1) KEEP THE SYLLABUS AND THIS DOCUMENT WITH YOU ALWAYS AS THESE TWO WILL SERVE A S YOUR GUIDE.

2) STUDY THE UPSC NOTIFICATION THOROUGHLY. READ BETWEEN THE LINES. THE PREPARATION WILL BE MUCH MORE FOCUSED WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE EXAM EXPECTS, RATHER DEMANDS FROM YOU 3) ANALYSE PREVIOUS YR PAPERS AND RECENT TRENDS. 4) DISCUSS IN DETAIL WITH TEACHERS, ASPIRANTS(SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL), FRIE NDS AND SENIORS. 5) NOW ONWARDS, NEWSPAPER READING IS MUSTTT. ALSO, NEWSPAPER READING SHOULD BE C OMPLEMENTED BY BACKGROUND STUDY THROUGH INTERNET AND WEEKLY MAGAZINES. eg: ONCE YOU READ A NEWS ITEM SAY ON NUCLEAR REACTORS IN INDIA, TRY TO GET AS MUCH INFO ON THIS TOPIC THROUGH WIKIPEDIA OR AN ANALYSIS FROM FRONTLINE. THIS IS THE WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE TOPIC.1-2 HOURS ON THIS IS OKAY.IN THIS REGARD, HINDU-FRONTLINE IS A NICE COMBO AS BOTH COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER, BEI NG FROM THE SAME PUBLISHERS. 6) IMPROVE HANDWRITING FROM THE OUTSET, IT'S A MUST 7) NOW, MAKE A PLAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR PREP DON'T RUSH THROUGH YOUR ATTEMPTS. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR SUBJECTS AS MUCH AS YO U CAN. EACH INDIVIDUAL HAS HIS/HER OWN PACE OF STUDYING. SOME PEOPLE LIKE ME, TA KE MORE TIME TO GRASP THINGS AS COMPARED TO OTHERS. KNOW YOURSELF WELL. KNOW WHAT TIM INGS OF STUDY SUIT YOU; KNOW WHAT INSPIRES YOU; WHAT MOTIVATES YOU, WHAT RELAXES YOU; WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES; WHAT DO YOU ULTIMATELY WANT TO DO AS A CIVIL SERVANT. IF YOU KNOW YOURSELF WELL, THINGS WILL GET EASIER. 8) IN OUR CONSCIOUS OPINION, IN THE INITIAL PHASES IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO GO FOR SOME AMOUNT OF SELF PREPARATION BEFORE JOINING ANY COACHING INSTITUTE. UNLESS ON E HAS SOME BASICS ABOUT THE TOPICS, IT WOULD BE TOUGH TO COMPREHEND AND RECOLLECT W HATEVER IS BEING TAUGHT IN A COACHING INSTITUTE. ONCE THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE GOOD, ONCE YOU ARE ABLE TO READ NEWSPAPERS AND NCERT'S (with magazines included), THEN I T'S TIME TO GIVE A SERIOUS THOUGHT WHETHER TO JOIN COACHING OR NOT. MOST OF US, IN THE ACADEMY, BELIEVE THAT COACHING IS NOT MANADATORY, BUT IT DEFINITELY HAS SOME POSITIVES, ALTHOUGH AT THE END OF THE DAY, SELF-PREP IS WHAT MATTERS. 9) MOCK TESTS AND TEST SERIES ARE A DEFINITE MUST(FOR PRE AS WELL AS MAINS) 10)FOR WORKING ASPIRANTS, IF THE JOB ENVIRONMENT IS NOT CONDUCIVE FOR ANY STUDY AND TAKES A LOT OUT OF YOU, NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO LEAVE, IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABO UT GETTING IN THE SERVICES.WITH JOB, TIME AS WELL AS ENERGY MANAGEMENT ARE EQUAL LY IMPORTANT FACTORS. 11)THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE WHOLE PREPARATION IS TO PLAN IT. WITHOUT PLA NNING, HOW MUCH EVER YOUR READ, HOW MUCH HARD WORK YOU INVEST, IT MAY NOT BE DIR ECTED TOWARDS THE GOAL AND MAY END UP GETTING WASTED. SO, PLAN YOUR PREP. YOU WILL KNOW THE DATE OF EXAM WELL BEFOREHAND. MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO "KNOW YOUR SPE ED" UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU TAKE TO GO THROUGH A CERTAIN TOPIC, YOU WIL L NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL THE THINGS YOU WANT TO COMPLETE BEFORE THE EXAM. ALTHOUGH SPEED VARIES FROM SUBJECT TO SUBJECT, PLEASEEEEEE INVEST TIME TO OBS ERVE YOURSELF AND COME UP WITH SOME SPEED NUMBERS 12)AFTER THIS, YOU NEED TO "KNOW WHAT ALL TO READ". PLEASEEEEEEEEEE MAKE A NICE CHART FOR YOURSELF: WRITE ALL THE BOOKS/TOPICS YOU HAVE TO READ AND ESTIMATE THE TIME THEY NEED. GROSS APPROXIMATIONS WOULD SUFFICE AND THIS WILL LET YOU KNOW THE

DEADLINE FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS/BOOKS. THIS WHOLE EXERCISE OF ESTIMATING TIME GIVES YOU A DEFI NITE IDEA ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CAN COVER IN THE "SPECIFIC TIME THAT YOU HAVE".THER E IS NO WAY YOU CAN COVER MORE(LESS IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY DEPENDING ON YOUR EFFORTS ). YOU DON'T HAVE TIME. SO, DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT CAN'T BE COVERED, INSTEAD FOC US ON HOW BEST YOU CAN COVER TOPICS AND HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE EFFORTS. PLANNING IS AL L ABOUT MAXIMIZING THE OUTCOMES OF YOUR EFFORTS.

