You are on page 1of 12

IES Tips

- Try answering questions to depth, marks will not be allotted for mere
superficial knowledge so dont waste time in questions which you dont know
properly.
- Try to be legible; Deduction up to 5 per cent of the maximum marks for
the written papers will be made for illegible handwriting.
- Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined
with due economy of words in the conventional papers of the examination.
- Candidates should use only International form of Indian numerals (e.g.
1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.) while answering question papers.
- Conventional papers must be answered in English. Question papers will
be set in English only.
- In the Personality Test special attention will be paid to assessing the
candidates capacity for leadership, initiative and intellectual curiosity, tact
and other social qualities, mental and physical energy, powers of practical
application and integrity of character.
- In objective dont mark answers if not sure as there is negative marking
of 33%
Things to Remember for IES exam
- Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances
will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the answers for them.
- The Commission have discretion to fix minimum qualifying marks in any
or all the papers of the examination. The Objective Type papers as contained
in Section-I of the Plan of the Examination will be evaluated first and
evaluation of the Conventional Type papers contained in Section-II of the
Plan of Examination will be done only of those candidates who obtain the
minimum qualifying marks in Objective types papers, as fixed by the
Commission.
- In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used.
Candidates will be supplied with standard tables/charts in SI units in the
Examination hall for reference purpose, wherever considered necessary.
Following tables will be supplied by Commission (on request)
* Mathematical/Physical, Chemical and Engineering Tables (including
Logarithmic Tables);
* Steam Table (including Mollier Diagrams for Temperature up to 800 C
and Pressure up to 500 Kgf/Cm);
* National Building Code of India 1970 or 1983 Group 2 Part VI;

* Any other special articles as may be necessary for the candidates to


answer the questions set in the question paper.
- Candidates are permitted to bring and use battery operated pocket
calculators for conventional (essay) type papers only. Loaning or interchanging of calculators in the Examination hall is not permitted. Candidates
are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type paper (Test
book lets). They should not, therefore, bring the same inside the
Examination Hall.
- Mobile phones, pagers or any other communication devices are not
allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted. Any
infringement of these instructions should entail disciplinary action including
ban from future examinations.

All over preparation for IES is easy we can say even compared with GATE.
Let us start with the difference in preparation for GATE and IES. For GATE,
around 5 technical important subjects with Maths and Quantitative Aptitude
may be sufficient to crack 95 to 98 percentile. We may have to even work
out Exercise problems also for those subjects and may have to study
multiple books for the same topic. But for Engg Service Exam (ESE), we
may need not practice Exercise problems or may need not study multiple
books for the same topic. Instead we may have to study multiple books for
the same subject but for not same topic.
We need only 50% of marks from the written test. All over to write 20 to 25% questions,
we need not prepare anything. Those will be that much easy. Around 40 to 50% of
questions will be average standard which need preparation. Remaining questions may
be difficult, for that above average to extreme preparation may be needed. Again, for ES
exam, 30 to 35% questions (At least models) will be repetitive from Old question
papers. So, we need to analyze old question papers starting from General Studies to
Descriptive papers from 2004. Now, is it difficult to get 50% of marks IF WE PLAN
PROPERLY?
PRACTICE! PRACTICE!! PRACTICE!!! Mantra. All you have to do is practice thats all
for IES. You have to do same example problems thrice. You have to read same topic in
the SAME book thrice. You are done. You can expect IES. Frankly IES dont need any
talent, but perseverance and consistency in preparation.
About Objective paper: For objective papers we recommend preparing all subjects. For
Electricals communications may be difficult or for Telecommunications Material
science/Power Electronics may be difficult. But prepare those subjects also at least to
Basic level. If you are unable to understand B.Tech books, go for Diploma books. You

