ECONOMICS I

                                                                              

The optional paper usually can make or break your chances of success in the exam. Choosing the right optional and preparing thoroughly for it is absolutely necessary if one wants to get a good rank in the exam.

Being a graduate, post graduate and MPhil in Economics, choosing Economics as my optional paper was almost natural for me. However, this also had a drawback. I did not prepare that well for it in my first two attempts under the faulty assumption that I was well versed with the subject. This year, I tried to prepare more comprehensively, especially Paper II.

The advantage of Economics as an optional is that it contains a mix of both technical and subjective components. Paper I is theory and model based which can fetch you more marks if you write the correct answer. Paper II deals with the Indian economy and is more subjective with GS 3 type of approach. People comfortable with writing such essay-based answers can surely fetch more marks here. So, if one prepares well, I feel that one can really get a good score in the paper.

Syllabus

1. Advanced Micro Economics:

(a) Marshallian and Varrasiam Approaches to Price determination.

(b) Alternative Distribution Theories; Ricardo, Kaldor, Kaleeki.

(c) Markets Structure: Monopolistic Competition, Duopoly, Oligopoly.

(d) Modern Welfare Criteria: Pareto Hicks and Scitovsky, Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem, A. K. Sen’s Social Welfare Function.

2. Advanced Macro Economics:

Approaches to Employment Income and Interest Rate determination: Classical, Keynes (IS)-LM) curve, Neo-classical synthesis and New classical, Theories of Interest Rate determination and Interest Rate Structure.

3. Money-Banking and Finance:

(a) Demand for and Supply of Money: Money Multiplier Quantity Theory of Money (Fisher, Pique and Friedman) and Keyne’s Theory on Demand for Money, Goals and Instruments of Monetary Management in Closed and Open Economies. Relation between the Central Bank and the Treasury. Proposal for ceiling on growth rate of money.

(b) Public Finance and its Role in market Economy: In stabilisation of supply, allocative, of resources and in distribution and development. Sources of Government revenue, forms of Taxes and Subsidies, their incidence and effects. Limits to taxation, loans, crowding-out effects and limits to borrowings. Public expenditure and its effects.

4. International Economics:

(a) Old and New theories of International Trade.

(i) Comparative advantage,

(ii) Terms of Trade and Offer Curve.

(iii) Product Cycle and Strategic Trade Theories.

(iv)Trade as an engine of growth and theories of underdevelopment in an open economy.

(b) Forms of Protection: Tariff and quota.

(c) Balance of Payments Adjustment: Alternative Approaches.

(i) Price versus income, income adjustments under fixed exchange rates.

(ii) Theories of Policy Mix.

(iii) Exchange rate adjustments under capital mobility.

(iv)Floating Rates and their Implications for Developing Countries: Currency Boards.

(v) Trade Policy and Developing Countries.

(vi) BOP, adjustments and Policy Coordination in open economy macromodel.

(vii) Speculative attacks.

(viii) Trade Blocks and Monetary Unions.

(ix) WTO: TRIMS, TRIPS, Domestic Measures, Different Rounds of WTO talks.

5. Growth and Development:

(a) (i) Theories of growth: Harrod’s model;

(ii) Lewis model of development with surplus labour.

(iii) Balanced Unbalanced Growth.

(iv) Human Capitals and Economic Growth.

(v) Research and Development and Economic Growth.

(b) Process of Economic Development of less developed countries: Myrdal and Kuznets on economic development and structural change: Role of Agriculture in Economic Development of less developed countries.

(c) Economic Development and International Trade and Investment, Role of Multinationals.

(d) Planning and Economic Development: changing role of Markets and Planning, Private-Public Partnership.

(e) Welfare indicators and measures of growth—Human Development Indices. The basic needs approach.

(f) Development and Environmental Sustainability—Renewable and Non-renewable Resources, Environmental Degradation, Intergenerational equity development.

As can be seen from above, the UPSC syllabus is fairly comprehensive. The main topics are- Advanced Micro Economics, Advanced Macro Economics, Money-Banking and Finance, International Economics, and Growth and Development.

The Booklist

Topic	Books/Magazines/Sources etc	Remarks
Advanced Micro Economics	1. Ahuja’s “Advanced Economic Theory” 2. Abhimanyu Gehlaut’s handwritten summaries from Ahuja. https://reluctanteconomistblog.wordpress.com/econ-p1/   I am also attaching the files here and here for your convenience.	This is the only book. Read it once completely, except some of the skipped chapters I have mentioned.     Once completing the first reading, can go through Abhimanyu Gehlaut’s notes for revision. Ahuja is very repetitive.
Advanced Macro Economics	1.  Froyen   2. Ahuja’s “Macroeconomics”	Froyen gives a good understanding of the concepts and theory. Please read it thoroughly at least once.   Ahuja should be read after that, to plug the gaps and cover the entire syllabus.
Money, Banking and Finance	1.  Froyen   2. Ahuja’s “Macroeconomics”	Only the relevant chapters on banking, monetary policy and theories of money from these two books. First, read Froyen. Then, Ahuja.
International Economics	1. Salvatore’s “International Economics: Trade and Finance”   2. Gaurav Agarwal’s notes for revision	Salvatore is the bible for this topic. Read it thoroughly. Almost every topic is important. Try to relate it with the syllabus.   Gaurav Agarwal’s notes are good for revision. They are very comprehensive.
Growth and Development	1. Thirwall’s “Economics of Development” 2. Jhingan’s “The Economics of Development and Planning”	Every chapter of Thirwall need not be read. Read only those chapters that correspond to the syllabus topics.   Jhingan should be used to cover the remaining portions.   Use Google and Wikipedia extensively in this topic. Many parts are not covered in either book and it is better to use the internet to gather good info on the same.

