Yellow brick road to "Success": A step by step approach to UPSC India, Civil Sevices, Part-II

In the previous post, "Yellow brick road to "Success": A step by step approach to UPSC India, Civil Sevices, Part-I", we focus mainly on how to jump start your preparation for Civil Services Examination. We also covered, how to choose an optional subject, do we need coaching or not and a few other things.

In this part I'm going to focus on Physical and Psychological conditions that  are optimal for maintaining the zeal to prepare in the long run. We will also cover some of the books, magazines and news papers relevant for the preparation. 

First, I'm pretty sure most of you have a problem with reading and studying for long hours and some of you have problem in maintaining the interest for months and in some cases years while preparing. I know that most of you will agree with me when I say, maintaining sound mind and body is very important for achieving success in any field. I have some simple techniques you can follow to make your life easier while preparing.

How do I maintain myself?

During preparation there will be fluctuations in level of enthusiasm, maintaining sound body and mind is the key. some of the things are listed out here.

• Take care of your health, eat well and exercise regularly.
• Maintain positive attitude, even in your lowest time remember that it's just a phase you are passing. You will get civil services if you work hard.
• If you want to become a civil servant start feeling like one. Eat, think, sleep, walk and do everything like one. Take part in the academic discussions, keep your eyes and ears open for every important thing happening.
• Don't try to fill the hours, try to utilize the time you have. Most often people who are preparing tend to sit for long hours, after a certain point sitting like this gives diminishing returns. For this, plan the day as if you are doing a job, 8-9 hours compact yet comprehensive plan.
• Write at least 400-500 words everyday.  Write the gist of everything you have learnt on that day. It helps you remember, recapitulate and improving writing skills.
• Maintain a schedule, this is the hardest task people face. Normally without a schedule, indiscipline tends to creep in. Schedule is the key to self-discipline. 
• Take an outing once in a while. Breaks help in rejuvenating your energy.

These are the basic points you need to follow to keep yourself fit. Now lets talk about books, NEWS papers and magazines important for preparation. As I said earlier, keeping your eyes and ears open for important things happening, is a very important task. For this you need to know some of the basic yet important sources.

 

Here is a list of books subject wise:

Read NCERT books for basic understanding about anything.

Topic Wise Reference On General Studies

Books on Indian History & Culture:
NCERT (+ 2 level) — Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India.
Publication Division : Gazetteer of India (Vol 2 : History & Culture)
Gandhi Nehru Tagore & Ambedkar — Gopal Krishna
Bipin Chandra - Modern India
A.C.Banerjee - History of Modern India 
Raghavan Aiyer — Mahatma Gandhi
IGNOU Text books- Indian culture and Heritage

Books on Geography:
NCERT : Physical Geography of India for X - XII Std
NATMO atlas, this is a Government printed atlas.
Sharma & Cotinho : Economic and Commercial Geography of India.
Khullar : India- A Comprehnsive Geography
Charles Farro : General Principles of World Geography
Charles Farro : Monsoon Asia Reports published by Centre for Science and Enviornment And Tata Energy Research Institute
National journal - Kurukshetra, Yojana etc.
Down to earth

Books on Indian Economy:
NCERT (+1 level)—Evolution of Indian Economy(I C Dhingra).
Mishra & Puri or Dutt & Sundaram - Indian Economy
Economic Survey
The Economic Times,Business Standard
Yojana Magazine

Books on Social and National Issues :
Social Problem - Ram Ahuja
Social Welfare Magazine - Published by ministry of social welfare
Yojana/Kurukshetra
IIPa Journal

Books on Indian Polity:
NCERT (+1 level)—Indian Political System
N.L. Madan : Bhartiya Rajya Vyavastha
D.D. Basu—Indian Constitution
Kashyap—Constitution of India
Publication Division—Subhash C. Kashyap : Our Parliament
P.M. Bakshi—Indian Constitution
Our Constitution : Subhash C. kashyap
Perspective on Constitution : S.C. Kashyap
Frontline Magazine
IIPa Journal

Books on Science & Technology:
NCERT : (10 level) : Science, (+2 level) : Biology.
Popular Science Series (CSIR)
Reports Of the Ministry of Science and Technology Yojana
Science Reporter
Science and Technology in India - Spectrum

Books on India and the World :
Journal of peace Studies
World Focus
Strategic Analysis
South Asian Journal

Other Books for General Studies:
1. India Year Book latest
2. EPW (Economic and Political Weekly), Outlook and Frontline
3. Guides like Tata Mc Graw Hill, Spectrum or Unique For General Reference 4. The Pearson General Studies Manual

With this I conclude this part. In the next part I'm going to write about Indian culture and heritage. Hope this post helped you.

