ABOUT-MANIDANEYAM

Civil Services
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC)
Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
Defence Services
National Defence Academy (NDA)
Combined Defence Services (CDS)
All India Services
Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Indian Police Service (IPS)
Indian Forest Service (IFS)
Central Civil Services - Group "A"
Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
Border Roads Engineering Service
Central Information Service
Corporate law services
Company Law Board Service
Central Power Engineering Service
Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service
Central Water Engineering Service(Civil)
Central Water Engineering Service(Mechanical)
Central Engineering Service
Central Engineering Service(Roads)
Central Health Service
Central Legal Service
Central Labour Service
Central Trade Service
Defense Lands and Cantonment Service
Defence Quality Assurance Service
Defence Research & Development Service
Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service
Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
Indian Postal Service
Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers
Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers
Indian Railway Service of Engineers
Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers
Indian Railway Stores Service
Indian Telecommunication Service
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) - Income Tax
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) - Customs & Central Excise
Indian Audits & Accounts Service (IA&AS)
Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
Indian Defence Estate Service (IDES)
Indian Economic Service(IES)
Indian Ordnance Factory Services (IOFS)
Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)
Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
Indian Information Service (IIS)
Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
Indian Naval Armament Service
Indian Supply Service
Indian Inspection Service
Indian Salt Service
Indian Broadcasting(Engs) Service
Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service
Indian Economic Service
Indian Statistical Service
Indian Cost Accounts Service
Indian Defence Service of Engineers
Indian Broadcasting(Programme) Service
Military Engineering Service
Military Engineers Service of Architects
Military Engineers Service of Surveyors
Overseas Communication Service
P&T Building Works Service
Railways Protection Force (RPF)
Railway Medical Service
Railway Board Secretariat Service
Survey of India Service

Central Civil Services - Group "B"
Defence Secretariat Service
Union Territories Administrative Service
Union Territories Police Service
State Services
State Civil/Administrative Service
State Police Service
State Forest Service
Public Works Department
The Application Procedure for the Civil Services Examination is pretty simple. Electronically scannable Application
Forms along with the Information Brochure can be obtained from the designated Head Post Offices / Post Offices
throughout the country. The duly filled in Application Form with the acknowledgement card should be sent to -
Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, New Delhi - 110011.
Scheme of the Examination
The successive stages of examination are:
Preliminary Examination for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination
Main Examination (Written) for the selection of candidates for interview for a Personality Test.
Interview (Personality Test)
For more information visit www.upsc.gov.in
Age: Should have completed 21 years as on August 1st of that year of examination
Should have passed any Degree
Students undergoing final year of study in college may also apply subject to submitting their attested copy of degree /
provisional certificates when they apply for Main exams. Further they should have completed 21 years as on 1st
August.
A degree of any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other
educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be a Deemed University under the UGC
Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification.
Candidates who have appeared or intend to appear for the qualifying examination and are awaiting results are also
eligible to appear for the Preliminary Examination. All such candidates who qualify to appear for the Civil Services
Main Examination must produce proof of having passed the said examination along with their application for the Main
Examination.
The UPSC may in exceptional cases treat a candidate without the foregoing requisite qualification as an eligible
candidate if he / she has passed an examination conducted by other institutions, the standard of which justifies his /
her admission in the opinion of the Commission.
Candidates with professional and technical qualifications recognised by the Government as equivalent to professional
and technical degrees.
Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical Examination but are yet to complete the
internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However they must submit along with their Main Examination
application, a certificate from the concerned authority of the University / Institution that they have passed the final
professional medical examination. At the Interview stage they must then produce a certificate from a competent
authority that they have completed (including internship) all the requirements for the award of the Medical Degree.
Other Eligibility conditions
Nationality
i. Only Indian nationals are eligible for IAS and IPS.
ii. For other services a candidate can be either of the following:
a. a citizen of India,
b. a subject of Nepal,
c. a subject of Bhutan,
d. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India,
or
e. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Burma, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda,
United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam, Zaire or Zambia with the intention of permanently settling in India. Candidates
belonging to either categories of b., c., d. or e., must produce an eligibility certificate issued by the Government of
India. Those who belong to either of b., c., or d., categories are not eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign
Service.
AgeLimit
A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on 1st August, of
that year i.e., he must have been born not earlier than 2nd August that year. And not later that 1st August of that year.