Websites and blogs

• Abhimanyu Gehlaut: https://reluctanteconomistblog.wordpress.com/econ-optional/
• Gaurav Agarwal: https://thesupermanreturns.wordpress.com/category/economics/
• Tejaswi Rana: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/06/23/economics-optional-strategy-tejasvi-rana-rank-12-marks-325-cse-2016-download-economics-optional-notes-related-documents/
• Abhijeet Sinha: https://abhijeetsinhaupsc.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/economics-paper-1-notes-2/
• Blisspoint: https://blisspointstudies.com/

A few important points

• Revision is key. Before the exam, one should have revised at least once. Between prelims and mains, we get around 3 months. One can spend about 1.5 months in a thorough revision of the paper.
• Answer writing is extremely important. Even if you know the model or the theory, you need to be able to explain it clearly and concisely in a limited set of words and space. That requires practice.
• Diagrams. The appropriate diagram or a graph is a must if the answer or the model so requires. Missing out on it not only reduces scores but also make it difficult to write a concise answer.
• While economics is a highly mathematical and quantitative subject, UPSC does not demand that much of mathematical rigour. Avoid the use of large or complicated mathematical equations. This is especially true for those who have done Masters in economics. Masters courses are very mathematical, but UPSC syllabus is not. One needs to be careful of that.
• Textbooks of Indian writers are not that good at explaining the key concepts. Foreign writers are better suited for that purpose. But Indian textbooks are more important when it comes to the questions in the exam. So, once you have understood the key concepts from the foreign textbooks, focus on the Indian textbooks.

ESSAY

 The UPSC prescribes the following syllabus for Essay:

“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.”

For those of us who were wondering what to write for a good essay, I think UPSC’s syllabus itself provides the right guidance. They are as follows:

• Keep close to the subject of the essay
• Arrange ideas in orderly fashion
• Write concisely
• Expression should be effective and exact.

In as much as these phrases convey an idea of an essay, they equally convey very little about what a good essay should be. In fact, for the serious aspirant who believes in having a set formula for cracking such exams, the essay is one subject where he/she would have the biggest difficulty.

To be honest, although I have been a regular columnist in various national and regional newspapers and journals, I am not that good at essay writing. My scores have been average- in 2017, I got 144, and in 2018, I got 123. I don’t know how I have fared this year, but I am not expecting anything spectacular. Keeping that in mind, I don’t plan to write much on how to prepare for the essay.

Some successful candidates actually have a set-formula for approaching any essay. They begin with a quote by a famous person, have an introduction and then look into the social, political and economic dimensions of the topic. I have seen some candidates even drawing diagrams in their essays.

I followed none of these. That’s probably why my score is average. I used to read the topic once, spend the next 15-20 minutes deciding the content and structure and then start writing. I would put some facts, figures or quotes in between if I had a few in mind and they were relevant. But this compartmentalisation into social, political and economic dimensions was not always possible nor necessary for many of the topics that came in the exam.

Based on my experience, I have learnt a few important things. Rest are left to your judgement and creativity. They are enumerated as follows:

1. Always take some time to think about the content and structure of your essay. While writing is important, it is more important to have a coherent and well-organised essay. If you start writing immediately, you have little time to prepare and organize your thoughts and they appear in the essay as a jumbled lot. I think that can severely penalise your essay. For each essay, we get around 1.5 hours to complete 1000-1200 words. Spending 15-20 minutes on thinking won’t cost you much.
2. Reading newspapers is important. The articles in the editorials and op-ed are a good source of learning how a good essay should be written. The writers there are very experienced and are well-versed in conveying their points of view in a logical coherent manner. Reading their articles helps in getting a flow in essay writing.
3. Use of quotes or facts/figures randomly can seriously penalise your essay. Please avoid that.
4. Practice is key. Practise writing at least 5 essays before appearing in the actual exam. Practice gives you an idea to structure your thoughts, the feedback gives you an idea about your lack of preparation and weaknesses. Show the essays to a friend, senior or a teacher. Ask for their feedback. Alternatively, you can join the test series. They give you good feedback.
5. I am sharing a link to wonderful post by Saumya Sharma, who scored 160 in Essay in CSE 2017. She was AIR 9 that year. Please go through it. She wonderfully deals with the dos and don’ts of essay writing and what all one should think before writing.

Ethics and Essay Strategy- Saumya Sharma Rank 9, 111 in Ethics and 160 in Essay

Answer Copies

I am sharing all my essay answer copies along with the feedback received in the hope that it benefits the aspirants in getting an idea about what an average essay should be like.

• Test Copy 1
• Test Copy 2
• Test Copy 3
• Test Copy 4
• Test Copy 5
• Test Copy 6

THE MAINS PREP

The Civil Services (Main) Examination consists of two parts- Written and Interview (also called the Personality Test). In this post, I will focus on the Written part of CSE Mains.

The Written part consists of the following paper- Essay, General Studies-GS I, GS II, GS III, GS IV, Compulsory Language papers- English and any language in the 8th Schedule, Optional I and II. So, there are 9 papers in all. The Compulsory Language papers are just for passing. It is not added to the total. 

As you all know, the scores in the Written and Interview are added to arrive at the tőtál marks for the exam which ultimately decides your rank. So it is important that you prepare well for these two components. Since Interview is more subjective, it is better to focus on the Written part. 

In the next few posts, I will write individually on each paper and the associated book list and notes. In this post, I will focus on certain important aspects that is common across all the nine papers. 

Newspaper and Current Affairs

Read at least one newspaper- Hindu or Indian Express. Initially, I used to read Hindu but later on I switched to IE. IE has more diversity in its editorials and Op-Ed. Also, the Explained section is very informative. It analyses the recent trending topics in a Q&A format. 

