Life in the Ivory Tower II

 

The time is here for DAF , test series as well rekindled hope for next year . You already know about importance of DAF for questions are asked extensively from this during your interview. For DAF I would suggest you spare a little time and think of the service and cadre preference diligently apart from the usual information . All of us have a dream service and our home cadres sorted in our heads but what after that ? The thing is in your current state of mind we high on spirits and longing for success and selection is our final aim . Pause for a moment and think that the service and cadre shall stay with you in most cases for your life !! So give it a good thought before you fill your choices . Forumias has good links on services , alternatively  go online and read up about the various services before you fill your choice . As for the cadres , all of you are well informed of the problems faced , the good and the bad in all the states . Secondly keep in mind you shall be spending the next 10 years of your life in rural areas in case of IAS and IPS . So be mentally prepared for it . During preparation I heard a lot of people say “ bhai selection Ho Jaye Baaki nothing else matters “ or “ IAS Banaa do bus , Sarkar Se salary hi nahi lenge” etc . But post selection you shall see so many things matter including place of work , salary , personal life among others . So give these things a little thought for once chosen you can never change these until and unless you reappear for the examination ans we all know thats a cycle we are not very keen on !

Okay now to the main topic . I was posted in the field nearly a month back and man o man what an experience it has been . At the outset let me just tell you that in the civil services the powers , responsibilities and problems which you actually face in the field are 10x the times you currently imagine sitting in your home right now . There is tremendous scope for you to make an impact , and you do get a great night sleep after a tiring day having done your work diligently .

I had seen Gaurav’s video (2013 AIR1)regarding how his life saw a stark change and the realities of ground work a few months back on YouTube . It is a brilliant video and I recommend it for all of you to watch . Things are so true be it about lack of resources ,lack of trained personnel , or the interference . Certain things defy logic and trust me at times your patience is tested . It is in those times that I am reminded of interview answers I had prepared which the time has come for implementation namely : Logical –analytical approach to problem solving , innovative and out of the box solutions + patience , persistence and perseverance. Let me give u an example .

I wanted to implement the e district program and hence told my staff that I shall not sign any income  certificate not applied online barring emergencies . Now this led to more resistance fro the staff than the citizens who came into my office to try and explain the situation . Ranging from scholarship deadlines to delay in processing due to lack of digital signature etc . I first opened scholarship website and showed them the deadlines were long into the future and assured them that they will have my digital signature within 48 hours ! This e district project was to be implemented around 8 weeks back but was not due to inertia . Learn that word you shall face it a lot . Secondly the discretion that I myself projected as well of all evil during preparation days is very much required at times . Be it for consideration of emergency medical cases or in one case counselling for a seat the next day . If I did not have this discretion to give them offline certificates the general public interest would have been harmed to a huge extent . Thus the need for balanced perspective on issues !

People have tremendous respect for us for the simple Reason that they expect us to deliver under all conditions and all circumstances . It was an humbling experience for me on the first day of office when an elderly person asked my permission to enter my room , opened his chappals at the door and entered my office . He was a mean of meagre resources and needed help regarding food and some relief material . To be able to help the most destitute and make a little difference to their lives was what motivated me for the service and being able to do that each day in itself is an unmatched reward .

As for the level of challenges I was recently caught in a situation where nearly 100 young guys surrounded me and demanded certain action (nearly impossible to implement)during an ongoing procession . They were agitated and I was all alone caught in this unaware situation with no police or officials nearby . I on the pretext of medical attention for an injured person ( which caused the uproar amongst them in the first place ) moved them away from the spot and took them to a nearby police station . It was very testing times as I awaited police backup , with the constantly shouting crowd demanding action and me trying to maintain personal calm and that of the group for a clash between communities could be sparked off any moment .The matter of fact is anything can go wrong when a crowd is agitated and united by an idea/cause. However with timely intervention and cooperation of all the matter was contained . But those 1.5 hours were probably the most testing I have faced till now .

I hope these snippets reinvigorate your energies during these crucial final months . There is a world of good we can do , maybe not all shall get coverage or bring you fame but  you have  the opportunity to serve with silence and trust me it is a great opportunity . I read somewhere the best smile is one that has fought its way through tears of hard work , I sincerely wish at the end of the UPSC cycle of your lives you all find that smile !

P.S. Kindly mail on iasexam02@gmail.com for any help with regards to your preparation , although may not be able to reply promptly but will definitely get back J

Life in the “Ivory Tower” and Post Pre Prep

A year it has been since I joined the service but it seems just like yesterday . I still follow the exam schedule and result dates with the same eagerness for I have many close friends associated with the mayanagri of UPSC . The Prelims are over and now we have three categories of aspirants.

First , who know in their hearts and head that the paper was unconventional and they are bound to fail. Trust me I can understand your reproach , disgust and anger with UPSC for the unconventional paper . But if you are to succeed in the future let me tell you first to get rid of these feelings . I stayed bitter for sometime with UPSC with the same feelings only to realize that it serves no purpose but to be an impediment to success. Do not look for reasons/people to blame for your failure . Current affairs is a part of the syllabus and trust me no one can assure you even 1 question from it in the next  year Prelims ! So I am going to repeat myself cover the entire syllabus to the best of your abilities , you never know which area UPSC will stress on and stump you . Remember it’s a comparative exam , people will qualify and get into the service despite the unconventional nature and you can at max prepare yourself for the exam by giving in your best . I know my roommate knew better than me in probably all subjects with the exception of environment and culture and believe me UPSC 2014 killed him by stressing him on these very two subjects ! Prelims 2016 is a wake up call to all those who thought reading current affairs compilation in last months could be an answer to sustained newspaper reading all through the year . Please pay heed to it . Brush the failure away , accept your mistake and rise from the ashes J

