How should UPSC aspirants make best use of lockdown time ?

Lockdown is without a doubt, tough. Yet, the life of a UPSC aspirant must go on. It is a continuous cycle in motion, till the time the goal is reached.

Through this post, I have tried to highlight how should you make the best use of this time in lockdown, especially by embracing the potential of internet and using it wisely. The format followed is that of a question and answer.

• I am determined to be an IAS / IFS / IPS But, I am a very beginner. How should I start my preparation ?
  • Firstly, understand the scope of the exam. This exam basically demands you to be familiar with the general developments in the world that a layman is expected to know. As such, upsc expects you to know high school level content of subjects like history, geography, civics, economics, sociology, physics, biological sciences, environmental science etc and CURRENT AFFAIRS
  • Greater details can be found at the UPSC website https://www.upsc.gov.in/ . In this website, you can find syllabus, the timeline of the exam, results etc.

• I have some idea now. What do I do next ?
  • Start the preparation Through 2 modes.
  • For the high school level academic part, you start by reading the NCERT textbooks. They are freely available on the website http://ncert.nic.in/ebooks.html. Here, download the books of class 6 onwards of History, Geography, political science and economics .
  • For the current affairs part, newspaper is required. If newspaper is coming in lockdown, its good. If it isn’t, you can take help of many upsc civil services preparation related free websites such as insightsonindia.com , iasbaba.com and visionias.in. They will help you to collect the current affairs, organise and sort them and help to plan better for UPSC
  • Or, you could watch the discussions on current affairs at Rajya Sabha TV, especially programs like The Big Picture. It is also available for free on YouTube .

• I have read the basic NCERTs and now I want to move ahead? Which books should I read ?
  • The entire book list is available here https://abhijeetsinhaupsc.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/booklist/
  • But, I agree because of the lockdown, i know the bookshops are shut. Yet, that shouldn’t deter you from reading and getting behind. Many books are available as digital copies on Amazon. You could buy them. I have listed some of these here for your convenience
    • Polity – Laxmikanth
    • History – Bipan Chandra
    • Ancient and medieval history – Tamil Nadu history books
    • Culture – Nitin Singhania
    • Economics – Ramesh Singh
    • Environment – Shankar IAS
  • These can be read on your Mobile / tablet / laptops / Kindles

• I have read the basic books. Now what to do ?
  • Start making notes
    • Note making is one of the most crucial parts to assimilate your preparation and consolidate it for better revision better
    • I have detailed the art of note making here
    • My own notes are available here
  • Revise
    • Revise the basics and your notes. The lockdown or not, life of an UPSC aspirant is all about practise and revision. Revise it as many times as you can. Personally, before the exam I used to revise about 5-6 times

• I am good with all these. Now I need to practise. How can I do it during the lockdown ?
  • Prelims practise
    • Professional test series are available at https://prelims.insightsonindia.com/ or at http://www.visionias.in/
    • There are other websites too which may provide some of these for free
  • Mains practise ,
    • you can use platforms like insights on India Secure platform which focuses on answer writing based on current affairs. It is a peer reviewed program and it helped me a lot to get my basics of answer writing right
    • For professional test series for mains – best is of vision IAS. It allows you to write at home, scan the papers and upload it

• But lockdown makes me so anxious. I am all day stuck at social media / news / other programs ?
  • I know this ain’t easy. It’s natural to be worried about yourselves and your families. Some of your distraction is probably inevitable and necessary.
  • But, do understand , you may be wasting your time, but there would be thousands of other serious aspirants who would get serious and utilise this time.
  • Also please remember that when you started your UPSC preparation, you made a promise to win over all difficulties, no matter how difficult it is. You vowed to keep moving, keep struggling. This corona is only 1 such obstacle, 1 such hindrance; difficult but winnable. You can do it. You have everything that it takes.
  • Also, please don’t overthink. We, at the government, our working very hard to ensure that no Indian goes hungry or suffers beyond a limit. We might fail sometimes. But, our efforts don’t lack. Trust us. And allow us to take your responsibilities till the time, when you ace the exam and become An IAS / IPS / IFS / IRS officer yourself and make us all proud.

All the best 🙂