For Mains, focusing on the editorials and Op-Ed should be enough. The essence is to have a good idea of the major issues currently trending and that too in the form of pros/cons, why/how/when/where, and policy implications. 

Yojana is another good source. Every month, a new topic is discussed. You can make a small one page note from all the various articles written on that topic. Some articles discuss the pros/cons, others discuss the why/when/how etc, and some talk about the govt schemes. So, you can make a one page note by taking bits and pieces from these articles. Do not exceed one page in making the notes. It’ll become very cumbersome at the end. 

About 2 months before mains, most websites and coaching institutes bring out a year-long compilation of the current affairs topics. Please go through that to get an idea of the various issues discussed. Make smaller notes from them if you feel necessary. I had referred to Vision Mains 365. They are freely available on the website visionias.in . Then again, this is only one source. There are many other sources. Please don’t take it as me endorsing Vision IAS in any way. 

Note Making

This I think is one of the most important aspects of Mains prep. We have just too much of information available out there and we need to condense it into shorter precise versions that we can easily remember and also write in the exam. 

I made notes in the following way- First, I made broad notes under the major topics, say polity, governance, international relations, economics etc. Second, I made sub topics under these topics that were coming in the newspapers. Eg: under polity, I made a heading say “the collegium system”. Everytime, a newspaper article discussed that topic, I would see if any important point is there and add that to my note. Remember, the points have to be precise and short. They have to be new. Most articles would discuss the same points. So it’s important to take down only those points which are new or have not been added before to the note. Copying down an entire paragraph from an article must be avoided. It will only add to the clutter. Just write down the main points in a line or two. Use your own words to help remember fast. 

For note making, any note app would do. I had used Evernote. But one can use other apps too, like One Note or even MS Word. Writing it by hand can be problematic- links can’t be added, photos can’t be uploaded and regular entries/corrections can’t be made. 

I have attached my Evernote notes in various subsequent posts depending on the type of paper. Here you will realise one thing that many of my notes are overlapping for multiple papers. For example, I have added the Environment and Disaster Management note to GS I and GS III papers. This is because many of the topics related to geography, disasters and environment tend to overlap across GS I and GS III, and it is not possible to make an effective compartmentalisation during prep. I hope that you will appreciate this aspect, and not get too perturbed by thinking that I was careless. Many candidates actually make separate precise notes for each topic. You are free to do that too. This is just one way of preparing notes. There can be multiple others. Over time, one gets an idea as to what suits him/her.  

Answer Writing and Test Series 

No matter how much we prepare, if we cannot pen down our answers well, we will not get good marks. In the exam, given the time constraint, you only get about 7-9 minutes to think, frame and write your answer of 150-250 words. That is very less time. That’s why answer writing is very important, something that I learnt only in my last two attempts. 

There are different ways of practising this. Many websites post 10-15 questions on a daily basis. You can take your own sheet of paper and try answering them keeping the time constraint in mind. Then you can compare them with the answers posted on the website. 

Alternatively, you can look at the answer scripts of previous year toppers and try to answer the questions and compare with their answers. 

Finally, writing test series is important. I had mostly relied on Vision IAS. But I had tried Insights too. For ethics, I also wrote a couple of tests of GS Score too. Later, instead of writing every test, I used to refer to their questions and see if my answers matched with their answer points. Some of my test copies are available at the following links for your reference:

http://www.visionias.in/resources/toppers_answers.php

https://iasscore.in/toppers-copy

I have also attached some of the test copies in the subsequent posts with respect to every paper. These are for your reference only. I suggest you visit the above mentioned links to get test copies of other successful candidates too. They might have a very different approach to answer writing that can be more suitable to you.  

As regards to the type of answers, I think the following points are important:

1. Any answer should have a good one-line introduction. It can be a definition, an example or a reference to a current event that is relevant for the question.
2. The body of the answer should deal with the question. This can be in points or in paragraphs. Writing in points is preferable as it clearly establishes to the examiner what you know. But at the same time, this is not a hard and fast rule. Certain answers are best explained through paragraphs. So, always keep that in mind. That judgement- of whether to use paragraphs or points- will come with more practice of answer writing and mock tests.
3. Mentioning a few examples, govt data or statistic, or any quote by a famous person can fetch you extra marks. But of course, it has to be relevant to the question at hand. Putting irrelevant examples or quotes can actually make you lose marks.
4. In the conclusion, giving some recommendations of a government committee or any current government scheme along with a few innovative suggestions from your end can make the answer look balanced and informative.
5. For any question, try to put forth both sides of the argument. As far as possible, try avoid taking any particular side.
6. Use of diagrams and flow charts can make the answer visually attractive as well as informative. It can also be a good way to pack in more information when there is a time crunch. But to be good at it, one needs a lot of practice. So try to practise as much as possible. Further, the diagrams and flow charts should be relevant to the answer. Otherwise it will do more harm than good.

Study Materials and Websites

In the beginning of my blog, I had mentioned a number of websites for your ready reference. Depending on the paper or topic, they make wonderful notes and study materials, most of which can be accessed for free in their websites. Please do visit them.

For every topic in the syllabus, make notes or get access to study material. It is better to not leave any topic untouched. Moreover, for every topic, keep at least one example or data statistic ready. This can always be added to your answer related to that topic.

In my subsequent posts, for every paper, I have provided an elaborate table of all the study materials, books, magazines and websites that I had used for preparation. I hope that gives a good idea to all aspirants on how to approach the exam.

Continuous revision

This is another important aspect of CSE prep. Given the large volume of the syllabus and relatively less time to prepare, we are forced to memorise and learn multiple issues and topics. To ensure that we do not forget these or end up messing it up in our heads, we need to continuously revise the stuff that we have learnt. This is a time consuming process, but absolutely necessary. Most successful candidates would admit that they would revise the same thing once every week. Any new stuff that they learn in a week is also revised at the end of the week for better retention. I hope future aspirants keep this in mind.

