KARM KARO, FAL KI CHINTA NA KARO suggest karta hun.

UPSC preparation k liye yehi MANTRA main

I am an aspirant like u with some experience and since I qualified prelims twice without any coaching or test series , I would like to share my prelims experience with u.I think my prelims score wud help u develop some faith in me, so I am putting my scores here : 2012- 262/400 i.e 96(paper1)+166(paper2) [official score published by UPSC] 2013-300+/400 i.e 110+(paper 1)+ 191(paper 2) [official score not announced yet but dis is my evaluated score from different answer keys] I cud have done better in paper 1 in both dese years but since I relied heavily on paper 2, I din do much revision of paper1 syllabus.Otherwise with proper revision one can get aprx 20 marks more in paper 1 dan what I have got n these two years. I have prepared this document with all my heart, soul and mind, and sincerely request u to follow my advice , and if u dont hav faith in me and want to go for some other materials suggested by some other people or coaching centres, i suggest u to first master over all that i have suggested.The day u feel u have mastered over, just inform me, and i will salute u.Hope u get my point. THOUGH I AM PREPARING THIS DOCUMENT FOR ENGLISH MEDIUM CANDIDATES , I THINK HINDI MEDIUM CANDIDATES CAN BENEFIT TOO. Some important points before I go for the strategy : 1.If u are into some job, dont leave it for prelims preparation. 2.Never go for any coaching for prelims, most of them are frauds and moreover if u can do it with self study alone why to waste time n money on some coaching even if u believe or heard it to be good. 3.If u have 5-6 dedicated hours a day and have such 150-200 days ,u can qualify prelims. 4.Never think that people with experience can beat u in prelims, its all about few mnths of hard and smart study.Anyone can beat anyone.No new-old concept. 5.Btech students do have an advantage in CSAT i.e paper 2 of prelims, so non tech or non maths students do need to work extra on dis paper. 6.Practice and rigorous revision are the keys. I donn feel sleepy during night , so I had to appear in both the prelims widout a minute of sleep d night before the exam . I think It was possible cz of practice alone.

NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT STRATEGY FOR PRELIMS AND ONLY FOR PRELIMS.
HERE I GO :

A)GENERAL STUDIES i.e PAPER 1 OF PRELIMS

1.GEOGRAPHY :
WHAT TO READ: NEW NCERTS 6-12 , so a total of 9 books ( 5 books from 6-10, rest 4 from 11-12 th) An Oxford Student Atlas

G c leong ( Though its a popular book, I dont suggest it cz its content is similar to ncert class 12 physical geography)

HOW TO READ: Order of importance of NCERTS -11th-12th( india physical>world physical>Indian economy and people>human geography)>10>9>8>7>6 Go through each and every word,map, table, graph,box,data .Dont leave any info in ncerts. Use the Oxford Atlas for both india and world maps.Map reading is all about observance.No particular rule how to observe.Its quite subjective. If u have sufficient time, can make notes of the Ncerts. Note making is always beneficial though not necessary for prelims. Its very easy to go through the NCERTs,so some people take dem lightly and go for other materials in the market sch as reference books , Coaching material, guides ,magazines etc.;they think that NCERTs are not sufficient for UPSC prelims as its sch a tuff examination, and so some thng extra is needed.But believe me frnds , even if u study dese NCERTs for years, u cant master dem completely.So important thng is to master over them as much as u can, and not just hav a look through them.Moreover, u need to put ur precious time in other subjects too.SO REVISE AND REVISE AS MUCH AS U CAN these 9 books only and the atlas .NOTHING ELSE REQUIRED.And if some qsns do come which u have never found in NCERTs and they are bound to come in exam, rest assured that other people too dont know those qsns, some make blind guesses, some make logical gueses, and some just leave dem.

2.HISTORY
WHAT TO READ: CLASS 11-12th OLD EDITION NCERTS,so a total of 3 NCERTs i.e ANCIENT+MEDIEVAL+MODERN ( can get the original books or even the photocopies) Note-class 12th ncert i.e modern india is written by Bipin Chandra, and u can even find dis book published by a private publisher i.e penguin publishers .However both are exactly same.So dont get confused which one to buy. Note- There is a book named Indias struggle for independence which has been written by several authors including Bipin Chndra.That book si quite voluminous and is not needed at all. So again, u don get confused which book to buy. SPECTRUM MODERN INDIA by Rajiv Ahir- This book is actually a guide book containing relevant facts and concepts contained in the above voluminous book that I mentioned of. Thus a total of 4 books.(3 NCERTs +Spectrum)

