Mrunal (http://mrunal.

org/)

[Studyplan] Combined Defense Services CDS: booklist, strategy, free

study material, previous papers, cutos, physical medical

Studyplan (http://mrunal.org/category/studyplan) / 1 year Ago /

151 Comments (http://mrunal.org/2013/06/studyplan-combined-defense-services-cds-booklist-str

For ACIO & Insurance AO

Maths: Fast-track Rajesh Verma
(http://www.flipkart.com/fast-track-objectivearithmetic-3rd/p/itmd68vjuzdcmrs7?
pid=9789351760146&affid=mrunalrugm)
Reasoning: RS Agrawal
(http://www.flipkart.com/modern-approachverbal-non-reasoningrevised/p/itmdytg8ghhmrq75?
pid=9788121905510&affid=mrunalrugm)
English: SP Bakshi
(http://www.flipkart.com/objective-generalenglish-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?
pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugm)

DONOT apply for CDS exam, unless and until youre certain that you fulfill all medical/physical
requirements (Given @the bottom of this article). Because in past, many candidates have
cleared the written exam, but failed in the medical test. The SSB interview tips given in a
seperate article click me (http://mrunal.org/2013/07/cdsssb-tips-on-interview-stage-ppdtgroup-discussion-gto-tasks-tests-technical-details-suggestions.html)
1.

Topicwise Breakup:

2.

Grab the weapons (Booklist)

3.

1: History & Culture

4.

5.

1.

Ancient

2.

Medieval

3.

Modern History

4.

Culture

2: Science
1.

Physics

2.

Chemistry

3.

Biology

3: Geography

1.

Physical Geography
1. Universe
2. Earth: Basics
3. Rocks/Geology related
4. Atmosphere and Climate related
5. Ocean related
6. Disaster related

2.

Indian Geography

3.

World, Human and Economic Geography

4.

Agriculture

6.

4: Environment and Biodiversity (EnB)

7.

5: Polity

8.

6: Economy

9.

7: International relations/events/diplomacy

10.

8: Defense

11.

9: Misc GK

12.

Conclusion / summary / final tips

13.

Appendix1: Download Links

14.

15.

1.

NCERT and NIOS (Essential/Core)

2.

History

3.

Science

4.

EnB

5.

Economy

6.

Geography

7.

India yearbook

8.

NCERT and NIOS (Peripheral)

Appendix2: CDS notification, cutoffs, previous papers

1.

CDS(II) 2013 Notification

2.

Cutoffs 2011

3.

CDS Previous papers

Appendix3: Physical Standards, Medical checkup rules for CDS

1.

Height

2.

Weight

3.

Weight: Females

4.

Eye standards

5.

Radial keratotomy

6.

Laser Surgery

7.

Visual Standards for Navy

8.

Pregnancy

9.

X-ray Exams

10.

Other physical criteria

11.

Physical Conditioning Test

12.

Airforce: Special tests

13.

Appeals after rejections

Topicwise Breakup:
CDS exam is held twice a year, so lets see how were last three papers?

Topic

2012(I)

2012(II)

2013(I)

Science

26

19

28

History n Culture

19

22

18

Geography

15

24

15

Economy

12

14

Polity

11

20

14

Misc.GK

14

IR

10

EnB

11

Defense

Agro

Often the new players make mistake of preparing too much current affairs, but as you can
see in the table, majority of the paper is made up of static/theory topics only. Even in
Economy and Polity while lot of current events take place but majority of the MCQS are
centered on theory only.