GENERAL STUDIES IV

                                                                  

This paper deals with “Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude”. It is designed to test the ethical character of the candidate and his aptitude for being in the civil services. UPSC has introduced this paper to ensure that the virtues of ethics and integrity are imbibed into the prospective civil servant even before he joins the service.

From the perspective of the exam, this paper is one of the best to secure a high score if you can write your answer appropriately. Further, the syllabus is more or less static. So, preparation is essentially restricted to a few topics revised over and over again.

To be honest, I did not prepare well for this paper in CSE 2017, and likewise, I got an abysmal 79 in the paper that year. Next year, I worked on it more thoroughly and managed to secure 108. I hope I have done well this year too.

The Syllabus

This paper will include questions to test the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects. The following broad areas will be covered:

• Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
• Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
• Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections.
• Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
• Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
• Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
• Case Studies on above issues.

The Booklist and Other Sources

People usually refer to two books- Lexicon and Subba Rao. I had done the same in my first attempt. But then I realised that they were not very helpful. So, I decided to alter my strategy. From CSE 2018 I followed the following strategy:

1. For each topic in the syllabus, I made a note of definitions, examples and explanations. For this, I googled the terms, took the help of important websites related to ethics and psychology and also referred to Lexicon and Subba Rao. I prepared a 30-page note that I am sharing here and also my Evernote notes here. 
2. For Ethical Thinkers, I relied mainly on Lexicon and made small notes if necessary. For Ethical theories too, I followed the same approach.
3. I memorised a few quotes from Ethical thinkers given at the back of Lexicon which I planned to use in my answers and case studies.

Case Studies

One important aspect of this paper is the introduction of case studies. Some candidates place more emphasis on this than on the other questions. I had done the same in the first attempt. In my second and third attempt, I changed that approach and focussed equally on both the case studies and the other questions.

For case studies, practice is crucial. Try to practise as much as possible. This is something I learnt the hard way after my debacle in 2017. Post 2017, I practised as much as possible, using the following sources:

1. Vajiram’s Yellow Booklet on case studies
2. Vision IAS Value added material on case studies
3. Past year question papers
4. Previous year toppers’ answer scripts
5. Vision IAS and GS Score Test series

Finally, I made a small set of notes on the possible set of case studies (about 40 in number) that can be asked in the exam. Almost all case studies would fall under this template. For each template, I wrote down the set of policy recommendations or my course of action. I am sharing the notes here.

Answer Writing

As I have said before, answer writing is crucial here. The syllabus is limited here, but how you pen it down in the answer is of utmost significance. That can only come with answer writing.

The sources I have mentioned above for answer writing are not exhaustive. Please try to expand and diversify your source base for answer writing, and write as many answers as you can. Apart from Vision and GS Score, there are many other good test series. A little bit of scouring the toppers’ strategies would definitely yield positive results.

I am attaching a few test copies for your reference:

• Vision Test Copy 1
• Vision Test Copy 2
• GS Score Test Copy

GENERAL STUDIES III

                                                                 

The Syllabus

• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
• Government Budgeting.
• Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
• Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
• Land reforms in India.
• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
• Investment models.
• Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
• Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
• Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
• Disaster and disaster management.
• Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
• Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

The syllabus can be essentially divided into the following components: Economics and Economic Development, Environment and Ecology, Science and Technology, Security, and Disaster Management.

The Booklist

Topic	Booklist/Materials/Magazines, etc	Remarks
Economics and Economic Development	Value added materials of Vision IAS- http://visionias.in/resources/vam.php My own notes on Land Reforms Business/Economy section of the newspaper and own notes from it Yojana Own Notes For Govt Budgeting, Chapter 14 of 2nd ARC. Make small notes from the summary portion of the Report. https://darpg.gov.in/arc-reports	Any coaching material can be used for this. Try to get topic wise materials. I referred to my Economics optional notes for this. For Yojana, each issue is on a particular topic. If it relates to any topic in GS 3 syllabus, make a one page note.
Environment and Ecology	NCERT Class XII Biology Textbook Unit 5 on Ecology Shankar Environment Geography Class XI,XII NCERTs Vision IAS booklet Newspapers and current affairs	Must read. Only appendices and important environment laws, conventions and organisations. Certain chapters relating to environment, biodiversity and vegetation are important
Science and Technology	1. Vajiram’s Yellow Booklet on Science and Tech 2. Vision IAS Mains 365 on Science and Tech 3. Current Affairs through Newspaper 4. My own notes from newspaper and other sources 5. Yojana relevant issue on scientific topics	Read only the govt schemes and important terms and definitionsShould be read thoroughly. Supplement it with PT365 if time permits. Making own notes from relevant topics in the news is important. Google key terms if necessary.
Security	Vajiram’s Yellow Booklet on Security Vision Mains365 on Security Newspaper reports on relevant issues Own notes Small notes from Chapter 7 of 2nd ARC: Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution. https://darpg.gov.in/arc-reports
Disaster Management	1. NDMA website for DM guidelines on various disasters. Again, make short one page summaries: https://ndma.gov.in/en/ndma-guidelines.html   2. National Disaster Management Plan: https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/disaster-management-1/national-disaster-management-plan   3. Salient features of DM Act 2005: https://www.gktoday.in/gk/disaster-management-act-2005-and-disaster-management-framework-in-india/#:~:text=The%20DM%20Act%20puts%20on,make%20proper%20allocation%20of%20funds.   4. Vision IAS Value Added Material 5. Newspaper reading and current affairs 6. My own notes 7. Yojana edition on DM	1. These guidelines are very important. Read the Executive Summary and make a one page note of each.   2. For current affairs, the COVID 19 crisis and the associated lockdowns will be of importance.   3. Also read: Epidemic Diseases Act

My Notes

• Economics and Economic Development
• Environment and Ecology
• Science and Technology
• Security
• Disaster Management

The yellow booklets of Vajiram can be purchased from Vajiram’s main office at Rajinder Nagar itself or from the following contact details:

Atul Photostat: 098318 67433, 085879 68552

Kumar Book Centre: https://www.kumarbookcentre.com/

Answer Scripts

I am attaching below a few answer scripts of GS 3 paper from my Vision IAS test series. This can help you get an idea of the way the answers should be approached in this paper. Again, as a rejoinder, this is not the only way to write answers. Please refer to the other toppers’ answer scripts for a more comprehensive guide.