will be able to follow those and then try for graduation standard books. But dont leave
any subject. Old question papers from 2004, you have to prepare, least mug up those in
few areas. Also prepare old civil services preliminary exam questions for objective.
About Descriptive papers: For descriptive we need to practice a lot. See 3 to 4 subjects
which are important/which is carrying more weightage. Prepare all example problems;
solve all old question papers for these subjects. For other subject prepare at basic level.
Objective is more important than Descriptive papers (THERE ARE NO MERCY MARKS
WITH UPSC): We may get 70% of allotted marks, if we get correct solution with
procedure for Descriptive papers. As calculators are allowed, we can expect problems
which need to be solved properly with calculator. But for Objective, we will get 100% of
marks, that to as they dont allow calculator, we can expect simple problems, which
need not be too much cautious.
General Studies & General English: General studies preparation is not much
difficult task to do. We need to prepare last 10 years question papers for conventional
side (Polity, Geography, History etc.,). Get an idea. Take year book and prepare least
those mentioned topics from that. For current affairs, take Civil Services Chronicle from
January to April. Prepare NCERT 9thstandard and 10 standard Geography books. For
polity you can opt for Laksmikanth. As more questions come from Modern History
(Preparation of Ancient and Medieval is difficult also ) you can prepare only Modern
History. For this Spectrum Series book is more than sufficient. For General English, last
10 years old question papers are more than enough.
All over we can expect 120 to 140 marks in each objective papers, 90 to 110
marks in each descriptive and in General English/General Studies objective paper even
if we get around 60 marks it is enough.

The EXAMINATION shall be conducted according to the following plan:Part I-The written examination will comprise two sections-Section I
consisting only of objective types of questions and Section II of conventional
papers. Both Sections will cover the entire syllabus of the relevant
engineering disciplines viz. Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Electrical Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering. The
standard and syllabi prescribed for these papers are given in Schedule to the
Appendix. The details of the written examination i.e. subject, duration and
maximum marks allotted to each subject are given in para 2 below.
Part II-Personality test carrying a maximum of 200 marks of such of the
candidates who qualify on the basis of the written examination.

2. The following will be the subjects for the written examination:Note: Candidates are advised to read carefully special instruction to
candidates for conventional type tests and objective type tests given in
Appendix-IV (Part A& Part B) including the procedure regarding filling in the
Answer Sheet of objective type tests in the Examination Hall.
3. In the Personality Test special attention will be paid to assessing the
candidate's capacity for leadership, initiative and intellectual curiosity, tact
and other social qualities, mental and physical energy, powers of practical
application and integrity of character.
4. Conventional papers must be answered in English. Question papers will be
set in English only.
5. Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances
will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the answers for them.
6. The Commissionhave discretion to fix minimum qualifying marks in any or
all the papers of the examination. The Objective Type papers as contained in
Section-I of the Plan of the Examination will be evaluated first and
evaluation of the Conventional Type papers contained in Section-II of the
Plan of Examination will be done only of those candidates who obtain the
minimum qualifying marks in Objective types papers, as fixed by the
Commission.
7. Marks will not be allotted for mere superficial knowledge.
8. Deduction up to 5 per cent of the maximum marks for the written papers
will be made for illegible handwriting.
9. Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined
with due economy of words in the conventional papers of the examination.
10. In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PAPER-I
(For both objective and conventional type papers)
1. Thermodynamics, Cycles and IC Engines, Basic concepts, Open and
Closed systems.

Heat and work.Zeroth, First and Second Law, Application to non-Flow and
Flow processes. Entropy, Availability, Irreversibility and Tds
relations.Claperyron and real gas equations, Properties of ideal gases and
vapours.Standard vapour, Gas power and Refrigeration cycles. Two stage
compressor. C-I and S.I. Engines.Pre-ignition, Detonation and Diesel-knock,
Fuel injection and Carburation, Supercharging. Turbo-prop and Rocket
engines, Engine Cooling, Emission & Control, Flue gas analysis,
Measurement of Calorific values. Conventional and Nuclear fuels, Elements
of Nuclear power production.
2. Heat Transfer and Refrigeration and Airconditioning.
Modes of heat transfer. One dimensional steady and unsteady conduction.
Composite slab and Equivalent Resistance. Heat dissipation from extended
surfaces, Heat exchangers, Overall heat transfer coefficient, Empirical
correlations for heat transfer in laminar and turbulent flows and for free and
forced Convection, Thermal boundary layer over a flat plate. Fundamentals
of diffusive and connective mass transfer, Black body and basic concepts in
Radiation, Enclosure theory, Shape factor, Net work analysis. Heat pump and
Refrigeration cycles and systems, Refrigerants. Condensers, Evaporates and
Expansion devices, Psychrometry, Charts and application to air conditioning,
Sensible heating and cooling, Effective temperature, comfort indices, Load
calculations, Solar refrigeration, controls, Duct design.
3. Fluid Mechanics.
Properties and classification of fluids, Manometry, forces on immersed
surfaces, Center of pressure, Buoyancy, Elements of stability of floating
bodies. Kinematics and Dynamics.
Irrotational and incompressible.Inviscid flow. Velocity potential, Pressure
field and Forces on immersed bodies. Bernoullis equation, Fully developed
flow through pipes, Pressure drop calculations, Measurement of flow rate
and Pressure drop. Elements of boundary layer theory, Integral approach,
Laminar and tubulent flows, Separations. Flow over weirs and notches. Open
channel flow, Hydraulic jump. Dimensionless numbers, Dimensional analysis,
Similitude and modelling. One-dimensional isentropic flow, Normal shock
wave, Flow through convergent - divergent ducts, Oblique shock-wave,
Rayleigh and Fanno lines.
4. Fluid Machinery and Steam Generators.
Performance, Operation and control of hydraulic Pump and impulse and