The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable.
Details
i. A candidate must have attained 21 years and not be over 30 years on August 1 of the year of examination.
ii. The upper age limit is relaxed in specific cases as mentioned below:
a. upto a maximum of 5 years if the candidate belongs to SC/ST.
b. upto a maximum of 3 years if the candidate belongs to Other Backward Classes.
c. upto a maximum of 5 years if the candidate had been domiciled in Jammu & Kashmir during the period between
January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.
d. upto a maximum of 3 years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled during hostilities with foreign
countries or in a disturbed area and consequently released.
e. upto a maximum of 5 years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs / SSCOs who
have rendered at least five years Military Service as on August 1 of the year of examination and have been released:
on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from August
1 of the year of examination) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or
inefficiency, or on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or on invalidment.
f. upto a maximum of 5 years in the case of ECOs / SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment (5
years Military Service) as on August 1 of the year of examination and whose assignment has been extended beyond 5
years. Such candidates will have to provide a certificate from the Ministry of Defence stating that they can apply for
civil employment and they will be released on a notice of 3 months, upon selection, from the date of receipt of offer of
appointment.
g. upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped candidates.
The Preliminary Examination is one of the toughest exams in India and you should not take it lightly even though it is meant to serve as a screening test. This examination
is conducted according to the following pattern:
PAPER SUBJECT DURATION MARKS QUESTION TYPE
I General Studies 2 hrs 150 Objective Type
II Optional Subject 2 hrs 300 Objective Type

General Studies:
General Science
Current Events of national and international importance
History of India and Indian National Movement
India and World Geography
Indian Polity and Economy
General Mental Ability (Reasoning & Analytical ability)
Optional Subjects:
Agriculture
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
*Botany
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
*Commerce & Accountancy
Economics
Electrical Engineering
*Geography
Geology
*Indian History
*Law
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science
Philosophy
Physics
*Political Science
Psychology
*Public Administration
*Sociology
Statistics
Zoology
*offered by Manidha in online ---- Register with us
If you want to any other optional other then this please contact through email.
Basic readings for Preliminary
1. News paper The Hindu
2. Magazines Civil services chronicle, Competition Wizard; Yojana; Kurushetra; Frontline
3. Text Books NCERT text books on science & Tech, Indian History,
Indian Geography, Indian Polity, Indian Economy from standard VI XII
4. General Mental Ability Quantitative Aptitude by R.S.Agarwal
5. General studies manual Tata McGraw Hill Pub / Spectrum Pub
6. Indian polity P.Lakshmi Kanth
7. Modern Indian History "Indias struggle for Independence" Bipin Chandra
8. Indian Economy Pradhyogita Darpan
9. Manorama Year book of publication division
10. Indian Year book of publication division
11. Atlas Orient Longman
12. Previous years solved questions.
Strategy -CCRR
1. Collection of Study Materials
2. Consolidation of topics in study materials that are civil services exam oriented
3. Reading (Comprehensive Reading)
4. Revision (Periodical)
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis will be extremely helpful in choosing an optional
Based on your area of interest, availability of study materials & coaching facilities available for an optional You can choose your own.
1. Strengths
2. Weakness
3. Opportunities
4. Threats
How to tackle Negative Marking
1. There will be penalty for wring answers marked by a candidate in the objective type question paper
2. There are four alternatives for the answers for every question
3. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate 1/3 of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty
4. If a question is left blank there will be no penalty for that question
5. For example in an optional subject for prelims there are 120 MCQs
If you answer 101 questions and 80 questions correct, but 21 questions are wrong, therefore there will be (80-7)
x 2

The Main Examination is to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of the candidates. The
Written Examination in the Main Examination consists of 9 papers and is conducted according to the following pattern:
PAPER SUBJECT DURATION MARKS
I
One Indian language from those included in the Eighth Schedule* of the
Constitution
3 hrs 600
II English 3 hrs 600
III Essay 3 hrs 600
IV&V General Studies 3 hrs 600
VI,VII,VIII &
IX
Two papers in each of two Optional ** Subjects 3 hrs 600
Languages(compulsory)
Assamese
Bengali
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Marathi
Malayalam
Manipuri
Nepali
Oriya
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Sindhi
*Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Optional Subjects for the Main Examination
Agriculture
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
Anthropology
*Botany
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
*Commerce & Accountancy
Economics
Electrical Engineering
*Geography
Geology
*History
*Law
Management
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science
Philosophy
Physics
*Political Science & International Relations
Psychology
*Public Administration
*Sociology
Statistics
Zoology
Literature of one of the following languages
Arabic
Assamese
Bengali
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Marathi
Malayalam
Manipuri
Nepali
Oriya
Pali
Persian
Punjabi
Russian
Sanskrit
Sindhi
*Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
List of Optional subjects that cannot be clubbed
Political Science & Public Administration
Commerce & Management
Anthropology & Sociology
Maths & Statistics
Agriculture & Veterinary Science
Management & Public Admin
Of the Engineering subjects, not more than one subject
Veterinary & Medical sciences
Candidates appearing for Main exams will be around 13 times the number of vacancies announced for that year.
