Get Set Go IAS

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Get Set Go IAS

2nd Edition

IASKracker.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this eBook may be copied or distributed
anywhere in virtual or print form without the express permission of the
author.

Get Set Go IAS

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While there are many IAS exam related sites and blogs out there this ebook provides you tips to get an edge in your civil services preparation
over your competition. This e-book is not about the civil services
syllabus or examination plan but goes much beyond this. For the
syllabus and details of the IAS examination you can refer the UPSC
website itself. So I have covered these only in passing. Which begs the
question, what can you get from this e-book?
You will
Begin your preparation without any false starts and thus save
valuable time and effort
Know exactly which books to refer for IAS
Select the right optionals within a short time
Save time and money by reading the right books and notes
Decide whether you require coaching and if you do then which
one
Learn how to read newspapers for current affairs and GK
Gain inspiration from success stories of previous IAS toppers

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How to read this e-Book?

While the chapters are arranged logically and in sequence, articles that
are relevant from this e-Books point of view but which have been
published on IAS Kracker or some other site are not included here to
avoid repetition.
Instead I have included them as links or under the tag of Additional
Reading at the bottom of each page. I suggest you go through these
articles included under Additional Reading and even the other links as
they are there to provide you additional insight into your IAS
preparation. No doubt you will benefit tremendously if you read this
way.
Also at the end of this e-Book some bonus links are provided to free
study material, You Tube videos of past IAS toppers, interviews and the
like. Be sure to check them out!

Note: This eBook contains affiliate links to sites where you can purchase
IAS books online.

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Contents
How to read this e-Book?
What is the IAS?
The Civil Services Exam
No Need to Fear CSAT
Common Myths about the IAS Exam
Is there an Ideal Time to Start with IAS Preparation?
Do You Need Coaching?
Books to Refer for Prelims/CSAT
Books for CSAT Paper 2
GS Syllabus and Question Papers: Your Best Guide for Prelims
Preparation
Getting started with Prelims Preparation: Routinize your day
How to Read the Newspaper

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Can I Prepare for Prelims in Just 4 Months?

Prelims Quick Revision Tips
GK
Geography
History
Science
Economy
How to score easy marks in IAS Prelims
What score is enough to clear the Prelims?
How to Select the Right Optionals for IAS
If They Could You Can Too IAS Success Stories
Bonus Stuff!

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om

What is the IAS?

IAS or the Indian Administrative Service is arguably one of the most
prestigious services in India and is part of the Indian Civil Service (ICS),
which is often called the 'Steel Frame' of the country. The term 'steel
frame' was first coined by Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, independent India's
first Home Minister and father of the ICS as it stands today. But the IAS
is not entirely a post-independence creation. Far from it. It is the
forerunner to the Indian Civil Service (ICS) that was created by the
British to govern this vast and diverse country. The British realized that
unless some sort of uniformity in administration, laws, and rules was
introduced it would be impossible to govern a country of this size and
diversity. Thus the ICS was born in the late seventeenth century
although the nomenclature came about only in the eighteenth century.
But to understand the importance of the IAS we need to first take a look
at the roles of an IAS officer or what an IAS officer does.
The roles that any IAS officer has to play are both multi-dimensional
and challenging. Consider this: As an IAS you are responsible for the
smooth functioning of an entire district, you have to respond to any
crisis situation that may arise unexpectedly; you have to ensure
harmonious public order, have to liase with different stake holders,
have to deal with drought and other adverse agricultural situations, and
arrange for VIP visits and many more functions. How many people get to
enact so many roles at the same time? Only those who choose to and
have the mettle to realize their goal of cracking the civil services test.
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But the functions mentioned above are not the only one that you will
execute as an IAS officer. Rather these responsibilities will be entrusted
to you at the early stage of your career. As you progress in the civil
services ladder you will take on more specialized roles that are much
wider in scope. For instance, as the Secretary of a department in the
Union government you will oversee that department in all the states
from coordination and policy framework point of view.
Finally did you know that the head of the bureaucracy in India is also
one of the senior most and distinguished IAS officer? Yes, the Cabinet
Secretary is the highest post that you as an IAS can aspire for and for the
fortunate few, even experience it. Isn't this interesting?
Additional Reading: Learn all about the IAS

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The Civil Services Exam

Now that you are clear about the duties of an IAS officer let's start
knowing how you can become one. The Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) is part of the Civil Services which also comprises of other high
profile services like the Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service
(IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Railways Traffic Service (IRTS),
Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS), and many more. The entrance
test to these esteemed services is conducted by the Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC), headquartered at Shahjahan Road, New Delhi.
The civil services examination is conducted by the UPSC once every year
and the entire exam cycle is approximately of one year duration. Within
this one year a civil services aspirant has to qualify three stages of the
examination to emerge successful: Preliminary, Mains, and Interview.
To appear for the Civil Services Preliminary (CSP) exam you have to fill
the form online within the stipulated date. The notification for the CSP
exam usually comes in the second fortnight of December and the
examination is conducted about five months later in May.
However from 2014 onward, the Preliminary exam will be held in midAugust and the Mains in mid-December. So the gap between the two
has been reduced to just 3 months from the present 6 months.
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On qualifying the preliminary examination you need to appear for the
Mains examination held in December and lasts for about 5 days. The results
of the Mains exam are declared in March and the personality test or
interviews begin in the same month itself and last for 35-40 days. The
final result which is based on your score in the Mains and the Interview
test (the Preliminary test is only of qualifying nature and the marks
scored are not taken into consideration in the later stages) is declared
one or two weeks before the next Preliminary exam in May.