Second are the ones who are on margin and Third the ones whose sustained hardwork has paid off and they are confident to write mains . Congratulations ! Now begins the difficult part . You shall be up against the 15000 odd people who have worked hard and continuously over the past months . Now is not the time to wait for the results and give yourself the space to commit that big error : Prelims done , face saved now chillax and prepare for mains ! Nobody cares even for the Interview failed candidate ! UPSC is probably the toughest task master and a great equalizer for you have to begin all over again the next year . Hence donot wait for anything else , be it test series announcement , or your first test , or the Prelims results. You have got the break you deserved now go back to the Policy of Blood and Sweat ! Give as many hours as possible , write as much as you can , revise as much as possible and above all cover the entire syllabus . Use the test series to your advantage . Do your experiments , which pen to write with , which portion to begin with , how is your writing speed stretched over 3 hours , should you attempt 7 equations per hour or make it 8-7-5 , how to draw while writing , how to highlight , points or paras make these test series give you the answer . Remember that “sattar minute “ dialogue by SRK from Chak de India , these next 100 days can change your lif and destiny and nobody can take it away from you . Let nobody take it away from you including yourself ! It may sound funny but right now you are your biggest enemy . Your complacency and laziness may cost you dear !

On a lighter note Many people have asked me as to how does it feel on the other side ? Is it all worth it ? I remember having used lines like “people need to come out of their ivory towers and take decisions to actually ensure last mile delivery of service to the teeming millions”. So how exactly are people inside the Ivory Tower ?

 

To answer the question , YES it is all worth it . No doubt there are a million problems both personal and professional that I have faced already and will face in the future , but that doesn’t take away the positives from being a civil servant . From being addressed by the President at IIT in 2013 to addressing in his presence in Feb 2016 ,  from visiting the high seas to the deepest of forests in our country , from the glamour of Mumbai-Ahmedabad to the strife for basic facilities in villages I have been exposed to these and much more . My 2-3 months in the district has exposed me to the impact we can have and the tremendous work done by senior civil servants in the field .

I am currently in a district where despite being a home cadre I cannot meet my family often , have to go 100km for a decent movie hall and local mall , I get the same bland food everyday at the circuit house ( though better than described in An English August 😀 ) and spend my weekends mostly alone and away from friends . It’s a drastic change from academy life and college life and quite stark in comparison to the life my colleagues from college are living in the corporate sector . Even on a holiday I am mostly going to attend meetings for festivals, dignitaries visits and other new projects with my seniors . and lest you get the wrong impression my seniors in district are working twice as hard with DM sir being the most passionate about the work . Best despite all this let me tell you IT IS ALL WORTH IT !

 

All those dreams of service , helping the destitute and poor while commanding respect and acknowledgment for your service is all true . There is a mountain of challenge and plethora of opportunities awaiting you not to mention the Batti waali gaadi 😀 . So shake off the depression , laziness and tension , jump into the flowing stream of hardwork and reach your dream .Name on the List is just the beginning , you shall have a ride you will never forget !

 

P.S. Drop a mail on iasexam02@gmail.com for any queries !Good Luck !

My Geography Experience

Disclaimer :  This post is to provide other students an insight into my strategy for geography optional. I would like to reiterate that these strategies worked well for me but may not be suited to someone else . I for instance have not read the book by Khullar but managed to get 138 in paper 2 so my strategy worked there . However my lack of thorough knowledge of Savindra Singh and other standard books cost me in paper 1 where I scored just 120 and I think could have performed much better had I prepared the part A from standard books . Hence make adjustments as per your own strengths , weakness and evaluation of the needs of the UPSC examination. With just 258 in optional I donot think I am the best guide for geography anyhow If my experience maybe of some help so here it is !

Book List :

Paper 1 :

1. Physical Geography by Savindra Singh
2. Rupa Made Simple Series
3. Climatology by Lal
4. Human Geography by Majid Hussain
5. Models , theories by Majid Hussain
6. Geographical Thought by Majid Hussain

Paper 2 :

1. Geography of India by Majid Hussain and relevant portions from above quoted books.

1. Why Geography

Apart from having scientific orientation , easy availability of coaching-materials and the perceived high success rate , some parts of the syllabus like economic , environmental and human geography greatly appealed to me . Besides being helpful in essays and other GS papers  I found topics like Human Development , Agri issues , resources distribution very interesting and hence did not mind going the extra mile in these topics specially of Part B of both papers.

( Beginning credits go to my class X teacher Mrs. Anita Dey(St. Xaviers Collegiate School, Kolkata ) who had piqued my interest in the subject and I got a gold medal in school J. It was named Ganga Singh medal and well I got all the Ganga cleaning questions in the interview 😀 Don’t know if that was the link though ! )

These perceptions about easy scoring , high scoring etc can change any year for instance the 2013 paper had certain bouncer questions . In the end your optional needs to be mastered by you if you want to tide over these bouncers and be in the top bracket in your optional. Overall for Geography I would say the syllabus is quite lengthy and needs quite a bit of effort but as said earlier if you have interest in the subject and are willing to work for it do choose it J .

My geography strategy hitched on 3 things :

1. Coverage of entire syllabus with a mixture of coaching notes , reference books .Begin with NCERTs , GC Leong and then move onto more advanced things .
2. Regular updation of current notes on contemporary events and analyzing news from geographical point of view especially for handling part B of both papers.
3. Test series , answer writing and diagram practice.

2. Coaching

Well honestly it was roll of a dice between Shabbir Sir and Madam Neetu Singh . I guess it was based on certain reviews of a just successful candidate whose blog I found online that I went for Neetu Singh(NS).

NS covers about 70% of the syllabus in her class notes . Honestly this 70% formed the core of my geography preparation . After the NCERTS and GC Leong , I went through her notes repeatedly and had them committed to memory . I stuck to this one source and kept on adding information  concepts from other sources like internet , test series , reference books etc . It served me well for I did not hop from one book to other and just used my time more efficiently to plug the gaps  or weakness I found after having established sound knowledge in the subject . I used to consult both  the syllabus , previous years papers to look out for missed out portions and covered them accordingly .

Many people get coaching notes from various coaching institutes and in the end are confused what to read what not to . About 80% all notes are repetition of each other and you will waste a lot of time .