13) HOW TO READ: 100% CONCENTRATION IS A MUST THIS EXAM IS ALL ABOUT BASICS WITH LOT OF CLARITY. THE EXAM CAM BE WRITTEN W ELL WHEN THE PREPARATION IS SIMPLE AND ASPIRANT IS VERY STRONG IN BASICS WITH AB SOLUTE CLARITY. SO, READ FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPTS, READ FOR GETTING CLARITY, EVEN IF I T TAKES MORE TIME.TRY TO FIND PATTERNS WHILE READING. READ ONLY ONE/TWO BOOKS FO R A CERTAIN TOPIC/SUBJECT, DON'T READ TOO MANY BOOKS FOR THE SAME TOPIC/SUBJECT, THIS WAY YOU WILL REMEMBER BETTER. LOOK FOR SIDE HEADINGS AND TRY TO SUMMARIZE ALL THAT YOU READ BELOW THE SUB-HEADING INTO IT. THE TOPIC SHOULD BE REMEMBERED IN THIS LOGICAL STRUCTURED WAY. ONCE YOU HAVE DONE THE TOPIC IN THIS COMPREHENSI VE METHOD THROUGH LOGICAL QUESTIONING, THE PREPARATION IS OVER FOR THAT TOPIC. NO NEED TO GO THROUGH ANY JOURNALS OR HI-FUNDA TEXTBOOKS FOR BECOMING AN EXPERT. ALSO, THIS IS WHAT IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE IN VIEW OF THE HUGE SYLLABUS. WHILE DOING PREPARATION: a) FOCUS ON GAINING BASIC CLARITY IN EACH TOPIC, WHICH COMES ONLY THROUGH LOT O F LOGICAL QUESTIONING. b) SPEND MORE TIME ON THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC AND MAKING INNOVATIONS RATHER TH AN SIMPLY READING TOO MANY STUDY MATERIAL. c) PREVIOUS PAPERS SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY ANALYZED TO UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE EXAMINER. d) PREPARATION SHOULD BE FOCUSED AND ALL THE HARD WORK SHOULD BE CHANNELIZED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. e) PLEASEEEE DISCUSS ABOUT WHAT YOU READ WITH YOUR FRIENDS/COLLEAGUES AS YOU WI LL BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT A TOPIC ONLY WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND IT WELL, AND DISCUSSIO NS HELP IN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE SAME TOPIC AND POSE NEW QUESTIONS TO BE CLARIFIED. f) REVISING OFTEN IS MUST AS IT GIVES BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND PLEASEEEEE REVIS E FROM THE SAME SOURCES/BOOKS RATHER THAN GOING FOR NEW TOPICS/BOOKS.ALWAYS REVI SE THROUGH SOLVING QUESTIONS AND WRITING ANSWERS. IT WILL HELP YOU RECOLLECT AN D ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS. 14) SUMMING UP, PLAN FOR YOUR HOLIDAYS, COOL-OFF PERIODS, VISITS AND ALL OTHER B REAKS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, PLAN FOR YOUR DOWNTIMES. IT'S INEVITABLE TO HAVE SUCH L OWTIMES THAT WE CAN HARDLY DO ANYTHING, LET-ALONE CONCENTRATED PREPARATION.SO,DO HAV E SOME BUFFER TIME IN YOUR PLAN. MAKE PLACE FOR SOLVING QUESTIONS, REVISIONS, MO CKS etc. NOW SEE HOW MUCH EFFORTS YOU NEED TO PUT EACH DAY. IT MIGHT BE 3 HOURS OR 13 HOURS, DEPENDING ON YOUR SPEED AND CHOICE OF BOOKS/TOPICS AND OTHER CRITERIA.