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No Need to Fear CSAT

As you know optionals are out from 2011 Prelims and GS has
been extended to paper 2 as well. But many IAS aspirants fear CSAT like
death incarnate! Why is it so? Some of the reasons are:
1. IAS aspirants have usually paid less attention to General Studies
paper of pre and relied heavily on optional paper to see them through
2. GS paper 2 has completely new topics like decision making, logical
reasoning, and comprehension
3. Confusion about the safe score to qualify CSAT
4. Heavy focus on mental ability in CSAT paper 2
But are these fears well founded? No. If you follow the steps detailed in
this e-Book to master the Prelims, CSAT will be fun to crack and not a
nightmare as at present. I will show how paper 2 can be turned into a
strength to score heavily instead of a being a bane.
Additional Reading:
The New CSAT Syllabus
How will the new Prelims/CSAT syllabus impact you?
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Common Myths Associated with IAS Exam

There are some myths associated with the Civil Services exam that need
to be exposed, tackled, and demolished before proceeding further as
these myths can become mental blocks for beginners and may even
cause a loss in self-confidence.
To clear the IAS you need to start preparing right from high school
Good they didnt tell you to start preparing from kinder garden! While
the saying is true that well begun is half done, there is little truth in
the saying that only early beginners can clear the IAS exam. And how
early is another question. Even if you can start preparing right after your
graduation or post-graduation that is early enough. And even if you
cant for some reasons, there are many success stories of those who
managed to crack the civil services in spite of starting after crossing 28
Yrs. What matters is the will and commitment, rest all things will fall
into place. Just try. Did you know Mona Pruthi (2006 IAS topper), Karthik
Adapa (2008 IAS topper), and Shubhra Saxena (2009 topper) were all 30
yrs of age when they finally managed to crack the IAS?
The average age of candidates getting selected in the civil services is
steadily increasing. At present it is 27.5 years so its never too late to
have a crack at the civil services exam.
Only those who have been toppers throughout become IAS
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Pooh. XYZ obtained the golden score of 40 percent in his graduation and
managed to appear for the civil services only because UPSC requires a
simple graduate in any discipline. Guess what he is today? A
2004 batch IPS officer. And he isnt the only one, there are many out
there who have been quite average students in their school and college
life yet they have scaled the IAS peak. You can too.
UPSC is biased against Literature or xyz subjects
Really? In reality all subjects are treated on an even keel by UPSC.
Although its true that some subjects find more favour in Mains for
some years before being replaced by some other optional, this is a cycle
that is ongoing and all subjects are covered over a period of time. In
fact, Literature Subjects like Pali, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, have become
quite popular and have been fetching good marks recently. Mona
Pruthi, 2006 topper took English Literature as one of her optionals so
why cant you?
One should only select scoring subjects for Mains
Frankly speaking whats scoring and whats not is quite relative to the
person selecting an optional. People manage to score well with obscure
subjects like Veterinary Science or Urdu Literature. What matters is
your level of interest in a particular subject, some background in the
subject, and your grasp of the optional. A simple test to know whether
the subject is right for you or not is to ask yourself these questions:
a) Do you often fall asleep while reading xyz subjects books?
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b) Does it seem like too much hard work to study that subject?
c) Do you consciously or unconsciously try to avoid studying that
optional and instead do some other reading or work?
d) In spite of reading the same thing multiple times are you still
unable to comprehend it?
If this is the pattern you observe then that optional may not be right for
you even if it is generally considered scoring. Obviously the above
indicators should occur frequently for you to leave the optional for some
other. Once or twice or even occasionally is quite normal.
Coaching is a must for any subject
No its not a compulsion and many people I personally know have never
taken any coaching and still managed to clear the civil services.
Remember, coaching is only a tool to keep you on course but you
yourself will have to sail through the waters. Yes, coaching can ease
your hard work somewhat by providing study materials and simplifying
concepts but in the end its what you make of the coaching you received
that matters. Just because you enroll in the most popular coaching
institute for a particular subject does not mean you have become an
IAS. You will need to strive on your own for that.
If I dont clear in the first two attempts it will be too late
Did you know most people clear the civil services exam in their third or
fourth attempt? Most of the IAS toppers give their final attempt when
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they manage to come out trumps. Mona Pruthi, Karthik Adapa, Shubhra
Saxena the list goes on. Civil services exam is like old wine. The number
of times you attempt it the better you get. So dont worry about
attempts rather learn from your previous ones to do still better. Better
means better preparation, better answer writing, better perspective
and not just more hard work.
You need to study 18 hours every day to clear the IAS
Are you a machine? Can anyone realistically study that much every day
with full concentration and still be able to comprehend what he or she
has studied? I dont think so. What matters is not the quantity but the
quality of your preparation. Even if you somehow manage to study 18
hours for two or three days your output will fall to three to four hours
on subsequent days. So instead of such inconsistent ouput you should
go for uniform study every day. Once your mind and body can take no
more, stop. Refresh yourself and continue the battle the next day. I for
one studied 10-12 hours daily and managed to clear the Prelims in 10
months time. Even you can.

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Is there an Ideal Time to Start with IAS

