My book list was quite limited. I put more thrust on revising and making notes out of them
- GS 1
- History
- Modern History
- Spectrum was the Primary Source
- Read Bipin Chandra India Before Independence like a novel if you have time. It is quite an elaborate book ( do it before spectrum in that case)
- Post Independence
- Made notes out of Bipan Chandra ( Selectively)
- World History
- Norman Lowe primarily – This is a very exhaustive book. And it was my favourite book during preparation
- Arjun Dev – for portions which have not been covered in Norman Lowe
- Vision World History Material for Pre WW 1
- Ancient History
- NCERT History 12th Book 1
- Tamil Nadu History overview
- Modern History
- Culture
- Nitin Singhania – This is a must have book for culture section, and one of the first Books you will see with every aspirant
- How to read ?
- Don’t try and remember everything and random facts. Instead, focus more on Broad Categories and Evolution of most of the chapters and just remember 3-4 types
- Eg. in Paintings chapter understand the principles -> observe the evolution and note the key names : pre historic and features of cave paintings, some 2 , 3 names -> Miniature paintings : basic technique and 3-4 names -> Evolution during Mushal times and role of kings -> names of 3-4 regional paintings -> broad evolution of the modern painting with 3-4 names
- Even try to remember 2-3 names of other small chapters eg Handicrafts, Festivals, etc
- How to read ?
- Nitin Singhania – This is a must have book for culture section, and one of the first Books you will see with every aspirant
- Geography
- NCERT 11th and 12th
- Mrunal Videos
- Majid Hussain for more detailed knowledge
- Sociology
- Instead of going book by book, I went syllabus wise and googled every term of the syllabus and made notes on it ( eg from sites like gktoday)
- Vision Monthly affairs Sociology section
- History
- GS 2
- Polity
- Laxmikanth – This is a must have book for UPSC preparation
- D D Basu. – This book is slightly technical in nature. Use it after you find laxmikanth comfortable
- Vision Mains 365 ( preferable of 2 years)
- Governance
- Pradeep Singh’s – Governance in India
- Welfare Schemes
- Vision Mains 365 ( preferable of 2 yeas )
- Pradeep Singh’s – Governance in India
- International Relations
- Vision Mains 365 ( preferable of 2 years)
- Pavneet Singh
- Google every term of the syllabus for rest
- Polity
- GS 3
- Economics + Agri
- I did not read it explicitly, since I had Economics optional. But, I googled every term of syllabus and made notes out of it
- But the usual recommended books are
- Vision Mains 365 ( preferable of 2 years)
- Disaster Management
- 2nd ARC report on Disaster Management
- Vision Mains Geography section
- given the trend, it would also be wise to read NDMA guidelines on key disasters
- Science Technology
- There are 3-4 key terms in syllabus. eg Nano Tech, Space Tech, Bio Tech Google them and make notes of them
- Tejasvi’s notes
- Vision – just the overview, and not in greatest detail
- Ravi Agrahari for more detailed knowledge
- Security
- Vision Mains 365 ( preferable of 2 yeas )
- Googling terms of syllabus
- M Karthikeyan for more detailed knowledge
- Environment
- Shankar IAS. – This is one of the most popular and indispensable books
- Vision 365
- Economics + Agri
- GS 4
- Googling every term
- McGraw Hill ( TMH) publication book by M Karthikeyan
- See GS Score workbook on ethics for practise
My Experiments With UPSC ( IAS ) 
Please mention that chapters that you have did selective reading(from bipin chandra).
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Ch 6 to 12, selectively Ch 16,17, 20 ; Ch 25 to 35 , But do make notes of it as the book is vast
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Did you read Shankar IAS environment book? If not, why ?
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I did. I had missed that out 🙂
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is it also important to go through insight secure to cover gs paper 2 and 3
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Not as such to cover the topics. But, use Insights secure more to understand and hone the answer writing part
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thanx sir
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if my marks in prelims 2018 are not coming in safe zone than should i make any change in my preperation like should i skip joining test series for mains , doing current affairs from now or from november 2017.