IT'S YOUR PLAN THAT WILL DEFINE THE QUALITY OF YOUR PREPARATION, NOT JUST TH E NUMBER OF HOURS YOU PUT IN AS DIRECTION IS A MUST. 15) ONCE THE PLAN IS IN PLACE, ALTHOUGH IT IS FINAL TO A LARGE EXTENT, BUT BE RE ADY TO HAVE FLEXIBILITY FOR MAKING AMENDMENTS BUT ONLY FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE PREP AND NEVER EVER COMPROMISE ON YOUR PLAN AS ONCE YOU DO THAT, IT'S ALL DOWNHIL L FROM THERE. 16 AND MOST IMPORTANT: THE IDEA OF HAVING A PLAN IS TO IMPLEMENT IT RELIGIOUSLY ELSE THIS EXERCISE IS FUTILE. SO, IMPLEMENT IT. 17) PLANNING IS IMPORTANT NOT ONLY TO TRACK THE TIME VERSUS EFFORT BUT IT ALSO L ETS YOU KNOW HOW IS YOUR PREP GOING. IT PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO YOU BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. PLEASEEEEE SET TARGETS AND DAILY/WEEKLY GOALS AND MAKE SURE YOU REACH THEM. eg: IF YOU PLAN FOR AND IMPLEMENT WRITING 1 MOCK PER MONTH OR SOME ANSWER WRITIN G FOR MAINS PER WEEK, YOU WILL KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR STUDY HELPED YOU AND WHERE YOU A RE FALLING SHORT. 18) ENJOY THE PREPARATION AND DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT RESULTS, QUESTIONS ETC. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS TO HAVE A PLANNED PREPARATION AND GO ABOUT IT DAY BY DAY, 1 DAY AT A TIME. 19) NEVER PAY HEED TO RUMOURS UNLESS THEY ARE BACKED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. TH E ONLY THING RUMOURS DO IS DAMAGE ONE'S MENTAL PEACE AND SCREW UP YOUR ROUTINE UNNECESSARILY. 20) DON'T STAY ALONE AND GROW BEARD. 21) INTERNET IS ESSENTIAL, NOT JUST FOR THE PREP BUT ALSO FOR ALL THE ACTIVITIES YOU NEED TO TAKE UP LATER. AND YOU DEFINITELY KNOW WHICH SITES TO BROWSE AND WH ICH NOT TO. NO COMPROMISE-DOWNHILL-NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT THE COMPROMISE. 22) HAVE LOTS OF HEALTHY DISCUSSIONS IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE. 23) GET INVOLVED IN OPINION SHARING. START WRITING COMMENTS IN LEADING NEWSPAPER S LIKE THE HINDU ON TOPICS THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND ALSO ON THOSE THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. 24) IF POSSIBLE, START BLOGGING. PUT DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. IT WILL HELP IN YOUR ANSWER WRITING AND COMPILATION OF THOUGHTS IN YOUR MIND. 25) PREPARING NOTES AND REVISION: FOR TOPICS WHICH YOU PREPARE FROM DIFFERENT SO URCES, IT'S BETTER TO PREPARE NOTES AS IT'LL BE EASY THIS WAY TO REVISE.REVISION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AS YOU WILL ONLY WRITE IN EXAM WHAT YOU CAN RECOLLECT, A ND THAT DEPENDS MOSTLY ON YOUR REVISION. WHILE MAKING NOTES, DON'T COPY PASTE THE INFORMATION BLINDLY. TRY TO WRITE I N YOUR OWN WORDS SO THAT THE NOTE-MAKING EFFORT ITSELF IS A REVISING STEP. ALSO, REVISION MUST BE A CONTINOUS PROCESS AND MUST NOT BE POSTPONED TILL BE FORE THE EXAM. IDEALLY, REVISION EVERY MONTH OR EVERY TWO WEEKS IS MUST. SO, KEE P REVISING AND CONSOLIDATING WHAT YOU READ. ## 1) 2) 3) 4) CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING OPTIONAL SUBJECT INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT(MOST IMPORTANT) LENGTH OF SYLLABUS EASINESS AND HELP IN GS THE SUBJECT CAN PROVIDE AVAILABILITY OF SOURCES/MATERIAL, INSTITUTE, SENIORS TO GUIDE

26) MAGAZINES: 1 OUT OF COMPETITION WIZARD/CHRONICLE/CIVIL SERVICES TIME(DEPENDI NG ON THE CONTENT EVERY MONTH)+ YOJANA + KURUSHETRA + FRONTLINE NEWSPAPER: THE HINDU

NCERT(OLD) FOR ANCIENT, MODERN AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY (11,12) NCERT(NEW) FOR GEOGRAPHY (11,12)

PRELIMS a) FOR PRELIMS, DON'T TRY TO MEMORIZE FACTS FROM THE BEGINNING, THAT'S THE LAST THING TO BE DONE. BEFORE MEMORIZING SHOULD COME THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPTS. b) THERE IS NO SEPARATE PREPARATION FOR PRELIMS AS SUCH. IT IS ALL A SINGUL AR CONSCIOUS PREPARATION FOR THE CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION.THE ONLY DIFFERENCE COMES WHEN YOU START DOING THE MOCKS/PREVIOUS PAPERS. # FOR PRELIMS GS, TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN EXTENSIVE DETAIL: MODERN INDIA, P OLITY, INDIAN ECONOMY, GEOGRAPHY, CURRENT EVENTS AND GENERAL SCIENCES. 1) BOOKS FOR HISTORY PRELIMS AS WELL AS GS MAINS PAPER 1 PREP: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL INDIA (NCERT CLASS 11) MODERN INDIA (NCERT CLASS 12) SPECTRUM PUB LICATIONS (3 BOOKS, EACH ON MODERN INDIA, INDIAN CULTURE AND INDIAN PERSONS) BOOKS FOR QU ESTION SOLVING: ALL PREVIOUS PAPERS (FOR HISTORY QUES) MCQ'S ON WWW.GKTODAY.IN TMH (MCQ'S) and ARIHANT PUB'S:MODERN HISTORY(MCQ'S) FOR HISTORY, IT'S BETTER TO SOLVE QUESTIONS THAN READING ENDLESSLY. MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS IN ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY ARE: ----> LITERATURE, ARCHITECTURE, ARTS (DRAMA,ART,MUSIC AND DANCE),CULTURE (INDUS VALLEY CIVILZN,VEDIC CULTURE,BUDDHISM,JAINISM,HINDUISM,PARSI,ISLAM,CHRIST IANITY) 2) BOOKS FOR POLITY PREP: INDIAN POLITY BY LAKSHMIKANTH INTRODUCTION TO CONSTITUTION OF INDIA BY DD BASU TMH SYNOPSIS FOR POLITY CONSTITUTION OF INDIA (WITH LATEST AMENDMENTS INC LUDED) MORE REFERENCES: INDIAN PARLIAMENT BY SUBASH KASHYAP WWW.PIB.NIC.IN (DAILY RELEASES FROM ALL MINISTRIE S) FOR QUESTION SOLVING: ALL PREVIOUS PAPERS (FOR POLITY QUES) TMH POLITY QUES GKTODAY.IN 3) GEOGRAPHY: THIS SUBJECT DOESN'T REQUIRE EXTENSIVE PREP AS PART OF GS BUT IT HAS MANY DISCONNECTED TOPICS THAT ARE MUST TO KNOW. HENCE, THE SOURCES FOR G EOGRAPHY PREP ARE MORE AND A SELECTIVE STUDY FROM EACH OF THESE SOURCE S IS REQUIRED. SINCE SOURCES ARE MORE, SELF MADE NOTES MAY BE OF GREAT HELP.