Yellow brick road to "Success": A step by step approach to UPSC India, Civil Sevices, Part-I

Everyone says that preparing for civil services is laborious. Traditionally, since the time civil services was started by Lord Cornwallis in 1853, everyone believed and still believes that hard work is key to success in Administrative Services examinations for IAS, IPS, IRS etc. I tend to deviate from the tradition, I believe that a perfect blend of hard work, smart work (sometimes both of these are not too different) and quick wit (presence of mind) is the key. However,  it is easier to preach than to follow. Throughout this year, I'll show how I came up with that perfect blend and hope you find yours in the due course of time.

I aspired to become an IAS officer, after witnessing the actions of then collector of my district, Sumita Dawra (Author of book "Poor but Spirited in Karimnagar"). She came to my school for Republic Day, saw an under-aged child working for mic setup, and immediately took action against the owner. Then she went on to implement strict laws against child labour in the district. Her actions, triggered a mixture of emotions in me. The humanitarian vigor, sense of justice, quest for betterment and overall the power she wielded to implement the right thing, made me aspire a future in administration.

So at the onset of my research,  I was riddled with a lot of questions after understanding, how UPSC conducts it, what the syllabus is, how long does it take and a lot of other things.  Questions like, "Where should I start?" "What is the pattern?" "What are the books?" "What should be my optional?" "Is the optional I took right for me?"  "Why are the questions in the exams different from what we are taught in coaching centres? ""What attitude should i maintain?". I'm pretty sure that a lot of UPSC exams related websites will give you a lot of answers to these questions. Here I'm going to add a little bit more.

First question I'm going to take up is "Where should I start?" 

Start by understanding the time it takes for an average person to prepare for the exam. It is normally 1-2 years. Then decide the year of your examination. That is the first step. Then choose your optional, this is first hurdle in your path. I would like to caution you about the people who suggest you to opt for "scoring subjects", do not follow the herd. Remember that even though a certain subject is mark fetching for a lot, that does not mean it will fetch marks to you too and do not forget that you have to master that subject and it takes hours of work, understanding and interest towards it. My suggestion would be, start with reading NCERT text books of class IX, X, XI, XII classes, of all the subjects which are your probable optionals. Subjects like, History, Geography, Economics, Political Science, Sociology and Psychology. If you can't understand the NCERT books of XI and XII of a particular subject, that is definitely not an option for you. If you don't understand any of the subjects, choose the one you understand, and enjoy reading the most.This process normally takes almost a month for a person. Even if you are decided on your optional, I suggest you to read these books, because comprehensive knowledge of all these subjects is a must for Civil Services exam. 

Next comes, Deciding if you need coaching or not. The answer to this question is biased in almost all the websites. The websites tend to prefer coaching. Though I joined a coaching centre, I do not say it is a necessary condition, there are a lot of success stories of people who have not gone coaching centres. My favourite teacher in school, Mr. Shareesh kumar, who is in service now, never took coaching, and another interesting thing about him is, he never took same set of optionals twice in his four attempts. So, neither taking coaching nor sticking to same optional is necessary. People who are working, or people cannot afford them need not feel left out. If you have right attitude and an infallible plan, you are at a good start. 

Now for people who want to go to coaching centre.  There are a lot of renowned institutes around, though they are famous that does not imply that they are best for you. Deciding the suitable Coaching centre for you depends on a few things and remember choosing a wrong one can demotivate certain people. The checkpoints for deciding are:

•  Is the pace of course right for you?
• Is the peer group comfortable?
• Is the coaching centre well established and organised?
• Is the fees in your budget?

There are some low impact checkpoints too, which vary from person to person.

I'm going to give some basic information about coaching fees, cost of living in renowned areas for good coaching centres, like Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee nagar in Delhi. Normally Institutes charge 75k-1 Lakh for GS Mains+ CSAT for 4-6 months. Optional is charged around 30-40k for 3-4 months. Cost of living in Mukherjee Nagar is 12k and Rajendra Nagar is 15k. One can squeeze it a little if they are ready to travel to get to coaching centres.

With this I conclude first part of the journey, hope you find the information and suggestions informative. In next part I'm going to talk about the physical and psychological conditions good for maintaining the zeal in the long run, and some of the books, magazines and news papers relevant for the preparation.

Syllabus-II

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 Ethics 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 service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.

·         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.

As my optional is Geography, My blog is going to follow the same. Though occasionally I may slip into various subjects for in depth understanding.