• Test Paper 1
• Test Paper 2

General studies ii

                                                               

The Syllabus

• Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
• Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.
• Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
• Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Role of civil services in a democracy.
• India and its neighborhood- relations.
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
• Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

The syllabus can be divided into the following categories: Polity, Representation of People’s Act, Specific Quasi-Judicial Bodies, Pressure Groups and NGOs, Governance, Socio-economic issues and associated government schemes, and International Relations.

The Booklist

Topic	Books/Materials/Magazines etc	Remarks
Polity	Laxmikanth	Read at least 4 times
Representation of People’s Act	My notes on the important provisions. Read important case laws. Eg: Lily Thomas, Subramanian Swamy, Jarnail Singh, PUCL etc	I am attaching the notes below
Specific Quasi-Judicial Bodies	Any coaching material on this section would do, apart from the bodies mentioned in Laxmikanth	Also learn why they are called quasi judicial bodies
Pressure Groups and NGOs	Laxmikanth chapter on Pressure Groups 2nd ARC Report chapter on Social Capital NCERT Class XI “Politics in India since Independence” textbook chapter on Pressure Groups/Non-party organizations Relevant newspaper reports and editorials on these issues	4th point is the most important. Notes can be made according to the issues coming on the news relating to this topic. Eg: FCRA licenses of some NGOs were cancelled recently. The likely impact, the reasons thereof etc can be discussed.
Governance	Multiple chapters of 2nd ARC Report – 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13 Some overlap with the Ethics syllabus. My notes from current affairs issues	I am attaching the small handwritten summaries of the chapters here.
Socio-economic Issues and government schemes	Mostly current affairs based. So, Vision or Insights or any coaching material on these issues. My notes from current affairs Newspaper reading	Try to make notes from the newspaper on this issue. This is a very open ended topic and no particular source can fully cover this.
International Relations	My notes on IR and relevant issues Yojana issue on IR Newspaper reading Mains 365 or Insights issues on current affairs related to International Relations. I am sharing the link below: http://www.visionias.in/resources/value_added_material.php https://www.insightsonindia.com/downloads/	Again, this is an open ended topic. Try to focus on the IR issues and also on the important international organizations. Google them if necessary.

Answer Scripts

I am attaching a few answer scripts for your ready reference on how to write a GS II answer. Again I am reiterating, this is not the only style. Please refer to other successful candidates’ answer copies too.

• Test Copy 1
• Test Copy 2

GENERAL STUDIES I

                                                                      

The syllabus:

• Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issues.
• The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
• History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
• Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
• Effects of globalization on Indian society.
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
• Salient features of world’s physical geography.
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Again, the syllabus can be grouped into the following major subheads: Art and Culture, Modern Indian History, Post-Independent India, World History and political philosophies like socialism, communism etc., Geography, Society and Social Issues.

The Booklist

Topic	Booklist/Materials/Other Sources	Remarks
Art and Culture	NCERT’s “An Introduction to Fine Arts” Class XI, CCRT website and Tamil Nadu Class XI History Textbook.	Also refer to the notes attached below
Modern Indian History	Spectrum’s “A brief History of Modern India”, Old NCERT “Modern India” by Bipan Chandra	Spectrum to be read at least 3 times, including the appendices.
Post Independent India	NCERT’s “Politics in India since Independence” Class XI textbook.	I think this is more than enough. Read at least 2 times
World History and political philosophies	No particular source. Can refer to Nitin Sangwan’s notes. They are quite comprehensive.	I am sharing his notes below.
Geography	New NCERT Class XI, XII Geography textbooks and GC Leong’s Textbook, Atlas	Read NCERTs at least 3 times. Focus on countries, important cities and important geographical features
Society and social issues	1. NCERT’s Sociology Textbooks for Class XI,XII 2. General current affairs reading	Refer to  my notes attached below

Notes

Note making is essential for this paper. Some of my notes are attached below. The names may not fully coincide with the name of the topic. There might also be some overlap or omission. With time, you will get a hang of it. Further, you can make your notes by modifying these.

1. CCRT Notes
2. Art and Culture Notes. (This note is not completely mine. I had found it somewhere and modified a few things)
3. Nitin Sangwan’s Notes. (I could not find them on his website. So I am attaching mine. You can also refer to his blog: http://meandupsc.blogspot.com/2016/06/my-notes-for-civil-services-gs-papers.html )
4. Society Notes
5. Environment related Notes

Answer Scripts

I am also sharing some of my Vision IAS Test Series answer scripts for your reference. As I have said, this is not the only test series that is good. There are multiple in the market. Please use your own judgement in choosing one.

• Test Copy 1
• Test Copy 2

The Prelims

UPSC CSE Prelims is by far the most unpredictable part of the exam. This is also the stage where more than 97% of the candidates are eliminated. UPSC has designed it essentially as an elimination stage designed to weed out most of the less serious candidates. However, in the process, unfortunately a large number of good and sincere candidates are also shown the exit door. Thus, one needs to prepare for the prelims very seriously and meticulously.