BOOKS/SOURCES: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA (CLASS 11 NCERT) LAND AND PEOPLE, NCERT CLASS 11 FOR WORLD GEOGRAP HY TMH GEOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS IMT(INDIAN METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT) WEBSITE GKTODAY.IN (ENVIRONMENT SECTION) INDIA YEAR BOOK (FOR INDIAN TOPOGRAPHY,FLORA, FAU NA ETC.) ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT BY PD SHARMA FOR QUESTION SOLVING: ALL PREVIOUS PAPERS (FOR GEO QUES) TMH GEO QUES GKTODAY.IN 4) ECONOMY: UNDERSTANDING OF ALL BASIC CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY ALONGWITH ECONOMY CURRENT AFFAIRS IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE. BOOKS/SOURCES: NCERTS ECONOMIC SURVEY OF INDIA 12TH FIVE YR PLAN NEWSPAPERS FOR ECONOMY NEWS, ECONOMIC & POLITICAL WEEKLY WWW.PIB.NIC.IN, KHANACADEMY.ORG INDIA YR BOOK AND ANY GOOD COMPILATION OF ECONOMY FOR QUESTION SOLVING: ALL PREVIOUS PAPERS (FOR ECO QUES) TMH ECO QUES GKTODAY.IN 5) SCIENCES: SOMETIMES THE QS'S ASKED IN THIS SECTION ARE REALLY TYPICAL B UT THE PREP SHOULD BE IN SUCH A WAY THAT ALL BASIC QS'S CAN BE DONE CORRECTLY. BOOKS/SOURCES: SCIENCE SECTION OF HINDU(THURSDAYS) WEBSITES OF CSIR,TIFR,TERI,CRL ETC. SCIENCE REPORTER WWW.PIB.NIC.IN FOR SCIENCE INNOVATIONS AND TECH U PDATES ADOPTED BY GOVT. FOR QUESTION SOLVING: SAME AS ABOVE 6) CURRENT AFFAIRS: READ CURRENT AFFAIRS RELIGIOUSLY FROM NEWSPAPERS AS WE LL AS MAGAZINES. IT'S A PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE.INFACT, NEWSPAPER IS THE SING LE UNIQUE SOURCE OF INFORMATION THAT CAN HELP YOU CRACK T HE EXAM BY ITSELF. BOOKS/SOURCES: THE HINDU & FRONTLINE, WWW.PIB.NIC.IN, WWW.GKTODA Y.IN, ANY GOOD COMPILATION OF ECONOMY FOR QUESTION SOLVING: SAME AS ABOVE 7) GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: LESS QUESTIONS ARE ASKED FROM THIS AREA. SO, DON'T S PEND TOO MUCH TIME MEMORIZING UNNECESSARY FACTS. HAVE A BROAD AWARENESS ABOUT VA RIOUS FIELDS AND FOCUS MORE ON AREAS WHICH HAVE BEEN ASKED IN THE PAST.

8) INDIA YR BOOK: THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR PRELIMS AND SOME MAINS 2 MARKS QS. SO, DON'T READ EVERYTHING GIVEN IN THE BOOK, BE LOGICAL AND CONCENTRATE ON THE BASICS, WHICH CAN BE ASKED IN THE EXAM. SOME IMPORTANT CHAPTERS FROM THE YEAR BOOK: LAND AND THE PEOPLE, NATION AL SYMBOLS, AGRICULTURE, ART & CULTURE, COMMUNICATIONS, DEFENCE, ENERGY, ENVIRON MENT, EDUCATION, INDUSTRY, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, WELFARE, GENERAL INFO, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS # PAPER 2: CSAT MORE STRESS IS ON READING COMPREHENSIONS, EVEN MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS YR . SO, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE RC'S AND APTITUDE QS FROM IMS MATERIAL.