Preparation?
This is a common question and a good start for our IAS journey. When
should you start your preparation? After high school, junior college,
graduation, post-graduation or after gaining some work experience?
Although there isnt a single start time for all, the earlier you start the
smoother your path will become when you give your first civil services
attempt. In fact if you start preparing early you will be more confident
to attempt the IAS exam after a year of serious preparation. Otherwise
you might unnecessarily procrastinate for some years before finally
taking the plunge.
Obviously you don't have to select your optionals after high school. Not
yet. Just start reading some general knowledge magazines like Frontline
or Civil Services Chronicle or Pratiyogita Darpan and a good newspaper
like The Hindu or Indian Express. If you are sure that you want to
become a civil servant before beginning your graduation then you can
opt for a subject that excites you and which you plan to take up for the
IAS exam.
If you can select both optionals right at the graduation stage it will be an
added bonus but selecting even one optional will do. If you plan to
pursue your masters before attempting the IAS exam then be sure you
select a subject that you can opt for in the civil services. This way you
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will have only one subject to study from scratch for the IAS.
But even if you graduated and/or did masters in some totally unrelated
subject to the optionals youve selected or plan to take up in the IAS
exam then fret not as you are in good company.
Many IAS toppers did the same but still managed to master two
completely new subjects in a short period. This is the beauty of the IAS
exam. Even I selected Sociology and Public Administration (Pub Ad)
while graduating in Electronics and Telecom.
Assuming that you are completely new to IAS preparation, how do you
start out, which magazines and books to read, for how many hours?
These and others are the common questions asked by IAS freshers who
are taken back by the complexity of this multi-layered but fascinating
exam.
Now that Prelims will he held in August the preparation strategy has to
be modified accordingly. While earlier candidates started preparing in
May/June, you will now need to begin preparation latest by
August/September if you are planning on appearing for the next years
Prelims. Of course you if you can start earlier, so much the better.
The benefit of this approach is that your Pre and Mains preparation
goes along simultaneously. Also since now more than 65% of the Mains
syllabus is GS based, you just cannot ignore general studies and leave it
till the end. Rather you need to prepare GS right from day one.
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Keep the following reference books and newspapers in hand while

preparing for the IAS prelims:
Civil Services Syllabus covering the Pre and Mains syllabus
entirely
Subscribe to a good English newspaper like The Hindu or a
good regional language newspaper
The past 10 years Prelims section-wise question paper set
from Arihant's or New Vishal
These three materials should become your best companions for the
complete duration of your civils preparation.

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Do You Need Coaching?

This is the most common question asked by IAS aspirants and quite
important one too. Let me say this again. It depends. Depends on your
knowledge of the subject, confidence, study material, and time
available. Lets take it one by one.
Knowledge of the subject: If GS is completely new to you then you need
some guidance to get started. But General Studies is quite vast and
obviously you will know at least something, at least some knowledge of
the current events. But something or the bare minimum is not enough
to get going so you may opt for coaching if you feel you need to get on
pace quickly.
Availability of study materials: Sometimes it so happens that we dont
possess the required books and notes for Prelims preparation. For
instance mental ability has been expanded in Paper 2 and many new
topics like Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and Data
Interpretation have been added. Now if you dont have the required
material for it like the Crack CSAT book by Disha or Cracking CSAT by
Arihant then you wont know how to tackle the paper 2 related
questions. Or it could so happen that even books or notes on mental
ability are insufficient as you have a non-science background. In that
case some assistance to tackle the math-based questions may be
required.

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Time: As they say time is the deciding factor in almost all aspects of IAS
preparation or any examination for that matter. If you have only little
time left before the Prelims, say 3 or 4 months, and you havent covered
enough portion of the syllabus then you may need to enroll for
a crash course to cover the scoring parts in quick time.
Finally, lets talk about confidence. This is a crucial factor in the IAS
exam. So many people, in spite of possessing good knowledge of GS,
keep postponing their first attempt year after year just because they
lack confidence in their ability, preparation or both, while others
genuinely feel less confident about the Prelims owing to lack of
preparation. If youre in the latter bracket you could consider coaching
to boost your preparation but if youre in the former then stop
procrastinating and attempt the Prelims. Its not that scary.

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Books to Refer for Prelims/CSAT

Obviously you will need books to read for Prelims. This is the most
definitive list of CSAT/Prelims books you need to refer. Nothing more,
nothing less.
Past 10 years Solved Papers and the IAS syllabus are a must.
Refer to the chapter on preparing for Prelims using these two guide
books to understand their relevance.
Current Affairs:
Manorama Year Book, not just for current affairs but a very good
source for general knowledge as well
The Hindu newspaper and/or The Indian Express
A good magazine like Civil Services Chronicle or Pratiyogita Darpan
or Wizard in that order of preference
Indian Polity:
Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap
Bare constitution (containing just the Articles and Amendments)
by P.M Bakshi
Indian History:
NCERT Books. Class VIII to X
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India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra

Spectrum's Brief History of Modern India (useful if you are short of
time)
Geography:
NCERT Books. Class XI and XII
Oxford Student Atlas for Map based questions
Certificate Course in Physical Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
Indian Economy:
Economic Survey that comes just before the annual budget. (Also
very useful for Mains)
Spectrum's Indian Economy or Vajiram Notes for fundamentals
General Science:
NCERT text books. Class IX and X
General Studies Manual:
A good manual for paper 1 of CSAT/Prelims. I recommend the
highly popular GS Manual by Tata McGraw Hill (TMH). It covers all
the topics of paper 1 in good detail. Read how to cover TMH GS
Manual for Prelims.

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Books for CSAT Paper 2

Forntunately , you need to refer only a single book for paper 2. TMH
CSAT Manual is the best reference book for paper 2. Read my review of
the CSAT Manual. It covers all the topics from comprehension to logical
reasoning, mental ability, English vocabulary to decision making. And
provides hundreds of practice questions many of which have detailed
explanation as well. In short, TMH CSAT Manual is highly recommended
for Paper 2.
Apart from these books keep your eyes open to news happenings
around you as UPSC asks not just the latest current affairs events but
even those two to three years back.
Recommended Reading:

Detailed Review of All Books for CSAT

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GS Syllabus and Question Papers: Your Best