GEOGRAPHY

PAPER - I

PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHY

Physical Geography:

1. Geomorphology: Factors controlling landform development; endogenetic and exogenetic forces; Origin and evolution of the earth’s crust; Fundamentals of geomagnetism; Physical conditions of the earth’s interior; Geosynclines; Continental drift; Isostasy; Plate tectonics; Recent views on mountain building; Vulcanicity; Earthquakes and Tsunamis; Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscape development ; Denudation chronology; Channel morphology; Erosion surfaces; Slope development; Applied Geomorphology : Geohydrology, economic geology and environment.

2. Climatology: Temperature and pressure belts of the world; Heat budget of the earth; Atmospheric circulation; atmospheric stability and instability. Planetary and local winds; Monsoons and jet streams; Air masses and fronto genesis, Temperate and tropical cyclones; Types and distribution of precipitation; Weather and Climate; Koppen’s, Thornthwaite’s and Trewartha’s classification of world climates; Hydrological cycle; Global climatic change and role and response of man in climatic changes, Applied climatology and Urban climate.

3. Oceanography: Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; Temperature and salinity of the oceans; Heat and salt budgets, Ocean deposits; Waves, currents and tides; Marine resources: biotic, mineral and energy resources; Coral reefs, coral bleaching; sealevel changes; law of the sea and marine pollution.

4. Biogeography: Genesis of soils; Classification and distribution of soils; Soil profile; Soil erosion,

Degradation and conservation; Factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals; Problems of

deforestation and conservation measures; Social forestry; agro-forestry; Wild life; Major gene pool centres.

5. Environmental Geography: Principle of ecology; Human ecological adaptations; Influence of man on ecology and environment; Global and regional ecological changes and imbalances; Ecosystem their management and conservation; Environmental degradation, management and conservation; Biodiversity and sustainable development; Environmental policy; Environmental hazards and remedial measures; Environmental education and legislation.

Human Geography:

1. Perspectives in Human Geography: Areal differentiation; regional synthesis; Dichotomy and dualism; Environmentalism; Quantitative revolution and locational analysis; radical, behavioural, human and welfare approaches; Languages, religions and secularisation; Cultural regions of the world; Human development index.

2. Economic Geography: World economic development: measurement and problems; World resources and their distribution; Energy crisis; the limits to growth; World agriculture: typology of agricultural regions; agricultural inputs and productivity; Food and nutrition problems; Food security; famine: causes, effects and remedies; World industries: locational patterns and problems; patterns of world trade.

3. Population and Settlement Geography: Growth and distribution of world population; demographic attributes; Causes and consequences of migration; concepts of over-under-and optimum population; Population theories, world population problems and policies, Social well-being and quality of life; Population as social capital. Types and patterns of rural settlements; Environmental issues in rural settlements; Hierarchy of urban settlements; Urban morphology: Concepts of primate city and rank-size rule; Functional classification of towns; Sphere of urban influence; Rural urban fringe; Satellite towns; Problems and remedies of urbanization; Sustainable development of cities.

4. Regional Planning: Concept of a region; Types of regions and methods of regionalisation; Growth centres and growth poles; Regional imbalances; regional development strategies; environmental issues in regional planning; Planning for sustainable development.

 5. Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography: Systems analysis in Human geography; Malthusian, Marxian and demographic transition models; Central Place theories of Christaller and Losch;Perroux and Boudeville; Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location; Weber’s model of industrial location; Ostov’s model of stages of growth. Heartland and Rimland theories; Laws of international boundaries and frontiers.

PAPER – II

GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA

1. Physical Setting: Space relationship of India with neighboring countries; Structure and relief; Drainage system and watersheds; Physiographic regions; Mechanism of Indian monsoons and rainfall patterns, Tropical cyclones and western disturbances; Floods and droughts; Climatic regions; Natural vegetation; Soil types and their distributions.

2. Resources: Land, surface and ground water, energy, minerals, biotic and marine resources; Forest and wild life resources and their conservation; Energy crisis.

3. Agriculture: Infrastructure: irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, power; Institutional factors: land holdings, land tenure and land reforms; Cropping pattern, agricultural productivity, agricultural intensity, crop combination, land capability; Agro and social-forestry; Green revolution and its socio-economic and ecological implications; Significance of dry farming; Livestock resources and white revolution; aqua - culture; sericulture, apiculture and poultry; agricultural regionalisation; agro-climatic zones; agro- ecological regions.

4. Industry: Evolution of industries; Locational factors of cotton, jute, textile, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilizer, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage and agro-based industries; Industrial houses and complexes including public sector undertakings; Industrial regionalisation; New industrial policies; Multinationals and liberalization; Special Economic Zones; Tourism including eco-tourism.