Grab the weapons (Booklist)

In the market, there is no dearth of jholachhap publications with readymade guides on CDS
and mock tests and what not. But Looking at the previous papers, all I can say is that you
need only three sources to cover up majority of the syllabus:
1. NCERT and NIOS textbooks (even here, youve to do very limited study of specific
chapters, as explained in this article. free download links @bottom)
2. Indian Polity by M.Laxmkanth (http://www.flipkart.com/indian-polity-civil-servicesexaminations-3rd/p/itmczynvugmvdue5?pid=9780070153165&affid=mrunalrugm)
(religiously mugup this book for ~10 marks in the exam.)
3. General Studies Manual (http://www.flipkart.com/search-book?
affid=mrunalrugm&wgtid=FK-AF-SB&query=general+studies+manual) (for filling up the
gaps/topics left in NCERTs + for practice of mock questions) you dont need to buy latest
edition, because static topics (history, geography, science) remain one and same in all
edition. So grab second hand/used copy for a cheaper price or borrow it from a friend.
Any publication will work: Unique, TMH, Spectrum etc.
First well see how to approach static topics (history, geography, science, EnB, economy and
polity.) then well see how to approach the current affairs (for IR and Misc.GK)

1: History & Culture

Update Feb-24-2014:
for History/culture portion, use the Tamilnadu (TN) State education board books, theyre
better than NCERTs. Click me for free download
(https://files.secureserver.net/0fnzZYT7SDNuC9)
end of updatecan be sub-classified into following:
Ancient

Harappa, Asoka etc.

Medieval

Delhi sultanate, Mughals etc.

Modern

British raj and freedom struggle.

Culture

Music, painting, dance, religion, architecture, books etc. in above 3 periods.

World
history

update: in CDS(II)2013, UPSC did ask a few questions from World history. You
may consult Lucents GK book + Mrunal.org/history for this. more details soon.

Lets see how much history was asked in last three papers?
Topic

2012(I)

2012(II)

2013(I)

Ancient

Medieval

Modern

12

Culture

10

11

total

19

22

18

% out of 120

15.83

18.33

15

In old times, UPSC used to ask trivial GK question from kings, war timelines etc. =waste of
time in preparation.
But nowadays, questions usually centered around culture or just true/false/find correct
statement; cause-effect-reasons type questions.

I suggest you look at last 2-3 years papers by yourself (given in the appendix) and see it
yourself.

Ancient
In Ancient period, the MCQs mostly come from 2 topics:
1. Harappa
2. Jainism-Buddism (includes Asoka etc.)- Although this can be classified under culture.
Ive already uploaded the NCERTs according to topics (and not according to
standards/classes), so just download from appendix and start reading. If you already have
downloaded NCERTs from any other source, then prepare in following sequence:
*subject*, *class*,*chapter no.*, *chapter name*
1. History6_1_What, Where, How And When
2. History6_2_On The Trail Of The Earliest People
3. History6_3_From Gathering To Growing Food
4. History6_4_In The Earliest Cities
5. History6_5_What Books And Burials Tell Us
6. History6_6_Kingdoms, Kings And An Early Republic
7. History6_7_New Questions And Ideas
8. History6_8_Ashoka, The Emperor Who Gave Up War
9. History6_9_Vital Villages, Thriving Towns
10. History6_10_Traders, Kings And Pilgrims
11. History6_11_New Empires And Kingdoms
12. History6_12_Buildings, Paintings And Books
13. History12_1_Bricks Beads and Stones_Harappa
14. History12_2_King farmer towns
15. History12_3_Kinship Caste Class
16. History12_4_Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings
After that: GS Manual and finally mock questions.

Medieval

If youre willing to take the risk (or running out of time), you can even skip this topic
(kings, wars, dynasties etc.). Because rarely 1-2 question come from medieval portion
nowadays. But do prepare culture related things from medieval period.
1. Hist7_1_Tracing Changes Through A Thousand Years
2. Hist7_2_New Kings And Kingdoms
3. Hist7_3_The Delhi Sultans
4. Hist7_4_The Mughal Empire
5. Hist7_5_Rulers And Buildings
6. Hist7_6_Towns, Traders And Craftspersons
7. Hist7_7_Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities
8. Hist7_8_Devotional Paths To The Divine
9. Hist7_9_The Making Of Regional Cultures
10. Hist7_10_Eighteenth-Century Political Formations
11. History12_1_Foreign Travelers to India
12. History12_2_Bhakti -Sufi Traditions
13. History12_3_Vijayanagara-An Imperial Capital
14. History12_4_Mughal Empire and Agrarian Society
15. History12_5_Mughal Courts
After that: Read the Medieval history section in your GS Manual and finally mock questions.
But keep in mind: GS manuals contain truckload of kings and timelines in the medieval
period, dont waste time mugging them up.