My  final take on NS coaching was this :

Pros :

• Lot of spatial examples in most topics which are helpful in maps and makes the answers more comprehensive .
• To the point coverage on topics . For me in the paper on most topics I had just enough matter for 200-300 words answers , hence did not have to give much time to sieve through my knowledge. It was there for me in a condensed form which I reproduced on paper especially for the theory based questions like mountain belts , their origin , plate tectonics etc.
• Good coverage of map pointing in class. In the map questions apart from importance of place ( which you maynot know ) use your knowledge from climate , soil structure , vegetation and physiography . 10 words on each will be sufficient.
• Good coverage of part B of both papers . I used books only for reference and adding certain points she missed or for topics like sustainable developments , disaster management which fell in the 30% she did not cover .
• I found her coverage of Indian geography comprehensive enough for mains although not so much for prelims for which I used the book by Majid Hussain.
• I am also a believer that facts supplemented with data make a more convincing case and madam provided sufficient data like census numbers , forest cover , etc well.

Cons : ( had to work a lot to make up for them )

• Poor coverage of part A of the topic .For instance landform development theories , slope development , channel morphology , law of sea , marine pollution etc are just a few to name which was poorly covered. I had to supplement them with additional notes of Shabbir Sir , and reference from standard texts .
• No answer writing practice in my time . Right now she has weekly tests but don’t know how much of answer writing practice happens there .
• Diagram work is bordering on average-poor in most topics for which you need to refer to standard texts , online material .
• Many important topics fall in the 30% she does not cover in class. For instance Disaster Management , social forestry , major portion of environmental geography , regional development and planning amongst others .
• Her part B coverage is very good but at times she misses out or just mentions the concepts in passing instead of explaining them in detail . For instance the concept of pay , mental maps , limits to growth etc. For these I used Majid Hussain books extensively apart from Shabbir Sir notes.

Overall her guidance helped me in the exam for I did not have to go through many books to get my basics and fundamentals of geography . They just served as reference books and there is hardly any 1 book in geography that I read fully apart from NCERTS. However this does not mean that coaching is compulsory for success in the exam . Many people take guidance from standard texts and ace the examination without coaching .

3. Current affairs

I maintained a separate notebook for geography and had topics like IPCC , Flood control , HDI , Food Security etc as topics which were constantly updated .

Newspapers : The Hindu , Indian Express

Online : Google topics like IPCC , global warming , sustainable development etc .

Magazines : Kurukshetra ( Agri issues ) , Geography and You , Terra Green ,The Hindu Environment Survey

How to read current affairs with geo perspective ?

For instance a topic like food security . Apart from issues of lack of access to food and water  , how climate change is affecting productivity of crops , how shift of cropping patterns away from pulses is affecting nutrition security , how poor and tribals are disproportionately affected in various parts of our country ( draw a map ) and solutions like biofortication , social forestry etc can be looked into .

In case of falling Child Sex Ratio apart from numbers and maps it may be linked to how regional development has led to falling numbers in Maharashtra ,, even Kerala whereas tribal regions show an uptick.

Make In India one can focus on the issues of manufacturing industries like iron and steel , aluminum ,how we lack sufficient silicon industry for electronics ,  transport issues due to poor regional development , spatial map of electricity shortage etc .

Newspapers are a rich source of maps and data as well . I remember an article in Express on Migration where they had given the source and destination of major migrations in the form of a map . Just cut and paste them in the notes and supplement them with any other information . For instance the civil wars in Africa and Middle east and ensuing crisis can be added as illegal migration , refugees and shown with a map incase a question on migration is asked .

These information will not be usually given in one article at one place . Hence the need to maintain topic wise notes and continuously add points to it . For instance after the Uttarakhand and Kashmir floods , I got to know about a new concept of critical power for floods mentioned in one of the magazines . It also mentioned about Ravi Chopra Committee whose recommendation I read and used in Himalayan Ecosystem fragility answer this year in Mains .

Moreover I used to be a regular reader of Insights Secure Mains which covered newspapers like Business Standard , Live Mint , NYT etc. At times they take out very relevant articles for geography optional like recently livemint had an article series on water crisis of India which I found very useful . SO keep your eyes and ears open at all times !

4. Maps and answer writing

In my first attempt I was just reliant of coaching notes for I hardly had time apart from coaching  between May 2013 when I passed out and December 2013 when I first appeared . I just drew 2-3 diagrams in both papers . This time around it increased to about 25-30 diagrams in total .

I maintained a separate notebook for Maps . I drew the diagram on the right side and left side was used for practice later . Often we read books , or see a good diagram but fail to catalogue it properly . GC leong , NCERTs have some excellent diagrams and since we donot revise them before exams we tend to forget them .

Hence whenever I saw a good diagram , a map , I used to cut and paste or draw then and there . Even from the reference books like Majid Hussain I remember drawing world diagrams on urbanization , forest degradation and distribution , land degradation etc.

During answer writing you would always feel that there is no time / need to make a diagram for you have said it all in the answer or draw a sketch at the end of the answer . That is a very bad strategy . Infact try and make one diagram per question and at the appropriate place for a picture speaks a thousand words . For instance coal issues make a map of distribution of coal resource and in your answer link how people in Jharkhand suffer from lung disease due to it . Always have a link to the question .

Answer writing is of essence for mains as I have told earlier . some questions like tropical vs temperate cyclones , mountain –volcano distribution , Penck-Davis cycle etc are standard questions which are often repeated in the exam . I really liked Shabbir Sir’s strategy where in the test series he made you practice a lot of these questions and corrected them . These self written , comprehensive  answers  with sufficient diagrams , examples  data are ready made material that come very handy in exams .

So practice previous year questions as much as possible !

A thing I consciously tried to do this year was interlink the various parts ( A and B ) and use my theoretical knowledge of paper 1 in paper 2 .

For instance “World is passing through a global resource dilemma.” Comment . In this question I gave reference to neo Malthusian theories in the introduction before going on to handle the core of the question i.e. resource ( food , energy , water etc ) dilemma.

