Frequently Asked Questions

Suppose, you are planning to appear in Civil Services Examination, starting in May 2024(Pre) :

Before you sit for the prelims, it is typically advisable that you cover your mains syllabus once and give it at least one review. One of the simple ways to get ready for the main exam is to enrol for a mains test series. This is due to the fact that writing and with a set schedule make it easier to cover the material and identify the key points for the paper. Analyzing one's issue areas for improvement also helps.

In order to cover them at a pace that is preferable and to some part avoid monotony, it is necessary to group similar topics. For instance, you can combine topics like geography and environment, history and politics, and economics with current events. Given that ethics is becoming exponentially more important, it must be covered in great detail. With a solid reading list, you should aim to finish two subjects in two months. As a result, it will take roughly six months to cover the entire syllabus in detail.

You should structure your efforts so that you finish the entire mains course by the end of January, which was started in July. This preparation will offer you an advantage when preparing for the preliminary exams, and the experience writing answers you receive will keep you "mains ready."

Learn about the UPSC Civil Services Exam procedure first.

Create interest and a sense of curiosity about the services and the assessment procedure.

Visit the Toppers blog to watch their youtube-hosted open session. However, use caution if you follow too many videos. Take cues from the champion's experience and adopt a plan that works for you.

It's crucial that you remember the information and tactics you retain from those blogs and workshops. Include the ones that are most appropriate for you.

A year before the exam, UPSC sets its exam schedule. A candidate should begin their preparation at least a year before the preliminary exam they intend to take.

1. You should read the prelims and mains exam syllabus before beginning your preparation.
2. A candidate should also review the questions from the previous year's prelims and main test papers.
3. Start routinely reading the newspaper. Syllabus knowledge can be used to find pertinent articles. It is preferable to write brief issues-based notes.
4. Go through the foundational NCERT books first, as provided on the UpriseIAS website, and then move on to the regular course books for universities.
5. It's crucial that you stick to one book for your preparation rather than utilising many ones. Read as few books as possible and reread them frequently.
6. Both general studies and the optional paper can be prepared either online or in physical form.
7. To ensure that you can pass the CSAT qualifying paper, make sure you are also at ease with the CSAT paper and practise a few past year papers. Alternatively, prepare to study for and practise the CSAT paper.
8. Make a schedule for achieving the goals. Set both long-term and daily objectives to finish the curriculum. These objectives should be reasonable, and enough time should be allowed for unplanned events and other commitments. Keep track of it, and when necessary, update it with any new information or errors.
9. After reviewing the fundamentals from the NCERTs, read through standard books and thoroughly revise the mains exam syllabus for both general studies and the optional topic. Ensure that it includes the material from your prelims as well.
10. If you're taking coaching, be sure to attend the lessons frequently, prepare for them in advance, and review the material afterward.
11. Utilize the internet and social media for your preparation with caution and avoid wasting time.
12. Learn the fundamentals of answering questions as well.
13. Continue reading through the test questions from past years.
14. To assist one another, you can organise discussion/answer writing groups.
15. Review the material you have been reading on a regular basis—at least once a week.
16. Join prelims test series and routinely attempt question papers under exam conditions to stay on top of your preparation.
17. At least three months before the preliminary exam, begin concentrating solely on prelims.

1. Writing answers that meet the requirements of the questions is the focus of the main exam. When preparing for the main exam, the following are the primary considerations:
2. Understanding the syllabus's scope
3. Preparation schedule for the mains recognising the patterns in the UPSC's recent questioning. maintaining a healthy balance between your education, health, and mental welfare.
4. The only thing that will guarantee success on the Mains exam is writing practise. Without writing practice, it would be impossible to improve your writing—which includes increasing writing speed—and you would never know what you are missing.
5. The only thing that will guarantee success on the Mains exam is writing practise. Without writing practice, it would be impossible to improve your writing—which includes increasing writing speed—and you would never know what you are missing.

You must be aware of the question trends in each paper, including the essay, in order to prepare quality responses. The most crucial aspect of this is keeping track of prior year's test questions. You can take on this element with the aid of reverse engineering. For instance, you can review the questions the UPSC previously asked from the Fundamental Rights chapter and then read the relevant passages from books. This will help you to understand that certain topics might be given less weight and that some parts of a chapter are more vital than others. The same approach applies to your optional subjects as well.