Guide for Prelims Preparation
Prelims preparation requires smart hard work as you must be aware by
now. One of the first steps in your CSAT preparation is to develop a
daily routine. Once you start your Prelims preparation, keep the past
five years General studies question papers and GS syllabus with you
whenever you are preparing for the Prelims.
After selecting a topic to study from the GS Syllabus, go through the past
five years questions from that topic before you read the topic. Once
you do this, then read or more correctly, study that topic. Now you will
encounter answers to the questions you just went through and pronto,
you know that this part is important and requires extra attention. But
wait, theres more.
Whenever you finish a section, again refer to the past years questions
to see how many can you answer correctly. If you found some questions
that werent covered in your first reading go through the material again
or even refer additional sources so that all questions are covered.
Let me give you an example.
Suppose youre studying the Fundamental Rights part of Indian Polity
(BTW get Subhash Kashyaps Our Constitution and P. M Bakshis
book for all the Articles as I mentioned in my post on IAS Books) for GS
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Paper 1, first go through the past five years questions on Fundamental

Rights from a good section-wise handbook like Disha or Arihant (they
have the most authentic answers); then go through the Fundamental
Rights part.
After youve gone through the relevant articles, you should test
yourself against the previous five years papers on Indian Polity and see
how you performed. If you could answer all the questions correctly,
youve covered Fundamental Rights part quite thoroughly.
But if you couldnt, no need to fret. Just see which questions you had
some idea about but werent sure about the answer and which ones
were completely new to you and had not encountered while reading the
articles on Fundamental Rights. Now go back to your source and read
again covering the points that you may have skipped earlier. If the
material doesnt cover it, refer additional books or notes so that youre
comfortable in answering all the past five years questions on
Fundamental Rights.
Benefits of this Approach
Continuous Tracking: These two reference books, the GS Syllabus
and Question Papers, can lessen your workload considerably in the long
run and enables you to track your Prelims preparation very effectively.
Suppose you were preparing Physical Geography from the Oxford
Student Atlas (Again the best one for reasons mentioned in Books for
CSAT), you can track how well you have covered the map-based
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questions just after you started going through the Atlas instead of
leaving it till the end of February or March which might be just too late
for course correction.
Test Yourself: Suppose you dont have time left to enroll for Prelims or
CSAT test series, because you have been solving the previous years
section-wise questions all year through you wont feel uncertain about
your preparation level. Instead you will feel confident about attempting
the IAS Prelims even without the help of any test series. So you save
some money for other important stuff related to the civil services.
If you have registered as a member, the Test Series course contains
more than 5000 questions in more than 70 tests on all aspects of
Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Save Precious Time: Lets consider a scenario. Youre covering Modern
India from Bipin Chandras I ndi as St rug gl e for I ndepen dence and
adopt a read all strategy. What is this strategy? Well, simply reading a
book from the first page to last without bothering to find out the more
important topics or chapters from the lesser ones. Also not testing
yourself mid-way is included within this. Suppose you take 20 days to
cover the book and then after some months you decide to solve some
questions related to Modern History but you realize that many of the
questions are completely new, the matter for which you never
encountered while reading the History material. You panic. It not only
spoils your strategy but dents your confidence as well. On the other
hand, adopting the above approach admittedly requires more effort but
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is far more useful for your Prelims preparation in the long run.

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Getting started with Prelims Preparation:

Routinize your day
Yes I hate routine as much as you do but sometimes a little routine and
regimen can do wonders to your Prelims preparation. As you must be
aware the Prelims is a 10-12 months affair and long-term affairs need
some amount of loyalty as well. Right? Well then lets learn how we can
schedule our day for maximal benefit in some simple steps.
Step 1: Determine the average time you study daily
To do this simple observe the time you studied in a week and divide that
by 7. If you devote 5 or 6 days a week to IAS prep then divide by 5 or 6
as the case may be. You should have an exact or approximate figure like
10 hours or 10-12 hours every day.

Step 2: Determine the number of subjects to study daily

I know there are only two papers in the Pre but within each of them
there are so many to cover like History, Geography, and Mental Ability
etc. Now I am sure you cant study all of them in one day even if you
devote only a small amount of time to each. Some people try this but I
dont think its a wise idea to go for study all approach. Rather you
should take up two or three subjects at most on a daily basis, finish it
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completely or at least a major portion of it and then switch to different

ones. This is essential as finishing a subject in full will give you
confidence in your preparation, will enable you to tackle all the
questions in a particular section completely, and help you to keep track
of your progress more effectively. Remember, reading newspapers or
watching news programmes is not included within this.
Step 3: Divide time between the different subjects
Now that both papers are GS based you might pick up one subject each
from Paper 1 and 2 or go with both subjects from the same paper or
one from P1 or P2 and two from P2 or P1 respectively. After youve
done this, divide the total time that you determined in Step 1 between
the subjects you will be studying daily.
How to do this?
While there is no one best method of doing this a simple way is to
devote more time to that subject or section that you find a) more
difficult b) carries more weightage in terms of number of questions
asked c) has many topics to cover, that is, is pretty vast d) quite new as
youve just started with it.
The exact time to devote to each of the topics will vary from person to
person. Also you can be little flexible in this. For instance, if you have
been devoting 3 hours to study Modern Indian History every day and
have covered a major part of it you might reduce the time devoted to it
by 30 mins or 1 hour and allocate this to some other subject that you
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study alongside Modern History, maybe Data Interpretation.

Step 4: Stick to your routine
Now that you have a daily schedule ready, stick to it like Bees stick to
Honey. In any long term work program scheduling is important but even
more important is sticking to the commitment you made to yourself. If
you committed to clearing the IAS, stick to it. And for this you
committed to devote certain amount of hours every day and then you
committed to study one, two, or three subjects on a daily basis till you
covered it in entirety. Stick to it. As I mentioned in Step 3 above
some flexibility is essential and the odd day off is OK but dont make it a
habit otherwise you will see yourself lying to yourself and the
commitments you made.
Benefits of developing a routine
Track your progress easily: Instead of doing everything in bits and
pieces and struggling to up the loose ends learn to cover the
major distance before taking up a new path. This way you can test
yourself against past papers to know which are your strong and weak
areas and rectify the weak ones. If you cover only a small part of every
subject, youll have to wait till May or June to test yourself and if for
some reasons you deviated off course then course correction might be
too late. Avoid this by finishing off a subject as quickly as possible and
effective scheduling is a good way to do this.
Build up stamina to devote long hours of study: If you thought only
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running and other physical activities required stamina, think again.