“Discuss the trends in emigration focusing on its major thrust.” This question was aked in paper 2 and here I discussed the trends but made sure to slip in the theories of Lee , Ravenstein and Zelinsky where appropriate.

“Account for the multiple problems of urban agglomerations.” In this question of paper 2  I used Cumulative Causation theory of Gunnar Myrdal in introduction for rise of urban agglomeration and how the loss of these earlier reasons like resources exhaustion , over population etc are causing problems.

5. Test series

In my first attempt I did my test series with NS as it was part of my coaching and had too less a knowledge to properly evaluate myself . However I found her questions a good mix of static and dynamic and her model answers gave a very comprehensive picture . However her feedback and discussion sessions were not very helpful as she seemed in a hurry always then .

For my second attempt I took ALS test series . Let me warn you at first that it shall not be taken by Shashank Atom Sir . I find it wrong for them to give this advertisement with him as Course Director for that gave a wrong impression including to me that he will take the test series . It will be taken by Sachin Sir or someone else  , so be warned .

Pros :

Good Discussions , timely tests , few bouncer questions as well , and since  number of people are less than 50 so you get personal attention as well . I appreciate Sachin Sir’s inputs where he asked me to focus on diagrams , highlighting the mains points and keeping a good mix of concepts, data in the answers .

Cons :

Unprofessional at times for we were not given model answers for as many as 3-4 tests conducted out of a total 8 ! Moreover feedback especially in the full tests is so important , but sadly we never ever received the last 3 papers despite repeated attempts which was a huge letdown for me in the end .This attitude was both unhelpful and unexpected right at the crunch time in end November .

In March 2015 I joined Shabbir Sir ( VAjiram ) Test series in anticipation of my third attempt !

Pros :

Brilliant focus on answer writing , discussion and concept clarity . He provides a question sheet , discusses the answers and asks you to submit written answers for evaluation before he conducts the test on the specific topic .His dedication towards students and inspiring words are noteworthy . He goes to great lengths to research articles , material on important topics which saves a lot of time one would ordinarily waste surfing online . Besides I used his class notes extensively for filling gaps in my preparation as specified .

Cons :

Sir goes overboard at times . I felt he covered 130% of the syllabus and the information overload at times got me all confused at times . He emphasizes case studies etc which is all good but I usually found his notes lacking in spatial examples in many topics .

The number of tests are only 5-6 with no full tests .

However Shabbir Sir test series needs quite a lot of effort and time as you need to read up well and write answers to derive benefit from it .

Overall Part A of both Papers are straight forward and can be prepared from standard texts , coaching notes and with help and guidance from someone for conceptual clarity at certain points . As stated earlier part A was not my forte and I used to attempt 3/5 questions from Part B which I prepared well from the sources listed above with a lot of focus on current affairs .

Questions like Food Security Problems in developing countries were handled by me as I had a knowledge about the Global Hunger Index 2014 in news then . I drew a map regarding the same , used my knowledge of cropping patters , land degradation , climate change to frame the core of the answer . Similarly in 2014 Government of India took out a new Agro forestry policy and in the newspaper article it covered points as to why we failed earlier and what changes have been made . So my love affair with newspapers and current affairs did prove to be a boon .

In conclusion cover the syllabus , use limited books again and again , catalogue your resources for quick revision , practice practice practice  and most importantly have interest in your optional for you need to spend a lot of quality time in it !

Good Luck.

GS Strategy

ALERT 1 : This is the strategy I followed for preparation of GS .  It worked for me , but this is most definitely not the only way to succeed in the examination . Neither can I or anyone else guarantee that following the same strategy as those of toppers will bring you success . The purpose is to provide insight into my method of preparation from which other aspirants may pick points/strategies that suit their needs and proceed !

ALERT 2 : This is a long , long post so take your breaks and naps while reading it 😀 !

Let us begin with  the NCERTs which as per me are a sine qua non for this examination . Besides providing a huge amount of information , the simple language and concept clarity enable the foundation of a sound base for each of the subjects . I had read 6-10 NCERTS and made topic wise notes on them .The information is mostly scattered , for instance the Indus Valley Civilization is spread across 2-3 books  which I gathered at one place making it easier for revision . 11-12 Ncerts I usually underlined in the books as almost every page I found new info , and used to revise from there . More focus was on history ( Modern India ) and Geography books . Sociology I had made notes ( Sanskritization , effects of colonial rule on caste  , effects of globalization etc ) . Ncerts also enabled me in a smooth transition to the humanities subjects  and it is after this that I suggest you move on to the more conventional books for better grasp.

Booklist :

• History : Brief History (Spectrum ) , Bipin Chandra ( Struggle for Independence and India after Independence ) , Baliyan Printed Notes ( World History )
• Culture : NCERT XI Arts , Ancient and Medieval History (NCERT) , Nitin Singhania notes
• Geography was my optional so prepared all topics in depth . One should definitely read NCERTs , GC Leong for sound fundamentals .
• Sociology from NCERTS and current affairs
• Polity : Laxmikanth read this book multiple times cover to cover , newspapers , ARC Reports
• RPA , welfare schemes , development issues : 12^th Five Year Plan , Yojana(policy issues) , Kurukshetra (rural issues ) , PRS montly report, ARC
• R. : Newspapers , Rajiv Sikri : Challenge and Strategy , RSTV debates , Vajiram booklet
• Economy : NCERTs ( X,XI,XII) , Sanjeev Verma , SRIRAM IAS notes , Ramesh Singh
• Environment : Shankar IAS , Down to Earth magazine(geo optional )
• Sci Tech : NCERTs ( special focus on XI-XII Biology for Prelims) , Science Reporter , Hindu special on Thursday
• Security : Vajiram and SRIRAM Booklet , idsa website
• Vision IAS booklets for topics not covered by above books like investment models , food processing , cropping patterns ,indigenization of tech etc
• Ethics : S.K. Mishra Sir’s class notes , Ethics Integrity and Aptitude Book by G. Subba Rao , ARC notes , online random reading .
• Online resources : mrunal and insightsonindia ( everyday ) , idsa ,pib , prs
• Magazines : Yojana , Kurukshetra , Science Reporter and selective reading of EPW .
• Newspapers : The Hindu , Indian Express

1. Note making

I personally never made notes from the standard books . I found them a waste of time and rather underlined the important portions in the book itself . In Bipan Chandra struggle for Independence , I used to frame questions which I wrote at edges of book like economic policy of British , reasons for rise of communalism , reasons for success of peasant revolts etc. and underlined the points and marked them as 1,2,3,4 … which helped me in quick revisions later . At times questions could not be framed and there I just used to highlight the important names/points .

