logical and structured way for the exam. It should be understood that once you have done the topics in this comprehensive method through logical questioning, the preparation is over for that topic.

5. Discuss What you read with your friends or colleagues, you would be able to talk about a topic only when you understand it. Discussions help in looking at different aspects of the same topic, as discussions bring up new questions to clarify upon.

6. Revision Revising often what was read is required constantly. Revision also gives a different perspective of the same topic, gives better understanding. And to have this all happen, you have to read from same sources. It is always better to revise something already read than going for new topics or new books. One good way of revising is to solve questions or practise writing answers. It will recollect all that you read and also help in organising your ideas.

7. Remembering Statistical Data We have to back up our answer with statistical data many times. Be careful that we learn only important and useful statistics and not load ourselves with lot of data.

C h a p t e r

16

Improving Writing Skills

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time to write. Simple as that. Stephen King

Introduction We all know that there are some people who always score better than others who have same knowledge. Marks are not always proportional to your knowledge. They also depend upon your writing skills. What a good answer should have The examiner gives extra marks only when he is extra impressed by your answer. A few important points

• Answers should be to the point, we should answer only what has been asked and not beat about the bush. We need to read the question twice or thrice to ensure this. • It should be fact-based and logical and not based on emotions. • There should be no repetition • We should stick to the prescribed word limit, otherwise the message that goes is that you don’t care about the directions given to you. • Answers should be in simple language. The examiner wants to see what you know about the topic and not your language skills. Clarity is the most important thing required in an answer. Some people will be vague in their own minds, so their answer can’t be clear. Some people are clear about the answer but they write it in a format which lacks clarity: Both the situations are avoidable. • Don’t mix up many things at a time. Answer point by point as has been asked.

16.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



• It should be analytical wherever required. We should know the difference of various words—analyze, examine, compare, comment etc. and then answer strictly as per what has been asked. • It should be interesting. If the examiner gets bored while reading your answer, he/she is least likely to give good marks. • It should be in your own language. Don’t try to reproduce the language of newspapers or text books; examiner will come to know of it. Writing what you have understood about the subject, in your own words, is the best option.

precautions before you start writing Read the Paper Twice or Thrice First We are usually in a hurry to read the question paper as soon as we get it and start writing the answer at the earliest. We need to avoid this because a few minutes extra here will be very useful in selecting the questions and understanding them. We can answer better only when we know the question well. Understanding the Question and Its Different Shades A question relates to a topic, usually we start writing the answer as per our knowledge of the topic. At times it differs from what has been asked. We need to understand what has been asked about the topic and not what we know of the topic and then mould our answer accordingly. Different colours have many shades, so a question can be asked in many shades, with many nuances. We need to catch these nuances and answer accordingly. A simple example could be like this: A question asked is to analyse falling pulse production in India. We ignore the term ‘falling’ and start analysing pulse production in India. You can understand how much off the mark we shall be. Our emphasis in the answer will change and we will not get the best marks. Understanding the Key Words Many aspirants write the same answer for the words examine, analyse, critically examine, comment, discuss etc., but this is not correct as these words carry different meanings and the examiner is expecting a different answer. Commenting on the status of economy will be a little different than analysing the status of economy. Therefore, we have to understand the exact meaning of such words and answer accordingly.

Improving Writing Skills  16.3



Answering all the Parts of the Question Many times we forget to answer a part of the question. This is important to know how many subparts are there in the question and then answer each subpart separately, may be in a separate paragraph. Don’t make the Structure of the Answer Like an Essay I met an aspirant who was under the impression that our answer has to be like an essay and it should have an introduction, main body and conclusion like an essay. I completely disagree with this. Writing a normal answer is different from writing an essay. Here you are writing 20 answers in 3 hours while you write just one or two essays in 3 hours. Therefore, it is not advisable. It may lead to crossing the word limit. The examiner may feel irritated as there will be repetition within a short answer. Therefore my advice is that we should come straight to the answer and answer point wise. Understanding Key words Usually questions in UPSC have two parts—The first part is a kind of statement and second part is the actual question which is asked through key words like examine, analyse, comment, explain etc. Many of these key words have similar meaning but not exactly the same. There is a minor difference in their meaning and examiner expects the answer accordingly which many aspirants are not able to understand. Hence for civil services exam, understanding these key words becomes important. Usually, in UPSC simple, questions like write the reasons of fall of Mughal Empire, are not asked. Instead the UPSC style of question would be ‘do you agree that Aurangzeb’s policies were the sole major factor behind the fall of Mughal Empire? Critically examine’. Here we are supposed to have an opinion on the question and then support it with logic. While understanding key words, we have to know that all of them are not different; some of them are synonyms like explain, elaborate, elucidate etc. Three Types of Key Words Basically there are three types of key words:

1. Words which don’t require any analysis like introduce, differentiate, compare etc. 2. Words that require normal type of analysis like confirm, examine, comment, assess etc. Here you are supposed to answer with logic and a little analysis.

16.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



3. Words that require deep analysis like critically examine, critically analyse, critically assess etc. Here we need to go into deep analysis of the topic.

Some Key Words Used The Exam

1. Explain  We need to simply write details of the topic. We need to clearly explain the meaning of the topic to the examiner. 2. Elucidate/Elaborate  It literally means clarifying/explaining meaning of something. Therefore when asked to elucidate or elaborate, we have to explain the meaning of the topic. Hence we have to read in between the lines also and explain the topic with references and context. 3. Illustrate  Here we need to explain along with examples. We should give examples in support of every point. We can give examples from facts, incidents, statistical data or images etc. 4. Comment  Comment is basically our own comment about the topic. We don’t need to discuss both sides. Also we don’t need to give logic in support of our views. We only write our comments on the issue in question. 5. Analyse  We analyse a topic with all its pros and cons. We can break it up also into subtopics and then analyse subtopic wise. In analysis, we don’t need to give our view. We should be objective like a scientist while analysing. 6. Examine  We need to examine an issue from all angles. We have to take a decision also expressing our views at times, which should be supported by logic. This requires originality. 7. Discuss  Discuss is also like analysis, where we consider both sides of the issue, pros and cons, with logic. The difference is that analysis is more logic based while discuss is more in a discussion style, here we can give examples also. 8. Evaluate  We have to evaluate whether something is worth the value or not. We have to rate the value of various options. We should support our evaluation by examples and/or logic. 9. Assess  Assess is similar to evaluate. Here we can use some approximation; some guess work also, which should be closer to reality. 10. Identify  Here we don’t require examining or analysing. Only identification of whatever is known about a topic or a person is sufficient.



Improving Writing Skills  16.5

11. Define  We all know what defining is. We have to define the fact/topic along with its meaning. 12. Compare  Comparison is simple. We have to highlight the similarities and differences of the items/topics/ideas to be compared. 13. Sketch/paint  Just give details of the topic. We can use graphics also. 14. Bring out special features  Here we only write about the highlights. Only important aspects of the topic which are special, which stand out from the routine ones should be mentioned. 15. Justify/substantiate  Here we give logic in favour of given statements. We have to justify with logic and with examples. 16. Prove  Here again we produce logic in favour of an idea by logic and facts. But examples are not required. 17. Criticise  We have to act like a critique who sees both sides of a topic, e.g. movie critics or critics of a literary work. Usually UPSC does not ask to criticize in any question. Instead it asks lot of questions using ‘Critically examine, Critically analyse’ etc. 18. Critically examine/critically analyse  Wherever we add critically, it means we need to act like a critic and go deeper into various aspects of the topic. We have to highlight both sides, pros and cons, and examine or analyse all sides in detail as per requirement of the question.