Thanx for your precious time.
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Not really, My strategy has always been mains centered. So, even if feel you are unsade, read from the perspective of mains and understand the concepts well. You may skip professional test series and may instead opt for an online answer writing like on Insights or iasbaba
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Hii sir
i just wanted to know whether each and every part of syllabus is to be covered or some areas to be concentrated more and some less
This am saying because yesterday i have done analysis of previous 5 years GS papers(all the 4) and found that some topics in the syllabus are not touched upon in the exam
can we take some calculated risk ?
and i personally feel that our answers should be a bit different from others so can i deviate a little from the standard book list at the end of the day our answers will take us forward
please guide on above issues as this is my first time am little bit bewildered
Thankuou
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Indeed you need to prepare according to individual weights. But, what is important is that no topic should be left behind. therefore, have working notes on all the topic and concentrate more on areas which are asked more
The deviation from others should be there. but, reading more bookds to do so , is not the best solution for it. Instead, there is a need to add examples, data, etc which can be obtained from eveyday reading of newspaper, vision material, etc. Belive me , there is no need to make the preparation unnecessarily complex. Get the basics right ad get the rewards tight
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Sir, UPSC is really unpredictable. On 2018 prilm. questions did not come from directly NCERT or Text Book or News Paper. Only highly concept basis. So, how to be prepared for next 2019 prilm.?
Thank u.
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That is why I have always insisted on reading from the perspective of mains. That helps to appreciate, understand and assimilate the concepts better. This stratehy would always help regardless of the pattern, which is bound to keep on changing. Secondly, it is humanly impossible to learn all trivial facts, data, etc that is often asked in prelims. Hence, one must try to ace the art of elimination and deduction
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Sir can You please which subjects should I choose for B.A graduation that will be more useful for my preparation? Currently I am passed 12 the class by science (pcm).. actually I HV no idea & confused..
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Don’t choose you graduation branch just to perform better in the civil services exam. Its a long exam, with changing pattern and truth be told, its also unpredictable. Take a branch that suits your interest more and can help you more, with or without UPSC CSE
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hello sir, I have given this year prelims not prepared for mains till now no answer writing…
1.can you give me idea about what should be my strategy for june to 28 sept
2.what should i do daily gs, optional, answer writing or all
3. if i will do newspaper, optional nd ethics for 1 or 2 months & gs1, 2 and 3 last 2 month is it a good strategy
4. kya current affairs for gs 2 and 3 august m prepare ho sakte h
5. should i join test series for gs and essay now or after preparing for them. I have knowledge of only pre specific
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1. read optional as much as you can, practise answer writing by joining test series
2. Either GS / optional and preferably answer writing once every 2-3 days
3. No, try to suppress it further.leave last month for revision
4. Haan, vision ke magazines dekh lena. can skip newspaper
5. join now . Test series is more for learning rather than evaluating oneself
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Thank you bhai 🙂
kya ye thik rahega June- optional complete revision and ethics, july,august-optional and gs test series with vision ca magazines and sept for revision and essay.
can you tell me that
1. what should i expect from joining test series like mentor guidance or what
2. which test series is good for gs and essay i m confused because its my first attempt.
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Haan sahi rahega
1. You get good feedback, can get mentor guidance, you practise answer writing and come across likely questions with their answers
2. Vision for GS, for essay I’m not sure
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which Bipin Chandra books do we need to buy??
The market has three books
1.history of modern India
2.India struggle for independence
3.India since independence
Please mention the which chapters to read? why should we read them?
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Read India struggle for independence as a novel if you can ( whole book) else spectrum would do
read India since independence Ch 6 to 12, selectively Ch 16,17, 20 ; Ch 25 to 35 , But do make notes of it as the book is vast
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should i join test series now or after reading books and current affairs in perspective of mains. Till now i have read basic books and current affairs in perspective of prelims.