2. Current affairs

This was the portion I enjoyed the most and made extensive hand written notes . I personally read two newspapers ( Hindu and Express) for I found coverage of express especially their editorial , columns and opinion very apt for GS , and complementing the Hindu in many ways thus giving me a sense of fulfillment . Besides the Insights Secure Mains had links to important articles of other newspapers ( Business Standard , New York times , Live Mint etc .. ) which sort of gave me the filtered important articles from these newspapers relevant to CSE at one place :!

I had 4 separate 5-subject notebooks for GS 1,2,3 and I.R. I made an index with topics like Judicial Reforms , Police Reforms , Internet Reforms , WTO issues , Urban Transportation , etc .. and country wise for I.R. For I.R. particularly in the beginning I had to devote a lot of time online to get a grip over the background of the current issues . For instance to understand the ramifications of Iran-U.S. deal , or the cyclical Israel-Palestine conflict one needs to understand the history of relations between the two nations, the various uprisings and wars fought , their causes and effect. You need not know the nitty gritty details but a overall big picture is needed .

In the beginning it always takes more time to read the newspapers , but with time besides an increase in reading speed , you sort of get accustomed to the style of writing and as your knowledge on topics build up you breeze through the articles instead of the jittery , jerky reading at the beginning where you feel all lost !

While reading newspapers I used to underline the important lines which covered the core of the issues, some data/facts etc. At the end of it I used to write them down in the notebook or cut and staple the newspaper article at the relevant place depending on how many points are there . One may see the videos by insightsonindia on how to read Hindu , besides I think Gaurav Agarwal post on how to read newspapers effectively is also very helpful.( https://thesupermanreturns.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/how-to-read-newspapers/ )

3. Resource and Efficiency

There are countless books and websites ready to help you in the quest for cracking this exam . I had a single point agenda that is to eat as much as I can chew . Everything I read and found useful had to be recorded/written/saved somewhere for future use . Unless you revise things it is of no use and unless you catalogue things well it is very difficult to revise !

Hence I choose limited books which I read again and again . But yes I made sure I had the entire syllabus covered . I often used certain chapters from coaching booklets (Vajiram SRIRAM , Vision) which I felt were not covered in standard texts or if I could not get conceptual clarity from the text . I was lucky that my two room mates did coaching in Vajiram and Sriram so had no issues with access to these two !

Similarly for magazines I made the notes then and there . Every Yojana issue has many articles that you will find pertain to the main topic in discussion but are repetitive . I used to make handwritten notes / tear the important pages and supplement them in my GS 2 / GS 3 notebook and the dump the magazine . This I did for all magazines be it EPW , Science Reporter or any other . Read the article , get the relevant portions and clear your room of it instead of stacking it one over the other . In short use your resources efficiently !

Our efficiency ,  by the way also fluctuates wuth the UPSC cycle . For instance the time after mains most of us waste time till the results are out and after that the lucky souls who are called for interview waste time till results as the cycle of hope , glaze of success often blinds us . Instead of that read those long reports ARC , FYP , Sarkaria , IPCC etc which you may not have the time ideally after prelims to do . I mean obviously one cannot prepare with the same vigour as before Prelims or mains but do read the newspapers , the occasional magazines and these reports next time ! See even if you name is on the list except maybe 200-300 people most would be reappearing for the examination , so hope for the best but prepare for the worst J

For websites I followed mrunal ,pib ,  insightsonindia everyday , and the others mentioned in the booklist section as and when I needed them . Online resources are very effective today and helped me in streamlining my preparation . In fact guidance from blogs of many toppers helped me tweak my strategy , realize my follies and correct them .

4. Focus and timeline

The UPSC has penchant for at times stunning the candidates with out of the box questions for instance the NAlanda-Taxila , Panipat question in last mains . However donot lose your focus and start preparing for these things at the beginning even before you read the NCERTS , conventional books  or you  know the traditional dances , paintings etc. Very limited people in the country know these answers well , so focus and prepare the conventional portions first before venturing into these unconventional areas . Master the shallow end of the pool before going for the deep , turbulent waters !

Secondly instead of going for wayward preparation , taking it as it comes I had an established routine for myself . It included 2-3  hours of newspapers , online reading and then 8-10 hours of subject reading . There was sufficient time for bakar , catching on tv series and chai breaks ! Usually I took up 2 subjects a week and had a daily , weekly schedule two weeks in advance with adequate breaks and reserve days for no one is perfect 😀 .

How you plan your day , how many hours you study per day are all dependent on you but plan your studies for it helps you channelize your energy and deadlines improve your efficiency .

5. Answer Writing and Revision ( handled in previous two motivational posts )

You should also read this brilliant piece written by Anunaya ( AIR 57 , 418 in GS !!)  https://thusspakethebabelfish.wordpress.com/

A big mistake in my first mains was that I wrote all that I knew on a specific topic often missing out on the heart of the question . For instance this year Q. Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world .

my last year self would have seen iron and steel industries  of the world , got excited and written all about it ! what needs to be done is show with examples how the pattern has changed from previous years to present day structure . How Ruhr Valley ,  Clyde Valley resources exhaustion , technological development of utilization of scrap iron by Japan , rise of India China etc has led to this shift . Then draw a map showing this shift with arrows towards the rising economies from the western world .