C h a p t e r

17

Facing the Interview Board

What the UPSC Interview is all about? The Interview is the final part of the Civil Services Examination process. A few important aspects of the interview are:

1. It is a personality test: As per UPSC the objective is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for public services. 2. It is not a test of knowledge: The extent of the candidate's knowledge and analytical ability has already been tested exhaustively in the prelims and mains exam. 3. It is not a structured session: Your personality is instead assessed through a natural path of interaction. The target of the board is to assess your overall personality. Therefore you should present your natural self—what you are? What the interview board is looking for? he UPSC is looking for a positive personality who is going to serve T the public for the rest of his life. They want a person with an honest approach, sincerity of purpose and willingness to work hard. The qualities that are expected of a civil servant are:

1. Honesty and Integrity – Intellectual as well as moral 2. Positive attitude towards life 3. 5 Cs—Compassion —Conviction —Commitment —Courage —Confidence 4. A balanced personality, who can take balanced decisions 5. Mental Alertness (presence of mind)

17.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Awareness and concern for socio-economic issues Clear, cohesive and logical thinking with balance of judgment Ability to reason, to think critically and analytically Basic human qualities of humanity, humility, patience, maturity etc. Ability to work under pressure Basic human skills, communication skills, problem solving skills Decision making ability Leadership qualities

What the Board UPSC is not looking for sually the board would start with an average marks to every candidate, U which are usually 150 out of 275. It’s the candidate who earns negative or positive marks from his/her interaction. Therefore our first target should be to avoid negative marks as these could sometimes be drastically low. The most important thing is that the board should not trace any negative traits in your personality because if they trace any of the negative traits, they give drastically low marks. Sometimes, even 50 or 60, as they don’t want such a person to become a civil servant. An aspirant approached me in 2010 and told me that he qualified mains for the third time, but got 50, 60 marks in the interview in last two attempts. He was worried that he would get 60 marks again and would not get selected. I interacted with him for an hour and identified his problems. Firstly he felt that he lacked in factual knowledge. I convinced him that it was not so because if he lacked knowledge, he would not have qualified mains three times. His main problem was lack of confidence. He used to start every sentence with ‘May be’ implying that he was not sure of any answer. The board must have felt that this man is not sure about anything and he lacks confidence and hence would have given him drastically low marks two times. You can’t say that may be liberalisation is bad for the economy. Therefore our focus should be to eliminate negative traits from our personality. We shall try to identify some of these: Some Common Negative Personality Traits

1. Unethical person  Last thing that the board will like to do is to select an unethical person. UPSC is looking for a man of honesty and integrity. Therefore tutored responses by coaching centres also can invite the ire of the board. They can easily find out whether your response is natural or tutored, five persons giving same answer clearly indicates a tutored



Facing the Interview Board  17.3

response. Therefore it is not difficult to trace it. Tutored response gives the impression that you are trying to outwit the board. Therefore one should avoid such an approach.

2. Abnormal person  The board is looking for a balanced personality. Therefore, extremes are avoidable: from your dressing style, to your body language, to your views. Highly arrogant, argumentative, impatient, rigid persons will always attract very low marks. Similarly, persons with superiority or inferiority complex also show artificial/abnormal behavior. They don’t want abnormal persons, who are egoist, arrogant, rigid etc. 3. Emotionally imbalanced person  Aggressive views on a topic without understanding all aspects of the issue show a highly emotional personality (with poor emotional quotient), which can attract very low marks from the board. 4. A pessimistic person  UPSC would never like to have a pessimist person as a civil servant because such persons are usually critical about everything and they don’t see the positive side of life. They are usually frustrated and have negative attitude towards everything in life. 5. A Narrow minded person  The board expects a civil servant to be a person of liberal ideas and does not want fundamentalist or dogmatic people to enter the civil service. They expect that everyone should be above casteism, communalism, regionalism etc. 6. A person with many dilemmas and apprehensions  Coaching Centres create a kind of fear psychosis in the mind of aspirants and as a result they cannot remain their natural self. This affects their performance badly. It creates many dilemmas in their mind. Some of the examples of tutoring are:

• You should be diplomatic in tackling the issues in a given situation. • The way you enter the board decides half your marks • Precision of language is very important. Every word should be spoken with caution. • Once you have taken a stand, you should stick to your stand • You should rehearse response to standard questions

All these are ill advices, which creates a fear psychosis in aspirants mind, and are sure to affect your performance. It is best to be your natural self in all the above cases. I have seen candidates full of apprehensions, ‘if I speak this they will confront me or catch my bluff’, ‘Why I gave this preference—they will think that I want only money’ etc. These kinds of apprehensions fill your mind with negative thoughts and shake your confidence.

17.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

7. Prejudiced person with closed mind  Such persons are also not in the desired list of the board. Such kinds of persons sometimes make sweeping generalisations, which are completely avoidable. A man’s personality is a result of genetics and his or her upbringing – family, school, social environment. One should not feel that his personality cannot be changed . It is advised that one should honestly identify the avoidable /bad qualities and then start working on them. Surely you will overcome many of these avoidable personality traits. What to prepare I nterview is basically a personality test. The board assesses your overall personality, which can’t be changed overnight. It is what your personality is over the years. Preparation for the interview is not a single day affair, it’s a continuous process. There is no specific syllabus for the interview; the board could ask anything to assess your personality. Still the questions are mostly from four broad groups, which are mentioned below. One should prepare these topics thoroughly. A. Questions About You

1. Your name, it’s meaning and resemblance with historical, mythological, current celebrities if any (e.g. Ashok, Arjun, Akbar, Sachin etc) 2. Date of birth if it coincides with some great day like 2nd Oct, 15th Aug , 5th June etc. 3. In depth knowledge about your birth place, district and state. You should know historical, geographical, social, political, cultural and economic profile of your state in detail. 4. Educational background and institutions attended 5. Family background 6. Previous job experience 7. Hobbies and extracurricular activities and achievements; this should be done meticulously and remember to be honest in your answers, never make fake hobbies just to fill in the form. 8. Your reasons for going in for the civil services 9. Questions about your preference of Services and Cadres Basically, you should keep a copy of the Mains Form filled and cover each of these aspects in minute details.

Facing the Interview Board  17.5



B. Questions About your Educational Background

1. Subjects you studied in your school/college 2. Your optional subject

C. Contemporary General Knowledge Questions Mostly, one can expect questions from current affairs and latest developments, recent headlines. In this section, one should specially prepare those topics which have been issue of public debate in recent past. One should remember that interview is not a knowledge test. This has already been tested in the mains exam. Here what matters is your views on various issues and how you present them. D. Common Sense Questions There are certain questions asked to test your common sense, general intelligence, mental alertness, decision making power. I came across a candidate who had prepared a list of 300 questions and was trying to find out the right answer from me just 2 days before the interview. I feel that it’s not the right approach. You can’t have such a long list of questions and prepare your responses. You have sufficient knowledge, have the confidence that you can tackle most of the questions in a natural way. How to Prepare 1. Reading Newspapers and Magazines  A candidate we need to spend a little more time on newspapers, magazines and TV as compared to the Mains. For the Interview, we need to go in depth of the current issues which have been in the highlights over the last two–three months. We should read various analysis and viewpoints. We should also read financial and economic segments as interviews are usually held around budget time. 2. Reading Good Articles We should identify relevant and good articles which are of national and international importance; especially on those issues which have captured headlines frequently. We can even mark them as 'most important', 'important' etc. Article reading has to be purposive and meticulous. We should grasp the essence of the article and then form our own opinion and jot down in our diary.

17.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

3. Watching TV We should spend more time on TV also as compared to Mains. We should watch prime time news on national channels and one of your home state channels. We should look out for those programmes which carry views/ opinions of eminent people. We should also watch those channels which we are supposed to watch as per our bio-data, e.g. sports, environment, travel etc. We should avoid sensational news and gossips and unending political debates. 4. Surfing the Internet  Nowadays we can read and watch online news and store them electronically, so all the pain of maintaining the diary will also not be there. Computer storage, editing, organising is also better than diary. 5. Making Notes/Diary For preparing for the interview, we can make a diary after the Mains and jot down the summary of important issues in our own language. We can even cut some articles and paste in our diary. The notes should be to the point, concise and crisp. 6. Reading Books Reading a few good books after the mains is advisable, especially those which give you vision, ideas for national development and other important and relevant issues. You should also read few books related to your hobbies, your home state, hometown. 7. Meeting People Meeting people helps a lot in the interview. Their tips can be very important. You should try to meet especially successful bureaucrats and successful candidates. 8. Mock Interviews Mock interviews are generally quite useful. They give you an idea of what the interview is going to be. Also, one comes to know the natural questions that may be asked, especially questions about him / her. One can understand more about himself/ herself. How you perform when you are cornered, how to say no etc. You can come to know your weaknesses and then try to correct those.



