My Advice, for Starters.

So when I was spending yet another day in my life, I was asked, by one of my close friends, to suggest some reading material for a starter, who just made up mind for Civil Services Exam.

I sent, a simple list of three things. Here it is.

1. Go through every line of past 20 years prelims question papers, pedantically.  (For example : One can try this kind of book)

2. Pick up the "Competition Success Review" magazine and enjoy the smooth flow of pages.

3. Try any India - GK book and experience, the vastness of knowledge (Two examples).

As Srujan puts it in his blog,

"Civil service preparation is an opportunity to know our surroundings and country in a better way and enhance our knowledge holistically. Even if we don't get into services, we will be an "informed citizen" and can help positively in building our society. We should keep this in mind while preparing and start moulding our personality such that it suits the kind of work we'd do once we get into service. We should try to develop grasping, active thinking, comprehension and decision making skills. Our preparation for civils also helps in... "

Carpe diem.

Deepavali and Indian Culture.

Deepavali - The festival of Lights.

Hello folks !

Firstly, wish you a happy Deepavali!

Here is a link to Wiki article of Indian Culture. I strongly think, one should understand intricacies of Indian Culture, the philosophy behind it, and the aim with which, Indian society tries to move forward, and facts, truths and fallacies of those arguments, for being able to serve it better. 

"The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator's hand." says George Bernard Shaw, the only man who had both, an Oscar  and a Nobel Prize.

Stories of Two luminaries !

Hi !

Here are two different life stories, of Srivatsa Krishna and Sagayam. It is very inspirational to look at life, from their perspective. One, as a dynamic leader, who goes on to big big things, and other, going to villages and sleeping there, and whipping other bureaucrats ..

Go through them.  Stay Tuned. Share these articles. Come back, if you want some stimulus :-)

Dont worry about Pattern Chage of 2013 Civil Services Exam !

(Thanks a lot to this page, which motivated me to focus more coherently on 2013 CSE)

Here is that content, for your sake !

Dear student friends ,

There is uncertainty about change in the syllabus of civil services (main) examination. The entire speculation is hovering around the fact that in restructured syllabus optional subjects will be replaced by common and compulsory papers for all the students appearing in the main examination. The speculation is not receding from the scene even after the response of minister of State in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions placed in the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) in RajyaSabha on Dec. 01, 2011 for a starred question. The minister said that the Union Government of India has no plan to restructure the syllabus of civil services (main) examination. But the rumours are aired that UPSC can introduce new pattern of syllabus in 2013. In this situation it becomes really difficult for aspirants to decide their strategy for the examination. The students are in the fix whether to study subjects or not? What will happen if they study subjects and syllabus gets revised in 2013?

The crucial point is that you cannot wait and watch for the notification of UPSC in next year and accordingly plan. By the time notification comes you will be left with three months for clearing the preliminary examination. During this period you cannot prepare for new syllabus which will replace subjects. Thus you will be left with only 4 months to cope with the new syllabus. Here the role of study of public administration before waiting for next year’s notification becomes critical. But the question can be raised why public administration? How it will help in preparing for the new syllabus?

The answers lie in the present syllabus of public administration. The training institutions for All-India services and other services have asked for incorporation of more issues dealing with administrative structure, function and theoretical dimensions of the administration in the syllabus so that selected candidates have better understanding as background for their grooming as efficient administrator through training. Moreover the committees appointed for looking into the matter have recommended changes in Mains syllabus on the same lines. The expectation is that there will be 6 common and compulsory papers for all students in the mains examination. Out of these papers at least 2 papers will have strong dose of the present public administration. The recommended syllabus is expected to cover at least 70-80% of present paper-I of public administration. The second paper of public administration which deals with the Indian Constitution and Indian Administration will be incorporated in the new syllabus with more emphasis on the Constitutional understanding and its implications for the administration.

The understanding of public administration has already become part of preliminary examination in form of decision making questions and communication skills. In this backdrop it seems needless to emphasise the importance of public administration at the interview level. When UPSC is willing to test your administrative understanding and aptitude at preliminary and mains level obviously the understanding of administrative concepts and situation in India will be expected at the interview level.

So this is not time for sitting fingers crossed and loose crucial time for preparation. In this time of transition study of public administration can give you advantage over students of other subjects. Even if syllabus gets restructured with no subjects in new pattern most of the syllabus of public administration will be incorporated in the new syllabus. Now you have to decide whether you want to lag behind or capitalise upon the opportunity by studying public administration and get in advantageous position.

OUR APPROACH

1-Emphasis on conceptual clarity of paper one for better understanding of Indian Administration
2- Continuous updating of Indian Administration with current affairs
3- Special coverage of areas proposed in the new mains syllabus and modified study of the whole syllabus in tune with the changes
4- Printed notes and handouts with contemporary inputs in significant areas
5- Classroom answers writing practice and test series
6- Discussion of previous years questions

RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST-

Paper-1
· Pubic administration- S. Polinaidu
· Administrative thinkers-Prasad and Prasad

Paper-2
· Indian administration-R.K.Arora and RajniGoyal
· Constitution of india-D.D.Basu/ B.K.Sharma

The idea for recommending very small and simple book list is that students should not get confused with more literature at the initial stage of the preparation. Once they build their concepts in classroom they can consult more literature for enriching their answers.

 All the Best !

Interview of Prof. DP Agarwal

DP Agrawal & His views on changing the exam format :

Go through this TOI webpage. I am pasting here, its contents, for your quick look. 