reaction Turbines, Specific speed, Classification.Energy transfer, Coupling,


Power transmission, Steam generators Fire-tube and water-tube boilers.Flow
of steam through Nozzles and Diffusers, Wetness and condensation.Various
types of steam and gas Turbines, Velocity diagrams.Partial admission.
Reciprocating, Centrifugal and axial flow Compressors, Multistage
compression, role of Mach Number, Reheat, Regeneration, Efficiency,
Governance.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PAPER - II
(For both objective and conventional type papers)
5. THEORY OF MACHINES:
Kinematic and dynamic analysis of planer mechanisms. Cams.Gears and
gear trains.Flywheels.Governors.Balancing of rigid rotors and field balancing.
Balancing of single and multicylinder engines, Linear vibration analysis of
mechanical systems. Critical speeds and whirling of shafts Automatic
controls.
6. MACHINE DESIGN :
Design of Joints : cotters, keys, splines, welded joints, threaded fasteners,
joints formed by interference fits. Design of friction drives : couplings and
clutches, belt and chain drives, power screws.
Design of Power transmission systems : gears and gear drives shaft and
axle, wire ropes.
Design of bearings : hydrodynamics bearings and rolling element bearings.
7. STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
Stress and strain in two dimensions, Principal stresses and strains, Mohrs
construction, linear elastic materials, isotropy and anisotropy, stress-strain
relations, uniaxial loading, thermal stresses. Beams : Bending moment and
shear force diagram, bending stresses and deflection of beams. Shear stress
distribution. Torsion of shafts, helical springs. Combined stresses, thick-and
thin-walled pressure vessels.Struts and columns. Strain energy concepts and
theories of failure.
8. ENGINEERING MATERIALS :
Basic concepts on structure of solids. Crystalline maferials.Detects in
crystalline materials.Alloys and binary phase diagrams.Structure and
properties of common engineering materials.Heat treatment of
steels.Plastics, Ceramics and composite materials.Common applications of
various materials.

9. PRODUCTION ENGINEERING :
Metal Forming : Basic Principles of forging, drawing and extrusion; High
energy rate forming; Powder metallurgy.
Metal Casting : Die casting, investment casting, Shall Moulding, Centrifugal
Casting, Gating & Riser design; melting furnaces.
Fabrication Processes : Principles of Gas, Arc, Shielded arc Welding;
Advanced Welding Processes, Weldability: Metallurgy of Welding.
Metal Cutting : Turning, Methods of Screw Production, Drilling, Boring,
Milling, Gear Manufacturing, Production of flat surfaces, Grinding & Finishing
Processes. Computer Controlled Manufacturing Systems-CNC, DNC, FMS,
Automation and Robotics.
Cutting Tools Materials, Tool Geometry, Mechanism of Tool Wear, Tool Life &
Machinability; Measurement of cutting forces. Economics of
Machining.Unconventional Machining Processes.Jigs and Fixtures. Fits and
tolerances, Measurement of surface texture, Comparators Alignment tests
and reconditioning of Machine Tools.
10. INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING :
Production Planning and Control : Forecasting - Moving average, exponential
smoothing, Operations, scheduling; assembly line balancing, Product
development, Break-even analysis, Capacity planning, PERT and CPM.
Control Operations : Inventory control ABC analysis, EOQ model, Materials
requirement planning. Job design, Job standards, Work measurement,
Quality Management - Quality analysis and control. Operations Research :
Linear Programming - Graphical and Simplex methods, Transportation and
assignment models. Single server queueing model.
Value Engineering : Value analysis for cost/value.
11. ELEMENTS OF COMPUTATION :
Computer Organisation, Flow charting, Features of Common computer
Languages - FORTRAN, d Base III, Lotus 1-2-3, C and elementary
Programming.
IES Tips