Modern History
Important: NCERTs dont cover all MCQ worthy topics from within the Modern history /
freedom struggle. Therefore you must do following
Read GS manual multiple times for this section.
OR use Spectrum publications brief history of Modern India.
And then solve the Mock Questions given in the GS Manual.
here is the list of NCERT chapters:
1. History8_1_How When and Where
2. History8_2_From Trade to Territory

3. History8_3_The Company Establishes Power

4. History8_4_Ruling the Countryside
5. History8_5_Tribals Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
6. History8_6_1857 and After When people rebel
7. History12_1_Colonialism Official Archives
8. History12_2_1857 Revolt And Its Representations
9. History12_3_Colonial Cities Urbanisation, Planning And Architecture
10. History12_4_Mahatma Gandhi And The Nationalist Movement
11. History12_5_Understanding Partition
12. History12_6_Framing The Constitution

Culture
While reading above NCERTs, youll come across lot of culture related topics (in painting,
literature, dance, music, religion etc.) however for better and consolidated preparation, I
suggest you also go through the NIOS study material for Culture. (Free download links
@bottom)

2: Science
@Arts/commerce students
yeh mujse nahi hoga / science is not my cup of tea = this is loser talk. You want to pass
CDS or SSC, then science has to be prepared, whether you like it or not. Besides, NCERT
textbooks explain the science in very lucid, layman friendly manner, so science is that not
difficult, just read and revise often.

@Science/Engineer/Medical students
dont live in some overconfidence that Just because Im M.Sc (Botany) so I dont need to

read these stupid class7 NCERT science textbooks. I know everything!

Because, you may be good at the technical and latest things happening in your graduation
field, but UPSC asks from basic principles and theories that might have evaporated from your
head after you left highschool years ago. Therefore, no matter what your academic
qualification is, always start with NCERTs.
anyways, continuing onScience can be further divided into

Science subtopic

Comment
1. This is to be prepared from NCERTs, then General Studies (GS)

Physics

Manual and finally mock questions at the end of GS Manual.

2. (optional): you may also read NIOS material on Geography for
additional grip over the subject. Free download links @bottom.

Chemistry

3. Please note: in GS Manuals, they often go into very minute details,

like chemical formulas of hormones etc. dont waste that much
time. You just need basic science concepts, principles and their

Biology

day-to-day application clear.

You can ignore this if youre running out time. otherwise

Current affairs,
biotech,
nanotech,
computer IT,
space etc.

Go through www.Mrunal.org/snt (http://www.Mrunal.org/snt)

goto library, read whatever competitive magazine you get (CST,
Pratiyoigta, Chronicle, Wizard) and note down important things
from science-tech pages.

Science: Internal breakup in last 3 CDS

Topic

2012(I)

2012(II)

2013(I)

Physics

Chemistry

10

Biology

11

Sci-Tech

1*

total

26

19

28

% of out 120

22%

16%

23%

* (one Qs on Chemistry noble prize 2012)

here is the list of NCERT chapters to be prepared:

Physics
1. Sci10_13_Magnet

2. Sci10_12_electricity
3. Sci10_10_light
4. Sci9_12_Sound
5. Sci9_11_Work And Energy
6. Sci9_10_Gravitation
7. Sci9_9_Force And Laws Of Motion
8. Sci9_8_Motion
9. Sci8_16_Light
10. Sci8_14_Chemical Effects Of Electriccurrent
11. Sci8_13_Sound
12. Sci8_12_Friction
13. Sci8_11_Force And Pressure
14. Sci7_15_Light
15. Sci7_14_Electric Current and its Effects
16. Sci7_13_Motion and Time
17. Sci7_4_Heat
18. Physics11_1_What is Physics