Unlike most other candidates who begin their UPSC preparations with Mains and then move to prelims prep about two months before the exam, I started my prelims preparations right from the start – somewhere around the end of 2016. There are a multiple reasons for that, most of them being related to my academic schedule. But one important reason was my fear of being a part of the eliminated 97%.

In this post, I shall dwell on my prelims strategy. I secured 139.34 and 106.66 in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and I am expecting above 130 in 2019. In the last two years, my prelims scores have been well above the cutoff. I can, therefore, safely say that my strategy has been more or less effective.

 

The Book List and Other Sources

I am putting down the contents of the prelims syllabus here.

• Current events of national and international importance.
• History of India and Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
• General Science.

 

The syllabus essentially consists of the following major elements: History, Polity, Geography, Environment and Science, Economics, International Relations and Current Affairs.

I am providing a concise table below for a quicker read. For better understanding, one can read what follows immediately.

 

1. History

Modern India: Spectrum’s “A brief History of Modern India”, Old NCERT “Modern India” by Bipan Chandra. Spectrum should be read at least 3 times, including the appendices, to get a good grasp over the content and memory.

Ancient India, Art and Culture: NCERT’s “An Introduction to Fine Arts” Class XI, CCRT Art and Culture Notes(I made small notes attached here) and History 11th and 12th Class ( Tamil Nadu board) . The Tamil Nadu and NCERT books should be read at least 3 times. A large number of prelims questions can be answered from them.  

 

2. Polity

There is only one book: Laxmikanth. Reading it at least 4 times is absolutely necessary to master the book. Go through the question papers, previous year questions and mock questions at the back of the book. Do them multiple times, mark the ones you are not able to do and just before prelims, again go through them.

 

3. Geography

New NCERT Class XI, XII Geography textbooks and GC Leong’s Textbook. The NCERTs are sufficient to cover most of the questions. But in my opinion, GC Leong gives a greater clarity to the concepts. The idea should be to master the concepts, definitions and key terms. Reading them at least 3 times is necessary.

Atlas is equally important for map reading and identification of places. One can read the Atlas everyday for 10 minutes. Each day, choose a new location, say Europe, then go through it thoroughly. Close your eyes and try to recollect the positions of the countries, important cities and important geographical features. Next day, see if you remember them. Repeat this exercise everyday. By the end of 1.5 months, almost every place on the map will be in your fingertips.

 

4. Environment, Ecology and General Science

This is a very open ended topic. NCERT Class XII Biology Textbook Unit 5 on Ecology is a must read. I had also read the appendices and important environment laws, conventions and organisations of Shankar Environment. Part of the questions are also from Geography too.

There is a booklet published by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, called the Critically Endangered Species of India. I am sharing the link here. One can go through it on the day of the exam itself. Some important questions come from species mentioned in the booklet.

Vision IAS also has an important booklet that provides details of India’s flora and fauna, some important environment laws and conventions, and certain important environmental events such as El Nino and Ozone hole formation.
More importantly, reading the newspaper and being thorough with Current Affairs is necessary for this subject.

 

5. Economics

This is the area which I prepared the least as it was my subject of graduation and masters. But for beginners, I think a good source is- NCERT Class XI, XII Economics Textbooks, Sri Ram’s Economics, Newspaper’s business and economy section.

NCERTs are good to brush up the concepts, especially macroeconomics. I don’t think any other book is required for prelims.

Sriram provides definitions of important terms like the repo rate, fiscal deficit etc. It also provides a good coverage of important organizations like the Bretton Woods and WTO. Reading it a few times is essential.

Newspaper is essential for daily coverage of important events happening in the economy. It is also a good way to relate to the concepts learnt in NCERT and applying it to real life

 

 

6. International Relations and Current Affairs

This I think is the trickiest part of the exam. Almost anything under the sun, including the sun, can come as a question in the exam from this part. My booklist was as follows: Newspaper, Vision IAS Monthly Current Affairs, Vision PT365, Insights PT Exclusive, Insights i-Learning, Yojana, Budget and Economic Survey

For newspaper, I referred mostly to the Hindu and Indian Express. Initially, I had relied on the Hindu, but in my last attempt, I relied primarily on the Indian Express. The Explained section of IE is very informative.

I read Vision IAS Monthly Current Affairs for each month at least 2 times. This gave me a good brush up of the events in the previous month and also helped me memorise the important govt schemes, laws and international events/organizations/disputes in the previous month.

Vision PT365 and Insights PT Exclusives do a full revision of the most important current affairs events, schemes and organizations in the last one year. They come out about 2 to 1.5 months before the prelims and are very comprehensive in their coverage. They are usually distributed topic wise- environment, social issues, polity, economics, etc. I had read them 3 times just before the exam to have a good grasp over current affairs.

Yojana is a good monthly magazine of the government. Every month, there is a topic on which it focusses. The issue covers important government schemes, organizations, laws and issues pertaining to that topic.

Insights i-Learning is again another series of topics, mostly random, which have a high probability of being asked in the exam as they have gained prominence in the last few years, such as semiconductors, Bluetooth technology, AI, IoT etc.

Budget and Economic Survey are again essential. Read especially Volume I of the Survey. For the budget, announced schemes are important. There are good summaries of the budget and survey easily available on the internet. Going through them should be enough.

