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FAQs

FAQs
July3,2012at2:55am

Thisisacollectionofthequestions,frequentlyaskedbymostofmyfriendswhodesiretoappearfor
thesocalledIASexam(andIliketocallitasone).Iwillkeepthelistupdatingfromtimetotime.So
letsstart

FAQ#8:IsittruethatUPSCisgoingtochangetheMainsExaminationpatternfromthisyear
(2013)??
NochangesinUPSCexams,fornowGovttowaitforNigavekarcommitteereport

THEgovernmenthasclarifiedthatthecivilservices(mains)examwillremainasitis,atleastfornow.
Therewerespeculations,andevenrumoursthatverypatternofthecivilservicesexaminationswould
undergodrasticchanges.ButVNarayanasamy,ministerofstateintheministryofpersonnel,public
grievancesandPMOsaidinawrittenreplyinLokSabhaonWednesdaythatcurrentlythereisnoproposal
tointroducechangesinthemainexaminationofthecivilservicesexamination.Yet,UnionPublicService
Commission(UPSC)hasappointedacommitteeofexperts,headedbyformerUGCchairmanProfArunS
Nigavekartoreviewtheexistingstructureofcivilservices(main)examinationandsuggestnecessary
changes.Itwasalsoclarifiedthatthenumberofattemptsforcandidatesappearingincivilservices
examinationconductedbyUPSCwouldremainasitstandstoday.
(sourcehttp://www.babusofindia.com/2012/04/nochangesinupscexamsfornowgovt.html)

FAQ#7:IhaveagoodknowledgeofSanskrit/Iamgoodatmuggingthefacts,shouldItakePalias
oneoptionalsubject?

Paliasasubjectisverygood.OnewhoisgoodinHindiandknowssomeSanskritcanoptforit.WhenI
choseit,theadvantageofselectingPaliasasecondoptionalwas

1.Smallsyllabus
2.Predictablequestions
3.Notmuchknowledgeofliteraturewasassuchrequired.

FurtherIhadPhysics,whichisverylengthy.Itpaidmetosomeextent.Butmarkswerenotproportionate
tothehardworkputbyme.

Mymarksinpali
1stattempt351!
2ndattempt308
3rdattempt327

seemymarksinGS
1stattempt202
2ndattempt229
3rdattempt250(strictlyincreasing)

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NowseeitforPublicAdministration
1stattempthadphysics
2ndattempt293
3rdattempt378!(strictlyincreasing)

SothatsthepointIamtryingtomake.ThereisNOCORRELATIONbetweenhardworkandmarks
obtained!

Nowthereasonbehindit
Forlast2yearsthepaperishighlydynamicinnature.Theyarediversifyingthetypeandpatternof
questions,inthefollowingway

1.Thepatternofquestionsaskedisrandom,sopredictabilityfactorhasgone.
2.ThequestionsareaskedfromMIDDLEOFTHEPRESCRIBEDtextsalso,whichisnottaughtinany
coaching.
3.PapersaresetonlyinEnglish,nohindiorregionallanguage.Soitssometimesdifficulttocomprehend
thequestionsitself.
EginoneoftheyquestiontheyaskedtheDECLENSION!IdidnothaveacluethataShabdRoopiscalled
asdeclension.Soa30marksquestionwasleftunattempted!!!
EarlierweusedtomanageevenwithEnglishversionbecausethequestionswerethesameweusedto
muginourcoachingnotes.

Idontwantanybodytotakeitblindlybasedonmyadvice,becauseIamskepticalforthisyearsmains
paperalso.
IstronglybelievehadItakenSociologyorPhilosophy,Iwouldhaveobviouslyimprovedmyperformance
duringthecourseofthreeattempts.

Nowsomegoodygoody
Itsashort,simpleandinterestingsubject.Buddhasteachingsareveryinsightful,understandingthe
subjectisquitesimpleaswehaveonlyonethinkerieBuddhahimself,sonocomparisonorcontradictionof
opinions.
Itsallmyperceptionwhichmatterstheleast.Everybodyhasuniqueperceptionsandexperiences.Inmy
casemyexperiencewithPalihasnotbeensoromanticsoIcantoutrightlysayGoforit!!Itstheoptional
youweresearchingfor!!!
Nowitsyourchoice.Makeyours.

FAQ#6:Whatarethepersonalitytraitsrequired,tobecomeasuccessfulCivilServant,thatthe
Commissionlooksforwardincandidates?

InthewordsofformerUPSCChairmanSurendraNath,anidealcivilservantshouldbe:

Firstly,anofficermustbeagentleman.Heshouldpossessgoodcharacterqualities.Heshouldhave
courageofconviction,intellectualandmoralcapabilities,leadershipqualitiesandcapableoftakingthe
rightdecisionsattherighttime.Heshouldhaveindepthprofessionalknowledge,selfconfidence,good
communicationskills,analyticalinhisthinking,flexibleandnotrigid,mustbeabletoinspireandmotivate
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hiscolleaguesandhissubordinates.Thereshouldbeabalanceofjudgementindecisionmaking.

(IhadwrittenitonaA4sheetwithasketchpenandpasteditabovemywashbasin,intheplaceof
mirror!)

FAQ#5:WhichCoachingisthebestforGS?Isitreallyimportanttojoincoachinginstitutes?