Chemistry
1. Sci7_5_Acids,Bases andSalts
2. Sci7_6_Physical and Chemical Changes
3. Sci8_3_Synthetic Fibres And Plastics
4. Sci8_4_Materials Metals And Non-Metals
5. Sci8_5_Coal And petroleum
6. Sci8_6_Combustion And Flame
7. Sci9_1_Matter In Our Surroundings
8. Sci9_2_Is Matter Around Us Pure
9. Sci9_3_Atoms And Molecules
10. Sci9_4_Structure Of The Atom
11. Sci10_1_Chemical Reactions and Equations
12. Sci10_2_Acids, Bases and Salts
13. Sci10_3_Metals and Non-metals
14. Sci10_4_Carbon and its Compounds
15. Sci10_5_Periodic Classification of Elements

Biology

1. Sci7_1_Nutrition in Plants
2. Sci7_2_Nutrition inAnimals
3. Sci7_10_Respiration in Organisms
4. Sci7_11_Transportation in Animals and Plants
5. Sci7_12_Reproduction inPlants
6. Sci8_2_Microorganisms Friend And foe
7. Sci8_8_Cell Structure And Functions
8. Sci8_9_Reproduction In Animals
9. Sci8_10_Reaching Theage Of Adolescence
10. Sci9_5_The Fundamental Unit Of life
11. Sci9_6_Tissues
12. Sci9_7_Diversity In Living Organisms
13. Sci9_13_Why Do We Fall ill
14. Sci10_6_Life Processes
15. Sci10_7_Control and Coordination
16. Sci10_8_reproduction
17. Sci10_9_evolution
18. Sci10_11_human eye
19. Biology12_11_Biotechnology Principle and Processes
20. Biology12_12_Biotechnology and its Applications

3: Geography
Geography can be further classified into
Physical

Universe, earth, atmosphere, weather, climate etc.

Indian

Topics related to India (e.g. industry, drainage etc.)

World

Again not much asked from this.

Geography + Agro: Internal breakup

Topic

2012(I)

2012(II)

2013(I)

Physical

12

Indian

10

World

Agro

Total

20

28

15

% out of 120

17%

23%

13%

Earlier geography used to encompass Environment biodiversity (EnB) + agriculture, but

now both of them have grown up and getting more special attention from UPSC
Examiners. (Although in 2013s CDS-1, the agro MCQs were conspicuously absent.)
Again, our approach is NCERT => GS Manual => Mock questions.

(optional): you may also read NIOS material on Geography for additional grip over the
subject. Free download links @bottom.
Note: In GS manual, they sometimes go in very minor details e.g. state where particular
breed of goat/pig/cow/buffalo is found. dont waste time in such details. Even for Indian
geography, you should know broad things. If you try to prepare every detail, youll be
stuck there forever.

Physical Geography
Universe
When you go to universe, there is no dearth of GK regarding relative size, color, distance of
various planets etc. but again keep the time factor in mind.
1. Sci8_17_Stars And The solar system
2. Geo6_1_The Earth in the Solar System
3. Geo11_2_The Origin and Evolution of the Earth

Earth: Basics
From earth basics, UPSC usually asks a few questions on
1. Latitudes, Longitudes and timezones (perhaps to test the level of the wanna be navy
officers.)
2. oceanography
3. atmosphere, climate, weather phenomenon related
Anyways, here is the list of NCERT chapters

1. Geo6_2_Globe Latitudes and Longitudes

2. Geo6_3_Motions of the Earth
3. Geo6_4_Maps
4. Geo6_5_Major Domains of the Earth
5. Geo6_6_Major Landforms of the Earth
6. Geo11_1_Geography as a Discipline (although doesnt fit in this classification!)
7. Geo11_3_Interior of the Earth
8. Geo11_4_Distribution of Oceans and Continents

Rocks/Geology related
1. Geo11_5_Minerals and Rocks (after that, immediacy read the Indian geography
chapters related to distribution of mines and minerals in India)
2. Geo11_6_Geomorphic Processes
3. Geo11_7_Landforms and their Evolution.