 

 

I am also attaching a list of Reports and their organizations for your reference. UPSC has been asking questions related to these in the last few years

 

Topic	Books/Magazines/Reading Materials	Remarks
History	Ancient: NCERT’s “An Introduction to Fine Arts” Class XI, CCRT website and History 11th and 12th Class ( Tamil Nadu board)  Textbook Modern:  Spectrum’s “A brief History of Modern India”, Old NCERT “Modern India” by Bipan Chandra	TN Textbook and NCERT to be read 3 times Spectrum to be read at least 3 times
Polity	Laxmikanth	Read at least 4 times
Geography	New NCERT Class XI, XII Geography textbooks and GC Leong’s Textbook Atlas	Read NCERTs at least 3 times Focus on countries, important cities and important geographical features
Environment, Ecology and General Science	NCERT Class XII Biology Textbook Unit 5 on Ecology Shankar Environment Critically Endangered Species of Indiapublished by the Ministry of Environment and Forests Vision IAS booklet Newspapers and current affairs	Must read Only appendices and important environment laws, conventions and organisations Read on the day of the exam
Economics	NCERT Class XI, XII Economics Textbooks Sri Ram’s Economics Newspaper’s business and economy section	For brushing up topics, especially macroeconomics Focus on key definitions and structure of economic organizations and conventions
Current Affairs and International Relations	Newspaper Vision IAS Monthly Current Affairs Vision PT365 Insights PT Exclusive Insights i-Learning Yojana Budget and Economic Survey	IE or Hindu Read at least 2 times a month Read at least 3 times For yojana, focus on govt schemes and topics Can read summary of Budget and ES also. But be thorough with the terms, concepts and schemes
Organizations and their Reports	Reports and their organizations	UPSC has been asking questions on it lately. Focussing on it is important.

 

 

 

 

 

Test series

I had subscribed to two test series: Vision IAS and Insights on India. But this does not mean that they are the best or anything. The market is full of test series which are really good. One can choose any one or two of those.

 

The main idea is to do at least one or two test series. At least 100 tests should be done within those series. The main advantages are threefold:

1. A good way to increase memory retention as you exercise your mind after reading a particular topic.
2. Gauge your preparation. Mistakes and all India ranks help you to assess the areas where you need to improve.
3. Confidence to face the MCQs in the actual exam. You won’t get a bitter surprise in the exam hall.

 

What I feel about the importance of test series can be summarised by this: you may or may not qualify when you practise test series, but you will surely fail if you don’t practise any.

 

Intelligent guessing

I think this is the most important part of the exam. It is impossible to know everything in any particular topic, and around 50% of the questions in prelims are from areas or aspects that we don’t know about. But if we decide to not attempt them for fear of negative marking, we might not even clear the cutoff.

 

In order to understand what intelligent guessing is, we need to understand the two words- Intelligent and Guessing. It is not ordinary guessing. It is not as random as tossing a coin or throwing a dice to decide on the MCQ option. Rather, intelligent guessing involves making use of all the knowledge that you have gained through your UPSC prep to arrive at the answer you think is the most appropriate.

 

Let me give you an example from Prelims 2017.

For this question, the correct answer is (b) Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary. At that time, I had no clue about lions being transferred from Gir. Neither had I heard of Kuno Palpur. But I reasoned like this: Sariska is a Tiger Reserve. Lions and tigers are top predators and unlikely to be in the same territory. Similar reasoning applies to Corbett. Mudumalai is in the Western Ghats with a monsoon type of climate. Gir is in the arid type of climate or maybe a savannah type. So, they are unlikely to be shifted to Mudumalai. The only option left for me was Kuno Palpur.

 

Thus, by using all my knowledge about lions, national parks and vegetation, and by using a system of elimination, I arrived at the correct answer. I was simply guessing that it was Kuno Palpur, but it was not blind guessing and was based on a reasoned approach.

 

Now consider another example from Prelims 2018.

The correct answer is (b) 1 and 2. At that time, I knew just one thing: Thang Ta dance is from Manipur. So, that eliminated options (c) and (d). I now had to choose between (a) and (b). For some reason, Khongjom Parba festival appeared to be Manipuri in origin. I don’t remember reading about this festival anywhere. But reading about so many dances and festivals of NE India must have given me some idea. So, I decided to take my chance and go for option (b).

 

Again, I was never too sure about the answer. But I had to take the risk. I had only reduced my risk through elimination. I did not completely eliminate it. This is essentially the idea behind intelligent guessing. Using this you can attempt more questions but at a reduced risk. I hope these examples help in developing your own intelligent guessing strategy. It requires a lot of practice. Test series are therefore essential in honing this skill.

 

I’m not an expert in this skill. I am only reasonably good at it. There are many others who are even better. So, you need to practise as much as you can.

 

Number of questions 

This is a very common question among candidates: how many questions should one attempt in the exam?

There’s always a trade off: the more questions you attempt, greater is the chance of negative marking erasing the gains from the correct answer. If you attempt less, you might get too few questions to be correct and lose out.

 

Based on my experience, I found attempting 90-95 questions to be the most appropriate number. So essentially I tried to attempt most of the questions. I just left those questions which I had absolutely no clue about- those which I could not even attempt with intelligent guessing. There used to be around 5-10 such questions.

 

I think this strategy seems to have worked, as I ended up getting relatively good marks in prelims.

 

 

GS II

This paper is also colloquially called the CSAT- Civil Services Aptitude Test. I have not seen it being mentioned anywhere in the official notification though. Since it is a qualifying paper- only 33% is required- it is not given much emphasis. But I would still urge that some amount of practice is required for solving the math and logical reasoning problems. The english passages are very confusing and tricky. It is better to focus on the math and logical reasoning problems. I had used a Tata McGraw Hill book for UPSC Prelims Paper 2 CSAT. I used to do a few questions everyday in the final one month before prelims.

 

Conclusion

As I finally conclude, I hope this information has helped you all in increasing your chances of cracking prelims. The strategy I have enumerated above is relevant both for this year and for subsequent years. Those aspirants planning to appear in CSE 2021 can also go through this. I personally feel that prelims requires a long term commitment. Prelims prep should go side by side with mains prep in the initial few months. In the final 3 months before prelims, one needs to focus solely on prelims. It is the most unpredictable part of the exam and can make or break dreams.

