Tag: Prelims

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 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 ?
    • 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 🙂

UPSC Doubt clearance session during lockdown

Guys / Gals,

I know corona has led to a difficult time. And I know the UPSC aspirants are a particularly vulnerable lot, especially with the exam coming so near. There is lack of clarity, confusion, anxiety, frustration and what not.

Honestly, I can’t alleviate many of these emotions. But, I can be a little help when it comes to upsc preparation.

Let me know your upsc preparation related or even other doubts in the comment section here or if you don’t want to publish your doubts publicly, mail me at sinhaabhijeet93@outlook.com. And I will make a sincere attempt to reply back ( no promises though, since my schedule is usually busy and variable 😛 )

Hoping to hear from you all soon in our attempt to win over UPSC 🙂

Importance of Governance section

One area that is often ignored is that of governance. One reason being that there is not enough good material on it. We do not know what to read in it. Other reason being, we think governance is too obvious and does not need a separate preparation. We also believe, that governance is not important for prelims.

But, practically speaking, governance is probably one of the most important section for prelims. Every year, questions worth 90 marks in GS 2, 20 marks in GS 4 and 8-10 questions in prelims can be answered, if one studies Governance section well. Where every 1 marks counts, this total can create a difference between Rank 1 and one not clearing even the prelims.

But why do I remind you of it right now ?

I do so, because very recently, UPSC 2018 AIR 93 Pradeep Singh has come out with a book on governance, titled Governance in India – A Handbook for the Civil Services Examination.

Here’s the link

https://amzn.to/3edNkkz

I have read the book recently, and I found that the book was definitely worth a try. It is written by an aspirant, who is now a topper. Therefore it is written in a very aspirant friendly way. It has questions and solutions of past years prelims and mains questions from the governance section. In addition, it contains interesting segments like Do You Know, Hints and Mnemonic boxes. Plus, it is not just a collection of government policies, as it is in books by other authors on the subject. All this, in my opinion, makes it the best book on governance right now.

So, do give it a a try. And let me know your comments too 🙂

All the best 🙂