Keeping a healthy balance between your education, health, and mental wellness. It's crucial to maintain your health and fitness. You must spend more than 18 months on the learning curve in order to pass the exam. The only thing that will get you on the merit list at this time is discipline. However, putting too much emphasis on studies while ignoring one's physical and mental health is detrimental.

Do’s

• Create a daily schedule and stick to it religiously.
• Maintain a regular study schedule that includes current events.
• The time needed to cover G.S., an optional subject, and an essay should be balanced as per the need.
• Periodically evaluate your knowledge.
• Check your performance frequently.

Dont’s

• Never delay anything
• Never put off learning how to write answers.
• Never take the required language and CSAT exams lightly.

The significance of Current Affairs in this famous Civil Services Examination is increasing every year. The majority of the questions in both the preliminary test and the main exam are current affairs based.

One should begin by thoroughly reading at least one mainstream paper, such as The Hindu or Indian Express. Regular reading of PIB releases is also required in addition to newspapers.

There is no shortage of current affairs content, either online or offline. Instead of reading many sources only a few times, it is advisable to stick with a small number and thoroughly and repeatedly revising them.

It is not sufficient to merely read newspaper articles or any other content. Covering the background information, linked social, political, and legal issues is necessary while reflecting on the news.

Perhaps the most crucial choice made during the UPSC preparation process is selecting the appropriate optional paper. For many of the candidates, this could be the deciding factor. When selecting an Optional, there are certain important considerations to make.

1. The applicant's academic background and areas of interest

Please determine your area of interest by reading up on it in NCERT textbooks for school (ideally for classes 11 and 12), reviewing the syllabus for optional subjects, and assessing how comfortable you are with the subject.

For instance:

(A) If your background is in commerce, consider the courses you took in college and choose between management, public administration, or commerce accordingly.

(b) Examine the content and topic of optional subjects including physics, chemistry, math, and engineering electives like civil, electrical, and mechanical if you have an engineering background. Check out other optional subjects like Geography, Psychology, Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, Public Administration, and Philosophy if you don't feel comfortable with the above science courses.

2. Training offered in the subject:

Find out which coaching programmes are the best ones by asking your classmates, friends, and skilled federal servants. Your preparation will advance significantly with the help of study materials from a reputable coach and the classes held.

3. The optional subject's contribution to the general studies course content:

Learn for yourself from the syllabus and previous test questions that how much the optional subject contributes to general studies as well as essay papers of the Mains examination.

4. Success of the optional subject during the past three years:

A candidate's performance can differ significantly from that of his rivals on a wide range of factors. However, there may be Optional Subjects that, despite candidates' best efforts, fail to earn the requisite marks. Several optional subjects have a few years of increasing difficulty, either in the questions asked or the grades given.

5. Time Management:

In addition to their capacity for comprehension, candidates should consider how much time they have available to devote to optional subject study. Some candidates may be employed while completing their studies, attending university, etc. They should be able to calculate the amount of time needed to study the optional paper alongwith the vast syllabus of General Studies.

The Final result is declared generally in the month of April (following year). The final ranking and service assignment are based on the combined marks obtained in the main examination (1750) and interview (275), as well as on the preferences indicated by applicants when filling out the Main Examination application form.

Every year in February, the UPSC releases the advertisement for the Civil Services Examination, with the Preliminary Test scheduled for the end of May of the same year.

In order to take this exam, students must be degree holders or graduates (with a degree recognised by the University Grants Commission). Indian students with degrees from other countries must confirm that their degrees have been approved or acknowledged by UGC.
 

Candidates must have reached the age of 21 on August 1 of the exam year, but they should not have reached the age of 32. This rule applies to candidates in the general category, EWS and OBC (creamy layer).

Candidates who fall under the OBC (non-creamy layer) category must be at least 21 years old on August 1 of the exam year, although they cannot be older than 35.

Candidates who fall under the SC category must be at least 21 years old on August 1 of the exam year, although they cannot be older than 37.

Candidates from the ST category must have reached the age of 21 on August 1 of the exam year, although they should not have reached the age of 37.

The maximum number of attempts for the general category, OBC (creamy layer) and EWS category is six.

OBCs (non-creamy layer) are only allowed a total of nine attempts.

There is no restriction on the number of attempts for candidates who fall under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories until they turn 37 years old.