Try answering questions to depth, marks will not be allotted for


mere superficial knowledge so dont waste time is questions which
you dont know properly.

Try to be legible; Deduction up to 5 per cent of the maximum marks


for the written papers will be made for illegible handwriting.

Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression


combined with due economy of words in the conventional papers of
the examination.

Candidates should use only International form of Indian numerals


(e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.) while answering question papers.

Conventional papers must be answered in English. Question papers


will be set in English only.

In the Personality Test special attention will be paid to assessing the


candidates capacity for leadership, initiative and intellectual
curiosity, tact and other social qualities, mental and physical energy,
powers of practical application and integrity of character.

In objective dont mark answers if not sure as there is negative


marking of 33%

Things to Remember for IES exam

Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no


circumstances will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write the
answers for them.

The Commission have discretion to fix minimum qualifying marks in


any or all the papers of the examination. The Objective Type papers
as contained in Section-I of the Plan of the Examination will be
evaluated first and evaluation of the Conventional Type papers
contained in Section-II of the Plan of Examination will be done only
of those candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in
Objective types papers, as fixed by the Commission.

In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used.


Candidates will be supplied with standard tables/charts in SI units in
the Examination hall for reference purpose, wherever considered
necessary. Following tables will be supplied by Commission(on
request)
o Mathematical/Physical, Chemical and Engineering Tables
(including Logarithmic Tables);
o Steam Table (including Mollier Diagrams for Temperature up
to 800 C and Pressure up to 500 Kgf/Cm);
o National Building Code of India 1970 or 1983 Group 2 Part
VI;
o Any other special articles as may be necessary for the
candidates to answer the questions set in the question
paper.

Candidates are permitted to bring and use battery operated pocket


calculators for conventional (essay) type papers only. Loaning or
inter-changing of calculators in the Examination hall is not
permitted. Candidates are not permitted to use calculators for
answering objective type paper (Test book lets). They should not,
therefore, bring the same inside the Examination Hall.

Mobile phones, pagers or any other communication devices are not


allowed inside the premises where the examination is being
conducted. Any infringement of these instructions should entail
disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.

IES - Indian Engineering Services is conducted by Union Public Service


Commission (UPSC) for posts vacant in engineering services in the
government sector.
IES Preparation involves a lot of preparation before appearing for the exam.
There are lost of Tips & Tricks required for IES Preparation. Below you will

find Tips & Books for IES Preparation.


IES Preparation Tips & Tricks:

Selection of Books:- It is advisable not to go through a lot of books.


Instead go through one quality book on each topic, which clarifies your
basic concept.Selective books are necessary for selected topics.

Practice:- All you have to do is practice thats all for IES. You have to
do same example problems thrice. You have to read same topic in the
SAME book thrice. You are done. You can expect IES. Frankly IES dont
need any talent, but perseverance and consistency in preparation.

Practice full-length mock test, comprising of all the sections, within the
fixed time period.

Get acquainted with the latest examination pattern and syllabus of the
exam.

Divide your time efficiently. Make sure that sufficient time is dedicated
to prepare each paper.

Go through the previous years question papers. Compare them and


see what types of questions are repeated every year.

Read Newspaper and articles, watch TV news especially the morning


bulletin, quiz contests, etc, surf websites in order to prepare for
General Ability Test section, and pay attention to grammar, in order to
minimize mistakes.