1.Als,Vajiram,Sriramallaregood.
2.IchoseALSbecauseofproximity.Iwasinjiasaraidoingphysics.Socudntaffordvaji.
3.NowwiththenewapproachUPSCisfollowing,mostofthequestionsarefromnewspaper
soimportanceofcoachingisreduced.
4.Vajiramhasedgeofgooddcurrentaffairsmaterial.Butitsphotocopyisavailableinthemarket.
5.Jomehnatkartehainkahinsebhi,scorekartehihain,coachingisjustanaidnotthesolution.
6.Evennocoachingcanfetchmarksbutyouhavetobeverydisciplinedtocompletethesyllabusina
properwaywhichisveryeasytodowhenyoujoinanyinstitutebecauseofregularclassesandfixedstudy
plan.

FAQ#4:WhichBooks/studymaterialdidyoufollowforPublicAdministration?

*Forboththepapers,crackiasmaterial,asisubscribeditformysecondattempt,justrevisedallofit..
*Mohantysirsclasnotes.
*Pubadministrationdictionary..dntremembertheauthorsnamebitheisanservingIRTSofficer,thati
rememberwell.:)

1stpaper
1.AdministrativeThinkersPrasadnPrasad
2.NewHoriznsMohitbhattacharya(wasabouncerforme,managedsomehow,notallthetopics)
3.CPAbyRameshAroraijusloveit,ilovepatlikitabe.:P
4.IGNOUNOTESofBAnMPAboth,selectively,asandwhenifeltsomeclarityofconceptsorillustrations.
5.InputsbyMinochasir@Testseries.

2ndpaper
1.IndianAdmnbyGoyalnArora.
2.IIPAJournalsreligiously.
3.Recommendationsofcommitteesncommissionsespafter2000.mainlyARC2,Punchhi,Sarkariya,
Sacchar,Padmanabhaiyah,SoliSorabjeeetc
4.Internetforupdationofdynamictopics.
5.Testseriesmaterial@kaizar.

FAQ#3:WhatistheimpactofMEDIUMOFEXAM?WhetherEnglishMediumprovidesanedge?

AnsOneshouldgoforthemediumoneiscomfortablewith.AsthewordMEDIUM,itselfsaysititsjusta
mediumtoconveyyourideas.Contentsoftheanswersdomatter,andnotthemedium.

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StudentsofSciencenEngineeringStreamdofinditdifficulttodecideaboutthemediumasallthestandard
booksofSciencesubjectsareinEnglishandtheyhavetobearENGLISHforGS,essayandinterview.

Ithappenedwithmealso.BeingaHindimediumstudentthroughout,iwantedtowriteinHindibutwheni
tookPhysics,IhadtogoforEnglishmed.Idid'ntfeelmuchdifficultyandfortunatelycrossedtheriver
successfullyinthefirstattemptitself!

FAQ#2:Whatwereyourmarksinallthethreeattempts?

AnsMyUPSCMarksheets,
1stattempt,
Essay097
Physics304(140+164)
Pali351(175+176)
GS202(110+092)
WRITTENTOTAL0954
PersonalityTest180Lt,Gen.NirbhaySharmasboard.
Totol1134
AIR575ServiceallottedIRTS.

2ndattempt,
Essay100
PubAd293(160+133)
Pali308(144+164)
GS229(129+100)
WRITTENTOTAL930
PersonalityTest189Prof.Chalamsboard.
Totol1119Notrecommended!

Thirdattempt,
Essay099
PubAd378(202+176)
Pali327(181+146)
GS250(140+110)
WRITTENTOTAL1054
PersonalityTest164Mr.IMGKhansboard.
Total1218
AIR49
Serviceyettobeallotted.

FAQ#1:WhichcoachinginstitutesdidujoinSwarochish?

AnsAtoZinfoabtthecoachinginstitutesijoined,

1stattempt
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PhysicsDIASbyVajpayiSir.Heis"thebest"inIndiaforUPSCphysics.Thatsit.
GSALS.focusonNCERTs,answerwritingisgud.JojosirnAruneshSirareverycordialnhelpful.
GStestseriesatALS(freefreefree)
PaliDr.Prasad@CareerPlus.HeisanauthorityasfarasPaliisconcernerd.
MockInterviewALSnSamkalp.

(AftermyfirstattemptsmainsitselfidroppedPhysics,widoutwaitimgfortheresult,tookPubAdmnn
joinedBhawaniSinghsirasonlydatbatchwasopenforadmission.iwentderforalmost45daysnleftit.i
dintfindituseful,maybebecauseiwasabeginnerncouldnotappreciatehim.)

2ndattempt
PublicAdmnNocoaching,SelfStudy.ReadCrackiasnotesplusstandardbooks.
GStestseriesSynchronousbyAbhayThakur.Unpleasantexperience.Couldnotcompletethetestseries.
MockInterviewALSnSamkalp.

3rdattempt
PublicAdmnSynergybyMohantySir.1stpaperisamazing.
PublicAdmntestseriesKaizarAcademybyMinochaSir.Heevaluatesanswersheetsbyhimself!!!Vast
experiencehehas.
MockInterviewALSnSamkalp.

https://www.facebook.com/MyExperimentsWithUpsc

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