Facing the Interview Board  17.7

There is also a negative side to mock interviews. Overdose of these is avoidable. I have observed that some people get more apprehensive after the mock interview. They develop many doubts after the mock interview, which is not at all a happy situation. You should remember that there is no single answer to many questions. Be confident and not allow the doubts to creep in your mind. 9. Joining Interview Coaching Some of the coaching institutes do provide good inputs about the basic dynamics of interview, but sometimes I have seen that they create many doubts in the mind of the aspirant and more often than not end up in shaking the aspirant’s confidence. Also, we should never fall in the trap of tutored responses. How to Answer the Interview Board Listen Carefully We must listen to the question carefully, with utmost concentration. We should allow the board member to finish his question first and not interrupt him in between. Ask for Clarifications if Required Sometimes you may not be able to understand the question clearly. You should politely request for repeating the question or clarifying a portion of it, instead of giving a vague or wrong answer. To the Point, crisp and Concise Answers Your answers should be to the point and clear. Vagueness in answers is considered negative and the board will think that you are not clear about the issue or you don’t have the capacity to present it clearly. Beating about the bush is another avoidable strategy. Just be to the point, answer whatever has been asked in a straightforward manner, don’t add stories from your side. Be Honesty Honesty is one of the most desired qualities of a civil servant. Honest and sincere approach will always give better results. Art of Saying ‘No’ Knowledge is unlimited. One can’t know everything on earth, therefore don’t feel bad if you don’t know the answer to some questions. Acceptance

17.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

of your ignorance is an expression of your honesty. Simply say it, sorry sir I do not know. If you knew the answer and are not able to recollect it at the time of interview, say it – sorry sir, I know the answer but I’m not able to recollect it. Don’t make any wild guesses, which will go against you. If you think you know the answer but you are not sure, again say it – Sir I’m not sure, but probably this is the answer, or, Sir, if you permit can I make a guess? No Single Answer to Many Questions There are no single answers to many questions. A question can have 10 different answers and all may be correct. Example, why do you want to join civil services, should India go in for FDI in retail etc. The purpose is to know your views, what you think and why and how you justify your answer. I have met many aspirants who will be trying to find an answer to their question and then write it down as if they are going to reproduce the same in the interview. Don’t do it, it is not required. Just be your natural self and express yourself and your views. In the process of reproducing an answer you will lose your originality and also give an impression that you are speaking a tutored answer. Admit your Mistakes and Ignorance, give Credit to Others If you have made a mistake and the interviewer points it out, admit it, sorry Sir, I was wrong. If you were ignorant of something, sorry Sir, I didn’t know this part of the topic. Making a mistake is not unusual, but persisting with the mistake will be a blunder. If some board member has given you a better logic and you agree with him/her, say it—You are right sir, now I see the point, I was on the wrong side, I’m thankful to you for correcting me, or making me realise the logic. Just be your natural self while saying all this, there should be no issue of egos here, or what will the board think, or why should I surrender my point of view etc. Discuss but Don’t Argue This is important; don’t get into an argument with a board member. You are just trying to convey your point through deliberations. Questions and cross questions may be asked, you should maintain your cool and put forward your point of view politely. Never try to prove the interviewer wrong that will strongly go against you. Be Polite, Stay Calm and Composed These are basic qualities expected of a future civil servant. You can’t afford to lose your calm during the interview.



Facing the Interview Board  17.9

Balanced, Unbiased and Impartial Views One has to be unbiased and impartial. You can’t afford to take sides, political or economic. You must be open to ideas and stay neutral and take sides only on merit. Balanced view implies that various aspects of the issue, the pros and cons, should be duly considered and the outlook of the candidate should be moderate and assimilative. Answers Must Reflect Positive Attitude Towards Life Remember that UPSC does not want pessimistic people in civil services. They want people with a positive outlook who have the will and energy to change things towards the better. Originality and Naturality All your responses must be natural and original. Don’t try to imitate or try to answer by rote. Mental Alertness—taking Quick Decisions Some of the questions are asked to test your mental alertness. Don’t get panicked. Just understand the question properly, take your time and answer as per your natural response. Other Important Issues 1. Dressing Dressing should not be casual. It can be formal or simply sober, but it cannot be casual, as it would reflect on your personality that you are not dressed to the occasion and you are not taking the interview with the desired seriousness. Therefore a shirt, pant, tie or a suit for males, and saree or salwar suits for females should be fine. Jeans, half shirts, T-shirts are completely avoidable. Colours should be sober and not flashy as that would distract the board and can attract negative marks. 2. Body Language/non-verbal Communication Body language consists of gestures (movement of different parts of body), postures (body positions) and facial expressions by which a person manifests various physical, mental and emotional states and communicates nonverbally (without using any word) with others.

17.10  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Body language is a part and parcel of an oral communication. Body language combined with spoken words makes the overall impression. Therefore, adopting a positive body language is very important. It can speak about your confidence, your humility, pleasantness, openness to ideas etc. On the other hand, it is equally important to avoid negative body language during interview which can display aggressiveness, submissiveness, low confidence, nervousness etc as it emerges from one’s subconscious mind. For example, one should sit erect, should always look into the eyes of the person who is talking to you and then answer. If you look down, or look elsewhere, you are giving a signal that you are not confident. 3. Entering the Board Room Normal etiquettes are expected from a person while entering the board room for your interview. You don’t need to think too much about it. Before entering the room you may knock the door lightly and enter on being called. Similarly you should greet the chairperson first with Good morning, Good afternoon as per time, and wait for their signal to sit down. You can greet other board members also by words or simply by gesture as the time allows. Also, try to be pleasant during this process. Normally the board also tries to make you feel relaxed initially. 4. Communication Skills Communication skill is your ability to communicate effectively—to express your views and listen to others views. Therefore, first of all we need to be a good listener so that we can understand the question and the intention behind the question well. We should first listen to the question completely and then answer, instead of interrupting the interviewer in between. Many people are worried that their spoken English is not good and therefore they can’t score well in the interview. Remember that interview is not a language test, it is a personality test. They just need to test whether you can communicate effectively. Whether you can convey your thought and ideas and reasoning effectively. Therefore, what is required is to speak clearly, in simple language and to the point. Some basic tips for good communication skills:  Listening carefully—Always listen carefully and attentively  Speaking clearly—we must listen to good news readers to improve this. A few areas are (a) loudness—not too loud but clearly audible

Facing the Interview Board  17.11





(b) Pace of speech—like the news reader (c) Pronunciation    

Choice of appropriate words and sentences Calmness and confidence and dignity Energetic and fresh Emotional quotient—Emotions should be controlled, our choice of words should never offend or hurt the sentiments of others.

Controlling Nervousness (Stress Management)  Many candidates are afraid of facing the interview board because they become nervous. There are two basic tips to control nervousness—first you should feel confident that you have the desired intelligence and knowledge as you have qualified the mains, while about two lakhs could not do it. Second and more important is that nervousness is natural. It comes to everyone, so you don’t need to be afraid of it. Symptoms of nervousness could be different for different people—like trembling of hands, palpitation in the neck, sweating, increase in heart beats etc. Whenever one is preparing for a bigger task in life than his/her daily routine, nervousness is bound to come as apprehension of failure is natural. But one should know that feeling of nervousness will come for a few seconds and go automatically. You should just ignore it knowing that it will die down naturally. It happens when you sit outside the board room. Just take 2-3 deep breaths. Similarly, it will happen when you enter the board room, just ignore it and focus on the board members and the next course of action. 5. They Assess your Overall Personality and not your External Appearance Many people are afraid about their looks. They think they are not good looking and hence cannot score well in interview. If that was the case we wouldn’t have had ordinary looking bureaucrats. Therefore. One should ward off all apprehensions and work towards improving your overall personality. Some Dos and Don’ts

1. No lies, no fake stories 2. No wild guesses 3. No diplomatic answers

17.12  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



4. No technical/ management jargons 5. Don’t take tensions, stay cool

Specimen Interviews Vikram Pagaria (Scored 225 and 240) Me: Good Morning, Madam. Good Morning Sirs. Shashi Uban Tripathi (SUT): Good Morning, Vikram. So, are you doing training? Me: Yes, Madam. SUT: Where? Me: NADT. National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur. SUT: Oh..Nagpur (as if it was something new to her). So, Vikram, tell me, in very brief, about your academic and professional life? Me: Madam, I completed my B.Tech in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering. Then, I worked in a start-up company working in the field of intellectual property and then I am here, in the IRS. SUT: But, what did you do at Vellore? Me: Madam, I had enrolled for a Ph.D program in Biomedical Devices and Technology. This program was good in the sense that I could enroll without having to do my masters. This program is an integrated Ph.D program among IIT Madras, Shri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum – essentially a blend between medical science and technology.  SUT: So, you were there for how many months? Me: Four months. SUT: So, why did you leave? Me: Madam, I wanted to do research on tuberculosis but there were not many professors working in this area. In fact, none in the IIT Madras was working in this field. This program required that one has to necessarily have a guide from IIT Madras and one from either of CMC or SCTIMST. They were suggesting me to change the project but I was not interested. Fortunately, I got into the services. But, still I would like to work on TB in future. SUT: But, that’s not possible given that you are into service and would have to do justice to your current job. Ok, so you read non-fiction. Which books have you read? Me: Madam, I’ve read the ‘Google Story’ by David Vice, ‘Ideas and Opinion’ by Albert Einstein, ‘The Audacity of Hope’ by Barack



Facing the Interview Board  17.13

Obama, ‘India Unbound’ by Gurcharan Das, ‘Imagining India’ by Nandan Nilekani. SUT: So, can you tell me in very brief, one of these books which you liked the most and why? Me: Madam, the book which had the maximum impact on me is “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama; the main reason being the way in which he has written as to how he got the idea of bringing change in the world. In one of his stories, he mentioned that his daughter had to be hospitalised and during this time, he saw the reality of healthcare in the US. He mentioned as to how healthcare reforms were the need of the hour. Similar is the case with his views on foreign policy. SUT: But, if that is the case, then why is Obama’s popularity dropping down? Me: Madam, I agree with you that his popularity is decreasing, but I think the reason is the political constraints and compulsions in which he works. SUT: But, compulsions are everywhere. Me: Yes Madam, you are right. I know he hasn’t delivered but I sincerely hope that he does in the remaining period of his tenure. M1: Ok Vikram. You have been running from pillar to post from Kanpur to Bangalore to Vellore. During this time, have you done anything for the society? Can you elaborate one incident which shows that you did something for the society? Me: Sir, I worked with an NGO named Jagriti during my college days. Jagriti works in the field of education for the children of migrant workers. They have set up around 22 centers at various brick-kilns in Kanpur. We used to go there and teach. At one of the centers, there was a girl named Sarita who had Rheumatic Heart Disease and needed a heart-valve replacement. The operation was to cost around Rs. 1.8 lakh. We, in our college, could manage to raise the amount and got her operated at Bangalore.