Every year, the number of applicants for the UPSC Civil Services' first stage (Preliminary Test) has increased from 600,000 to 850000, whereas less than 500,000 aspirants turn up for the exam. The number of applicants who pass out for the preliminary exam depends on how many Civil Services vacancies have been advertised that year. For instance, if there are 1000 open positions, the UPSC will call (qualify) around 12,000 applicants to sit for the Main Exam, and around 2500 will be called for the interview.

Ideally, Main Examination preparation should be completed before Preliminary Examination preparation, including any optional preparation.

The root problem is the lack of preparation time between the preliminary and final exams (which is around 4 months before Main exam and only around 2 and half months before declaration of Preliminary Examination result). Four months, or two and a half months, is not enough time to adequately prepare for either the GS topic or the optional subject from scratch. The time allotted is only enough to revise GS and the Optional subject and take practise exams for GS and the Optional topic.

It is recommended that students prepare for General Studies (Preliminary + Main) at the same time as they choose to study CSAT or an optional subject in addition to their 9-month General Studies course. For instance, through the 9-month G.S course, a student can enroll in an optional topic for 4 months, then prepare for the CSAT after finishing the optional subject, or vice versa.

The following list of optional subjects must be selected by students as one of their optional. If they so want, students can choose literature as an optional course.

Optional subjects (26) offered by UPSC

1. Agriculture
2. Animal H & Vet Sc
3. Anthropology
4. Botany
5. Chemistry
6. Civil Engg
7. Commerce & Accountancy 
8. Economics
9. Electrical Engineering 
10. Geography
11. Geology
12. History
13. Law
14. Management
15. Mathematics
16. Mechanical Engg
17. Medical Science
18. Philosophy
19. Physics
20. Pol Sc & IR
21. Psychology
22. Public Admin
23. Sociology
24. Statistics
25. Zoology
26. Literature

Literature of any one of the following language (30) is also offered as an optional subject:-

1. Arabic
2. Assamese
3. Bodo
4. Bengali
5. Chinese
6. Dogri
7. English
8. French
9. German
10. Gujarati
11. Hindi
12. Kannada
13. Kashmiri
14. Konkani
15. Maithili
16. Malayalam
17. Manipuri
18. Marathi
19. Nepali
20. Oriya
21. Pali
22. Persian
23. Punjabi
24. Russian
25. Sanskrit
26. Santali
27. Sindhi
28. Tamil
29. Telugu
30. Urdu

The aspirants should study the following books:

History

Basic Books:

1. NIOS course books for classes XI and XII on - Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, National Movement & Contemporary World and Culture of India. (All these are available in PDF format on internet)

Advance Level Books:

1. India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma published by Oxford University Press
2. A History of Ancient & Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh
3. History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra published by Orient Longman
4. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra
5. India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra & Others
6. India After Independence (1947 - 2000) by Bipin Chandra & Others
7. From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandopadhyaya

World History:

1. The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT
2. Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book)
3. Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe

Geography:

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng Leong
2. NCERTs (New Editions)

• XI Standard: (1) India - Physical Environment (2) Fundamentals of Physical Geography
• XII Standard: (1) India - People & Economy (2) Fundamentals of Human Geography

3. School Atlas - Orient Black Swan
4. Indian Geography by D. R. Khullar

Social Issues:

1. XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society (Chapters on Unity & Diversity and Population Issues)
2. XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, etc.)
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Indian Polity:

1. Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication
2. Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Yojana Magazine

Governance Issues:

1. From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur
2. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report
3. Citizen Centric Administration (Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8 only and box items in the report)

Developmental Issues:

1. Human Development Report & World Development Report
2. Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Kurukshetra & Yojana Magazines

International Relations:

1. India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Indian Economy:

1. Indian Economic Development XI Standard NCERT
2. Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma
3. Introductory Macroeconomics XII Standard NCERT (Ignore all diagrams & mathematical formulas)
4. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
5. Economics Dictionary published by Collins & Penguin
6. Economic Survey Highlights

Ecology & Environment:

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong (Second Half of the Book)
2. XII Standard NCERT Book on Biology (Chapters pertaining to Ecology)
3. India Year Book (Chapters on Environment)
4. Chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey
5. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Security Issues:

1. India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by National Book Trust of India
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Science & Technology:

1. VIII, IX, X Standard NCERT books on Biology
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
3. Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology’

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude:

1. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report
2. Lexicon by Chronicle Publications
3. The Book on Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude published by Access Publication

Current Affairs:

1. A Good Monthly Current Affairs Digest
2. Daily Current Affairs Update and MCQs Practise
3. The Hindu and/or The Indian Express