Atmosphere and Climate related

1. Geo11_8_Composition and Structure of Atmosphere
2. Geo11_9_Solar Radiation, Heat Balance and Temperature
3. Geo11_10_Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems
4. Geo11_11_Water in the Atmosphere
5. Geo11_12_World Climate and Climate Change

Ocean related
6. Geo11_13_Water (Oceans)
7. Geo11_14_Movements of Ocean Water

Disaster related
8. Geo11_7_India_Natural Hazards and Disasters
9. Sci7_8_Winds, Storms and Cyclones
10. Sci8_15_Some Natural Phenomena lightening earthquakes

Misc
11. Geo11_1_Geography as a Discipline
12. Geo11_Glossary

Indian Geography
Here UPSC often asks questions on rivers-tributaries. but then again, no point in mugging up
beyond a level. Apart from NCERT, also read chapter 30 from India Yearbook (free download
link @bottom).

India: Physical Geography

1. Geo6_7_Our Country India
2. Geo9_1_size and location
3. Geo9_2_physical
4. Geo9_4_CLIMATE
5. Geo11_1_India_Location
6. Geo11_2_India_Structure and Physiography

India: rivers
1. Geo9_3_drainage
2. Geo10_3-water resources
3. Geo11_3_India_Drainage System
4. Geo12_India_6_Water Resources

India: Economic geography

1. Geo10_1_resources & Development
2. Geo10_5-mines & ENERGY RESOURCES
3. Geo10_6-industries
4. Geo10_7-transport
5. Geo12_India_7_Mineral and Energy Resources
6. Geo12_India_8_Manufacturing Industries
7. Geo12_India_9_Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context
8. Geo12_India_10_Transport and Communication
9. Geo12_India_11_International Trade
10. Geo12_India_12_Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems

India: Human geography

1. Geo9_6_Population
2. Geo12_India_1_Population Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition
3. Geo12_India_2_Migration Types, Causes and Consequences

4. Geo12_India_3_Human Development
5. Geo12_India_4_Human Settlements

World, Human and Economic Geography

1. Geo7_7_transport
2. Geo7_8_Life in tropical areas
3. Geo7_9_life in Grasslands
4. Geo7_10_life in Deserts
5. Geo8_1_Resources
6. Geo8_3_minerals and energy
7. Geo8_5_industries_steel_IT
8. Geo8_6_Human Resources
9. Geo12_1_Nature n Scope
10. Geo12_2_The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth
11. Geo12_3_Population Composition
12. Geo12_4_Human Development
13. Geo12_6_Secondary Activities
14. Geo12_7_Tertiary and Quaternary Activities
15. Geo12_8_Transport and Communication
16. Geo12_9_International Trade
17. Geo12_10_Human Settlements

Agriculture
Agriculture MCQs are slowly getting more attention in both CSE and CDS exams. Here is the
list of NCERT chapters that should be specifically read and revised. More emphasis on soiltypes, crops and cropping technologies.
1. Geo8_4_agri
2. Geo10_4-agriculture
3. Geo11_6_India_Soils
4. Geo12_5_Primary Activities
5. Geo12_India_5_Land Resources and Agriculture
6. Sci7_3_Fibre to Fabric
7. Sci7_9_Soil
8. Sci8_1_Crop Production And Management
9. Sci9_15_Improvement In Food Resources

4: Environment and Biodiversity (EnB)

As far as CDS is concerned, majority of EnB questions are centered around static/theory
portion.
For EnB, the foundation /base material is NIOS (free download links @bottom).
Go through the articles posted on Mrunal.org/enb (http://www.Mrunal.org/enb)
Besides, certain chapters of NCERT Geography and Science textbooks also help in EnB. Here
is the list:
1. Biology12_13_Organisms and Populations
2. Biology12_14_Ecosystem
3. Biology12_15_BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
4. Biology12_16_Environmental Issues
5. Chemistry11_14_ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
6. Economy11_9_ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
7. Geo6_8_India Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife
8. Geo7_1_environment
9. Geo7_2_rocks
10. Geo7_3_Rivers
11. Geo7_4_Air
12. Geo7_5_water
13. Geo7_6_Jungle
14. Geo8_2_Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resource
15. Geo9_5_forest and wildlife
16. Geo10_2-forest & wildlife resources
17. Geo11_4_India_Climate
18. Geo11_5_India_Natural Vegetation
19. Geo11_15_Life on the Earth
20. Geo11_16_Biodiversity and Conservation
21. Sci7_7_Weather, Climate and Adaptations of Animals to Climate
22. Sci7_16_Water A Precious Resource
23. Sci7_17_Forests Our Lifeline
24. Sci7_18_Waste water Story
25. Sci8_7_Conservation Of Plants And animals
26. Sci8_18_Pollution Of Air And Water
27. Sci9_14_Natural Resources carbon cycle