Member 1 M1: But, that must have been a team effort. What was your role in this activity? Me: Sir, I went along with Sarita and her father to Lucknow to get all the medical check-ups done. I collected all her medical reports, scanned them and mailed them to various charitable hospitals throughout the

17.14  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

M1:

Me:

M1: Me: M1: Me: M1: Me: M1 Me: M1: Me:

M1: Me:

M1: Me:

country. In the fund-raising, I had to coordinate with each hostel representative. Mr. Vikram, you appear to be so soft. Do you get angry? Have you ever beaten somebody? (laughs all around) I mean, physically or verbally. (I smiled for a second or two). There was one incident which I can recollect in our college, where there was use of plastic glasses for drinking water, milk and tea. Inspite of repeated urges to the Mess Committee, when there was no action, I got very angry.  So, it was a verbal fight. Yes Sir. So, have you ever beaten somebody.. I mean physically? No Sir, that I used to do in school..not any more. Vikram, what according to you is your best quality? Sir, my sir told me that although I am not very talented… (interrupts): I am not asking about your weaknesses but your strengths. I think that would be my being dedicated to my work. You are a student of psychology. How do you measure motivation? Sir, measuring motivation is something very difficult, the main reason being that it is something which is very subjective. The only way one can measure is through one’s actions. If somebody does something with full commitment and to the best of his/her capabilities, I think he/she is very motivated. He/she has found a purpose of life. So, can you give an example which shows your dedication? Sir, recently, I along with my friend were given the charge of making identity cards for all 152 of our batch. It was done because although it is the responsibility of the administration but since they had not done it well, our institute purchased a new identity card printer and we were supposed to design the card from scratch. We managed to do the task from designing till taking the final print outs one by one. So, did you work for long? Yes sir. Sometimes, it used to become 10 O’clock 11 O’clock and one day, I could sleep only at 4:30 in the morning.

Member 3 M2: You have worked in the field of intellectual property. Can you tell me about your opinion on whether we should go ahead with GM food-crops or not?



Facing the Interview Board  17.15

Me: Sir, I think that we should not go ahead until we are absolutely sure about the safety of these crops. We, in India, do not have an independent regulatory body, that can testify that “Yes, everything is fine.” M2: But, ICAR approved of the GM study? Me: Sir, but as Jairam Ramesh, Mr. Jairam Ramesh has pointed out there are contradictory studies as well. Some studies have been done by Monsanto, which itself is a corporation and hence there is an underlying conflict of interest. Until we have a clear-cut conclusion that green signal can be given to GM crops, we should not go ahead with them. M2: Tell me, what is ‘gene-erosion’?  Me: looking thoroughly confused…I asked him to repeat the same. M2: Gene-Erosion i.e. the same as “terminal technology’’ Me: Sir, the terminal technology is the brain-child of Monsanto. It essentially means that a farmer can grow the crop using the GM seeds purchased from Monsanto only once. The next time he has to sow the seeds; he would have to purchase the same from Monsanto again. This technology has been widely criticised as it is detrimental to the interests of the poor farmers of our country and the world. M2: What are the different types of Intellectual Property in India? Me: Patents, Trademark, Copyright, Trade-secrets, Service-Mark M2: Anything else.. Me: thinking. M2: GI Me: Yes Sir, Geographical Indications. In Goa, there is …(i was forgetting “Phenny” here) M2: (started giving his inputs..I felt relieved because I was not able to recollect any other example of GI): They are very important e.g. Darjeeling Tea, ..(He gave one more example, but I am not able to recollect that). M2: Tell me about the importance of intellectual property. I mean, why do we have IPRs in the first place? Me: Sir, the main intention behind IPRs is to foster innovation. It is basically a reward for the inventor for the efforts he/she has put in to come upto that invention. For example, a pharma company has invested so much in R&D to design a miniscule drug, we need to make sure that after the drug is invented, nobody else is allowed to freely manufacture the drug and sell in the market. A time-period of

17.16  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

20 years, in the case of patents is given to a company to sell that drug exclusively.

Member 3 M3: What is Neemuch famous for? (Neemuch is in MP and is my place of birth) Me: Sir, it is the eye-donation capital of india. The number of eyedonations from this district is the maximum in India. M3: What type of donations are these? Me: Sir, they are cadaveric eye-donations. M3: Ok..but this could also be due to the population of Neemuch. Do you know the population of Neemuch? Me: Sorry Sir, I am not aware of this fact. M3: How long did you stay in Neemuch? Me: Sir, till my 7th standard i.e. around 13 years. M3: And you still don’t know the population of Neemuch. Ok, what else is Neemuch famous for? Me: Sir, Neemuch is famous for opium-production. M3: What are other places in India very opium is produced? Me: Sir, Chittorgarh and Kota in Rajasthan. M3: Any other place Me: (Did not answer…I was thinking..may be, I think ‘pretending to think’ would be a better phrase here.) M3: In MP Me: (did not answer..genuinely thought this time but it didn’t help) M3: Are you aware of any war that was fought on the issue of opium? Me: No Sir, I am not aware. M3: Something in which East India Company was involved. It relates to an important event in history. Me: Sorry Sir, I am not aware of the opium-war. M3: What is “law of attraction”? Me: Sorry Sir, I do not know. M3: Do you not go to the bookshops? You have interests in reading nonfiction books. Me: Sir, I do visit bookshops. I go to Crosswords. M3 (interrupts) : This is a very famous book. The exact title is “The Law of Attraction – The Secret”? It was a best-seller for a long time on the stands.



Facing the Interview Board  17.17

Me: Yes Sir, The Secret – I have heard that book. Is it that book which is a kind of self-help book? M3: Yes, it is a sort of self-help book. Me: Sir, my friend had recommended this book to me M3: But you haven’t read it, did you? Me: No Sir, I haven’t read it.  M3: Ok, in the book “Imagining India” by Nandan Nilekani, what has he mentioned specifically about the English language? Me: Sir, Nandan Sir says that English is responsible for the IT revolution in India. Since we knew English and we could couple it along with our computing skills, we were able to successfully market ourselves to the developed countries and the entire outsourcing boom came. Also, English is a major unification force in the country. Since the South-Indians could not speak Hindi, and the Hindi-speaking people in the North India have trouble learning the languages of South-India, both can interact in English. Hence, English brings us together. M3: Inspite of the fact that English is a colonial language and not our own. Me: Sir, Nandan Sir has said that the IT revolution occurred in India and not in China, because Indians could communicate readily in English with the companies of the West. Hence, English was crucial in bringing the IT revolution. M4: Vikram, have you heard of “black swans” in the context of public administration (I don’t know why he asked me this question..public administration was never my optional) Me: No Sir….Does it mean ‘’something bad’’. M4: No, it means that something unexpected. Do you think that unexpected events are a hindrance in public administration? Me: Yes Sir. For example, the Japan earthquake. Nobody knew that it is going to come but it… M4 (interrupts): Can you take an example from India? Me: Sir, 2-3 days back, a police officer was burnt alive by a group of miscreants in Sawai-Madhopur district. There was a fire in IOC godown in Jaipur. Suddenly, we had the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. So, something that comes without anticipation creates new hurdles in the already challenging life of the administrators. M4: So, is there a strategy wherein one can anticipate these events? Me: Sir, it is possible. Through disaster management, we can create systems so that we can anticipate if an earthquake/flood/drought