*Offered by Manidha by direct in person coaching Register with us
PERSONALITY TEST
Even though the interview carries 300 marks with no minimum qualifying marks, it is the deciding factor at many times
of your being within the services or out of it and in the least matters in which service you get.However since the
interview is so personal and variable it is most desirable to do very well in the written mains. But an Interview can
make or break you so take your personality development rather seriously and make sure to attend some mock
interviews at leading institutes.
UPSC Interview Questions
UPSC Interview questions range from questions about your choice of subject to why you want to join the civil services.
It is good to answer honestly but at the same time avoid cliches like wanting to do service to the nation etc. Questions
on your hobbies are imperative so prepare well as they expect some indepth knowledge on that. Questions relating to
your name, your college or school name are also a big posibility. If someone well-know shares one of these names
please also prepare on that. Also learn up about important events on the year or date of your birth. As you can see,
UPSC Interview questions are mainly from what you have filled in your form including your subject but here it is more
a test of logic and presentation and awareness rather than pure subject knowledge. In the UPSC interview many
questions are situational like what will you do if a Tsunami strikes your district and you are the DM/Collector/SP.
Questions on your choice of service preference also need to be prepared. Current affairs analysis is important too.
Tips to improve your performance at the UPSC Interview
There are generally 5 members at the board with the Chairperson seated at the center. Enter confidently and
greet the Chairperson, who will probably welcome you, and pleasantly nod at other members. Wait till you
are asked to sit.
Intelligent listing is the mantra, and for this maintaining eye contact is very important. You should not glare
but all the same appear attentive and do not glance at other members, it can be very distracting for the
interviewer. However if some other member asks you anything, look at that member and answer and turn
back to the first - this is what we do in normal attentive listening.
Do not fidget or throw your hands around, or shake your head. Less amount of movement does not mean
you should sit unnaturally stiff. Your posture should be attentive and relaxed at the same time. Do not
crouch/bend forward or place your hands on the table.
Cut your answer short to the required patience shown by the member talking to you. They usually like to talk
more, so listen carefully and think for a few seconds before you start answering the question. This will show
that you are organising your thoughts in mind before starting to speak.
Leave some room for difference in opinion. Do take a stand, but do not look adamant or unwilling to
appreciate the board's opinion.
Use couple of words from the question while answering any question. It shows you have listened to the
question carefully. But at the same time limit the use the technical jargon.
Listen very carefully. Come to the central issue of the enquiry immediately. Wild guessing or speculation are
a complete no no.
Do not start evaluating your performance while still inthe interview. Even if you have committed mistakes in
the beginning, do not think that you have already lost the game. They are looking for warm, sensitive
respectful and attentive youngsters. They know you are good or you would not have come so far.
Talk humbly about your achievements and hobbies. You may have mentioned some hobbies in the form
without serious background in them, but before the interview it would be useful to pick up some basic info on
the hobby.
Say less to convey more. Less is more these days as per the minimalist creed. Argue logically and generalise
correctly. Do not try to read too much between the lines.
Remember, while answering any question, what is easy to see is easy to miss. We often tend to miss the
obvious and go for some non-crucial aspect of the subject.
Get up to leave only when the chairperson asks you to, not because you think everyone has asked a
question. Similarly, even if someone has not asked a question and the chairperson asks you to leave then
please leave. Some members do not ask questions at all, due to various reasons like limited time.
Before leaving politely thank the chairperson and nod at the others politely. Avoid saying "Have a good day
sir". A "Thank you Sir/Madam" is enough.