 

Another disclaimer: this is not the only way to crack prelims. Many successful candidates have had completely different strategies. My note here is to help you get an idea in a particular direction. I am certain that you will devise your own strategy as you proceed with your preparations: and that will always be the best strategy for you.

 

All the best!

 

 

 

The UPSC Roller Coaster- A Glimpse into my Journey!

Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Aranyak Saikia and I secured All India Rank 59 in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2019. Prior to this, I had secured AIR 148 and 287 respectively in CSE 2017 and 2018. By virtue of my rank in CSE 2017, I was allocated the Indian Police Service (IPS). I am currently serving as an IPS Probationer in the rank of ASP (under training) in Karnataka cadre.

I am originally from Guwahati, Assam, where I did my schooling till Class 12. I graduated in Economics (Honours) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 2015. I completed my Masters and MPhil respectively in 2017 and 2019 from Delhi School of Economics. This is essentially my brief introduction.

Having secured a rank in the CSE exams, there have been a few learning points and experiences that I have acquired over the years. As with all aspirants, when I first jumped into the CSE bandwagon back in 2016, I was at a loss as to what to do. There was just too much to study! At the same time, there was too much information on how to go about it. This information overload only added to the confusion, as it was humanely not possible to cover everything in such short span of time. It was then when I began to read the blogs and preparation strategies of a few successful candidates that I finally got an idea as to how to go about the exam prep. It was a long process but I think by being able to filter out the unnecessary things from the prep, I was able to focus on the limited sources with more clarity and depth, which helped me to secure a relatively good rank in CSE 2019.

As suggested and requested by many of you, in this post, I am sharing my experiences related to my CSE preparation strategy. Although this will appear more of a strategy advice to future aspirants, I have tried my best to make it clear that this is just my experience. Your strategy can be completely different from mine. I would be happy if you read my preparation style and decided to chart out your own route for the same.

PRELIMS 2020

As you all know, CSE Prelims 2020 is just about a month away. It is scheduled to be held on 4^th of October. Thus, these last 40 odd days ought to be devoted to prelims by those aspirants appearing in this year’s exam. The first post of mine likewise is devoted to sharing my experience and tips in prelims prep.

Prelims, I feel, is the most risky component of the exam. For any question, you either know the answer or you don’t. There is no middle ground. I have seen many brilliant candidates getting thrown out at this stage of the exam itself. Then all the preparation for mains and interview go for a toss. So, focussing on the prelims is key to getting a good chance to secure a rank in the exam.

MAINS

In my subsequent posts, I will focus on CSE Mains prep. Again, that involves a number of issues related to note making, answer writing and current affairs. I shall try to deal with them one by one.

 

FOR THE CANDIDATES FROM ASSAM AND NORTHEAST

Please do not be bogged down by the fact that you were not able to prepare in Delhi. It is true that Delhi provides an environment for CSE prep, especially in its centres like Old Rajinder Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar and Munirka. However, with the advent of the internet and social media, a large number of the coaching centres, study materials and discussion groups are available online.

A large number of websites are now providing very good quality content on a daily basis and that too for free. Some of them offer video tutorials at a nominal cost. Others provide discussion forums for the aspirants to discuss and jot down the answers. The previous year answer scripts of the successful candidates who appeared in the test series of the centres are also available online. I shall discuss these websites and portals as I go along in the subsequent posts.

I am mentioning a few here:

Type	Some examples
Test series	https://www.insightsonindia.com/ ,  http://www.visionias.in/, https://iasscore.in/
Previous year answer scripts	http://www.visionias.in/resources/toppers_answers.php https://iasscore.in/toppers-copy
Discussion forums	https://blog.forumias.com/
Toppers’ Strategy blogs	https://www.insightsonindia.com/toppers-corner/ , https://mrunal.org/toppers
Video Tutorials	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4wosjC-DKq95xI5klz92w , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV1lbzgZNcYFAT3VHKOb7Cg , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf31eCPlIbv-2dOTakELxOg
Initiative by previous toppers	https://www.csewiki.org/Main_Page, http://demystifycse.in/ , https://reluctanteconomistblog.wordpress.com/ , https://thesupermanreturns.wordpress.com/

Disclaimer: Just because I have mentioned these websites does not mean that I endorse them in any way. These were websites that I had referred to during my preparation. There are multiple other websites that are equally good. The websites that I have mentioned above provide many materials for free. So any candidate can have access to them without having to pay anything. At the same time, there are many things that they charge for. I hope you will use your own judgement in dealing with these.

Finally, there are shops in ORN and Mukherjee Nagar that can courier the study material to your doorstep after you pay the required amount through any online payment gateway.

As and when the results have been declared in the last three years, I have had the opportunity to give some interviews about my preparation strategy and other related areas. I am mentioning them below in the hope that it helps some of you in getting a clearer picture about my preparation style. Again I reiterate- this is just one style of preparation. It need not be the best for you. I am sure this will help you in charting out your own strategy.

• GS Score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTXC5lgijEs
• Xomidhan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMPojolHGmA
• Inside NE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTL3lyljpIY
• East Mojo: https://www.eastmojo.com/assam/2020/08/05/never-give-up-assams-aranyak-saikia-who-ranked-59th-in-2019-civil-services-exams
• Sentinel: https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/assam-news/exclusive-heres-how-aranyak-saikia-from-assam-cracked-upsc-civil-services-exam-2019-493403
• Current Affairs 365 (this was after my 2017 result): http://www.currentaffairs365.in/2018/12/my-journey-to-success-aranyak-saikia.html