# MAINS FOR MAINS, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE SET TARGETS AND ACHIEVE DAILY GOALS. ANYTHI NG LEFT OVER TENDS TO ADD UP DANGEROUSLY IN HISTORY. WHILE ANSWERING QUESTIONS, YOUR INTRO AND CONCLUSION HAS TO BE IMPRESSIVE IF YOU WANT YOUR NAME TO FIGUR E IN THE MERIT LIST. PAPER 2: GENERAL STUDIES 1- THIS PAPER IS AN EXTENSION IN TERMS OF SCOPE AND COVERAGE OF SYLLABUS OF PREVIOUS GS PAPER 1(PRELIMS ONE). SO, PLEASEEE OBSE RVE THE SYLLABUS CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT AL L THINGS TO STUDY AND FROM WHERE. ESSENTIAL TOPICS TO BE COVERED HISTORY(INDIAN AS WELL AS WORLD): NO IN-DEPTH STUDY REQUIRED. M AKE SURE THAT FULL SYLLABUS OF HISTORY IS COVERED IN ONE WAY OR OTHER. INDIAN CULTURE(DEFINITE QUESTIONS EXPECTED): REVISE THE 3 SPECT RUM BOOKS, NCERT 11TH & 12TH (OLD ONES) EXTENSIVELY TO DIGEST HISTORY IN TERMS O F CHRO NOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS AS WELL AS IN TERMS OF SIGNIFICANCE. MODERN INDIAN HISTORY: BIPIN CHANDRA'S INDIA'S STRUGGLE FOR IND EPENDENCE AND SPECTRUM BOOK ON PERSONS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. AFTER INDEPENDENCE HISTORY: BIPIN CHANDRA'S INDIA AFTER INDEPEN DENCE AND RAMACHANDRA GUHA'S INDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE WORLD HISTORY: SELECTIVE STUDY IS REQD. SINCE THIS TOPIC IS NEW LY ADDED, QUES ARE SURELY EXPECTED. SO, DON'T GO TOO DEEP, A BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF THE EVENTS THAT SHAPED LAST 150 YRS IS REQD. RESOURC ES: WIKIPEDIA(acc. to syllabus), WORLD HISTORY-JAIN & MATHUR(SELECTIVE), WORLD H ISTORYBV RAO FOR THE INDIAN SOCIETY PART OF THIS PAPER, GET CLARITY AROUND T HE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS AND WRITE ESSAYS ON THESE IN YOUR OWN WORDS: COMMUNISM, CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM ETC.(AND OTHER ECONOMIC MODELS ) DIVERSITY IN INDIA

ROLE OF WOMEN POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES URBANIZATION:PROBLEMS AND REMEDIES GLOBALIZATION AND INDIAN SOCIETY SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNALISM SOCIALISM REGIONALISM USE INTERNET FOR BROWSING ON ALL TOPICS ABOVE. A GREAT AMOUNT O F INFO IS PRESENT ONLINE.IT'LL BE HELPFUL IN ESSAYS AS WELL. GEOGRAPHY: MORE STRESS SHOULD BE ON UNDERSTANDING THE NATURAL P HENOMENON. NCERT 11 & 12 ARE GOOD FOR THE BASICS ON THESE TOPICS. PLEASE INCLUDE TABLES, DIAGRAMS, BOXES ETC IN YOUR ANSWER WRITING AS MUCH A S YOU CAN. TAKE HELP OF WEBSITES AND VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE WHERE GEOGRAPHICAL PROC ESSES ARE SHOWN THROUGH ANIMATIONS OR OTHERWISE. FOLLOW IM D'S WEBSITE AND OTHER RESOURCES TO GET AN IDEA OF CLIMATE BEHAVIOURS IN THE COUN TRY esp. INDIAN MONSOON AND OTHER PHENOMENON. FOR WORLD PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: NCERT'S ARE SUFFICIENT . DISTRIBUTION OF KEY NATURAL RESOURCES FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOCATION OF INDUSTRIES PAPER 3: GENERAL STUDIES 2- IN THIS PAPER, MAIN CONCENTRATION IS ON POL ITY AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE COUNTRY.MOST OF THE POLITY ASPECTS ARE VERY LOGICAL & HENCE TRY TO REASON OUT ALL THE ASPECTS AND OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL PRO VISIONS. FUNDAMENTAL BOOKS TO BE COVERED DD BASU(FOR UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION, ITS HISTORI CAL UNDERPINNINGS, EVOLUTION, FEATURES AND OTHER PROVISIONS) CONSTITUTION OF INDIA(UPDATED)(TO KNOW THE EXACT WORDINGS AND PHILOSOPHY) RAVINDRAN SIR'S NOTES ARE OF IMMENSE HELP. VAJIRAM MATERIAL FOR ALL SUBJECTS(ESP. POLITY) IS EXCELLENT PM BAKHSHI(AFTER READING DD BASU/NCERT) NCERT(LAW AND JUSTICE) NCERT(INDIAN SOCIETY AND SOCIAL CHANGE, CONTEMPORARY WORLD POL ITICS) i.e. NCERT 11 & 12 IGNOU CHAPTERS(SOCIETY AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN INDIA) ADDIATIONAL READINGS SUGGESTED SUBHASH KASHYAP BOOKS PUSHPESH PANT'S BOOK ON IR MAKE SURE YOU COVER ALL TOPICS MENTIONED IN THE SYLLABUS. THEY ARE VERY EASY AND INTERESTING IF PROPERLY AND LOGICALLY STUDIED. DO COVER THE REPRESENTARION OF PEOPLE'S ACT AND ALL THE CENTRA L ACTS MENTIONED ON PRSIndia.org FOR SOCIAL ISSUES, CHOOSE ONE OUT OF YOJANA/KURUSHETRA/FRONTLI NE. MAKE SURE YOU COVER THE TOPICS AND NOT JUST THE BOOKS/MAGAZINES.SELECTIVE RE ADING IS VERY TRICKY,WHENEVER MORE BOOKS/MAGAZINES ARE SUGGESTED; IT