Interview preparation
Expected Interview Questions
The Kothari Committee of the UPSC, has listed the qualities that should be rated in the interview as, ''clarity of
expression, grasp of narrative and argument, reasoning ability, appreciation of different points of view, awareness and
concern for socio-economic problems, ranges and depth of interests and personal attributes relevant to interaction
with people.''
The Interview for the civil services examination also known as the Personality Test is exactly that. It is aimed at
assessing the candidates personality, whether he is suitable to be a competent administrator or not. The candidate is
tested not only for his/her intelligence but also for his/her overall personality development, his/her attentiveness,
balance of judgement and qualities of honesty, integrity and leadership. Therefore preparation for the Interview
requires proper planning.
The selectors look out for some attributes in the candidate and decide whether he/she is suited for a career in civil
services or not. For this,the candidate should have a positive attitude, should have an alert mind with quick reflexes,
should be free from any sort of prejudice, should be good at making quick decisions and should have the ability to act
under stress and to handle difficult situations.
Preparation for the Interview is a continuous process. This involves a wide reading of books, journals, magazines
and at least two newspapers. One should try to improve his/her conversational skills with the right pronunciation. The
candidate should be prepared to answer questions on his background, hobbies and extra curricular activities. It is a
good idea to discuss current affairs and recent issues with friends. One good way of rehearsing possible questions
would be to have mock interviews and discussion groups. The candidate should make a self analysis of his strengths
and weaknesses and make a conscious effort to play on his strengths.
Some useful tips for a successful interview at UPSC are:
1. To have a positive body language
2. To have a good personal turnout and ensuring the right posture
3. To answer questions clearly and confidently
4. Try to remain calm and composed even when faced with provocative questions
5. Try not getting into long winded explanations and answer to the point.
Things To Be Avoided at the UPSC Interview
Avoid the expression, 'I am sorry.'
Avoid conversational cliches, like: 'as you know', 'that's correct', 'of course', 'indeed', 'obviously', etc.
Avoid technical jargon. However, if a member continues to probe you in any technical field, you can use
technical expressions.
Maintain a cheerful disposition. Now and then you can appear serious; but most of the time keep smiling or
look cheerful and composed. One caution here: if the board laughs, you should only smile. It is only when
you maintain some amount of distance that the board begins to wonder about the depth of your personality.
Do not give long introductions. Come straight to the heart of the matter.
Show human concern whenever possible in your answers.
You should be logically consistent and analyse things rationally while talking. You are supposed to defend
what you say, but with due respect to the views of the board. Stop trying to defend an answer if it becomes
difficult to do so logically and fairly.
Do not make hasty or sweeping generalisations.
According to UPSC report, it has been observed that from 1979 onwards, 90 percent of the candidates who qualify for
interview hover around the minimal percentage of 55 percent that is prescribed for the test. However to be assured of
a Class I service, one has to generally obtain about 58 percent marks. It has been noticed that only those, securing 60
percent and above are sure of getting a service of their own choice. The figures clearly reveal that the marks in the
interview test play a determining role in final selection of candidates.
Types of questions asked at the UPSC interview.
Relating to your name. Any famous personality who has a similar or same name or surname.
Your career choice. Why you want to opt for the civilservices.
Your Hobbies. Why you pursue such a hobby or questions related to your hobby. So reasearch well on your
hobby.
Hot topics of recent days like the Bird Flu and Tamiflu, Office of Profit, Sahara airlines deal and the
growing airlines,Terror attacks in India, India US Nuclear deal, Commonwealth games, Saurav
Ganguly etc. Keep reading and watching the news. If the recent headlines have something to do with your
subject then specially revise those portions. For example if you are a veterinary doctor, Bird flu may go on to
other animal diseases that can infect men. If you are an MBBS, then you might be asked about human to
human spread of epidemics or any other epidemics and precautions etc. You may even be asked about the
influence of MNC or drug manufacturers responsible for the spread of fear etc. If you are from an economy
background, the same topic will veer towards the economic implications of the Bird flu.
How you are going to use your specific knowledge(like if you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer etc) in
the services.
Situational questions. Like If you were the collector/SP of Varanasi, what would you do after the Bomb
Blast?
Choice of services. The order of your choice of services can raise questions too.
About your institution and related.If you have studies at IIM you may be asked about the rising salaries, if
from IGNOU then even about Indira Gandhi and so on.