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Then start with online answer writing websites like insightsonindia.com or iasbaba.com
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Sir i m reading the hindu daily just to glance through headline and see what is in editorial if it is related to syllabus than i read only that and does not make notes out of it for pre or mains and then read from vision ca monthly is it a good strategy or i have to add something more for mains prep. Thanku 😊
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It is decent enough. But, supplement the newspaper with monthly booklets of vision
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Sir, gs score ki essay and ethics ki test series kesi h and how is their one to one mentorship.
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Average. Concept is good, but paper, checking anf feedback could have been better
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Thank you sir,
1. sir can i read only vision 365 for this year mains and ignore newspaper from now till sept or continue reading and extract some data and make notes and
3.can i ignore editorials because they are so scattered instead read from mains 365
4. kya vision mostly cover kar deti h jo mains m ques ate h current affairs se.
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Hi,
1. ideally you should go through newspaper if only for 15 minutes. That would help you to get the conext. Do, it till august. September you can skip
2. Don;t ignore them completely
3. Haan kar deti hai . Isliye focus on the static part more
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sir
have been in this preparation from 2 years…not so confident of clearing prelis2018…
not so confident about my answer writing
never attempted writing an essay till now….didnt cover ethics and um confused about the timetable to be followed for next year…
integrated pre and mains approach….how should i do this….?
can u please elaborate me…?
june to feb if i complete my optional and ethics and gs part will it be a good approach??
then from march complete focus on prelims and practising test series..?
please help me…thank you
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Hi Hema,
Your monthly plans are good.
Integrated approach means that while reading, focus on the possible questions and answers that can come in Mains. And understanding the logic and the story well
Start practising as early as possible. websites like insightsonindia and iasbaba cab be a good platform to begin with
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Sir i am preparing this year can you please help me for prelims stratergy
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Hi ,
Maybe the page https://abhijeetsinhaupsc.wordpress.com/2018/05/16/a-different-prelims-strategy/ can help
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Thank you so much sir ,it really helped fr me i will surely add some
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hello sir,i am a beginner…
1. i heard that NORMAN LOWE is a very vast book and input output ratio is not good…is it true?…if not …should we have to read the whole book or selected chapters…what are those selected chapters…please tell me…
2.can you please explain more about NITIN SINGHANIA culture book…though you gave some reference about it in your article…but i didnt understand it…can you explain it more clearly..please
thank you in advance….
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Hi
1. Well, I personally liked the book. And I read it almost entirely
2. Basically, read from the perspective of mains. Try and understand the overall story of a chapter than focussing on every single detail
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Hi Abhijeet Sir,
I am facing an issue regarding how to read Agriculture and S & T static/conceptual part. As I am following newspaper for the current part.
Problem occurs when I have to follow below topics.
Like in Agriculture(APMC, Contract Farming, Swaminathan commitee, Price Support farming, Also do i need to follow Economic survey from previous year)
In S&T(Space related- Like IRNSS, LEO, MEO, Geostationary & Geo synchronous orbits. Biology part like– Influenza, vaccination)
Could you please assist me the way that i should follow going forward for entire year regarding Agriculture and S&T ?
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Hi
1. just google the terms in case you find it difficult to understand. Waise, Vision covers it quite well in its monthly magazine / Mains 365. You can read from there
2. Eco survey previous years are not really needed
3. Google them. you will find many videos to explain and then make notes out of them
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Hi Abhijeet,
Congratulations on such a grand success.
Greatly helped by Ur prelims strategy. Following ur strategy for mains.
U talk abt Tejasvi’s notes for sc n tech…how to find them…(couldn’t find them by googling)
..any link or can u suggest an alternative?
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Hi, thanks a lot 😉
You can find it here https://abhijeetsinhaupsc.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/making-notes/
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Thanku so much Abhijeet 🙂
Cracked prelims….Ur strategy actually does wonders..