HOW TO READ: ANCIENT INDIA-In this part u shd focus on the culture, religion, architecture,literature etc. of different periods.Just filter out facts and concepts related to these topics from the old class 11 th NCERT book that I mentioned about .Generally 3-4 qsns come from this part, so u cant leave it.Don get afraid by the volume of this book, u jss hav to learn how to filter the relevant parts from it and then it becomes quite short.To overcome the pressure in this part , u should make shrt notes if u have time. MEDIEVAL INDIA-Again, a voluminous book from prelims point of view.However, again u have to follow the same strategy that I suggested in the ancient part i.e culture, art,religion , arhchitecture, sculpture etc.And te book would significantly get reduced in volume. Again,to overcome the pressure in this part , u should make shrt notes if u have time.

NOTE- Generally people have tendency to leave medieval india as they find it quite cmberome to read this part for just 1-2 qsns that come in exam, but I suggest u not to leave it if u have sufficient time, cz 1-2 qsns can make or ruin lives.There are several instances of people who just managed to cross the prelims cut off and topped the exam. A recent example that I would like to give is that of Rukmini Riyar, her prelims score (as per the document received from UPSC through RTI) was jst 0.7( i.e less than 1) mark more than than the official cut off of 198 in 2011 and she got Rank 2 . MODERN INDIA-It is the most important part as majority of the qsns come from this part, so u hav to devote most of the time of History preparation in this part .The NCERT or the Bipin Chandra book( I remind u again that both are exactly same) must be read in depth. U should not read this book just from facts point of view but mainly from concepts point of view .The more u read this book, the more u understand.One or two reading is not sufficient cause apart from facts , some questions deal with concept which in-depth repeated reading alone can give .There was a qsn in 2011 or 2012 prelims on Quit India movement ( m nt talking abt the 2013 one, that ws quite easy) , question was quite simple and could be answered easily thorough indepth study approach and not just fact approch, but friends majority marked the answer wrong.So must read this book for prelims . NOTE-Many lazy /nonserious/oversmart aspirants have a tendency to leave dis book for prelims , but I suggest u not to leave , even if u find it boring. NCERT or Bipin Chandra book deals more with concepts than facts , but some facts which are not provided in this book have been and will be asked in exam.So u must supplement ur knowledge from this book with SPECTRUM MODERN INDIA.Read this book from cover to cover. So I suggest u to start wid Ncert or Bipin chandra, master over it and then switch over to SPECTRUM for various facts that has not been provided in the former book. AGAIN, note making is always beneficial, but if u lack time , u can skip it.

3.POLITY
WHAT TO READ NCERT (not required at all) DD BASU (though a very famous book but it will consume a lot of ur precious time , u might start finding polity quite difficult/boring/cumbersome,moreover, its not a complete book from UPSC point of view) SUBHASH KASHYAP etc .(not needed at all) M LAXMIKANTH ( most popular book, comprehensive, easy to understand, a complete book from UPSC Prelims point of view).I suggest u dis book only.

HOW TO READ Never memorise articles d more u revise d more d articles would become a part of ur subconsciousness, explict memorization is not required.Neider UPSC asks artciles in prelims , they ask concepts only and if some articles are asked , they are popular ones which ur several readings will help u to absorb well. Read LAXMIKANTH cover to cover.Everythng is important in that book. This book is itself like a notes, so I suggest u not to make notes.Just revise and revise. U can start with any chapter u like. E.g If u are going through Fundamental Rights or Union legislature and finding it boring or large , u can switich over to small topics in between and den return back.

U must be very careful in some respects e.g which bills can be introduced in Lok Sabha alone, or Rajya sabha alone, or Both.This time dere was a qsn on dis i.e constitutent amedment bill can b introduced in lok sabha/rajya sabha/both . Though its clearly mentioned in this book,and despite knowing , I gt cnfused during exam and marked it wrong.