Mental work is also included within the ambit of stamina.
In fact if youre mentally not up to the task of devoting 8-12 hours
daily to your preparation, then other things are of no use. When you
devote a consistent time and effort to a particular subject then you not
only gain mastery in it but also develop immunity to boredom resulting
from studying a topic for long hours.

Prepare yourself for Mains more effectively: In the mains as you have
to cover all subjects thoroughly youll need to devote long hours and
even days on end to just one subject. This will require prior practice as
you could easily lose focus and indulge in time wasting tactics if you are
bored of a particular topic or subject.
But by devoting long hours to a single subject during your Prelims
preparation itself, youre indirectly preparing for the Mains as well. And
the benefit of this approach will be quite visible during the Mains.

Cover the scoring sections early: The Prelims is such that some sections
like Indian Polity are easy to score off. And the right way to crack
Prelims easily is to cover most or some subjects entirely than covering
something of everything. When you consistently devote X number of
hours to a topic over a period of time, you secure Y number of marks
from it beforehand and this is invaluable.

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I am also aware that some people like to divide time in terms of days
and not hours. For instance, you might study History for two days and
Geography for one day. Even this approach is fine as long as youre
sticking to your schedule to reap the benefits discussed above.

New Approach to Prelims and Mains

From 2014 onward, the Prelims exam will he held in August and the
Mains in December. So you will now get only three months between the
two which is only adequate for revising what you have already prepared
and not for starting your Mains preparation after the Prelims.
In short, you will need to prepare for Mains alongside your Prelims
syllabus. This is easily achievable since the new Mains syllabus is an
elaboration of the Prelims syllabus and now both the exams focus
heavily on General Studies topics. So GS will now be the deciding factor
in your written or Mains marks.
Since syllabus for Prelims and Mains is quite similar it is advised you
prepare for Mains right from the beginning keeping your eye open for
important statistics and data that will be useful for Prelims.
Also, since there is now only one optional subject in Mains, you can and
have to devote much more time and effort to GS. Gone are the days
when GS could be mugged up in a month or two before the Mains
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exam. UPSC now wants to test your general awareness and aptitude like
never before and your better be prepared.

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How to Read the Newspaper

Many IAS aspirants stumble in this enjoyable activity of reading the
newspaper. The best way to read the newspaper is to enjoy it just like
you would enjoy reading a novel or magazine.
Reading a newspaper for civil services preparation should never be a
chore; a mundane task that has to be done just because everyone is
doing it. If you read the newspaper with this outlook let me tell you will
forget more than you grasp and waste valuable time to an activity that
shouldnt take more than one hour every day.
For reference purpose I will consider The Hindu, the most
recommended newspaper for English medium aspirants.
The Hindu or any newspaper for that matter can help you achieve four
things:

Update your current affairs knowledge

Build up your GK
Prepare for map-based questions
Prepare for Prelims and Mains simultaneously

For current affairs

Keep track of all major national and international events by reading the
front page, national pages, editorial page, international events page,
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and sports page.

You can skip the local news section as this is irrelevant from the IAS
exam viewpoint.

To keep track of the current events maintain a daily notebook divided

either month wise and/or section-wise. Regularly list the important
events in one or two sentences in this book. For instance, following the
Tsunami in Japan there was damage to the Fukushima nuclear reactor.
So make a note of not just the Tsunami, earthquake magnitude but even
the reactor and its location for Map-based questions.
Similarly when it comes to the sports sections try to follow all the major
national and international events, major achievements of Indians in
various sports and not just cricket, our national past time.
Its important to remember that in sports questions UPSC asks not just
won but won against whom as well. For example its not uncommon to
find questions about the finalists or runners up in major Tennis events.
Keep this in mind.
A trend noticed in the past few years is that questions on events that
occurred in the last 15-18 months are also being asked. Previously it was
enough to focus on the last 6 months happenings but not any longer.
Now you should also know the major happenings of past 18 months to
score well in the current affairs questions. UPSC is one step ahead of
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coaching institutes; learn to be in step.

For GK
Take a look at this article from Hindu. Its important not just from
current events viewpoint but from GK perspective as well. For GK you
should maintain a separate notebook or diary.

This article is about the nuclear scare in Japan following a massive

earthquake and resultant tsunami. Its important not just from current
affairs view point but GK as well. The red line indicates that Chernobyl
nuclear disaster was the worst followed by Fukushima.
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The blue line indicates the current interest in Wikileaks whereas IndoUS nuclear deal is important both from current affairs as well as GK
perspective.

Now take a look at this sports report. The highlighted parts are
important from current affairs as well as GK perspective.
Now you know to build up your knowledge base newspapers are as
important as Year Books and Encyclopedias.

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Tackle map-based questions

Did you know that not all map-based questions are randomly asked?
Some are related to places in news. For instance some question on
Libyas location or Japans island where Fukushima is located could be
asked. Whenever you prepare geography from Oxford atlas make sure
you prepare with this perspective in mind.
Prepare for mains as well
Just because youre preparing for Prelims doesnt mean you cant
prepare for mains at the same time. In fact doing precisely this will
prove quite beneficial during mains. This is where editorials come
handy. Editorials, especially those of The Hindu seem quite
overwhelming to grasp at first. This is understandable as editorial
articles are about events that have become popular now or in the past.
So if you dont know about such events or the debate surrounding them
you will find editorials quite difficult to understand.
Let me tell the simplest way to understand an editorial is to just read it
without bothering about familiarity with the article theme. Once youve
developed the knack of reading editorials youll start to follow and
understand that is written in them.