Q. Do you feel the need to change the pattern of UPSC exam?

Ans: Change in inevitable. The change in format of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam is necessary with rapid changes in our education system. The old method is not ineffective but needs to be revamped to keep a pace with the time. There are three stages in UPSC exam- preliminary, mains and personality test (interview). UPSC has already constituted a high-power panel to look into the matter. Its report is expected to come out early next year. It is most likely to be in effect from 2013.

Q. With corruption cases involving bureaucrats being reported almost everyday, does it reflect an inability to select the right candidates?

Ans: I disagree. UPSC always selects candidate judging his/her integrity, honesty and intelligence. The immediate way out is a continuous assessment of bureaucrats at various stages to minimise the possibility of their involvement in any malpractice.

Q. Do you feel that reforms in school education (scrapping Class X boards and introducing continuous and comprehensive evaluation) will help in churning out good students, who in turn, can become good administrative officers?

Ans: This system has allowed students to experiment, innovate and be creative, which was not possible in an examination-driven system. The learning must be individual and continuous, and should not be based on rote. This will bring a positive change in the society, and likewise in administrative officers.

Q: How can educational institutes raise the level of academics?

Ans: They have to expand and promote research work. The state and Centre-funded universities should be given full freedom to work towards this aim.

Who is this ?

 
What do you think these images depict ?

Did you say Gautama Buddha ?

Wrong !

So read about Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, and Budai in that Order. 

Bilateral relations of India

Today, roughly, for four hours, I was listening to Profs, about Bilateral relations of India.

Here are few wiki links. Enjoy.

Read especially about  the relations with superpowers.....

Aiming 2013-2014 Civil Services Exam.

After going through this page, I am tempted to keep my target a bit higher than what they have done.

(Link goes to Wiki of Civil Services of India)

Overall Target Score : 1400 / 2300

Prelims : Clearing with perfectly answering 70 % of MCQ's.

Mains :

GS papers : Both papers put together,  360 / 600
Optional I : Both papers put together,  380+ / 600

Optional I : Both papers put together,  380+ / 600 

Essay : 100 / 200

Interview : 200 / 300

Total =  1420 / 2300

That would mean 61 percent of 2300 marks.

And I am thinking of Physics and Maths optionals. 

Also, as I might not fare well in Essay, Interview, GS papers in that order, I should be planning to get as many marks as possible, in Optionals. 

Thats all for today,

All the best for your preparations,

V!vek 

Articles from Telugu Daily Eenadu, about Civil Services Exam 2012

So here are articles, which might be of some help for your Civils Preparation :

Article 1 

Article 2 

Article 3

( They are in Telugu )

And as Eenadu people keep removing archives from their servers, these links may not work later. 

2012 General Studies paper of Civil Services Exam of UPSC.

Get the *.pdf from this url .

Note that Examiner will pay special attention to the candidate’s grasp of his material, it’s relevant to the subject chosen and to his ability to think constructed and present his ideas concisely, logically and effectively.

“The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory”. -Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).


Also, got this list from VisionIAS document. It says, they check for following competencies :

• Alignment Competence:

- Writing the answer according to the actual requirement of the questions
- Focus on Key words & Tail words effectively ( Elucidate – Explain, Comment , Examine , Critically examine , Discuss , Analyze , Illustrate , Review , Argue , Justify etc.)

• Context Competence:

- Contextual understanding of the Questions
- Present relevant information , choice of words and proper statement

• Content Competence :

- Content of the answer in the contextual framework

• Language Competence :

- Optional Subject Specific Language not used general words in the optional paper ( but In General Studies language should be simple and clear )
- Appropriate words at proper place , Word limits

• Structure – Presentation Competence:

- Proper systematization in the structure of the answer , Proper consideration of priority and focus of given ideas.

- Logical structure of sentence and their connectivity

- proper visibility of idea through facts, data , diagram , figure , illustration according to the requirement of the question

• Introduction – Conclusion Competence:

- Impressive beginning and Ending of the answer , Give your opinion only when asked for it.

- Incorporate your opinion from different perspective in a balance manner.

And as most of the people feel difficult to score high marks in GS paper of CSE, your strategy should be to get as many marks as possible in it, say 400 on 600. 

I am focusing on paper I. Whats your favorite of all the contents in both the GS papers put together ? 

Leave a comment !

Three things to read, before taking any exam !

Think Positive:

Irrespective of your Past & Preparation, Stay Positive. Face the Situation with Equanimity.

Be Open Minded:

Don't go there, with any sorts of Prejudices. Take it, as it comes.

 

Access the Question Paper:

After having gone through Question paper rigorously in the first few minutes, access your strengths. Also don't forget that this is THE chance to prove an entire year's preparation. Ultimately, remember that your performance reflects trustworthiness.

Attempt with the goal of hitting a Century. Nothing less than that.

Unleash the warrior within. Believe in yourself, till the end of the game.

Early updates about CAT 2012, from PaGalGuy

 Here are four links. Go through them.

Pre IIM-CAT-2012 post.

I am taking IIM CAT 2012 Tomorrow !

Goal : To warm up, by taking few AIMCAT's by TIME, and then brush up 'Verbal' part once again.

Overcoming Inertia

First of all, to do anything in life, one should overcome 'Inertia'. Its our very nature that we tend to be in same state, that we have been so far.

Here are some specific ones that one should be more conscious about :

- Starting a book (Reading & Writing),
- Starting an Application Process,

- Sending an important mail,
- Starting Assignments,
- Starting a blog article,
- Finishing any task, that has been started !

One would manifestly see 'Inertia', casting its maya, especially at the beginning. Hence, it again catches the doer, when he begins to end the work, ie, when he is close to finishing his job.

All it takes to get over this is, repeated saying of "Shut up and Calculate" to ourselves !