'S NOT TO READ THEM FROM COVER TO COVER, BUT ONLY FOR TOPICS UNDER DISCUSSION. FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS(IR): MAKE A LIST OF 25-30 COUNTRIE S WITH WHICH WE HAVE GOOD RELATIONS AND MAKE 1-PAGE NOTES FOR EACH OF THESE COUN TRIES' RELATIONS IN YOUR OWN WORDS. ELSE YOU CAN ALSO TAKE THE COMPIL ATIONS FOR IR MADE BY A GOOD INSTI. SIMILARLY, MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE INTERNATI ONAL ORGANIZATIONS, EVENTS, SUMMITS AND PACTS IN THE NEWS. PIB IS A GREAT SOURCE FOR GETTING ALL AGREEMENTS/PACTS ENTERED INTO BY INDIA.

PAPER 4: GENERAL STUDIES 3- IN TERMS OF SYLLABUS, THIS PAPER IS THE LAR GEST AS IT COVERS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMY AND ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT AND EA CH OF THESE REQUIRE GOOD AMOUNT OF STUDY. ECONOMY: STUDY THIS SUBJECT VERY CAREFULLY. UNDERSTAND EACH & EVERY CONCEPT/DEFINITION FULLY. GIVE THE SUBJECT ITS TIME. IT NEEDS LOT OF TIME ESP FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO THE SUBJECT. ECONOMICS IS EASY I F THE CONCEPTS ARE CONCEPTUALLY CLEAR. DISCUSS ECONOMICS TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPT S WITH FRIENDS AND SENIORS. MOST OF THE BOOKS ARE SAME AS TO LD FOR PRELIMS. UNDERSTSAND ALL THE CURRENT AFFAIRS, ECONOMIC DECISIONS AND EVEN TS THROUGH THE SUBJECT YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD. WRITE LOTS O F ANSWERS FOR ECONOMY. IT WILL IMPROVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR PROCESSING IT TERM S OF ECONOMIC ANGLES.DO COMPLETE THE SYLLABUS. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: TAKE A COMPILED EDITION FROM ANY GOOD CO ACHING INSTI. ESPECIALLY FOR THIS SECTION AS MUCH LOGIC DOESN'T APPLY HERE. ALON GSIDE, PLEASE MAKE YOUR OWN COLLECTION OF MATER IAL ALSO FROM S&T SECTIONS IN HINDU,FRONTLINE AND SCIENCE JOURNALS WITHOUT RELYI NG ABSOLUTELY ON MATERIAL. CONTINUE WITH TH E PRELIMS SUGGESTIONS ALSO. ECOLGY & ENVIRONMENT: VERY IMPORTANTTTTTTT TOPIC(FOR PRELIMS A S WELL AS MAINS). MAKE NOTE OF ALL ADVANCEMENTS AND AMENDM ENTS IN THIS AREA. DIG INTO THE BACKGROUND OF THEIR ORIGINS, THEIR CURRENT ISSUE S AND PROBABLE WAY AHEAD. INTERNAL SECURITY IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PAPER INCL UDING TERRORISM, COMMUNAL RIOTS, NAXALISM, MAOISTS AND BORDER MILITANCY. A THORO UGH UNDERSTANDING OF ALL THESE ISSUES IS NECESSARY. READ EXTENSIVE LY ON NAXALISM AND COMMUNAL ISSUES, THEIR HISTORICAL ORIGINS, WHE WE ARE UNABLE TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES, NEED AND EFFECT OF NEW INSTITUTIONAL SETUP S FOR FIGHTING THESE ISSUES.FOLLOW COMMENTARIES AND OPINIONS OF VARIOUS EMINENT PERSONS TO UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.UNDERSTAND GOVT. 'S STAND ON ALL THESE ISSUES, READ THEIR WEBSITES LIKE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