From your form. You must go through the form you have filled because most questions will arise from there.
If you have changed subjects, mentioned anything out of the way, watch out for questions on them.
Interviewers take cue from the form you have filled.
Some actual questions asked of UPSC candidates.
Don't you think you can serve your country better by remaining a doctor and treating poor patients?
Why do you want to be a civil servant?"
It would be best to answer this question very practically rather than emotionally saying you want to serve the
country, because even a doctor serves the people. A doctor from Kerala was asked this Question and her
reply was - "Because I want to treat the primary malady that afflicts our country, that creates so many poor in
India. As a doctor I can treat only secondary maladies." She even came up with exact statistics and
suggestions on a rubber plantation for poverty alleviation indicating that she had spent considerable time and
thoughts on her future plans. She was awarded a score of 85 per cent.
"What are the problems faced by wheat cultivators in your state?" an M.Sc. (Agriculture) student from
Palanpur was once asked. "The problem is not so much to do with agronomy but with the lack of a seed bank
in Palanpur," came the reply and the candidate walked away with an 80 per cent score.
"Is there a law in physics, which is relevant to administration?" a law graduate was prompted. "Yes.
Newton's third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." He scored a cool 80
per cent.
The above questions can give you an idea of how relevant questions are asked from your subjects even as they are
not directly from the syllabus.
NOTIFICATION
1. Notified in Employment News probably in Nov. last week / Dec.
1st week syllabus for prelims & main exams will be notified in this edition.
2. Applications will be available in HPOs in districts and other designated post offices
3. Applications should be sent to the UPSC within one month i.e. before Dec last week or Jan 1st week.
4. No original or Xerox certificates are necessary for applying for Preliminary exams
5. Number of attempts:
a. General - 4 attempts / not above 30 years.
b. OBC - 7 attempts / not above 33 years.
c. SC/ST - Not above 35 years.
PLAN OF EXAMINATION
Stage - I
1. Preliminary Examination (450 Marks)
General Studies 150 marks (150 Questions, 1 mark for each)
Optional paper 300 marks (120 Questions, 2 marks each)
Each paper 2 hours duration
Exam centre will be in Chennai, Madurai & Puducherry.(for Tamilnadu)
Always Exams will be held in 2nd Sunday of May
Results will be announced before August 15th.
Exam will be of screening type, marks scored in Prelims will not be counted for overall ranking.
There will be negative marking of 1/3 (For each wrong answer)
Questions will be set in both Hindi & English
Course content of the syllabus will be of degree level.
Register, more has to go to prelims page
Stage - II
2. Main Examination (2000 Marks Descriptive type questions)
Must choose 2 optional subjects - for example - History & Hindi Lit
Exam centre will be in Chennai only (for Tamilnadu).
Usually held during Oct & Nov.
Primarily two qualifying language papers in Matriculation standard
1. Tamil & 2. English not counted for Ranking (passing mandatory for valuing other papers should attend all
the questions.)
7 papers:
Essay - 200 marks
GS Paper I - 300 marks
GS Paper II 300 marks
I Optional Paper I 300 marks
I Optional Paper II 300 marks
II Optional Paper I - 300 marks
II Optional Paper II 300 marks
Results will be announced in mid March next year.
Question papers other than language papers will be set both in Hindi & English.
Students can write the exams in Tamil medium also except English Language paper.
List of Optional subjects that cannot be clubbed
Political Science & Public Administration
Commerce & Management
Anthropology & Sociology
Maths & Statistics
Agriculture & Veterinary Science
Management & Public Admin
Of the Engineering subjects, not more than one subject
Veterinary & Medical sciences
Candidates appearing for Main exams will be around 13 times the number of vacancies announced for that year
Register, more has to go to prelims page
Stage III 3. Interview
Total 300 marks
It will be held in New Delhi only.
Time of Interview Usually from March last week to May 1st week.
Students appearing in interview can use an interpreter in case they answer questions in Tamil.
Final results will be announced before the preliminary examinations are conducted for that year.
Candidates appearing for interview will be thrice the number of vacancies.
Register, more has to go to prelims page
Registration Confirmation

Thanks for registering our online coaching system. You will get our confirmation email soon. Kindly check the
email provided with us. If you still have any issues please contact us at
admin@saidaiduraisamysmanidhaneyam.com