Moreover donot be fooled by the fact that only 20 questions is being asked . Q. Two parallel run schemes of the Government viz. the Adhaar Card and NPR, one as voluntary and the other as compulsory, have led to debates at national levels and also litigations. On merits, discuss whether or not both schemes need run concurrently. Analyse the potential of the schemes to achieve developmental benefits and equitable growth.

These are infact two questions a. . On merits, discuss whether or not both schemes need run concurrently. And b. Analyse the potential of the schemes to achieve developmental benefits and equitable growth. There are many such questions which effectively take up the count to not less than 25 so practice writing 25 in the given time limit .

 

Finally the Misconceptions I would like to dispel :

1. Coaching is not compulsory for success in this examination . It is an individual decision which people often make (mostly those who have no idea about the exam ) probably to get an initial idea about the exam , seek initial guidance and set themselves into routine/time table for this exam .

I personally feel that many people join these institutes due to the fear of lagging behind in the cut throat competition or  to avoid  the feeling of “ Only if I had done coaching I would have cracked the exam “ ! I never took GS coaching and my advice to all those who are taking is that consider the coaching  centres at best as just facilitators and that you need to work a lot on your own , do a lot of self study and not just be dependent on these coaching institutes .

2. Anybody , I mean anybody can succeed in this examination . You donot need to be from an elite institute(IIT/NIT/IIM ) or have a super solid sbackground/schooling to succeed in the exam . All you need is focus , smart and hard work .

3. You do not have to go to Delhi to succeed in the examination. It is indeed true that a competitive environment , availability of coaching/test series , peer discussion groups etc are a major attraction for many students . However the cons include high cost of living ( I stayed in Patel Nagar and it came to around 15k a month ) , average food , horrible weather , water issues etc which are normally associated when you stay away from home . So speak to your seniors/friends/ others living in Delhi and make your own informed decision before rushing to join the overcrowded streets of ld Rajinder Nagar .

4. Nobody can remember things after just one reading or rather very few photographic /eidetic memory gifted individuals prepare for UPSC . So instead of wasting time over worrying how you always forget things , understand this that it is only after repeated readings that any one can remember all that is expected from us . Use mental maps/ other techniques apart from multiple reading/revision . I used a white board in my room to write down key words /points which I found difficult to remember .

I also suggest you read the strategies given on insightsonindia , mrunal by toppers( for instance   I today  read a brilliant article by (AIR 36) Balaji DK ).I end my two cents with reiteration of the fact that nobody knows your strength , weakness , learning capacity , reading speed , writing skills etc better than yourself. So take opinions  from others , hear what the toppers , your fellow aspirants , teachers have to say but in the end form your own strategy and make amendments as and when you feel along the way J .

Good Luck !

Prelims 2015 Strategy

Around a month to go for the Prelims  . Given the changed Prelims pattern with all emphasis on the unpredictable GS 1 , most of the people would have jittery nerves . I thank god to have escaped this ordeal for the third time and here is my two cents for the Prelims .

( Prelims book list available on many sites including on mrunal , inightsonindia with recent interviews with toppers . Here I shall try to outline a strategy , Do’s and Don’t’s for the next month )

1. Completion of syllabus and Revision

This is not just meant in the sense that you should have covered all the topics mentioned but also the fact that each of them should be revised in the ensuing month . Be it the hand written short notes you have made , or the underlined potions in the standard textbooks no is the time to revise these portions .

UPSC has the uncanny way of at times testing detailed knowledge on certain topics ( for instance 22 members of PAC question in Prelims 2013 or the largest committee question in 2014  ) for which glancing through these specific details now is of paramount importance .

Hence prepare a timeline today , where you plan the next 1 month well in advance so that each of the topics is covered ! Do not make pre conceived notions that culture and environment would again have a repeat like last year or that history questions would be a cake walk  , rather try your best to prepare all topics to the best of your ability for you never know which spell UPSC shall cast this year ! No doubt you should be aware of the focus of UPSC on certain topics but do not be blinded to others or be stereotyped to think in a particular way . For instance many believed UPSC will no longer ask factual questions and look at the blood bath in 2014 ! Hence try and follow the Golden mean !

2. Current affairs

Hopefully you would have prepared self notes ( online/offline ) during the past few months . Wonderful initiatives by insightsonindia , mrunal can also be used to supplement your  notemaking . Revise these and look out for specific details like “mera khaata bhagya vidhaata “ slogan for PM Jan Dhan Yojana etc.

In case you have nothing prepared( I sincerely hope none of you are in this position !

)  , first of all ask for notes of peers many of whom have a wonderful collection and in my experience are mostly helping . IF you find no such person then I would suggest that you may use visionIAS current affairs notes for each month (not the compiled versions of others )  as a stop gap arrangement if you are really desperate to prepare current affairs and place a high premium on it .

Donot panic and fall for the flood of “ compiled current affairs material in one magazine “in the market right now by various publications claiming to have concise details of all current affairs . Besides being a wastage of time , they donot provide the necessary details required for most of the questions .

Personally if I did not have notes prepared , I would much rather concentrate on revision of other subjects instead of last ditch attempt . Well obviously it may so happen that the Prelims 2014 is flooded with current affairs as UPSC is unpredictable but then you need to avoid a situation where to cover current affairs insufficiently at the 11^th hour you lose out on conventional questions due to lack of revision !

3. Questions Practice

You need not necessarily have joined a costly test series to gain access to the papers . You can get a paper for 10-20 rupees of any coaching institute .

Besides gaining new knowledge from the model answers to these questions , they can also help you prepare to escape the honey traps of UPSC .

For instance words like “ can “ , “ only “ change the entire tone of the question and you need to be specially wary of these .

4. Discussions

I was lucky to have 3 such friends( Rohan , Shivanshu and Vaibhav ) whom I used to question on the topics I had studied recently . See all of us study mostly from the same sources but at times one may read a magazine more , practice a test series question paper which other may not have or maybe highlighted a specific detail in newspaper,book which others may have missed !( I had missed the information on World Economic Outlook being published by IMF which came up with one of the discussions with Vaibhav ! )

These are the times many would feel nervous , others may day dream but in both cases you end up wasting time alone . Rather make a daily time table where you have a doubt clearing , discussion session with one or two friends of yours .  Besides brushing up my knowledge it also led to mutual barter of information .