TO GET HOLD OF ANY NEW REPORTS/CONCEPTS. BOOKS TO BE COVERED: NCERT 12(POLITICAL SCIENCE, CONTEMPORARY WORLD POLITICS: SECUR ITY IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD) NCERT 7(OUR ENVIRONMENT), NCERT 12(ECOLOGY) INDIAN METEROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT WEBSITE AND ALL OTHER GEO/EART H/ENVIRONMENT RELATED WEBSITES OF INDIAN GOVT. AND ITS VARIOUS AGENCIES/INSTITUT ES ETC. NCERT GEOGRAPHY ECONOMIC SURVEY OF INDIA, 12TH FYP, BUDGET DOCUMENTS AND ALL O THER DOCUMENTS BY RBI AND ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL OF PM ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT: PD SHARMA 2ND ARC REPORTS(PUBLIC ORDER, CAPACITY BUILDING FOR CONFLICT R ESOLUTION, COMBAT TERRORISM, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, STRENGTHENING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT) MHA REPORTS(INCLUDING ANNUAL REPORT) ON THEIR WEBSITE RBI WEBSITE FOR ECONOMY PAPER 5: GENERAL STUDIES 4- ADDITION OF THIS PAPER HAS CHANGED THE PERC EPTION OF THE PATTERN AS A WHOLE.ON THE OTHER HAND, THIS PAPER MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE ONE OF OF THE EASIEST PAPERS TO ATTEMPT AS NO SPECIFIC STUDY IS REQUI RED TO ANSWER ANY OF THE DIRECT QUESTIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ASKED. NEVERTHELE SS, IT REQUIRES LOT OF BRAINSTORMING AND A TRULY OPEN MINDSET TO GET GOOD MARKS IN SUCH SUBJECTIVE PAPERS.SINCE NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER, MOST OF THE SUGGESTIONS BELOW MIGHT SEEM TO BE INVALID, BUT FOLLOWING THESE SUGGESTIONS WILL DEFINITELY HELP YOU APPROACH THE PAPER BET TER. GET READY FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN THIS PAPER. YOU WILL BE GIVEN A SET OF SCENARIOS/SITUATIONS AND EXPECTED TO GIVE YOUR WAY OF COMING TO THE SO LUTION. THIS IS ALMOST LIKE AN EXTENSION OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS WHER E THEY NOW HAVE A CHANCE TO ASK MORE BEHAVIOUR AND ISSUE BASED QUESTIONS AND GIV ING YOU ENOUGH TIME FOR THOUGHT. YOUR ANSWERS IN THIS PAPER WILL NOT B E DEALT WITH A BLACK AND WHITE PERSPECTIVE. SUCH REAL WORLD SCENARIOS DON'T HAVE BLACK AND WHITE ANSWERS. MORAL BASE OF YOUR THOUGHTS, OPEN ATTITUDE, COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE, INTEGRITY AND COMPASSION ARE SOME OF THE ASPECTS THEY W OULD FOR IN THE ANSWER AND IF THEY ARE IMBIBED INTO IT, YOU WILL GE T A GOOD SCORE.SO, IT'S MORE OF MENTAL PREPARATION FOR THE PAPER. THE TOPICS IN THIS PAPER ESSENTIALLY COVER PSYCOLOGY AND PUB-A D TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. IGNOU IS THE BEST SOURCE TO READ ABOUT SUCH TOPICS ESP. P SYCOLOGY THE TOPICS IN THE SYLLABUS ARE DIRECTLY PICKED FROM IGNOU CHAP TERS FOR PSYCOLOGY.SO, PLEASE GO THROUGH THE IGNOU MATERIAL TO FIND OUT THE RELE VANT TOPICS/CHAPTERS. FOR THE PUB-AD TOPICS, ESP. MORALITY AND INTE GRITY IN CIVIL SERVICES, THE SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMISSION HAS DEDICA TED CHAPTERS. SO. IT'S RECOMMENDED TO GO THROUGH THE 2ND ARC FOR T

HESE TOPICS. TOPICS SUCH AS GENDER SENSITIVITY, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND UNDER STANDING DISABILITY ETC. ARE SOME OF THE TOPICS WHICH SHOULD BE DEFINITELY COVER ED. READ ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND COVER IT ON A CONCEPTUAL BASIS. TRY TO BROWSE INTERNET TO SOLVE SOME PUZZLES/PROBLEMS RELATED TO THIS. AS LONG AS YOU YOU UNDERSTAND THE TOPIC, NO NEED TO GO INTO SP ECIFIC SUBJECT/PSYCOLOGY BOOKS.SOME OF THE WEBLINKS BELOW WOULD HELP IN PREPARIN G IN THIS AREA. MATERIAL TO BE COVERED: 2ND ARC REPORTS(ETHICS IN GOVERNANCE, RTI, CITIZEN CENTRIC ADM INISTRATION, REFURBISHING PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION) ADMINISTRATIVE ETHICS(PUB-AD BOOK, CAN BE READ FROM ANY GOOD B OOK) IGNOU CHAPTERS(ETHICAL CONCERNS IN ADMINISTRATION, ETHICS AND ETHICAL DIMENSIONS CHAPTERS) EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: BY DANIEL GOLEMAN LATEST GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT AND OTHER RELATED REPORTS WHICH DETAIL THE STATUS OF INDIA IN TERMS OF BUREAUCRACY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP ETC. NCGC CIVIL SERVICES SURVEY 2010(OR LATEST) REPORTS ON FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS LIKE NRHM, JNNURM, PRIVATE REPORT S LIKE MCKINSEY REPORTS ETC.(ALL THESE REPORTS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO WORKING OF THE ADMINISTRATION, THE ETHICAL QUESTIONS AND PERCEPTIONS ABOUT IN TEGRITY AND VARIOUS CHALLENGES FACED) IGNOU CHAPTERS UPLOADED IN THE REPOSITORY ON www.worthview.com /forum PROBABLE REASONS FOR NOT CLEARING MAINS PAPER 1) LANGUAGE PAPERS: SOMETIMES SERIOUS ASPIRANTS DON'T CLEAR MAINS BECA USE THEY FAIL IN ONE OF THE LANGUAGE PAPERS. DON'T TAKE THE MANDATORY PAPERS LIG HTLY. TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY, THEY DON'T TAKE GREAT PREPARA TION, JUST THE BASIC PRACTICE OF LANGUAGE PAPER OF 10TH LEVEL. 2) OPTIONAL PAPERS: ONE OF THE OPTIONAL PAPERS GOES WRONG.IN THE 2012 MAINS, THERE WERE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF BAD SCORES IN THE FIRST PAPERS OF THE OPT IONAL SUBJECTS LIKE PUB-AD, SOCIOLOGY ETC. WITH MARKS AS LESS AS 30 OUT OF 300. THOUGH THERE ARE VALID QUES ON HOW SUCH LESS MARKS COULD POSSIBLY BE AWARDED, YET IT'S IMPORTANT TO REVISIT THE PREP ARATION FOR THE PAPERS. WRITE GOOD ANSWERS. ANSWER WRITING IS THE MANTRA. PRACTICE WRITNG ANSWERS FROM ALL TOPICS THAT YOU WERE UNABLE TO WRITE WELL IN TH E PREVIOUS EXAM. ENSURE THAT THE FULL SYLLABUS IS COVERED AND PRACTICED. TAKE PREVIOUS PAPERS AND START SOLVING THEM WITH TIME LIMITATIONS(FO R EACH QUES). DO TAKE MOCK TESTS OR ANY OTHER TEST SERIES . MORE IMPORTANTLY, HAVE YOUR ANSWERS EVALUATED WELL AHEAD OF THE MAINS. 3) LESS MARKS IN GS:TAKE A THOROUGH VIEW OF YOUR GS PAPER ATTEMPT. FIN D OUT THE AREAS WHERE YOU COULDN'T ATTEMPT WELL OR COMPLETELY. GIVE PREFERENCE T O THESE AREAS AND PRACTICE THROUGH DISCUSSIONS AND ANSWER WRITING.

IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH FINISHING THE PAPER ON TIME, LIMIT YOURSELF TO THE WORD LIMIT SO THAT YOU CAN SAVE TIME ON EACH QUES , REDUCE TIME TAKEN FOR ANSWERING LONG QUES AND USE THAT TI ME TO ATTEMPT MORE QUES. ONE NEED NOT GET VERY HIGH MARKS IN ALL THE PAPERS, AVE RAGE MARKS IN ALL THE PAPERS WOULD BE THE BEST POSSIBLE COMBINATION TO CLEAR THE MAINS IN A THUMPING WAY.

ESSAY : FOR ESSAY, THERE IS NO SINGLE SOURCE FROM WHICH ONE CAN PREPAR E, NOR IS THERE ANY SYLLABUS. THE EXPECTATION IS MORE ON HOW TO PRESENT THE IDEA S, THAN THE IDEAS PER SE. BOTH THESE POINTS POSE A DEFINITE CHALLENGE. IT IS VITAL TO UNDERSTAND THAT AN ESSAY IS A REFLECTION OF ONE'S PERSONALITY: ID EAS, VIEWS, ANALYSIS, ASSESSMENTS AND INFERENCES, VALUES, ATTITUDE, APTITUDE, ORIENTATION AND COMMUNICATION ABILITIES, ALL THE EXPECTED PERSONALITY QUALITIES THAT THE SELECTION PROCESS LOOKS FOR.SIMPLE ENGLISH AND SHORT SENTENCES ARE SUGGESTED; THEY MAKE YOUR WRITING AS WELL AS WORK OF THE EXAMINER BEFORE GIVING MARKS EASIER.ON THE OTHER HAND, WRITING IDEAS INTO SMAL L SENTENCES IS NOT EASY. WE KEEP WRITING LONG SENTENCES WITH LOTS OF IFs AND BUT s. PLEASEEEEE PRACTICE TO AVOID THIS AND COME UP WITH SHORT AND L UCID SENTENCES. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD ESSAY: 1) UNITY: THE SUBJECT SHOULD BE CLEARLY DEFINED IN THE MIND. IRRELEVAN T POINTS SHOULD NOT BE WRITTEN IN THE ESSAY. AT THE SAME TIME, THE SUBJECT SHOUL D BE TREATED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS AND FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VI EW. 2) ORDER: THE ESSAY SHOULD FOLLOW A CERTAIN ORDERED LINE OF THOUGHT AN D COME TO A DEFINITE CONCLUSION. IN SHOULD NOT CONSIST OF HAPHAZARD POINTS. EVER Y POINT SHOULD REFLECT ON THE SUBJECT IN A DIRECT SENSE. 3) PERSONAL TOUCH: THE ESSAY SHOULD REVEAL PERSONAL FEELINGS AND OPINI ONS OF THE WRITER. IT SHOULD HAVE HIS INDIVIDUALITY IN IT. SO, DON'T BE AFRAID T O EXPRESS YOUR PERSONAL FEELINGS AND VIEWS. 4) SIMPLE: THE ESSAY SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN A SIMPLE LANGUAGE AND SSHOUL D BE DIRECT & CLEAR. 5) AVOID SPELLING MISTAKES AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS AS THESE WILL TAKE A TOLL ON YOUR FINAL MARKS. SOME PATTERNS AND ROOT TOPICS SUGGESTED FOR PREP: a) WOMEN EMPOWERMENT b) ENVIRONMENT, S & T, ENERGY SECURITY, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT c) DEMOCRACY, JUDICIARY AND RELATED TOPICS d) EDUCATION, INDIAN CULTURE(INCLUDING CINEMA) e) CURRENT EVENTS AND TOPICS MORE ON ESSAY, IMPORTANT WEB LINKS, MANDATORY SUBJECTS(ENGLISH AND HIN DI), DECIDING OPTIONAL SUBJECTS AND INTERVIEW IN READING BETWEEN THE LINES:LBSNA A DOC