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Can I Prepare for Prelims in Just 4 Months?

Lets see just 4 months remaining for PrelimsYes you can! But as with
all good things in life there are some conditions attached. Lets see what
these are:
Youve covered a major part of either Paper 1 or 2
As from 2011 Prelims both papers carry equal marks and we know that
to clear the IAS Prelims, average score of both papers are considered
you will need to score well in at least one of the two papers. Suppose
you are well prepared to score at least 130 marks in Paper 1 then even
50-60 marks in Paper 2 can see you through.
You have impressive general awareness, knowledge of current events,
good English language and mental ability skills
This much can also see you past the Prelims qualifying mark as general
knowledge + current affairs questions can fetch between 50-60 marks
and English language, passage + mental ability questions can fetch
another 100-130 marks. Obviously if you get just 50 in Prelims paper 1
and 60 in Paper 2 from these sections then you still require another 4050 marks from other sections.
Youve appeared for MBA entrance tests and are comfortable with
paper 2 syllabus
One look at the new syllabus for Prelims and youll realize the similarity
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between Paper 2 syllabus and syllabus for Common Entrance Tests (CET)
for MBA courses. If youve already prepared for mental ability,
logical reasoning, decision analysis, English language skills for MBA then
paper 2 should be your strength. I will suggest that with just four
months remaining you should focus on current affairs, polity, maps, and
general awareness in paper 1 as these take less time and can be
prepared in 4 months time.
Youve cleared the IAS Prelims before
This is again an important factor to know if you can prepare for the IAS
Prelims in just 4 months time. Why I say this is that having cleared the
Prelims earlier you know exactly how to prepare for Paper 1 in the
shortest period. Also you are relatively more confident than someone
giving his or her first attempt. You can then focus on the new areas in
paper 2.
If you think you fit into any one or more than one criteria listed above,
then surely preparing for the Prelims in just 4 or 3 months time will not
be an issue for you. Get going!

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Prelims Quick Revision Tips

Heres a quick revision checklist for Prelims that will be very useful to
you.
Current Affairs: The last 18 months current affairs. Do a quick scan of
India Year Books latest events section at the end. New Vishals Current
Affairs is recommended. Its short and to the point.
GK: Manorama Year Books GK section at the end, especially,
Presidents, Speakers, PMs, etc. Also brush up the award winners.
Geography: Concentrate on the maps. India, neighbouring countries.
Focus on places that were in news recently. Brush up earthquake and
volcano facts too.
History: Focus on modern India. All Congress sessions and Presidents,
RTCs, different movements etc.
Science: Application based. More focus on common sense than mugging
up conventional stuff. Have a keen eye and observe the appliances,
happenings around. Do you know whats a 5-star rating AC, how is
swine flu caused, difference between DC and AC motor?
Economy: Look up the tables in Economic Survey, particularly,
Agriculture production, principal crops, exports, imports, chief trading
partners, telecom density, GDP, agri growth of the last few years,
electricity generation. Also brush up inflation basics.
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All important infrastructure projects in North East and Indias help in

Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. The Hindus annual supplement that
comes in January every year is useful for current affairs recap.

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How to score easy marks in IAS Prelims

To secure some easy marks in the CSAT exam you need to first identify
the scoring areas. This is even more important considering the fact that
the optional paper is no longer around to fetch you easy marks.

Maps (10-15 questions)

Polity (10-15 questions)
Current events (15-20 questions)
GK (15-30 questions)
English comprehension (8-12 questions)
Passage (5-10 questions)
Statistical analysis (5-10 questions)

Simply by focusing on these sections you can secure around 80-90

marks. Cracking the prelims is so much easier then!
For polity refer a good book with the bare articles and amendments. I
recommend the crisp and to the point Constitution of India by P.M
Bakshi.

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What score is enough to clear the Prelims?

Now that the optional paper is done away with, the cut-off will fall
drastically. However, for the past two years of the revised syllabus the trend
noticed is that Paper 2 is quite easy but Paper 1 is on the tougher side leading to
a cut-off between 190-200 marks. But in 2013 Prelims, since both papers were
quite easy and due to a large number of vacancy (1000), the cut-off has gone
beyond 200 marks.
So cut-off is dynamic and depends on two important factors: the
difficulty level of both the papers AND number of vacancies since,
usually, 13 times the total vacancy qualify the Prelims.
Of course you need to obtain this minimum score after subtracting the
negative marks obtained. Aspirants with scores of 220+ will clear the
Prelims quite comfortably.
If you wanted to know whether individual marks of both papers are
considered or the average, let me state its the average marks even
though UPSC has never acknowledged this publicly. But this common
knowledge among IAS veterans and coaching institutes nevertheless.
Still you shouldnt only rely on one paper to clear the prelims rather try
to get majority of the marks from either Paper1 or 2 and use the other
paper to supplement the first. Thus instead of getting 160 in Paper1 and
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120 marks in Paper 1 or 2 and remaining 70-90 from the other paper.

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New Mains Syllabus

From 2013 Civil Services Examination new pattern of Mains and Interview
(personality test) has been introduced. Refer this post for the new Mains
pattern and comparison with the old pattern.
Briefly:
There are 7 papers, of which, 5 are common to all: 1) Essay (250 Marks) 2)
General Studies (GS) Paper 1 (250 marks) 3) GS Paper 2 (250 Marks) 4) GS
Paper 3 (250 Marks) 5) GS Paper 4 (250 Marks) 6) Optional Paper 1 (250
Marks) 7) Optional Paper 2 (250 Marks). Written total: 1750 Marks
Personality Test: 275 Marks
Grand Total: 2025 Marks.
So, now the IAS Mains exam consists of 2025 marks as against 2300 marks
previously. And most importantly, you now have to select just one optional
subject as against two previously.
Speaking of optional subjects, let us turn our attention to selecting the right
optional subject for our needs.