17.18  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

comes and what should be our strategy to tackle them. If we see the case of the Japan earthquake, authorities in Japan could disseminate the information to every Japanese citizen that a tsunami is going to come within an hour.  SUT: Who are opium-eaters? Me: Sorry Madam, I do not know. SUT: Ok, your interview is over. Me: Thank you madam. As I stood up, Madam told me that opium-eaters are the Chinese and one board-member who was mentioning about opium-wars said that the war was actually fought between the Chinese and the East-India company. I thanked them once again and moved out. Neha Jain All India Rank 12

Board Chairman (CM) Alka Sirohi Me: Good Morning Ma’am, May I come in? CM: Please come in. Take your seat Me: Thank you ma’am. CM: So you paint. What medium do you use? Me: Ma’am, I use water colours. CM: So what is unique about water colours? Me: Ma’am, The finality of the strokes, there is no scope of a re-do, we actually paint with the coloured water. The excellence of the brush strokes is what I like the most. CM: What is that one thing about water colors? I used to draw but I have never been able to do watercolours. Me: Ma’am I am only able to think of the finality of the brush stroke CM: It’s the patience required to let the paint dry. Me: Thank you ma’am. (Didn’t really agree with her because oil paints require much more patience, and frankly the water colours are a lot quicker. But I avoided any arguments at this stage). CM: Do you follow Tour de France? Me: No ma’am not much. (I knew about the Lance Armstrong story but not any further so I preferred to keep silent on this topic). (CM points to Member 1 (M1) to take over)



Facing the Interview Board  17.19

Member 1 M1: India and Pakistan have a very troubled relationship. What are the reasons you think for this? Me: The first would be the tussle for Kashmir which is very much in news these days (A Hurriyat leader had written an open letter to the People of India for a political solution for Kashmir) And the second would be the ceasefire violations in the past year along the Line of Control. M1: So what is the whole issue about Jammu and Kashmir? Can you elaborate? Me: Sir, The story goes back to the time of independence and the integration of the princely states with India. Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir wanted J&K to be autonomous, whereas the Indian leaders wanted to integrate it within the territory of India. Also, our first Prime Minister being a Kashmiri himself had an affinity towards Kashmir. Due to Pakistani attacks on J&K, Hari Singh had to take help of the Indian forces and thus an Instrument of Accession was signed and since then we share a special relation with J&K under Article 370 M1: And what could be Pakistan’s interest in J&K? Me: Sir, I am not sure, but I can take a guess. It’s related to the predominant Muslim population in Kashmir. M1: Neha, you have opted for Sociology. Tell me what do we study in the discipline as such? Me: Sir, The discipline of sociology speaks about 3 main things. 1. The interaction and influence of institutions with each other. e.g. how the institution of religion affects the institution of politics. 2. The interaction of individuals with each other and 3. The interactions of institutions with each other. M1: Me: M1: Me:

Very good. Can you think of any prominent Indian sociologists? Sir M.N. Srinivas, G.S. Ghurye and Andre Beteille. Can you think of some predominant theory of M.N.Srinivas? Sir, the most prominent theory of Srinivas would be the theory of Sanskritisation and Westernisation. M1: Can you explain?

17.20  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Me: Sir, there are 2 hierarchies—The ritual hierarchy and the secular hierarchy. When an individual belonging to a lower position in the caste hierarchy achieves economic success, he moves up the ladder of secular hierarchy. But, in an effort to move up the ritual hierarchy, he emulates the behaviour, rituals and customs of the higher caste. M1: Do you think the concept of Sankritisation holds much importance in the contemporary world? Me: No Sir. I think in the current context people are content with climbing the secular hierarchy. And also with the concept of vote bank politics and reservations, Sanskritisation is not as relevant today. (Member 2 now asks his questions after the chairman passes over the baton to him)

Member 2 M2: What is the Buddhist view on God? Me: Sir, Buddhism neither accepts nor rejects the existence of God. The main concern of Buddhism is alleviation of human sufferings. It’s perception of God can be called agnostic. M2: So you are from Kanpur, it was once a very famous city but now it has its set of problems. What are your views on this? Me: Sir, as you rightly mentioned Kanpur which was once called the ‘Manchester of the East’ has now reached a level where some scholars call it the ‘graveyard of industries’. But I would want to draw your attention to the positives of Kanpur – it is true that the large mills have been shut down, but the medium and small industries are flourishing in a big way, the education industry is booming, The Kanpur Metro project is upcoming and IT companies including IBM are opening their offices in Kanpur. So there is a lot of scope for the city to revive. M2: So if you are made the administrator of Kanpur, what will you do to revive the city? Me: I would identify and take steps to revive the sick industries, would give impetus to the ones which are upcoming. I shall take steps to create more jobs in the city to prevent out-migration so that the youth population stays and the city grows and matures along with its youth. M2: Neha, you have taken sociology and you have been a technical person otherwise. Man’s life is increasingly becoming privatised, what is the role of technology in it, the access to all sort of information etc.?



Facing the Interview Board  17.21

Me: Man is indeed becoming privatised, but in the quest to communicate he gives out his information to facebook and the like. To the extent that even when one opens a TV channel, the set top box is capable of transmitting information of what one is viewing. Some sociologists have gone to an extent of saying that all this amounts to public sphere i.e. the state’s encroachment into the private sphere domain. M2: What I meant was the effect on children with access to information of all types? Me: Yes sir, as you rightly pointed out that no parent would want their children to be exposed to the amount of information which is available now. And a district collector being a parent of the entire district is certainly more concerned. M2: So, how will you monitor that? Are there any laws around the same? Me: Sir, I am not sure if there are any provisions under the IT Act. CM: Any other laws? Me: No ma’am, I cannot think of anything else. (Board member M3 takes over. He had a very feeble voice so had to ask him to repeat the question sometime)

Member 3 M3: So you do a lot of trekking? Me: Sir, I have done a very small trek to Lohgarh. M3: What are the things required for a long distance trekking? Me: (since I have not trekked as much I had not much idea about this.. ) Sir, may be a hand towel, a water bottle. I cannot think of anything much since I have done just one small trek. M3: Continuing with India Pakistan, there is a constant tussle between the two and each other draws from the other’s strength. What do you understand? At this point I turn a little blank and M2 points out that conflict leads to cooperation..sociology etc. (M4 takes over now) Member 4 M4: You have written ‘pursuing Buddhist philosophy’, how do you pursue? Me: Sir, I chant morning and evening. M4: Have you visited Ladakh, may be that would be a nice trek. Me: No sir, I have not been there

17.22  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

M4: So you mentioned about the education industry in Kanpur? Is it right to say that education is becoming like an industry? I mean the coaching centres, is it a fair thing. Me: Sir, I agree that commodification of education is not a right thing to do. But by industry I meant that the coachings do fetch us revenue. M4: Who is the ‘us’? And what type of revenue? Me: Sir, I mean the administration. And they do fetch us service tax and property tax. M4: So, do you support the coaching institutions? Me: Sir, for a student who is new to the exam ahead, coachings do act as a guide and assist in preparation. On the other hand, they do create a divide between those who can access these facilities and those who are deprived of this advantage. So, we need to strengthen our basic education to create a level playing field. M4: What would you do strengthen government education? Me: Sir, I would have regular assessments and focus on the teacher quality. M4: Are there any such assessments already happening? Me: Sir, I am not sure. M4: NGO Pratham.. Me: Yes sir. (I did not argue further though by assessments I meant class tests for student evaluation). M4: You have heard of the poverty line, have you heard of something called the empowerment line? Me: No sir, I have not heard of this. M4: Let’s say I were to create an imaginary empowerment line, what do you think would be its parameters? Me: Sir, the criteria for poverty line is economic, based on consumption pattern and calorific values. But, the empowerment line would have parameters like access to health, education, labour force participation, economic independence and political independence. M4: If the number of people below poverty line is 200 million, then how many do you think will be below empowerment line? Me: Certainly much more. Because even if people are above the Poverty Line, they are dependent, not empowered. M4: What do you think we need to empower people – a universal health care or Right to Food?