General studies preparation is not much difficult task to do. We need


to prepare last 10 years question papers for conventional side (Polity,
Geography, History etc.,). Get an idea. Take year book and prepare
least those mentioned topics from that. For current affairs, take Civil
Services Chronicle from January to April. Prepare NCERT 9thstandard
and 10 standard Geography books.

Dear All,
Here are the tips for Engg.Services Interview by PosubabuAlli, Present
working IES officer in Indian Railways.
Aspirants are requested to continue the discussion here.
Thanks, Rao, Director, IES,Bangalore.

Engineering services Interview


Unlike CSE interview, ESE interview is quite simple and can be lead by
the candidate to the right direction, if properly prepared. Board
consists of four members. Chairman and 3 members.
Chairman of the board is from UPSC. Usually UPSC members head the
interview boards. If there are multiple boards for a stream, there may
be chances of disparities anoy multiple boards. Because marks pattern
of one board differs from the other. In such case scaling should be done
(But, I dont know whether it happens or not). Multiple boards for one
stream is usual in civil engineering because no. of candidates are more.
Normally, one board interviews each candidate for twenty minutes at
an average 6 to 7 candidates are interviewed by a board in one session
)i.e., either forenoon or afternoon session)
Normally chairman of the board starts the interview with questions
related to bio data like name, village, state, ongoing events in state
etc. Deep knowledge in current affairs is not expected in this interview.
Fair amount of knowledge regarding current events is sufficient.
Reading news paper and magazines like India Today and Front line is
sufficient you can simply skip political news in magazines and news
papers concentrate on technological issues. Especially science and
Tech. Colum in Thursday Hindu newspaper is very much useful. The
question corner in this edition is very quite useful. Old questions can be
had from the book. The Hindu speaks on scientific facts.
You must project you self curious in knowing principles of operations of
daily using gadgets etc.
In this area some previous questions asked were
1. Principle of working of bowling machine (incidentally this candidate
written hobby as cricket in application)
2. Working of spark plug in scooter
3. Working of Xerox machine
4. Working of air conditioner
So, the questions are more based on applications rather than theory.
We can expect questions an
1. Working of LCD, LED TV
2. Internet telephony, IPTV
3. 3 G technology, wireless communication Bluetooth, wifi etc.
4. Orgonic engines
5. Indian space and Defence programs.
6. Climate change adaptation etc.
one must go deep into science and Technology topics. Science
technology books of various publishers meant for CSE mains will be
useful (like spectrum series, wizard series etc)

At least 20 to 30% of interview will be on present job / studies. The


candidate should convincingly tell why he/she is willing to join Engg.
services. There is every possibility that interviewers counter your
arguments interms of pay, nature of job etc. please, keep in mind that
the pay package in engg. services is less than that of PSUs. But, you
can talk about rapid promotions etc. Responsibility is no doubt high in
engg. services. Job nature is less technical and more administrative.
One should hare good interpersonal skills to get the job dare by
subordinates. Such quality has to be displayed during interview while
you communicate.Dont show case your present career / job as bad
one. You speak about relative advantages in engg. services.
Be clean and true to yourself, regarding why you would like to join
engg. services. Brush up basic theoretical principles. There are no
questions seeking you to analyze technically too much (usually done in
BARC interviews). Here, also concentrate more on applications. For eg:what kind of motor is used in a mixer / grinder and why?
Have some idea regarding the sectors to which your engg. stream
relates. For example electrical engineers should know about per
capita electrical energy consumption, proportion of varies kinds of
electrical energy sources, national grids, HVDC links etc. similarly, civil
engineers may be asked an interlinking of rivers, urban planning etc.
Subject experts will be coming from varied fields. Depending on their
fields their questions vary. One or two professors or vice chancellors
will be there. You have to ensure that their questions should not be
missed because; their questions will be in general nature. The
questions by other experts are some times related to their field only for
ex: if question like which kind of motor is used in Delhi metro
trains? are asked, it is .. beyond some doubt about
correctness.
The simplest solution to get rid of interview troubles is performing
better in written exam. Having performed better in written, candidates
confidence will be at peak and there by chances of getting good
interview scores and hence getting top rank will be enhanced
Wising you good luck
PosuBabuAlli, IRSEE
Divisional Electrical Engineer
South central Railway
For more discussion like these, visit www.onlineies.com
www.onlineies.com/forum/

You might also like