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How to Select the Right Optional for IAS

Strictly speaking, selection of optional is out of the purview of this eBook but since many IAS aspirants prepare for the Mains along with the
Prelims, I thought I should include something valuable to help you to
select the right optional for Mains.
But what does the Right Optional for IAS mean?
I am sure it means differently to different people but what does it mean
to you:

A scoring optional?
The most popular optional?
Easy to understand or which you find interesting?
Subject with easy availability of study materials like books and
notes?
Optional for which one best coaching is available?
Subject with some previous base in graduation or postgraduation?
The optional with the best results in the IAS exam?
I hope I have covered all the points that majority of the IAS aspirants
consider before selecting the right optionals for Mains. Obviously, you
might consider only one of the above points as the basis for selecting
your Mains optional or consider multiple criteria. So lets take them up
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one by one.
A Scoring Optional
Most IAS beginners choose an optional simply because it is considered
scoring. Some of the optionals that are considered scoring are Public
Administration and Geography. While Geography has returned marks
with 400+ in IAS Mains, many candidates have been scoring 340+ and
350+ in Public Administration in the past few years. In fact the average
marks scored by Mains candidates in Pub Ad in 2008 Mains was 266
which is quite high considering that it is the most preferred optional
among IAS aspirants.
But should score be the sole criteria for selecting the Mains optional or
are there other related basis for selecting your mains optional? This gets
us to the second point.
A Popular Optional
Optionals that come within this definition are Geography, Public Ad,
Sociology, History, and Psychology. These four IAS optionals alone
account for about 50 percent share of the Mains pie and the rest 22
optionals, taking Literature subjects as one, for the rest.

This gives you some idea about the popular optionals for IAS. But why
are these optionals so popular while the rest arent so popular? Here
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are some reasons:

Subjects like Pub Ad and Geog have definite syllabus and Pub Ad
has quite limited syllabus especially for P2 so you can cover it
within 5 months or so.
You require limited coaching for Pub Ad as most of the syllabus
involves self-study.
The History optional for IAS is quite popular simply because there
are so many History post graduates and even graduates with
history as a subject. Also we all studied History as part of our
school curriculum and most of us found it interesting and some,
even scoring.
Geography is a semi-scientific subjects and a favourite among
Engineers and Doctors for its laws, principles, and map-based
questions. No wonder so many IAS aspirants opt for it.
Sociology is easy to understand and very interesting as the topics
covered concern the very society we are a part of.
Psychology has pulled, I feel, simply because it is a combination of
all the above attributes and also due to the fact that it is probably
the only optional where only one name prevails for coaching:
Mukul Pathak of Vajiram.
With this we come to another related question, are all popular optionals
scoring or to put it another way are the not-so- popular optionals for IAS
not scoring as well?

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Let me put it bluntly. Popularity has actually got nothing to do with the
scoring potential of an optional. If you want proof, read on. Shah Faesal
topped the 2010 IAS exam with Urdu Litt. as one of the optionals,
second being Pub Ad. Mona Pruthi, the 2006 IAS topper chose English
Litt. and Sociology. Mutyala Raju, the 2007 topper took Electrical
Engineering and Mathematics. Karthik Adapa aced the 2008 IAS exam
with Zoology and Psychology.
Whats common to all these IAS toppers? Except one, all opted for one
non-popular optional. And let me also mention that if you read their
interviews they chose the optionals based on their interest and
background and not because they were scoring or popular.
The fact that they have scored well in both the optionals (thats why
they topped) and not just the popular ones proves that all subjects are
equally scoring.
So choosing an optional based only on the scoring criteria is incorrect.

So how about the coaching criteria?

Before deciding to select an optional on the basis of the coaching
available first determine whether you require coaching in the first
place? You mustve realized this can only be determined after youve
selected an optional, not before it. So I feel selecting an optional simply
on the basis of the coaching available is like saying I can never clear
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the Civil Services exam without coaching. And once you become
completely dependent on coaching then good luck to you as I have
already written in my Mains 2010 GS analysis how unpredictable the
IAS exam is becoming not just for you but the most well-known
coaching classes as well.

Of course, it does help if there is good coaching available for the IAS
optionals youve already selected.
Choosing an optional with some previous background
Many people whove graduated or done Masters in some subject opt for
it in the CSE. This is really helpful as youre already familiar with the
subject and will need to study just one subject from scratch. This is
where graduation in humanities really helps as the most popular IAS
optionals listed above are included within the Arts subjects. So if
youre pursuing graduation or masters in any of the Arts subjects and
plan to take it up in the IAS mains, make sure you pursue it seriously and
focus more on the syllabus common to your degree as well as the IAS
Mains.
This point again proves that previous base and interest are more
important factors in selecting the right optional for IAS than merely
popularity or scoring potential. People who have opted for the most
obscure subjects like Literature, Veterinary Science, and Mathematics
have scored heavily in the Mains simply because they were so much in
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love with their optionals.

I had the good fortune of having a chat with the 2008 IAS topper Karthik
Adapa when we had enrolled for mock interview at Vajiram. He was
already in the IPS that time and I asked him about the reason for
choosing Psychology and he said he simply loved Psychology, thats why.
Nothing about the score or popularity.