But keep them short and ensure they donot end up as time wasting mechanism where you discuss other things unrelated to UPSC . This is the time where 12-14 hours of your day ought to be dedicated for the exam . The more you sweat in practice , the lesser you bleed in war !!

5. Strategy for Qatl ki Subah ( 23 August 2015 , courtesy mrunal 😀 )

Many people are asking what will be the cutoff ! Some  people are predicting 120+ already even before the paper has been attempted .

As per me no doubt the competition is tougher , and cutoff may/maynot increase but  that should not be playing on your mind right now . A paper like last year will have lower cutoff than say paper of Prelims 2013 .

However donot make notions like you have to attempt 90+ questions to succeed in these prelims ! A -0.67 can be the difference between success and failure , hence form your own strategy as to how to attempt the paper instead of following others strategy or going for blind guess in hope of hitting the bulls eyes 1 out of 3 times to avoid negatives . what if you don’t  hit 1/3 and end up losing 2 marks you had earned through hard work  ?

Lay more focus on accuracy rather than number of attempts . I typically begin with questions I am 100% sure , mark them in the question paper and re read them for a second time before bubbling .( typically 50-55 In Prelims 2014)

Then comes the second wave of attack where I go for questions I am 60-90% sure and try and look for option elimination , key words etc to mark the answer . (5-10 in Last PRELIMS )

And finally the third round of answer marking where I typically go for 2-3 typical so called “ intelligent guess “ ( intuition/bluff ) where I am about 50% sure and take the name of almighty and mark it up !

Be very very careful in marking of bubbles !In the exam hall donot think about cutoff , or what others would have marked , how many they would have attempted. As my roommate ( Shivanshu ) often used to tell me that toughness of a paper depends totally on your preparation . The question of “ Satyameva Jayate “  being from Mundaka Upanishad was known to me as Rohan ( another room mate ) had told me during one of our discussions .

So donot judge how others would have done , Believe in yourself and your hardwork of the past months,  try and maximize your performance , be alert and efficient ( sleep well on 22^nd ) and give it your best shot J .

.All the Best !

P.S. My GS 1 scores : 90 (2013 )

104(2014)

Final Marks !

Essay : 140 (Topics :  Power and Tourism ) . Had got 106 last year (Topic : Be the change )and felt the higher marks maybe due to easier marking.

General Studies : Last year scores 60 , 55 ,74 , 74

Attempted all questions in Mains 2014 unlike my first attempt where on an average i left 3-4 questions in each paper.

GS 1 : 106 .( on expected lines as i had prepared geography and history well although some asnwers like IVC , Nalanda were made up on the spot using some latent knowledge !)

GS 2 : 95 ( Unexpected for me as some questions appeared vague to me and the 20 question paper had spoilt my timeline a little bit and messed up my head as well. Add it to it the very few IR questions , I was expecting a repeat of last year marks )

GS 3 : 79 ( Heartbreak really ! )

GS 4 : 107 ( Something clicked and I became less ethical from unethical of last year :D)

Geography Paper 1 :120 ( An improvement over 87 of last year but given the deluge of marks , I consider it sub par , maybe could have prepared part A better !)

Geography Paper 2 : 138 ( Better than 107 of last year , and more diagrams probably helped )

Interview : 179 ( Well what can you do ! Got an IAS rank and greed was always a cardinal sin ! )

ARC Notes

The ARC reports are a valuable source of information and can enrich your answers ( primarily in GS 2 ) and help you get a crystal clear grasp over concepts like good governance , crisis resolutions, social capital  etc. It is highly advisable to read the full reports and make your own notes ( refer to mrunal website for rapid , efficient notemaking from pdf )..

Since Prelims and Mains are upon us , many of you may find it difficult to read the entire reports . Hence I do suggest you go through these documents and use them in your answers These are in a way summary of the ARC documents I made by copy pasting the important points , definitions and innovative solutions proposed.

ARC Ethics Budgeting Financial Citizen Governance Conflict Resolution Crisis E-governance Ethics Personnel Public Order RTI Social Capital_Cooperatives State and District Admin Terrorism

Prelims Material

Culture NIOS Enviro NIOS( geo optional focus) History Tamil Nadu Board Science NIOS

Disclaimer : These word documents were prepared by me from NIOS and Tamil Nadu Board books for revision before the Prelims . I do believe that everyone has their one way of making notes and I advise everyone to read the sources themselves and makes notes that suits them best . I am uploading these notes in the hope that it can supplement your preparation in any way possible 🙂

The Phoenix Shall rise from the ashes : My first article written post UPSC 2013 Mains results

Failure : Rock Solid and Icy Cold Well let me first begin by congratulating fellow peers who are through the Mains’13 and I wish them all the best for the Interviews J And now let me turn to my brethren in the true sense , all the rest who have failed in UPSC ’13. And now to the issue at hand : Failure Rock Solid : I checked my results thrice it never changed and hit me each time with the same intensity as if being pelted with stones. Failure Icy Cold : It made me numb for sometime unable to think / speak / comprehend anything as a matter of fact . A week it has been since the result came out and the holi break provided me an opportunity to reflect on my failure ! Hence this article for all those who are wondering “ why” ! This article is for them who wish to know “WHAT NOT TO DO IN UPSC PREPARATION “ OR “ WHAT MAY LEAD TO FAILURE “ ! For those who wish to read what to do to succeed i would pleasantly like to redirect you to akand’s article and Vinay Sir’s UPSC strategy J

1. Never think you donot need writing practice

Well this is not what I exactly thought but I had the attitude “ ho jayega “ or “ paper main dekh lenge”. I was very infrequent with my writing practice and used to tell myself the excuse that studying and gaining knowledge was more important . If you donot have the info what good is writing practice going to do , was my ever ready answer to my guilty conscience. Reality is writing practice is as important as studying . It has 3 effects :

1. Helps you retain things ( believe me it does . I remembered the answers to certain questions which I had written on the website . Since you have already made the effort to formulate the structure of that answer once it really flows smoothly in the exam hall .)
2. Helps to revise things and learn new things not covered by conventional books
3. Improves your writing speed , prods u to improve your handwriting and above all develops the ability to think and formulate answers in an efficient way for practice makes you perfect .

