Whats the driving force of the Life and Career of these IAS officers ?

Second Video :




Third Video :

Wow !

So many Wows in this Video !

Firstly, the mention of Swami Vivekananda (by that Singh Ji), in whose name, I roam around every day, with Pride, at IIT Madras.

I think, he was paraphrasing this quote. One of my Favourites.

"So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them. I call those men-- who strut about in their finery, having got all their money by grinding the poor---wretches, so long as they do not do anything for those two hundred millions who are now no better than hungry savages." - Swami Vivekananda.

Then, Secondly, The idea of enquiring, that What is the thing, which keeps these officers ticking.  (I am very happy that Spirituality is one of those ticking forces.)

Here are some of the answers, which they gave, for the above Question .. 

1. You have to find opportunities among adversities.
2. Don't curse the darkness. Take up a Candle and dispel the darkness. (Reminds me of one of my friends, who spoke that her motivation to crack IAS is to dispel the ignorance of Masses in India, and give them, the illumination of Knowledge.)
3. You have to be a performer, not a fault finder. 
4. Lofty Challenges, bring out the best within us. 
5. When Obstacles come in, we strengthen our muscles. 
6. *Must be committed to path of excellence. 
7. Let everyone see the Vision, with which, you approach the things....
   Once you yourself stop taking the credit, and give up the I , and convert the I into We, and take up large number of people with you, then your challenges that you face are reduced. Then, the entire team gets the credit.

Coming to the Second Video :

Mantras of Successful leader

1. To have a large, Inspired and Clearly defined goal.
2. Commitment towards Objectives. Feeling passionate. No matter what matter of pressure, Does only Legally and ethically. Never Succumb to the pressures. 
3. Earn more respect and gratitude from people, rather than Money.
4. Have your own value system intact, happen what may. 
5. Retain the Integrity and ethical status of this All India service, benefiting large number of people.
6. At govt cost, you can do lot of good things, to country. 
7. ** Japanese Word - Kaizen. Improve Always. Although slowly, you have to improve. And for that, there are several Small improvement techniques to follow in day to day life.

'Highest reward' John Ruskin Quote :

“The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get from it, but what they become by it.”

( Mahatma Gandhi mentions this particular poet in his Autobiography ! )

विजयी भव !

My Analysis of 2013 Civil Services Exam Notification

Finally, the notification came, after eternity of waiting. 

And I understood, only towards the end, that why UPSC had to take a month of extra time, to put out the notification.

(Btw, UPSC made me troll, as soon as I opened their notification pdf. I felt sad and ridiculed, looking at the very first page. Take a peek at this Snap-Shot, at point 3. After a month of time that they borrowed, is this the way, to do the things ? )

Now that they have made it more 'General', lets look at the new pattern.

So the exam retained same old Prelims + Mains + Personal Interview pattern. (And I heard from someone, that they might totally change even this!)

Prelims will have, like last year, two papers.

2013 Civil Services Exam - Prelims in a Nut Shell

For Mains, we will have to give totally 9 papers. They are : 

Eight Written Papers :

General Studies (Four papers)                                     - 4

1 Optional Subject (Two papers)                                  - 2

Essay                                                                        - 1

English Comprehension & Precis Writing                      - 1

And at last, after getting through Mains (Written), "Personal Interview"

Weightage of papers in 2013 Civil Services (Mains) Exam

We can see, that GS, with four papers, now has almost half of the share of total marks.  Followed by the Optional Subject (We have to choose 1 from a list of 25), taking close to 25 % . 

If one scores decently in every paper (read it as 50 % plus) and cumulates morsels here and there, wherever possible, and towards the end, march to the range 55 - 60 % of total, ie, 1150 - 1250 on top of 2075, a double digit rank can be easily clinched. 

To quote from ToI article,

Officials feel that the unlike the earlier pattern which used to short-list candidates more on the basis of their score in specified subjects instead of their knowledge in general studies, the new pattern will focus more on testing candidates in their administrative and managerial potential and awareness of the country's socio-economic system.

विजयी भव !

"Main change for aspiring babus" Says Deccan Chronicle !

Alright, it sounded as if, DC was speaking to me, personally !

Here are 5 URL's of my choice about recent news.

1. Main change for aspiring babus !!!
   
2. For a level playing field, PM set to clear UPSC makeover this week!
   
3. Manmohan Singh approves changes in civil services exam pattern
   
4. Messed up with overhauling exam criteria UPSC keeps IAS aspirants guessing
    

5. 

   Jai Hind !

     Alright, btw, do you know, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose himself,

   gave Civil Services exam, under the then British Crown !  
   

'Indian Express' top 100 list

Snap from its last page

Although, the compilation is of Popular people, still it is a good 40 page feast to eyes. India, at its full colours, across the spectrum.

And articles in it, about U.K. Sinha, Arun Shourie and D. Subba Rao were touching.

Unlike many other reports, this has an elegant narrative, with a bit of funny anecdotes.

Here is the link to Indian Express List of the most powerful Indians in 2012.

No notification on 02-02-2013 about CSE - Prelims - 2013

---------------------------------
Dated:    01.02.2013

Subject: Notification of Civil Services Examination, 2013.

The  Civil  Services  Examination,  2013  was  scheduled  to  be  notified  on 02.02.2013. However,  due  to  some  unforeseen  circumstances,  this examination  will  not  be  notified  on 02.02.2013. The revised date of notification will be intimated in due course.
------------------

The above stuff is from this pdf, which was uploaded onto UPSC main web-page, www.upsc.gov.in, on Feb 1, 2013.

February Goals

In the light of the fact that UPSC will be issuing a notification on Feb 2, 2013, about Civil Services Exam 2013 - 2014, I am going to intensify my preparations, celebrating the notification of CSE. 

Posts from now, will be very specific and I will be zeroing them down, completely down to updating my preparation's Progress, and set of advises' here and there.

Girl Child Statue at Library of IIM Indore[1]

So here is the List : 

1. Finishing past papers of Prelims of CSE, using this Disha book.
2. Digesting previous papers of Mains General Studies, using this Arihant Book.
3. Finishing India Year Book, given by my Shankar Coaching Academy. 
4. Finishing Indian Polity book, written for Civil Service aspirants by Laxmikanth.
5. Progressing considerably, in the preparations of Economics, and Public Administration as optional subjects.

Apart from these, every weekend, I will be taking a 2 Hr Model test, with a chunk of pre-defined portion. 

That's all for today, wish you too, a productive and prosperous February, for all your endeavors ! 

[1] - "....We have put up a girl child statue this year outside our Library. It is named, Mukti Prerna, reminding all  interalia, 'sa vidya ya vimuktaya', meaning education is that free your mind; education is for all; our number one national priority should be girl education....." Taken from: Speech of IIM Indore Director(pdf).

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.