4.ECONOMY
WHAT TO READ: NCERTs CLASS 11-12th ( only if ur knowledge about economy is nil) UMA KAPILA/DUTT SUNDARAM/MISRA-PURI (not required ) INDIA 2014 (published by gvt of india read economy related chapters such as Finance, commerce etc) Economy survey ( can read few chapters , frst 2-3 n last 2-3) Go through the budget of the year u r preprng for.U can either download the budget highlights or go thru the yojna issue on budget of that year or both. BUSINESS PAGE of THE HINDU newspaper( MOST IMPORTANT both for concept and current based questions)

HOW TO READ: Business page of THE HINDU or other economy related news in other sections of this newspaper is best source for preparation of Economy,acc to me.Whenever u read a news or article and come across terms terms such as GDP, Repo Rate etc. just google those terms.After a month or so, u will get familiar with almost all such terms important from UPSC point of view.Moreover, u will now be able to grasp the news item or articles easily.Gradually, u will develop the requisite knowledge of economy ( both concepts and wats going on at present) Economic survey is interesting to read once u r done with ur basics , otherwise difficult to understand.If u are able to understand d news items on economy easily , economic survey wud be quite easy 4 u to grasp.It contains a lot of facts n data, dont memorise dem, however u can make an analysis of d data given.It ds nt take much time to read few chaps of economic survey .

5.ENVIRONMENT,BIODIVERSITY etc
This topic is quite vague with no definte authentic source .However , I am trying to suggest some material which can be benefical for u. WHAT TO READ : GEO NCERTS (6-12) BIO NCERT CLASS 12 (LAST 5-6 CHAPTERS) ICSE class 10th book on environment( beta publication or any other publication if u dnn get dis) State of the environment report of Ministry of env and forests (downloadable) Environment Related news in The Hindu. PD sharma book on ECOLOGY and ENVIRONMENT INDIA 2014(published by govt of india)

HOW TO READ: Donn get afraid of the number of sources that I have mentioned above .The reason why I gave a number of sources is that this topic is quite vague and u cnat find consoldated matter at one place like history or polity.And the reason why u dnt need to get afraid is dat the above sources require just few readings and not proper revision like u need in history and polity.3-4-5 full days wud be enuf to cover the above

sources.JUST GO THRU THEM.DONT TRY TO MEMORIZE ANYTHNG. A number of environment related qsns can be framed from geography ncerts, and even hve been asked in exam.So u must be vigil enuf to filter out environment related qsns while reading the NCERTs. PD sharma book si quite voluminous but dont fear, u dn hav to read it cover to cover, u hav to read few chaps only , and in even dese few chapters u have to select few topics. ICSE class 10th book is quite easy to read.No problem. The report state of the envrmnt is again simple and easy to read.NO problem. In newsapper, a number of items u can find on evironment , so must not ignore dem. There is a chapter on envirnmnt INDIA 2014 (published by govt), u should go through it too. I am sorry if I provided too much on environment but I could not resist, but since u jst require to go thru dem twice or thrice , it would not take much of ur time.

6.SCIENCE and TECH

WHAT TO READ: NEW NCERTS CLASS 8-10 SCIENCE- TECH RELATED NEWS ITEMS IN THE HINDU (can also go through some items in sc tech page of Thursday edition of the Hindu) SCIENCE REPORTER( not needed) SPECTRUM SC TECH ( not needed)

HOW TO READ Till 2009 prelims, upsc used to aske a good number of questions from the bilology section , but gradually it reduced to just 1-3. Since we prepare acc to the recent trend, I suggest u not to devote much time on NCERTs.If u have sufficient time, then u can. TECH qsns are related to current affairs.So THE HINDU is sufficient.If the news item deals in detail with a tech term such as 4G or Android then its ok, but if not u can always look for its description on google search. In the Thursday edition of THE HINDU, there is page on sc tech, u should go through only few and not all of the items there as many of them are irrelevant for us.

7.CURRENT AFFAIRS
WHAT TO READ: THE HINDU MAGAZINES SUCH AS CHRONICLE, PRATIYOGITA DARPAN,CIVIL SERVICES TIMES,WIZARD, COMPETITION REFRESHER, COMPETTION SUCCESS REVIEW , CRAP AND BULKY VAJIRAM MATERIAL ON CURRENT AFFAIRS etc. ( Not required at all if u follow THE HINDU properly and make daily notes)

HOW TO READ : Make notes from THE HINDU , almost every serious aspirant does that .Many avoid it as it takes substantial time to read and make notes and go for shortcuts sch as magazines, but I suggest u not make such a mistake. Initially it may take time but gradually with practice it wud take not more dan 1-1.5 hrs For prelims, u must focus on news items rather than editorials or articles. If u dn like to make notes from hard copy of THE HINDU, just log in to thehindu.com, clik on todays newspaper , den do the copy paste work and save the important points of important news of each day in a word document.