Facing the Interview Board  17.23

Me: Sir, I think its not the question of ‘or’ but its a matter of ‘and’. Looking at our current situation we need both. (Chairman takes over) CM: Neha, some people are born great, some people achieve greatness and some people have greatness thrust on them. What do you understand by this? Me: Ma’am, there are some people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, who do not have to do much to achieve greatness, whereas others through their efforts and persistence acquire skills and expertise which make them great—these belong to the second category. But some people are so noble and so sincere that they don’t have to make any effort to be great. Greatness automatically comes to them. CM: But doesn’t thrust sound derogatory. Me: Yes ma’am, it might sound that way but I take it in the positive sense. CM: (looking at my email id) What can born2win mean? Me: Ma’am, it might sound a little arrogant, but for me winning is about not being defeated. Picking myself up each time I fall down. I always say to myself.. Neha, you are born to win, how can you accept defeat, it is a sin ! CM: Your interview is over. You may leave. Me: Thank you ma’am. Thank you sirs. Aashika Jain Here’s an account of my Personality Test held on April 28th, 2015 (Forenoon) at the Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, Delhi. I entered, wished the lady member, the Chairman and the rest and proceeded to take my seat. The Board was presided over by Vice-Admiral D.K. Dewan. Chairman: So, Aashika, where does this name come from/what does it mean? Upon my explanation, he referred to my (Detailed Application Form) DAF where I had mentioned a trip to Turkey for a competition and asked for how long I stayed there. He asked me if I was aware of any significant development in Turkey from the last week to which I responded in the negative. He hinted to some world leaders having descended in Turkey for

17.24  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

some event. I still could not recollect. He further said genocide and probed on. I said there is a commemoration of some historic event for which the leaders had assembled but that I hadn’t followed that news closely. He still persisted on it upon which I said there had been some violence against Armenians, the propriety of which had remained contentious for a long time. By this time, the lady member on the right was shaking her head and I chose to stop and say, I don’t know further. (Note: This isn’t verbatim transcription. It is a description of the interview. The language isn’t the same. I’m employing the advantage of hindsight here.) The Chairman continued – so, you know Aashika, how everything revolves around national interest. Our development should be geared towards national interest. Please name four components of it. I forgot to include security in the four that I named which he pointed out. And I had no option but to humbly apologise. He then asked me what came to my mind when I heard PPP. Apart from Public Private Partnership, I said Purchasing Power Parity. He asked what the former meant and why did we have such arrangements and how it is different from outsourcing. Next, Member 1 asked me what was meant by social inclusion. Further, he said inclusion of tribals really destroys their culture and so the idea of inclusion appeared contradictory to him. I attempted to counter it relying upon Nehru’s idea of integration while retaining cultural distinctions. He then asked me whether it had really happened in the country. He referred to my DAF and inquired about a project on Police Sensitisation that I had been a part of in the Haryana Police Academy, Karnal. When I explained it was for curriculum design and review or police trainees, he asked whether attitudinal change was more important than curriculum and training etc. The lady member then took over and, referring again, to my DAF, said I had been hiking in Uttarakhand and that I should enumerate some problems of the hill people. I don’t have a recollection of any other questions from her. The 4th Member alluded to my legal background and asked the reasons for delay in the legal justice system. He then asked me something about Justice HR Khanna. He said he had read an article authored by Justice Khanna where he had imposed timelines on criminal trials in the states of Haryana and Punjab i.e. they should be concluded within 6 months and asked for my opinion on it. When I mentioned the risk of failed justice on

Facing the Interview Board  17.25



account of haste, he said the article unequivocally stated there had been no single instance of failure of justice delivery. Then I conceded to say that such a measure, rather than being in isolation, should be accompanied by a gamut of others such as equipping our investigative agencies and so on. He then asked me of cases where law and justice do not coincide and whether such occasions arise at all. I talked about two cases – first, where there was delay and second, where the judges in a bid to follow the text of the law missed out on its spirit. Then he said there had been a proposal wherein the number of adjournments were supposed to be restricted to a few and sought my views on it. The last Member quoted somebody who had said “Law is Common Sense” and asked me to comment on it. He questioned me on Polluter Pays Principle, Traditional Knowledge and its place in the IPR laws, a recent decision of the NGT which affected the inhabitants of Greater Noida which I was unaware of. He said there had been an eviction of inhabitants of apartments which were constructed in violation of environment regulations but people had invested their savings in it. He asked me to explain how I, as a counsel, would defend those people in the court. Finally, the Chairman took over and said “Rapid fire” and I readily agreed. “Foreign remittances to India?” “Number of ports in India?” “Whether Japan has an army? Do they have any machinery in place? What does the Constitution say? How are they building one if the Constitution is pacifist? What is it called?” “Thank you, Aashika. You may now leave.” This was about it, to the best of my recollection. Specimen interview Questions 1. Nikhil Gandhi Date: 14.05.15 Board: Alka Sirohi Afternoon Session: last Interview of the day Optional: History Graduation: B. Sc. Computer Science Many questions asked were very much lengthy (8-10 sentences), so I am just trying to give a basic idea of the questions.

17.26  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Chairwoman: 1. What have you been doing for past 6 years? 2. Who are your favourite poets? (As reading poems is my hobby.) 3. What are similarities between Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Kabir? 4. In which format Kabir wrote? 5. Any military general who wrote Dohas? 6. Why he (Abdul Rahim Khana-e-Khana) is called Khan-e-Khana? 7. What is feminist critique of history? 8. Tell me some name of historians? 9. Do you know Ramchandra Guha? Member 1: 1. What is your view about history rewriting? 2. Whom do we call facts in history? 3. Why there are different interpretations of facts? 4. You walk? How much do you walk a day? (walking is my hobby) 5. Difference between various Tamils dialects? (do not know why it was asked) Member 2: 1. History is always written by the victorious, what is your view? 2. When India became a nation? Who was the first to call India as a nation? 3. Was there any idea of India in the past? 4. How did India derive its various names? Member 3: 1. You are standing at some distance from the hill, how will you determine the height of hill? (He asked me to draw it on paper and insisted on answering it.) 2. What is the difference between insulator, semiconductor and conductor? 3. How semiconductor works? 4. How will you determine by experiment whether a given substance is insulator or semiconductor or conductor? 5. Why there is negative marking in negative type question? 6. According to you what should be negative marks for wrong answer? 7. What is the rationale behind 1/3rd negative for wrong answer? Member 4:

1. What are classical dances of India?



Facing the Interview Board  17.27



2. Which region do they belong? 3. “The king is dead; long live the king”, what is the meaning of this phrase?

Chairwoman:

1. 2. 3.

What is silicosis? Do you know Hammurabi? What is Hammurabi code? Thank you Nikhil, you can go.

This board is a tough board. Chairman never smiles, but that should not change our composure. And they don’t like to take ‘I don’t know’ for an answer and ask you to guess. But in the end this board has a reputation of giving fair marks. 2. Pushkin Jain  Background: ECE  Hobbies: Meditation, Watching movies, Reading Biographies  Board :Mrs Alka Sirohi

Chairman: 1. Special about Alexander Pushkin. 2. Women are more important than men because she contains he. Elaborate. 3. Rafale deal with France. 4. What is judicial activism? 5. Difference between judicial review, activism and overreach. 6. Justice should not only be given, but it should also be seen that it is given. Explain. 7. Justice is blind. Why? M1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

FGFA deal with Russia. Questions about old Rafale deal. India Sri Lanka relations Kachatheevu island issue. Fielding positions in cricket.

M2 1. India-China relations 2. India and its role in the Indian Ocean.

17.28  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

M3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

MDG and India’s performance. Role of hygiene in poor health indicators. Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and its implementation. Why rivers are polluted? Parameters to measure of rivers purity.

M4 1. 2. 3. 4.

Instrument landing system. What is space shuttle ? What is the fuel used and how does it re-enter in Earth. Ceramic tiles position in Space shuttle.

Suggestions.

1. It’s a normal interactive discussion only. 2. Try to relax and enjoy the process. Getting nervous would only reduce your performance. 3. It’s a personality test and not your knowledge test. Clearly accept if one doesn’t know the answer. All the best. Interview Board: H.C. Gupta Candidate: Saurabh Jain

Chairman What’s Your Name? So you did your tenth from Bal Mukund Ram Chandra Bajari Saraswati Vidya Mandir? Who is Bal Mukund Ram Chandra Bajari? No, I am asking what he does. What are you doing for last five years? So you intended to do engineering initially? You took an extra year to prepare for AIEEE exam?

Member 1: So Saurabh, You have done your M.A. in Political Science, M.S. in Computer Science, M.A. in Psychology… Would you keep learning throughout your life? So, then you’ll take study leave from day one of your job? Are you aware of fiscal deficit situation of the country? How is it performing in the recent times?



Facing the Interview Board  17.29

What is fiscal deficit? Why the situations of fiscal deficit arise in the first place? What is FRBM? What are the targets? Why was it postponed? So, does it mean government is not serious about fiscal deficit management? OK, so fiscal deficit can be positive in certain situations and negative in other situations? So what are conditions where fiscal deficit could be positive for economy?