28. Sci10_14_Source of energy

29. Sci10_15_environment_food chain
30. Sci10_16_ Management of natural resources
(Youll find their download link @the Bottom of this article)

5: Polity
In both Civil service exam and CDS exam, polity MCQs form a signification portion. The cost:
benefit ratio is quite good.

1. Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth (click to buy from flipkart, pay on delivery)

(www.flipkart.com/indian-polity-4th/p/itmdmmsnbhqfwj3a?
Primary
source

pid=9781259064128&affid=mrunalrugm)
2. India Yearbook chapter number 3 and 20. (you dont need to specifically
buy the latest edition for CDS, just use India 2011, Free download link
@bottom)

Peripheral

3. Depending on your time and mood, the NCERT, NIOS political science and
sociology textbooks. (again free download @bottom).
(http://www.flipkart.com/indian-polity-civil-services-examinations3rd/p/itmczynvugmvdue5?pid=9780070153165&affid=mrunalrugm)
Here are some tips on how to Laxmikanths book efficiently and get
a good grip over the polity within a short period of time?
Dont study the book in a linear fashion (that is chapter 1,2,3,4
sequence)
Instead I suggest you read the book in following direction:
1. First you read the chapter on President, Vice President and

immediately move to the chapter on governor. Then read on Emergency provisions.

2. Read chapter on PM and cabinet, then move to CM and state council of Ministers.
3. Chapter on Parliamentary system and then directly to parliament, but after budget topic
is done pause this chapter and move to on CAG. Then come back and resume the chapter
on parliament.

4. Once parliament is finished, move to State legislative assembly.

5. Supreme Court and then High court, tribunals.
6. Attorney Gen =>Advocate General
7. UPSC =>State PSC
8. Finance Commission =>Planning Commission=>Nat.Development council
9. Now Centre State relation and Interstate relations.
10. Election Commission=> chapter on election, Anti-defection
11. All the National Commissions on Women, SC, ST,OBC, CVC, Lokpal and so on.
Once ^this is done. Move to
1. Citizenship, Fundamental rights, DPSP, duties.
2. Amendment of Constitution=> preamble
3. Jammu Kashmir => Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
4. UT, Panchayati Raj, municipalities
After ^this is done. Read whatever chapters are remaining. Ultimately
Appendix for union-state-concurrent list, table of precedence etc.
the mock MCQ questions given in Laxmikant + also in your General studies manual.
Note: the short explanations given in appendix of every chapter= should be read.
Single time reading of Laxmikanth= useless. Revise his book, minimum 3 times.
An allied topic of Polity is rights-issue for example women rights, children rights,
SC/ST/OBC/PH/Minorities and various schemes meant for that. Although not much is asked
from It and Most of that stuff is already covered under my economic survey chapter
summaries :Mrunal.org/economy (http://www.Mrunal.org/economy) and Mrunal.org/polity
(http://www.Mrunal.org/polity)

6: Economy
Dont waste your time in mugging up stupid numbers (like IIP in xyz month, how much
sharemarket went up or down etc.). In CDS/IAS exam the Economy MCQs are mostly
static/theory based. To prepare Economy use following resources
1. NCERT class 11 and 12. (free download link @bottom.)