I knew all this . And believe me all of us know this but despite it we will make some excuse or the other to not be regular in writing answers beginning from a headache to lack of time to tiredness after back to back coaching etc. Etc. I have been decent at writing , educated from a good Jesuit school and often participating in debates and writing competitions maybe this at times too was an excuse to believe I could “handle “ it . For all with similar backgrounds please donot think like this and kill your chances . As they say hardwork is all good and appreciated but it really is smart work that shall help you come out with flying colours. Take pride in your writing skills but never be blinded by it . Moral of the story : the sooner you shed your lethargy the higher the probability of your selection.

2. Demotivation

If you ask my friends they will always tell you I have always wanted the IAS and IAS only. No placement. No CV building nothing just following my passion through most of my college life . Then why was I demotivated ? Well to tell you all the truth it maynot be demotivated but sometimes I lacked the courage to write as I used to see such brilliant answers by some people online like Sahil , Keerthi , Nirmal. This could have been used by me to motivate myself and improve but maybe I chose it as an excuse to not write as frequently as I should have. My lack of knowledge was used in a negative way . As i have harped time and again I used it as an excuse to not write and study more and that was a blunder. Many of you must be starting as freshers and many of you would be repeating. Never ever think just cause you know less or you donot write as well as others you should not post answers online. Accept it as a challenge to improve to their level and again donot think by not writing and only gathering knowledge will propel you to that level . You need to study and write it is a symbiotic relation and one reinforces the other J. Secondly many of us get frustrated very easily . The exam if nothing else teaches you perseverance and patience. However we all want quick results , we want our answers to be brilliant within a week , or know everything in our optional in a month . We often set lofty targets which are very difficult to meet obviously and then get demotivated and think “ mujhse nahin hoga “ , “ kaise hi khatam hoga syllabus “  etc etc. We waste more time thinking than studying / writing . It is a vicious cycle ! We think more , study less , perform badly in mocks , think even more and cycle continues . In th end demotivation and doom. Realize that this examination is a process that will follow its course , it is slow and hence u need to plan smartly and appropriate to your own ability. Donot compare what your flatmate or friend is doing . You know your abilities , plan realistically and follow it . Nobody can study for 15 hours a day continuously for a year ! Take breaks. Keep yourself motivated. Write at times why you want to be an IAS/IPS/IFS and read it at times when you feel the most low. It gives you a sense of purpose and hopefully shall reignite those passions that has made you choose this difficult yet amazing journey !

3. Lack of revision

Umpteen times have all of us heard that revision is the most important aspect which determines your performance on the D – day . I alwaz thought that since i had learnt it up things would go really fast and i would be able to revise everything easily . WRONG . FAILURE . revise as much as u can and never leave it all for the last week or just before the exam night . My excuse ? well the same ki yaar I just passed out of college . 5 months better utilise it to gain knowledge , revision will happen very fast if i learn things and understand the concepts religiously. The situation became so dire that i couldnot revise any subject properly before the mains . Moral : Keep a day every week where you revise all you have learnt/understood/written. Optional/GS/Current Affairs whatever the case maybe.

4. UPSC the burden !

A flatmate of mine recently said “ Bhai you may have the knowledge but I didnot like one thing about your preparation .” I was like what ? and he said in plain simple tone “ you never enjoyed the process. You took that as a burden and that is why you are in this position”. ( This was 4 days after Mains’13 results )Today when I think of it he is right . I have been wanting this for so long that the months after PRElims seemed to sapped out all my energy and I became the droning groaning aspirant ! I studied . I worked hard .But maybe my attitude was not as positive or cheerful as it should have been . For every person reading this “ enjoy the process” we are here by choice and not by force . success / failure is not something anybody can be sure of but what we can be sure of is how we guide ourselves through this period .

5. Never ending breaks

Well my 30 mins of listening to music becomes and hour/1.5 hours . One episode of tv series stretches into 3-4 and football match is followed up by its replays / analysis and press talks . Potion for failure strengthened ! So excuses to not write that time went into this I feel now looking back at things. They seemed innocuous then for I deserved a break if I am studying for 12-14 hours a day but today I see the folly in my logic and how the troika has contributed to my failure. I am not against breaks for they help you to recharge and refresh but do not let it become an excuse to cover your fallacies and do not use it as an excuse for failure that you deserve a movie break as you performed badly in a test and need to vent out the negativity ! I remember watching a Harsha Bhogle talk online. He questioned the audience  as to what do you guys think people mean by 110%, 150% etc. 100% mathematically is the upper limit. And then he explains giving your 100% COMMITMENT to your work to your passion every single day and every single hour till your goal is achieved will translate it giving more than 100% . I know easier said than done but seriously guys people who succeed are indeed that committed. I have a friend who cleared the mains despite being bedridden by jaundice for a month before the mains but even in that condition all I can say it was his commitment and passion that got him through where many freshers /repeaters have failed ! There are n number of mistakes now that I reflect I must have made . Each of us are unique and some of you may know people who have cleared the mains or maybe IAS with flying colours by making ditto mistakes as mine but kindly treat them as exceptions . These 5 mistakes if enter you UPSC life , shall undoubtedly be your Achilles  heel  no matter who you are ! I end my gyaan 😀 with a quote from Rocky Balboa : It ain’t about how hard you’re hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! This  has helped me to regain the broken pieces and start afresh  for this is the life we all  have chosen , to follow our passions . I have started writing answers again and this time I hope to correct the wrongs , write everyday , rekindle the passion and the self confidence so doused by this failure and begin this journey (againJ ).