U have totally demystified UPSC…especially prelims
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That fulfills the purpose of my talk/ blog then 🙂 But don’t forget there are still miles to go. All the best
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Very congrats from my side also, Sir i want to know from which year Current affairs to be taken for 2019 upsc exam.Secondly, im confussed about which current affairs of Vission to b taken as per my understanding there r three types of Vision CA viz., 1. visionIAS monthly.2. vision PT365 3. vision MAINS365. Lastly, r these available in online in pdf form as im living in jammu and kashmir..ThankU in advance..
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Hi, try and cover vision mains 365 of 2018 and monthly magzines of 2019.
Actually, all of these are virtually the same, just the compilations of the monthly magazines
Yeah, they are available online on visionias.in
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Hello sir..
I would like to ask whether is it good to prefer economy from mrunal sir videos
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Quite an extensive list!
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Sir, For how many months prior to 2019 prelims we have to cover the current affairs?? And also from vision CA monthly magazine or Insights CA monthly magazine???
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Sir , currently i am in my final year of engineering. I started with the Ncert books. So please can u suggest me about the time management for both university as well as upsc preparation.How much time should i give for university and upsc studies?
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First of all a very warm congratulation for your effort and results sir. Your way of describing things are commendable.
Actually i am a techie working in a top software giant with a bright career however somewhere my inclination is bending towards serving my nation in better ways hence i am planning for UPSC.
As my DOB is June/1988 so as per the rules i think i would be allowed only for 2019 exams which will be my one shot attempt only.
Please help me with planning and strategies if i want to start now keeping in mind if i still want to continue with the job and Pub AD as optional.
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UPSC Prelims and Mains 2019
Ignite your knowledge here(smart learning) and move to LBSNAA
https://t.me/Globalknowledge2
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Sir please help me in selecting optional. As I’m from physics honours and don’t want to select physics as optional..
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Sir for economics optional which newspaper we have to read
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sir could you please send me the booklist for prelims sir or if not please refer me the blog of anyone where i can get booklist
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Congratulations Sir,
Would like to borrow a small piece of your mind. I’m sure you must have been confronted with questions in mains of which you had no or little idea about. How did you tackle those questions?
Thanks!
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Sar i give my attempt in 2020 and i know about syllabus pyqp but i don’t idea about what i do at the moment? Please suggest me😔
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Hello…sir ….my question is ki jab insight on india CA padhte to prelims k liye” fact for prelims” sirf padhna thik rahega current k liye ya paper wise gs1 ,gs2 etc sab padhna hoga …actually sir current affairs k notes kaise bnaynge kaise padhe insight on india ko
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Hlo sir
I am preparing for 2020. So please tell me is it imp to read all ncerts as only 1 year is left and also about shankar ias?
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Sir what source did you refer for medieval history?
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sir, please mention booklist for prelims
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Hi, sir, I met you in Ranchi. I chose political science as my optional though I have physics as my honors paper. sir, plz recommend me where I can write answers and which book is suitable for IR.
I wanted to appear in 2021 and now I started preparing.
essays that I wrote nowadays are not well so how I can do well in my essays.
I am preparing myself without any coaching institute so I want your guidance in clearing any doubt that may appear at the time of my preparation.
so., can you be my mentor?
for this work, I will be very grateful to you.
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Hi. For a start you can write answers on websites like insightsonindia.com or at iasbaba.com. When you become more mature take a professional test series like vision.
For IR the best is vision material on IR and use newspaper to update it. You could also go through my notes
For essay, google my friend Apurva Pandey, who has the highest marks in essay
All the best 🙂
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Nice Booklist. Thank you for the genuine post!
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Hello Sir
When is the right time to join a mains test series for a student preparing for 2021?
Given that we are getting approx 80 days btw pre and mains as per 2021 schedule by UPSC.
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Hello sir,
I have just started my upsc preparation with 8 months to go for Prelims 2023. Can you please guide me as to what should be my strategy and goals so that I am able to give my 100% in clearing the exam?
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What pavement is it to run on to learn economy from toe to top for gs*
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