2. NIOS material for economy (free download link @bottom)

3. Mrunal.org/economy (http://www.Mrunal.org/economy)
4. Finally GS Manual Mock questions for practice.
You dont need to specifically buy Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh for CDS exam, but if
you have it (or can borrow from a friend) then do read it.

7: International relations/events/diplomacy
until now we saw how to prepare the static / theory areas viz. history, geography, science,
polity, EnB and economy. Now comes a current-affairs-oriented topic: International
events.
What separates CDS exam from CSE (IAS/IPS) exam is the specific attention paid to IR and
defense MCQs. So, what type of questions are asked in International events and from
where to prepare their answers?

1. Various international summits,

their locations, themes
2. Agreements and dispute
between countries for some
border, island etc.
3. Joint military exercises (although
I count them under Defense
topic.)

Goto library, read whatever competitive magazine

you get (CST, Pratiyoigta, Chronicle, Wizard) and
note down important things from diary of
international events + Person in news.

4. Election of President / PM and

which party does he belong to.
(Although I count them under
Misc.GK=>Person in New (PIN)).
5. Basic things about international
organizations such as UN,
UNESCO, WTO, ASEAN, NATO etc.

8: Defense

youll find them covered under your GS Manual + in

sociology/political science related NCERTs

The questions about various missiles, DRDO technology, joint-military exercises with
other countries.
although 2013s CDS(I) did not contain any specific questions from Defense but 2012s
both CDS (I & II) had questions from defense.
A lot of topics that happened from 2012 upto March 2013, are already compiled in the
following article
http://mrunal.org/2013/03/defense-current-affairs-compilation-2012-13-missiles-jointexercises-operations-organizations.html (http://mrunal.org/2013/03/defense-current-affairscompilation-2012-13-missiles-joint-exercises-operations-organizations.html)
beyond that, again Goto library, read whatever competitive magazine you get (CST,
Pratiyoigta, Chronicle, Wizard) and note down important things from diary of international
events + Person in news.
for basics about army, navy, airforce: organization, recruitment, training etc. read Chapter
9 Defense From India Yearbook. (You dont need to specifically buy India 2013, just refer
the India 2011 free PDF given at bottom of this article. Because that chapter remains
almost one and same in all editions of India yearbook.)

9: Misc GK
It involve sports, awards, books-authors, persons in news and all other stupid infinite trivial
database.
Topic

2012(I)

2012(II)

2013(I)

Awards

Books-authors

PIN (Persons in News)

Sports

total

14

% ouf of 120

6%

5%

12%

Ive published compilation from 2012 to March 2013 click me

(http://mrunal.org/2013/02/misc-gk-persons-in-news-2012-13-sports-books-awards-for-ssccgl-sbi-po-upsc-csat.html) after that, goto library, read whatever competitive magazine you
get (CST, Pratiyoigta, Chronicle, Wizard) and note down important names/details. Following
areas to concentrate
1. Within sports: lawn tennis
2. Within PIN: international personas (PM, President, chiefs of various organization etc.)
3. Books: award-winners or someone who recently died.

Conclusion / summary / nal tips

Revision is essential. Whatever you read in NCERT, NIOS or Laxmikanth, keep a target of
revising it multiple times. Otherwise, you wont be able to recall the exact details in the
exam and UPSCs MCQs are very tricky.
If youve applied for this exam, then focus on your studies only. Dont underestimate the
level of competition. Dont waste time in day-dreaming, facebook, orkut, random net
surfing, chatting, TV, cricket, weddings of distant relatives etc. Time-pass activities
will always be there, but once you cross the age-limit, there is no restart button. (This rule
applies to all competitive exams.)
When you get bored reading General studies, then solve maths / English question. when
you get bored with maths/english, resume your General studies preparation.
Dont go in the exam-hall with a cutoff mindset. Dont push luck in negative marking.
Dont tick answers based on guesswork.
maths, english strategy will be posted soon.