Some thumb rules for selecting the right optional for IAS

The subject should:

Excite you
Make you know more about it
Should not put you to sleep
Make you think out of the box
Have books available easily

Dont think about the score at this stage, just focus on selecting an
optional with the above qualities and remember this will differ for
different aspirants. Once you have mastered the syllabus and have
adequate writing practice the marks will follow.
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Some common queries

I have chosen Public Administration but I find it quite boring, especially
Paper 1
Remember, Pub Ad usually seems boring to most people but many fall
in love with it once they have read and re-read the important books. If
you still find it going over your head ask yourself why did you choose
Pub Ad? Is it simply because of its popularity?
I love xyz optional but i cannot answer the questions correctly
The fact that you find the optional interesting is half the battle won. As
far answer writing is concerned you might consider joining some good
test series to hone your writing skills. Once you have enough writing
practice marks will not be an issue.
I dont have any previous base in any of the optionals or I dont want
to choose my graduation subjects, what should I do?
Simply go through the above thumb rules again and try reading
something from the basic books of the optional you plan to take up. If
you feel you can cope up with the subject then go for it otherwise try
another one.
Suggest some optionals that will be useful from GS Mains point of
view
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Again this is for reference purpose only. Actually every optional in some
way or the other contributes towards the GS or Essay preparation.

Pol Sc. covers polity and India and the world part
Pub Ad covers polity and governance part
History covers the history part
Mathematics covers Statistics. Ditto for Statistics optional
Geography covers GS geography, climate change, environment
and other related sections
Law also covers polity
Economics covers the Economy part of GS mains
Socio covers questions on social issues as well as one Essay option

To summarize, any optional that you find interesting, stimulating, fun to

learn is right for you. Dont worry about popularity or scoring potential.
Both are just an indicator. Every optional is equally scoring provided
you have mastered the syllabus and the answer writing aspect. I hope
this section helped selecting the right optionals for IAS a much easier
task.

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If They Could You Can Too IAS Success Stories

If you thought your conditions were adverse, that you didnt have
enough time, there were additional responsibilities, or lack of resources
that are an impediment in your IAS success, think again. I present here
different success stories of people just like you and me who despite all
odds managed to fulfill their cherished dream of becoming an IAS. Get
inspired!
Hearing impaired, so what?
People like Maniram Sharma are used to disillusionments in life. After
all how could a deaf candidate whose parents were farm labourers in a
remote village in Alwar, Rajasthan dream of becoming an IAS? But he
did precisely this and fought for 15 long years to make his dream come
true.
Since appearing for the civil services examination in 1995 and again in
2005, 2006, and 2009, he faced many nature gifted and man-made
hurdles. Since he was completely hearing impaired, he was told couldnt
be allotted the IAS but only the Posts and Telegraph Service.
However, not to be outdone by adversity Maniram underwent a
cochlear implant costing Rs 7.5 lacs and gained enough hearing to
appear for the oral interview and scored the highest in the hearingimpaired category.
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His persistence finally bore fruit when he was allotted the IAS in 2009
after a 15-year battle for justice.

From waiter to IAS Never say never again

Till 2000, K Jayaganesh didnt know what the civil services were. After
all, coming from a small village in Tamil Nadu where no one had studied
past 10th standard, becoming an Engineer was in itself a big
achievement.
But the IAS bug did bite Jayaganesh slowly and surely. In spite of failing
to make it past the interview stage in his previous 6 attempts,
Jayaganesh was determined to give his best in his final 7th attempt.
This despite the fact that he couldnt afford any coaching nor even
receive the right guidance from any mentor. He also didnt let his
previous disappointments in the Prelims stage itself affect his morale.
To realize his cherished dream he worked odd jobs as a waiter and
billing clerk in Chennai just to stay focused on his goal of making it to
the list of successful candidates.
And in the summer of 2008 the IAS light did shine upon him when he
secured the 156th rank to make it to the IAS in the backward community
category. To his success then.
From rolling bidis to the IAS, what a journey!
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Coming from the under-developed Wanjari community in Gondia

district of Maharashtra, Dhananjay Wanjari helped the only breadwinner of his family, his mother, roll bidis to supplement the meager
family income.
But he was ambitious. And determined. So determined that he stood
first in his class and went on to become a lecturer in a Mumbai college.
But his ambitions didnt stop there.

He pursued his IAS dream and managed to achieve it at the young age
of 22 years.
Women power, theyre here to stay!
There was a time when women civil servants were rare to find. Not any
longer. According to The Hindu out of the total 4572 IAS officers all over
India (as on January 1, 2009), 604 are women (Just 13.72 per cent). Of
course this number is still on the lower side, however, this is no mean
achievement given the fact that they have to generally strive harder,
fight more battles, and need to prove their worth more than their male
counterparts.
In 2009 all the top three ranks in the civil services exam were secured
by women. Shubhra Saxena was the IAS topper followed by Sharandeep
Kaur Brar from Punjab and Kiran Kaushal came third. Whats more, Kiran
was the topper among Hindi medium candidates. This proves language

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is not an obstacle in the IAS exam.

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Benefits of IAS Kracker Membership Program

IASKracker.com has started its own Membership Program where
members get access to three courses Test Series course, Current
Affairs course and GK course besides many introductory videos to the
IAS exam and excellent support.
The membership is designed in such a manner that you test yourself as
you prepare. The Test Series course contains more than 5000 questions
on all aspects of Paper 1 and Paper 2 in more than 70 online tests. Also
current affairs are collected from a variety of reliable sources so you can
concentrate on preparing GS while we take care of current affairs bits
for you. Finally the GK course will boost you general awareness within a
very short time by providing targeted bits on facts about India, health,
defence, energy, environment and ecology and many other topics.
Find out more about the program

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Bonus Stuff!
That youve read this far implies youre really passionate about cracking
the IAS. Just for this you deserve some bonus. And as they say, save the
best for the last. Here youll find links to free notes, videos of interviews
of past toppers, and other material that will add value to your Prelims
preparation.
All NCERT Books from Class I to XII
Free Study Material
Another Site for Free IAS Materials
Video: Success in First Attempt
Video: Inspirational Speech by Shah Faezal, 2010 Topper

Remember to follow IAS Kracker on Twitter and Facebook for regular

tips on IAS preparation. See you at the top!
If you found this eBook useful, share the word and remember to leave
your feedback on the blog.

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