Member 2: Saurabh, In south there is a small state of Kerala. The HDI indicators of this state are very high. So what could be the possible reasons for such high level of HDI indicators? No wait wait, Lets us go in an order. Explain me 1947, post-1947 era and recent years? No, what happened after 1947? Which government came into power? What was the first government of Kerala? OK, Saurabh You know state pollution control board. Why are they so inefficient? No, there are other reasons as well like financial conditions is poor and people are not involved? So do you think these programmes can succeed without involving people? So, whose responsibility is this if programme fail? Are people not responsible for failure of programme? Give me some examples where people are made part of programme or how can we make people a partner in the project? Member 3: Saurabh, you have done so many masters? You seem to take lot of interest in education? So you went to pursue your masters from United States? What was going on in your mind? OK, as a administrator, thousands of people would be working under you. Now giving reward and punishment would not be in your capacity? In

17.30  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

such situation how would you motivate your staff to work? So, you think if you will work hard then whole district would do the same? Have you heard of Goods and Services Tax? It is argued that GST would help in widening the tax base. Could you explain how GST would help in widening the tax base? You are more or less right, but just explain the seller buyer part with more clarity? So does it mean more tax inspectors would be hired to check the link?

Member 4: Saurabh, do you know Machiavelli. Who was he? Which time and place did he belong? What was he famous for? What were his major thoughts in “The Prince”? So don’t you think he was unethical and crooked person? No, but still isn’t he unethical in that sense? What was the similarity between Chanakya and Machiavelli? Has he written anything unethical? No, but what do you mean by do not know? Ok If a person suffers from psychological disorder, what would you recommend psychiatrist counseling or psychoanalytical therapy? No, I said psychoanalytical therapy not psychological counseling? Why psychoanalytical therapy considered poor. What do you mean therapist interpretation may interfere? Don’t you think Freud faced a lot of unnecessary criticism? Where did he die? Was it outside Germany or in Germany? OK Saurabh, You can go

C h a p t e r

18

Managing Stress and Anxiety

About Stress Many people don’t realise it, but stress is a very natural and important part of life. Without stress, there would be no life at all! We need stress (eustress), but not too much stress for too long (distress). Our body is designed to react to both types of stress. Eustress helps keep us alert, motivates us to face challenges, and drives us to solve problems. These low levels of stress are manageable and can be thought of as necessary and normal stimulation. Distress, on the other hand, results when our bodies over-react to events. Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it’s an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. A little bit of stress, known as “acute stress,” can be exciting—it keeps us active and alert. But long-term, or “chronic stress,” can have detrimental effects on health. You may not be able to control the stressors in your world, but you can alter your reaction to them. Short Bursts of Positive Stress Short bursts of stress can really lit a fire under you! Whenever you feel some stress about finishing a certain task, it can create the right inspiration to get you going. I know that when I’m a little stressed, my productivity level skyrockets. When I have a few things that need to get done by a certain time, I become unstoppable and thus I get the job done. Without that stress, I’d probably be more carefree and not get anywhere near as far. So in that case, stress is my friend. The key here is to know how to channel that stress into being a productive ally. Short bursts of stress that are manageable are a difference maker when it comes to performance. This type of stress can help eliminate procrastination, boredom, and lack of self worth.

18.2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Stress in Competition Anyone that’s ever played a sport knows that feeling those butterflies in your stomach and feeling anxious to getting out there and win is absolutely necessary to succeed. If you don’t get those butterflies, you don’t belong in the game! Stress can help you rise above your competition and guide you to succeed at heights you never thought you could reach. For example, imagine a hockey game, the team is down 2-1 with 50 seconds left. All players will have jitters and butterflies, but this will get them to do incredible things to even the score. In this case, stress creates a higher level of commitment that would otherwise be non-existent. Stress in competition can bring about drive, determination, desire, and creativity like never before. In many situations of extreme threat to life, stress can make you aware of danger and prepare you for it. It triggers a fight-or-flight mode within you that can be a life saver. In such situations, stress can bring up alertness, higher levels of perception, and quick decision-making skills that can truly mean the difference between life & death that can save you from an accident. Health We all know the damage that long bouts of stress can do to one’s life. It’s the cause of a vast array of cancers and diseases, as well as making us age faster. However, short bursts of stress can actually be good for your health. As a matter of fact, it is vital to your well being. Research has shown that it can strengthen your immune system and prevent against such diseases as Alzheimer’s, in that it keeps your brain cells working at peak capacities. It has also been shown that patients who experience moderate levels of stress recover faster after surgery than patients experiencing higher or lower levels of stress. The key term here is “moderate”. We require stress for our bodies to function properly, physiologically speaking, but just like with anything, too much of it and the opposite effect takes place. A short burst of stress is like an energy boost, and that is why it can make us do incredible deeds. What needs to be done is properly directing that burst into productive action without feeling overwhelmed by it. When you become overtaken by stress, you start feeling things such as aches, pains, shortness of breath, prone to getting sick, and mental fogginess. Those are signs that your level of stress has gone overboard, and that’s when you should try the relaxation techniques we all know and love. Stress is unavoidable. It’s a part of life. The better we understand how to cope with it and use it to our advantage, the better we will succeed at



Managing Stress and Anxiety  18.3

whatever it is that we are doing. Stress can be a valuable tool in anything that you do. When you feel stress, recognize it and channel it in ways that creates a benefit for you. Just like any tool, use it properly and the result is magic.  Optimal Stress As discussed above, some amount of stress is compulsory for performance. The Yerkes-Dodson curve below depicts it clearly.

Below optimal level of stress, we feel relaxed. We take it too easy, therefore our performance is average. But once we realise the importance of the work, we start feeling its heat and gear ourselves to meet the challenge. There is an optimal performance zone beyond which stress overtakes us and we start developing physical and psychological symptoms and our performance goes down. Therefore, our target should be to achieve the optimum performance and not let the stress grow beyond that. If we react too strongly or let the small over-reactions (the daily hassles) pile up, we may run into physical, as well as psychological, problems. Gastrointestinal problems (e.g., diarrhea or nausea), depression, or severe headaches can come about from acute distress. Insomnia, heart disease, and distress habits (e.g., drinking, overeating, smoking, and using drugs) can result from the accumulation of small distress. Beyond the optimal level, stress can have following impact on our body, mind and behaviour.

18.4  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Impact of stress in various dimensions Impact on Body

Imapact on Mind

Impact on Behaviour

Impact on Emotions

Headaches, taut muscles, breathlessness

Worrying, muddled Accident prone, thinking, night loss of appetite mares

Loss of confidence, more fussy

Frequent infections, skin

Impaired judgment, indecisions

irritability, depression, apathy

Fatigue, muscular Negativity, hast twitches decisions

drinking and smoking more

Loss of sex drive, Alienation, apinsomnia prehension

What Causes Stress? I n order to control one’s stress, it is imperative to explore the factors (stressors) that trigger the stress response and to what extent? There are innumerable numbers of stressors and those can broadly be categorised into the following three general classes on the basis of the external nature of the stressor, i.e. upon the fundamental basis or cause of the stress reaction. MAJOR CAUSES OF STRESS Adaptation Frustration Biorhythms Nutrition Self perception Behavioural Patterns

Psychological

Bio-ecological

Overload Deprivation Noise Personality Anxiety

Now we shall examine the stress/anxiety with reference to an exam. 1. WHAT IS EXAM ANXIETY? Exam Anxiety is

• excessive worry about upcoming exams. • fear of being evaluated. • apprehension about the consequences.

Managing Stress and Anxiety  18.5



There are four main areas which can contribute to your exam anxiety:

1. 2. 3. 4.

lifestyle issues information needs studying styles psychological factors.

1. Lifestyle issues

• • • • • •

inadequate rest, poor nutrition, too many stimulants, insufficient exercise, not scheduling available time, not prioritising commitments.

2. Information needs • exam-taking strategies, • academic information such as course requirements, teachers' expectations, exam dates and testing location. 3 . Studying styles that are

• Inefficient  inconsistent content coverage  trying to memorise the textbook  binge studying  distance environment  all-night studying before exams • Ineffective  reading without understanding  not making review notes  not reviewing

4. Psychological Factors

• feeling no control over the exam situation (rather than knowing and applying exam strategies), • negative thinking and self-criticism (rather than being one's own best friend), • irrational thinking about exams and outcomes, o Irrational beliefs “If I don’t pass my (parents/partner/ boss) will be after me!”

18.6  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



o Irrational demands “I have to get 100% or I am worthless.” o Catastrophic predictions “I’ll fail no matter what I do.”

2. DO YOU HAVE EXAM ANXIETY? Many students experience some pre-exam jitters. Mild nervousness can motivate you to do your best. However, exam anxiety is different from typical nervousness:

• • • •

It is more intense. It is more potentially overwhelming. It is more disruptive and disturbing. It is not helpful or motivating.

How can Exam Anxiety Affect you?