Appendix1: Download Links

1. Foxit PDF reader (necessary prerequisite for using Mrunals autonotemaker) click me to
download (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/PDF/Foxit-PDF-Reader.shtml)
2. Almost all of these PDF files provides direct copying of text. => That means you can use
Mrunals autonotemaker to quickly make notes and mindmaps out of it, just use mouse
cursor to highlight a particular line /phrase and my software will copy its text in a separate
file. for more instructions click me (http://mrunal.org/2012/10/tech-mrunals-autonotemaker-for-the-hindu-pdf-files-grab-data-by-mouse-make-notes-without-typing.html)

NCERT and NIOS (Essential/Core)

TN State edu Books (for History) https://files.secureserver.net/0fnzZYT7SDNuC9

(https://files.secureserver.net/0fnzZYT7SDNuC9)
NIOS (for Culture) https://files.secureserver.net/0fdAWETp4sONW5
(https://files.secureserver.net/0fdAWETp4sONW5)
NCERT files: topicwise: https://files.secureserver.net/0fHCh0CLd6Az63
(https://files.secureserver.net/0fHCh0CLd6Az63)
Youll find the material organized in various folders. Click on individual folder and download
zip files. Here is the description about the contents of individual folder:
Folder

Comment
Contains NCERT history chapters from class 7 to 12, in three zip

History

files: ancient, medieval and Modern

+NIOS Culture material
Contains class 7 to 10 NCERT Science in three zips: physics,

Science

chemistry, biology.
+NIOS Science material. (although there will be lot of overlapping)
Class 11, 12 Science books given in the peripheral section below.
Contains selective chapters from class 6 to 12 from science and

EnB

geography textbooks that are relevant for Environment and

biodiversity.
+NIOS material for environment and biodiversity EnB.
Contains NCERT class 11 + NCERT 12 Macro economics

Economy

+NIOS economy material.

Class 12 Micro-economics not included because not worth the time
for CDS. although download link in the peripheral section below.
Contains NCERT class 6 to 12 in five zip folders: physical, India,

Geography

World, Agro and glossary.

+NIOS material on geography (although lot of overlapping)

India yearbook

earlier government used to upload free PDF files for India yearbook (e.g. India 2010, India
2011 etc.)
But since 2012, they stopped. However, for CDS you dont need a latest edition and you
dont need to refer all chapters.
just download the India 2011 edition click me
(https://files.secureserver.net/0s7OobL0vlSx5o)
And read chapter following chapters
1.Land and the People
2.National Symbols
3.The Polity (for polity)
9. Defense
20 Justice and Law (for polity segment)
30. State and UT (for geography related questions)

NCERT and NIOS (Peripheral)

read these if depending on your time and mood.

NIOS

Single folder contains many

courses from NIOS: sociology,
political science etc. download
as per your time, mood and
requirement.

Download
(https://files.secureserver.net/0fdAWETp4sONW5)

NCERTs

Biology

Chemistry

Chemistry

12

12

12

Biology

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Biology.zip)

Chemistry 1

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Chemistry-1.zip)

Chemistry 2

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Chemistry-2.zip)

Introductory

Download

Economics

Economics

Economics

Physics

Physics

Political
Science

Political
Science

Political
Science

Political
Science

Political
Science

Political
Science

12

Microeconomics

(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Introductory-Microeconomics.zip)

10

Understanding
Economic
Development Class X
Social Science

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-10-Understanding-EconomicDevelopment-Social-Science.zip)

Economics for Class 9

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-9-Economics.zip)

Physics 1

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Physics-1.zip)

12

Physics 2

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Physics-2.zip)

12

Contemporary World
Politics Political
Science Class 12

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Contemporary-World-PoliticsPolitical-Science.zip)

12

Political Science 2 for

Class 12

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-12-Political-Science-2.zip)

11

Political Theory
Political Science Class
11

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-11-Political-Theory-PoliticalScience.zip)

11

Indian Constitution at
Work Political Science
Class 11

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-11-Indian-Constitution-at-WorkPolitical-Science.zip)

Social and Political

Life Part 2 Class 7

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-7-Social-and-Political-Life.zip)

Social and Political

Life Class 8

Download
(http://www.neerajagarwal.info/ncert-booksfor-class-8-Social-and-Political-Life-SocialScience.zip)

12