5. Transport, Communication and Trade: Road, railway, waterway, airway and pipeline networks and their complementary roles in regional development; Growing importance of ports on national and foreign trade; Trade balance; Trade Policy; Export processing zones; Developments in communication and information technology and their impacts on economy and society; Indian space programme.

6. Cultural Setting: Historical Perspective of Indian Society; Racial, linguistic and ethnic diversities; religious minorities; major tribes, tribal areas and their problems; cultural regions; Growth, distribution and density of population; Demographic attributes: sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force, dependency ratio, longevity; migration (inter-regional, intra- regional and international) and associated problems; Population problems and policies; Health indicators.

7. Settlements: Types, patterns and morphology of rural settlements; Urban developments; Morphology of Indian cities; Functional classification of Indian cities; Conurbations and metropolitan regions; urban sprawl; Slums and associated problems; town planning; Problems of urbanization and remedies.

8. Regional Development and Planning: Experience of regional planning in India; Five Year Plans;  Integrated rural development programmes; Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning; Command area  development; Watershed management; Planning for backward area, desert, drought prone, hill, tribal area development; multi-level planning; Regional planning and development of island territories.

9. Political Aspects: Geographical basis of Indian federalism; State reorganisation; Emergence of new states; Regional consciousness and inter state issues; international boundary of India and related issues; Cross border terrorism; India’s role in world affairs; Geopolitics of South Asia and Indian Ocean realm.

10. Contemporary Issues: Ecological issues: Environmental hazards: landslides, earthquakes, Tsunamis, floods and droughts, epidemics; Issues relating to environmental pollution; Changes in patterns of land use; Principles of environmental impact assessment and environmental management; Population explosion and food security; Environmental degradation; Deforestation, desertification and soil erosion; Problems of agrarian and industrial unrest; Regional disparities in economic development; Concept of sustainable growth and development; Environmental awareness; Linkage of rivers; Globalisation and Indian economy.

NOTE: Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper.

Syllabus-I

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’

Syllabi of the papers included in the scheme of Civil Services (Main) Examination are given as follows:-

PAPER-I

Essay: 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.

English Comprehension & English Precis will be to test the English language Comprehension and English

précis writing skills (at 10th standard level).

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, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

·         Salient features of world’s physical geography.

·         Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent); 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 and the development industry- the role of NGOs, 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 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 and 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, Bio 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.

·         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, nano-technology, bio-technology 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

Introduction, Pattern, Syllabus UPSC India, Civil Services

You can find the what, why and how parts of UPSC in various websites like, civilservicesindia.com, jagranghosh.com, upscguide.com and a lot of others. My job here is not to explain how hard it is to crack the exams or how many hours, weeks, months or years it takes to do it. My job here is simple, I'll take all subjects paper by paper, write the best i know on them and give references. 

Firstly lets understand the examination pattern and syllabus

PART-A

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

The Examination shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

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, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.

• 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)

• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level). 

The tentative date for the preliminary exam next year is August 24, 2014

The Summary of latest pattern of Civil Services (Mains) Examination, As appeared in UPSC Civil Services Notification 2013,

PART B. 

MAIN EXAMINATION

The written examination will consist of the following papers:

Paper-I

Section 1 Essay                                                                                             200 Marks

Section 2 English Comprehension & English Précis                                         100 Marks

(Of Matriculation/ Xth standard level)

Paper-II

General Studies–I                                                                                           250Marks

(Indian Heritage and Culture,History and Geography of the World and Society)

Paper-III

General Studies –II                                                                                         250 Marks

(Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations)

Paper-IV

General Studies –III                                                                                        250 Marks

(Technology, Economic Development,Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

Paper-V

General Studies –IV                                                                                         250 Marks

(Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)

Paper-VI

Optional Subject – Paper 1                                                                               250 Marks

Paper-VII

Optional Subject – Paper 2                                                                                250 Marks

Sub Total (Written test) 1800 Marks

Personality Test 275 Marks.

Grand Total 2075 Marks

{Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of subjects given 

However, a candidate can opt for the literature of a language, as an optional subject, only if the candidate has graduated in the literature of that particular language as the main subject}.

NOTE:

(i) Marks obtained by the candidates for all papers (Paper I-VII) will be counted for merit ranking. However,

the Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all papers of the examination.

Tentative Date for commencement of mains exam 2014 is December 14.

Refernces:

www.upsc.gov.in/exams/notifications/2013/csp_ifs/csp2013.pdf

www.upsc.gov.in/

http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/calendar/2014/approved-ANNUAL%20PROGRAMME-%202014.pdf