• • • •

disturb studying and exam preparation paralyze decision-making make your mind go blank on an exam undermine academic confidence

Physical Symptoms of Exam Anxiety

• • • • • • •

tight muscles insomnia upset stomach increased perspiration sweaty palms increased heart rate dry mouth

Behavioural Changes

• • • • •

tense movements losing focus of actions less coordinated movements fidgeting, nail biting moving or walking faster than normal

Socially

• social withdrawal

Managing Stress and Anxiety  18.7





• avoidance of friends and family • unusual irritability with others • procrastination through increased socialising

How Might Exam Anxiety Affect my Exams?

• can't focus or organise thoughts • poor recall of important concepts, keywords, acronyms • going blank on familiar questions

3. HOW TO OVERCOME STRESS? Basically, we need to modify our over-reactions to situations. Rather than seeing situations as psychologically or physically threatening and thereby activating our sympathetic nervous system, our parasympathetic nervous system (that part which helps lower physiological arousal) needs to be called into play. The following suggestions are designed to reduce distress. Try them. They work! 1. Learn to Relax Throughout the day; take “mini breaks”. Sit-down and get comfortable, slowly take a deep breath in, hold it, and then exhale very slowly. At the same time, let your shoulder muscles droop, smile, and say something positive like, “I am r-e-l-a-x-e-d.” Be sure to get sufficient rest at night. 2. Practise Acceptance Many people get distressed over things they won’t let themselves accept. Often these things that can’t be changed, like someone else’s feelings or beliefs. If something unjust bothers you that is different. If you act in a responsible way, the chances are you will manage stress effectively. 3. Talk Rationally to Yourself Ask yourself what real impact the stressful situation will have on you in a day or a week and see if you can let the negative thoughts go. Think through whether the situation is your problem or the other’s. If it is yours, approach it calmly and firmly; if it is the others, there is not much you can do about it. Rather than condemn yourself with hindsight thinking like, “I should have,” think about what you can learn from the error and plan for the future. Remember, everyone makes errors.

18.8  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

4. Get Organized Develop a realistic schedule of daily activities that includes time for work, sleep, relationships, and recreation. Use a daily “thing to do” list. Improve your physical surroundings by cleaning your house and straightening up your office. Use your time and energy as efficiently as possible. 5. Exercise  Physical activity has always provided relief from stress. In the past, daily work was largely physical. Now that physical exertion is no longer a requirement for earning a living, we don’t get rid of stress so easily while working. It accumulates very quickly. We need to develop a regular exercise program to help reduce the effects of stress before it becomes distress. Try aerobics, walking, jogging, dancing, swimming, and the like. 6. Reduce Time Urgency  If you frequently check your watch or worry about what you do with your time, learn to take things a bit slower. Allow plenty of time to get things done. Plan your schedule ahead of time. Recognise that you can only do so much in a given period. Practise the notion of “pace, not race.” 7. Disarm Yourself Every situation in life does not require you to be competitive. Adjust your approach to an event according to its demands. You don’t have to raise your voice in a simple discussion. Playing tennis with a friend doesn’t have to be an Olympic trial. 8. Quiet Time Balance your family, social, and work demands with special private times. Hobbies are good antidotes for daily pressures. Unwind by taking a quiet stroll, soaking in a hot bath, watching a sunset, or listening to calming music. 9. Watch Your Habits  Eat sensibly. A balanced diet will provide all the necessary energy you will need during the day. Avoid nonprescription drugs. You need to be mentally and physically alert to deal with stress. Be mindful of the effects of excessive caffeine and sugar on nervousness. Put out the cigarettes; they restrict blood circulation and affect the stress response.

Managing Stress and Anxiety  18.9



10. Talk to Friends

Friends can be good medicine. Daily doses of conversation, regular social engagements, and occasional sharing of deep feelings and thoughts can reduce stress quite nicely. You can learn more about managing stress through books. Among the more popular books are Stress without Distress by Dr. Hans Selye, Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer by Dr. Kenneth Pelletier, and Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson. steps to reducing exam anxiety Effective Studying

• Don't cram the night before the exam: too much material + too little time = ANXIETY • Plan your studying with regularly scheduled study sessions about 50 minutes long separated by 5-10 minute breaks.

Healthy Lifestyle

• • • •

enough movement and regular exercise positive thoughts/beliefs and not self defeating thoughts replenishing nutrition, no junk food regular sleeps, no late night lifestyle

Accurate Information

• About the course material • Prepare study schedule with timelines for completing the course. • Well before the exam, make sure you know o where will the exam be held, o what time does it start.

Exam-taking Preparation

• Plan to rest well the night before the exam • Plan to arrive at the test location early • Plan to monitor the time during the exam, so wear a watch or sit where you can see the clock.

Test-taking Strategies

• Read the instructions, quickly survey every page of the test. See what will be expected of you.

18.10  Cracking the Civil Services Examination



• Re-read the instructions a second time • When surveying the test, place a mark beside all questions you know you can answer best. • Answer the easiest questions first to guarantee marks in the least amount of time • Do not rush through the test • Regularly check time left for the rest of the questions • Pace yourself

Interrupt Irrational Thinking by Actively Challenging your Irrational Thoughts

• • • •

Life will always be worth living regardless of this exam. I would like to pass this exam but life will go on either way. What others think of me is none of my business. I respect myself for taking this course, regardless of the outcome. • It would be nice to have no anxiety, but I will put forth my best effort even if I am nervous.



1. Deliberate distraction: Distract your attention from the thought by practising the brief relaxation and breathing techniques given later and refocus on your exam.



2. Thought stopping: Be equally persistent in rejecting the worrisome thought. Keep returning your attention to the task of the exam.

a p p e n d i x

Syllabus

Syllabi for the prelims and Mains Part-A Preliminary Examination Paper-I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours • Current events of national and international importance. • History of India and Indian National Movement. • Indian and World Geography Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. • Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. • Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion. Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc. • General issues on Environmental Ecology. Biodiversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialisation • General Science. Paper-II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours • Comprehension • Interpersonal skills including communication skills; • Logical reasoning and analytical ability • Decision-making and problem-solving • General mental ability • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level). Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Class X level) Note 1:  Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

2  Cracking the Civil Services Examination

Note 2:  The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type. Note 3:  It Is mandatory for the candidate to appear In both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.

Part-B Main Examination The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. The nature and standard of questions in the General Studies papers (Paper II to Paper V) will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a candidate's general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in Civil Services. The questions are likely to test the candidate's basic understanding of all relevant issues and ability to analyze and take a view on conflicting socio- economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers. The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for the examination is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelors' degree and lower than the masters' degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelors' degree. Syllabi of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows: Qualifying Papers on Indian Languages and English The aim of the paper is to test the candidates ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and express his ideas clearly and correctly, in English and Indian Language concerned. The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Comprehension of given passages Precis Writing Usage and Vocabulary Short Essays

Indian Languages: (i) Comprehension of given passages (ii) Precis Writing (iii) Usage and Vocabulary



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(iv) Short Essays (v) Translation from English to the Indian language and vice-versa. Note l:  The Papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. Note 2:  The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved). Paper-I Essay:  Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression. Paper-II General Studies-I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.



• Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms. Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. • Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues • The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country. • Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country. • History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars. redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization. political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc- their forms and effect on the society. • Salient features of Indian Society. Diversity of India. • Role of women and women's organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies. • Effects of globalization on Indian society • Social empowerment, communal-ism, regionalism & secularism. • Salient features of world's physical geography.

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• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India) • Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc. geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes. Paper-III

General Studies-II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.

• Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. • Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein. • Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions. • Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries • Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. • Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. • Salient features of the Representation of People's Act. • Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. • Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies • Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. • Development processes end the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups end associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders • Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.







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• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/ Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. • Issues relating to poverty and hunger. • Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance-applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential: citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. • Role of civil services in a democracy. • India and its neighborhood- relations. • Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's Interests • Effect of policies and politics of developed end developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora. • Important International institutions, agencies and fora-their structure, mandate, Paper-IV

General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Blo diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.





• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. • Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. • Government Budgeting. • Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints: e-technology in the aid of farmers • Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing. • Food processing and related industries in India-scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. • Land reforms in India. • Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. • Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. • Investment models.

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• Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life • Achievements of Indians in science & technology: indigenization of technology and developing new technology. • Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights. • Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment • Disaster and disaster management. • Linkages between development and spread of extremism. • Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. • Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention • Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism • Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate Paper-V

General Studies- IV: Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude This paper will include questions to test the candidates' attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethic in human actions: dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships. Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.



• Attitude:  content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion. • Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public



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service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weakersections. Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world. Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance. Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity: Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen's Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption. Case Studies on above issues.

PAPER-VI & PAPER VII Optional Subject Papers I & II: Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of Optional Subjects given in the notification. The syllabus for the optionals can be downloaded from www.upscsyllabus in C. Interview test The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his/her career. He/she will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers. The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his/her intellectual qualities but also social traits and his/her interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity. The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

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The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an Intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated youth.