An avg of 5-6 news items per day, i.e on a monthly basis 150-180 news, is sufficent, if u r exceeding this limit , u are reading some news which are not important for u. Revise ur notes on weekly and den monthly basis and then few days before exam. U can stop making newspaper notes 15 days prior to the exam date if u want to save time for revision.

8.INDIA 2014 (published by govt every year with the name india 2012, 2013, 2014..)
Its not a current affairs book . Every chapter is important. Is quite voluminous and boring. It will take ur ample time of preparation. But still u have to read it, as much as u can. U can make short notes or make underlines to mark the important parts. Revise it as much as u can. Very few people are able to master it. U can expect a lot of direct and indirect questions from this book.

B)CSAT i.e PAPER 2 OF PRELIMS

WHAT TO READ /PRACTISE REASONING- RS AGARWAL verbal and non-verbal reasonig MATHS-Quicker Mathematics by M Tyra / Quantitative Aptitude by RS AGARWAL COMPREHENSION- THE HINDU editorials, READING COMPREHENSION by AJAY SINGH(Arihant Publications) DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING , INTERPERSONAL SKILLS- CSAT by Manish Ranjan (Cenagage Learning publication) MOCK TEST AT HOME- Get CL and VAJIRAM FULL SYLLABUS TEST question papers , u can get it online in scanned form or can get from photocopy shops in Delhi at RS 15-20 each.Get around 10-15 test papers in total.

HOW TO READ/PRACTICE: REASONING- dont practice RS agarwal from cover to cover, do solved examples and then few qsns in d exercise , mainly those which have been asked in some exam. if u are weak in Reasoning practice as much as u can. MATHS- again, focus on solved examples and few exercise questions .If u are weak in maths practice as much as u can. COMPREHENSION- Try to read the editorials in The Hindu as fast as u can grasping them simultaneosuly. Try to solve the passages given in the book suggested above , taking 4-5 at a time and then try to solve as fast as u can.Suppose u take 30 minutes to solve 4 passages, den try to solve next 4 in 25 minutes , again next 4 in 20minutes and so n keep reducing the time limit.It will help u know ur potential.But u shd nt compromise on acuracy, u have to develop a balance between speed and accuracy.Use pencil to mark ur answers in the book, so that u can repractice them after some days when u forget the passages and their answers . DECISION MAKING- its all about PRAGMATISM+ETHICS+COMMON SENSE.I dont have anything else to say rearding this excpet one that every question has 2 equally correct answers , and I can say this because when UPSC publised its answer keys for PRELIMS 2012, every question had 2 answers in the key and when I

matched my answers with UPSCs and then evaluated my marks , then both my evaluated marks and official marks were exactly same. MOCK TESTS AT HOME 1 month or so before the exam date take around 10-15 mock tests(ONLY FOR CSAT not for the GS PART) at home /room from 2:30-4:30 pm i.e the official time for ur CSAT exam . Ur goal should be to solve all 80 qsns in that time. Donn worry about Ur mock test scores, ur exam score would be better than the mock scores. Try not to solve the paper from 1 to 80, but start wid comprehension, do few f dem, den switch over to some reasoning question, den back to comprehensions, den to some maths questions ad at last decision making questions as dey dont have negative marks if u mark dem wrong, morever they have 2 equally correct answers, so risk is quite less if u solve dem in hurry.

EXAM DAY

GS i.e paper 1- Attempt as much as u can, at least 80/100. In most of the questions u would not
be sure of the answer, but u still have to mark dem, make educational/logical guesses.Leave only those questios for which u need to go for blind guesses.NEVER FEAR NEGATIVE MARKING. JO DAR GAYA WO PRELIMS ME KAM SE GAYA.Time is not a constraint in this paper , so u need not be superfast.

CSAT i.e paper 2- Ur target should be to attempt all 80.To be in race

an attempt of 70 +/80 is a must

provided dat very hi gh cut off ( i.e 240 aprx) that we saw last year. Time is a great onstraint in this paper , so u need to be superfast. My name- Rupam Sinha (male) Qualificaton-Btech Given 2 attempts at UPSC , preparing for 2014. Present Location-MukherjeeNagar, Delhi. Email id- servicetothenation@gmail.com (can contact for querries and feedbacks) IF U FEEL GRATIFIED BY THIS INITIATIVE OF MINE, PLZ DO NOT MAKE IT PUBLIC. THANKS. ALL THE BEST FOR UR PREPARATION.